Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

After my 86 spree sat for a few weeks, I went to crank it only to find that the cylinder was completely full of fuel. After taking out the spark plug and cranking it over a few times I was able to dry everything out and get it running again.
Since then I have determined that the petcock continuosly drips when the bike isn't running.
My question is that should'nt the carberator keep fuel from entering the cylinder? I dissassembled the carb and cleaned a bunch of gunk and buildup out of the bowl, but overall the rest of the carb was pretty clean.
I have heard that the petcock is some type of safety device but it seems logical that the carb should not let fuel flow through it while sitting idle.

Any thoughts?

You are correct, the carb float needle should hold back any leakage.
You could try cleaning the float needle and see, but it's a good idea to replace it if you or the previous owner hasn't. I've posted a photo in a past thread of showing some pitting I couldn't see by eye, but it caused a steady seepage.

The thing about the petcock and needle valve pair, is that unless the float needle is really bad, it's not noticed until the petcock valve becomes leaky too.

a easy test for the petcock is to suck on the vaccum like and see if gas is coming out. LOL if its just pours out, then you got a bad one
aloha
D