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Bike idles and runs great, but has issues with starting.

  • Thread starter Thread starter larson7
  • Start date Start date
L

larson7

Guest
Hello all,

I've been utilizing the resources on the great site to work on a recently purchased 80 GS550.

I dipped the carbs and cleaned out all of the jets, the fuel tank, and installed a new petcock.

I seem to have issues starting and there are a few things that i think may cause this, i'd like a second opinion:

The new petcock does not have a knob to adjust, so I kept it on prime.

When I try and drain the bowls they don't stop flowing gas, this leads me to believe that the carbs may be flooded.

I was able to get it started a few times by blowing carb cleaner through the intake, but that doesn't seem to work anymore. I started to try to drain the bowls, but that seemed futile.

Once it is started though, it idles very well and stays at consistent RPMs. I took it for a test drive around the block and it runs REALLY well and pulls hard in the high rpm range, I really want to get this thing running consistent.

Thanks in advance!
 
One think I should mention, I did not set my floats. Would this cause my bike to not start?
 
Is the petcock the one with a screwdriver slot? One direction is prime, the other is run. Whatever position it is currently in is obviously prime, turn it 90 degrees and it'll be in the run position and will stop flooding the carbs.
 
Last edited:
larson7 said:
One think I should mention, I did not set my floats. Would this cause my bike to not start?
Click to expand...

You dipped and cleaned your carbs, but didn't check/set float heights? That is a pretty important step. Otherwise, your carbs may overflow. Sound familiar?? :-\\\

I suspect you took several other shortcuts, too. Take your time and do it right the first time, and it will be the only time you have to do it.
 
DanTheMan said:
Is the petcock the one with a screwdriver slot? One direction is prime, the other is run. Whatever position it is currently in is obviously prime, turn it 45 degrees and it'll be in the run position and will stop flooding the carbs.
Click to expand...
Actually, you need to turn it 90 degrees, not 45. :oops:

With the slot vertical, it is in the PRIme position. With the slot horizontal, it is in RUN. Please leave it in the RUN position.

The PRIme works a little differently on that petcock. It will not flow until it sees a 'puff' of vacuum, then will flow freely until the selector is moved to horizontal or it runs out of gas. THAT is why you think the carbs are flooded.

Just out of curiosity: how is it that you went through all the effort of dipping the carbs and cleaning out all the jets (did you replace all the o-rings?), and did NOT check the measurement on the floats? Right next to making sure everything is CLEAN, float height is more than "important", it is CRITICAL.

Once you get those issues sorted, you can go to the next task to get it running (and starting) right: valve adjustment. :-\\\

.
 
I did follow the guide step by step, sans the float adjustment because I did not have my set of calipers handy that night. I know it was a critical step that I did not complete, i am just confirming before i tear it apart that this could be the issue.

Thanks for the help.
 
Welcome to the club! Steve is right - set that petcock to run, or horizontal (I have the same one) and dial everything in with your carbs.

Really good sign that it runs well once running. :)

Have fun!
 
Steve said:
Actually, you need to turn it 90 degrees, not 45. :oops:

With the slot vertical, it is in the PRIme position. With the slot horizontal, it is in RUN. Please leave it in the RUN position.

The PRIme works a little differently on that petcock. It will not flow until it sees a 'puff' of vacuum, then will flow freely until the selector is moved to horizontal or it runs out of gas. THAT is why you think the carbs are flooded.

Just out of curiosity: how is it that you went through all the effort of dipping the carbs and cleaning out all the jets (did you replace all the o-rings?), and did NOT check the measurement on the floats? Right next to making sure everything is CLEAN, float height is more than "important", it is CRITICAL.

Once you get those issues sorted, you can go to the next task to get it running (and starting) right: valve adjustment. :-\\\

.
Click to expand...

OOPS! I fixed it. :oops:
 
Calipers, a ruler, a piece of cardboard, book of matches, it's not critical what you use to measure it, it is critical that you use something.
 
Thanks for all the help guys, I'll go ahead and take them off and adjust the floats.
 
Too LOW and it will be hard starting also. I set them in the middle of the stated range and dont have troubles there. Also, how far out you have the mixture screws is a factor. Too far in and it too lean and will be stubborn to start.
 
Another potential problem is insufficient voltage to the coils, causing too weak of a spark while the starter circuit is sucking up nearly all the electricity in the battery.
 
Just a chime in on that style of petcock, I have a 1980 GS750E and was wondering if that was a standard for that year, its a vacume operated verses gravity design, what do you guys think of these verses the gravity design, any reliability issues?. At least you don't have to remember to turn the valve off. :-)
 
jbird7262 said:
Just a chime in on that style of petcock, I have a 1980 GS750E and was wondering if that was a standard for that year, its a vacume operated verses gravity design, what do you guys think of these verses the gravity design, any reliability issues?. At least you don't have to remember to turn the valve off. :-)
Click to expand...

All our petcocks are vacuum operated. What you call gravity design is what everyone else calls a "manual" petcock. The downside to the leverless petcocks, the difference your actually speaking of, is the lack of a reserve position. Some never need this function so the difference between lever and leverless is minute, where as others rely on the "reserve" to save the day quite often.
 
Update:

The floats were at 20 mm +/- 1mm, so they were low. I adjusted them all to 22.4 mm +/- .1 mm and sprayed out my air, pilot, and main jets. I installed my carbs.

The bike will still not start, i replaced the spark plugs from the original ones that were in the bike when purchased. This seemed to help a little, it sounds like it's just about to turn over with sputter every crank, but it doesn't start.

Any suggestions?
 
You might want to check the Newbie mistakes thread linked in my signature to see if anything rings a bell.
 
Second update:

The bike starts! Runs awesome, only when i have it hooked up to the charger will it start. It seems like i can let it idle for as long as i want, but when i drive it and stop at a stop sign in first with the clutch in, it will die.

Would this be a stator issue?
 
larson7 said:
Second update:

The bike starts! Runs awesome, only when i have it hooked up to the charger will it start. It seems like i can let it idle for as long as i want, but when i drive it and stop at a stop sign in first with the clutch in, it will die.

Would this be a stator issue?
Click to expand...

Do you keep the charger connected while you ride?



If not it could be electrical.
 
No, I hook the charger up to start it, for whatever reason it can idle just fine and take off. After I start moving there seems to be no problems, it's only when I stop at a stop sign in first that it dies. I cannot re-start it until i hook it back up to the charging box.
 
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