rubber hose on bottom of TK carbs

i have a kz 550 with tk carbs. this is a simple question, but i am being driven crazy by this. anyway, when i get on the bike and level the bike out after being on the side stand. the rubber hoses "pee" about 5 to 15 drops of raw gas. i dont know where the hoses go or if there are supose to just lay there with an opened end. 5-15 drops of gas can add up after a while with the price of gas. please let me know what to do. thanks. for you time.

Probably drain hoses so the excess gas is moved away from potential sources of ignition.

Check your float levels, I suspect they are set too high.

MFolks wrote:

...
Check your float levels, I suspect they are set too high.

Yes --- using the clear tube method, which requires no dis-assembly to check. But to adjust will entail removing the carb assembly from the bike and working on the bench to get the float tangs properly positioned.

Good Fortune!

Yes, those are connected to the bowl overflow. Check float height, as noted above the clear tube is the easiest way. Also verify that your petcock is functioning properly. I've also had bowls (I've had a bunch of 550's with these carbs) that leaked because the overflow tubes didn't seal well where they are pressed into the float bowl.

Petcock is probably ok otherwise they would leak constantly.

More often than not, it's not the float level on the TK-22's, it's worn out needle valves. The floats are foam so they really don't seem to ever need adjusting as long as the needles are ok (and no one bumped the floats or messed up the adjustment). If you take out the needle valve and it has a ring around the tip, then it's worn. If the tip has a ring and it's not leaking, then don't worry about it. Sometimes they work fine with a wear ring, but it does mean it's worn. If it's leaking and has a ring, replace the needle and the seat.

I've found that making a drippy carb stop leaking by adjusting the floats will end up with a fuel level that's too low.

The rebuild kits for TK-22's (K&L 18-2462 or Keyster KK-0049) include the needle and seat assembly.

Once you have the bowl off, fill it with gas and see if it leaks out the hose. If it does, then your drain screw is leaking (kits come with new orings for that) or the pipe is leaking where it's pressed in... rare, but does happen.

MJG: did you ever work out a cure for the leaky pipe?