wont stay running after cleaning float bowls

I have done a lot of searching on this website since i recently purchased my first motorcycle a 1980 MAxim Xj650, so i choose to register for an account here. im a newbie at owning and working on motorcycle, but have experience working on small gas engines and automobiles, i disovered two days ago that one of my floats were stuck causing gas to run out of the air box, seems to have been cylinder 1 cause right before i noticed the stuck float everytime i went to cold start it gas would push out past the header for that cylinder, i just finished pulling the carbs and cleaning the floats and float bowls, i also sprayed 2+2 through all the passages, it seems that cylinder 1 might be running lean cause the plug is white and it will only idle with the chock on, it rides fine untilk you pull the clutch and it idles a about 1000 rpms then dies, any suggestions, i really dont want the hassle of completely stripping and cleaning the carbs, then having the fight of syncing and adjusting

 

i forgot to mention that i bought the bike in july have been running it pretty regularly, at cold starts it idled about 1500, it would stumble alittle at takeoffs without choke then when it got warm it would idle at 200o and run great, is this normal for the XJ bikes, or is this something that indicated my float prob and now it now wanting to stay running

 

you have a vacuum fuel valve on that, it should shut the gas off when the motor stops so the floats really do nothing with it not running
if gas came out the exhaust valve you most likely have gas in the oil
a wee bit won't hurt but you may have a lot
face it your going to pull the carbs, take them all apart, clean everything and fight the intake boots back on
when your all done you'll be glad you did

 

what do the plugs look like? also if you had overflowing gas check your oil in the engine just to make sure there is no gas in it.

 

when it's fully warmed up the idle will go up, a lot of people don't let it get warmed up to set the idle, so it idles fast after a few miles

 

after cleaning the float bowls i fixed the issue with the gas running, its a vaccum petcock but gas will run out of it whether the engine is running or not, cyl 1 is the cleanest plug, still white with a lil brown, the others are darker, also i just changed the oil to be on the safe side of not keeping gas in the oil, could lack of a gasket between cylinder head and intake boot be the cause of rough idle, is it possible that it is sucking in air to the engine.

 

midge, you're just up the road from me, gimme a pm and I'll shoot you my number.

 

i fixed my motorcycle!! i made a gasket to fit between the carb boot and head, then i ran the bike a 4000rpms and let it warm up, then i hit the killswitch and checked plugs, all plugs look good, so i played with the idle knob a little andit started to idle about 3000 so i backed it down to between 1000 and 1500 and it purs like a kitten, I love my maxim when its running right