'87Aspencade carb leaking

[SCWinger]

Hi one and all,
I need some opinions and advice. About a year and a half ago I had a situation come up where I had to park my '87 Aspencade with no time to prep for long term storage. It has been parked in my shop since. I did fill the tank, turn off the fuel petcock and place it on the centerstand.
I am now able to start getting it ready to ride again. I replaced a dead Wal-Mart battery and checked all electrical buttons, switches etc and everything works. I checked the oil level and the oil itself. The bike had about 650 miles on a new oil change when it was parked. Everything was good. I will have to bleed the clutch to regain proper function.
My issue is when I tried to start it, it started and ran for about 10 seconds (roughly) and I got a strong gasoline smell. I shut it off, looked down, and the rear carb on the left side was leaking fuel. I made no attempt to restart it since I don't know what is wrong and have no desire to ruin my bike.
I am not a mechanic so if it is anything major, I will have to delay my urge to ride until I can afford to get it repaired.
Any ideas, advice or opinions will be greatly appreciated. :YMPRAY:

This is a great site!! ^^

[bs175dths]

NO SMOKING!!!! :d
Is it leaking from the gasket between the carburetor and the float bowl? If so, a tightening of the four screws may solve this problem.
Is the fuel coming from the little nipple in the middle and center of the float bowl? If so, there is a needle valve in the float bowl which closes when the bowl is full. Sometimes the needle will not seat properly and the bowl over flows and fuel comes out said nipple. In this case, the carburetors need to be removed.
Since the bike runs rough after sitting, the carburetors may need to come out anyway to clean those little, tiny, itty, bitty (technical jargon) jets and passages to get her to run as she should.
You can do the removal and the cleaning, just read about it at this forum.

My suggestions:
If it is leaking from the gasket, try tightening the four Philip head screws. To gain a bit of access, remove all eight fasteners holding the intakes to the heads, prop the carburetor assembly on something to give you more room to get an angled Philip head under the float bowl in question. Use the proper sized driver as these screws are easily rounded.
If it is leaking out the nipple, try pinching and releasing (repeatedly) the fuel line between the fuel pump and the carburetor assembly. Doing so repeatedly can sometimes generate enough pulsating in the fuel lines to dislodge any foreign matter on the fuel valve head, thus allowing it to seat/seal properly.

Once the leak stops, you may try adding SEAFOAM to the fuel and see if that will clean those little, tiny, itty, bitty (again technical jargon) jets, but this will take longer than removing and cleaning the carburetor passages.

Good Luck.
Keep us posted.

-Ride On