MACHINE
I have a newly purchased but used 2018 Kawasaki w175 with 2,400km.
BACKGROUND
I'm fairly handy with mechanical issues, but I'm new to motorbikes, new to Kawasakis, and not a trained mechanic by any means. I've ridden the bike about 300km since purchasing.
I'm not sure if any of these symptoms are related, but more information is better than less.
Today I woke up to find my bike oozing a strong smell of gasoline. After further inspection, it seems there is a small puddle of gasoline under the bike, and it is leaking directly from a drain(?) tube coming from the Mikuni carburetor.
QUESTIONS
I plan to take the motorbike to the mechanic tomorrow (today is Sunday), but I'd still like to have an idea about what is probably going on and what it will take to fix it. I like to understand what my mechanic is doing and why, and I also don't necessarily trust every mechanic to understand a problem or to fix it correctly. To go along with that idea, this will be my first time searching out a motorcycle mechanic, so I need to be able to vaguely judge their expertise, and I'm in a third-world country where most customers and thus most mechanics place an emphasis on cost and short-term solutions rather than spending the money to do things the right way the first time.
I have a newly purchased but used 2018 Kawasaki w175 with 2,400km.
BACKGROUND
I'm fairly handy with mechanical issues, but I'm new to motorbikes, new to Kawasakis, and not a trained mechanic by any means. I've ridden the bike about 300km since purchasing.
I'm not sure if any of these symptoms are related, but more information is better than less.
- It runs mostly great when running, but I have heard some pops from the exhaust when especially when braking or downshifting.
- I've also had some problems with it starting. About 75% of the time, it starts right up, but about 25% of the time it takes several seconds to start, and occasionally it will take almost a full minute of cranking. The battery and starter both sound strong throughout, so it doesn't seem to be an issue with either of those.
Today I woke up to find my bike oozing a strong smell of gasoline. After further inspection, it seems there is a small puddle of gasoline under the bike, and it is leaking directly from a drain(?) tube coming from the Mikuni carburetor.
QUESTIONS
- What is the likely cause of this problem?
- What is the likely fix?
- What is the purpose of that tube? It seems arranged in such a way that it's supposed to leak something from there? Or it is supposed to be an intake?
- Is it safe to ride the motorcycle to the shop in this condition? It's a 10 minute ride at most.
I plan to take the motorbike to the mechanic tomorrow (today is Sunday), but I'd still like to have an idea about what is probably going on and what it will take to fix it. I like to understand what my mechanic is doing and why, and I also don't necessarily trust every mechanic to understand a problem or to fix it correctly. To go along with that idea, this will be my first time searching out a motorcycle mechanic, so I need to be able to vaguely judge their expertise, and I'm in a third-world country where most customers and thus most mechanics place an emphasis on cost and short-term solutions rather than spending the money to do things the right way the first time.
