Bought a non-running 2005 People 50 recently. When I picked it up, I saw a puddle of fuel/oil that had dripped (and was dripping) out of the AIR filter. Tried to kick start it and raw fuel/oil mix was spurting out the exhaust. Picked the bike up into a wheelie position to try to dump the excess gas from the exhaust, only to have a steady flow of fuel pouring out of the exhaust. Didn't seem it was going to stop, so just put the bike back down.
Some research led me to think I probably had a float valve stuck OPEN, allowing fuel to just keep on flowing through. Figured I'd take this to a pro to get the carb all cleaned up nicely and just get the scooter freshened up overall. The mechanic I chose is more a motorcycle guy, but does some work on scooters as well.
Anyway, I got word today that he put it all back together after carb cleaning. Tried to start it and gas was spewing from exhaust. Now he says the reed valves are toast. Any chance that could be it based on the aforementioned symptoms? I've googled tons, but not found any clear correlation between bad reed valves and fuel pouring out of exhaust. After all the research I've done, I'm wondering if that might be a mis-diagnosis. Seems like carb would have to let the fuel through for the reeds to even come into play. Also, I'm wondering if the fuel pump might be toast and letting fuel flow continuously into vac line then cylinder. It's an aftermarket one... I'll ask him and have him check on that tomorrow.
So, any chance this is a bad reed valve problem?