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has been sitting for 4 years, trying to get running

  • Thread starter Thread starter fxbrry
  • Start date Start date
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fxbrry

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Im a newbie here to Suzuki and GS bikes. I have owned a couple Honda dirt bikes and a couple Harley's but never a Suzuki. My uncle just gave me his 1980 GS 850 which he bought new in March 80. It has roughly 50k miles and has been sitting for the last 4 years in his garage. It ran fine when he parked it 4 yrs ago. I took it home and drained the gas, replaced the oil, oil filter, air filter and sparkplugs. I had to jump it off to get it started. It cranked right up with a full choke. It will idle fine with the choke on but if you turn the choke off it will die. If it's running with the choke on and you give it gas, it will bog down and die. Does anyone have a clue to what could be going on? I dont know a whole lot about motors but it seems that it is getting fuel but I dont know why it bogs down when it is given gas. I really dont fully understand the carburators and how the choke works. Can someone give me some help. Much appreciated. Also what else should I do for routine maintenance to get her back in good running shape? Only thing I know that is wrong with it is it needs a new speedo cluster and a new windshield for the Vetter fairing. Maybe a new stator but Im not sure if its the battery or the stator thats the problem. Other that that, its a pretty sweep ride. Very vintage and very cool.
 
Change the O rings on the carb boots...that should seal the air leak that may be causing your problem.
 
You need to do more than just drain the gas.... you need to throughly clean the carbs. The choke circuit is separate from the main, and when you give it gas the choke is bypassed. Your jets are probably gunked up. Go to The GS garage and have a look at the carb clean-up article.
 
Hey howdy hey!

Hey howdy hey!

Mr. fxbrry,

Let it be known that on this day you are hereby cordially and formally welcomed to the GSR Forum as a Junior Member in good standing with all the rights and privileges thereof. Please note that "good standing" implies pictures! :-D

Yep, do the carburetors. While you have the carbs off, checks the valve clearances (PDF format here). The valves must be in spec so the carb adjustments can be accurate.

These 850s are also very particular about the airbox. It must be properly sealed with new weatherstripping on both sides and on the top of the filter cage.

Wow, another free motorcycle. And it "ran when parked". :-D Sorry, that's kind of a running joke around here with these classic bikes. They are often neglected. In addition to cleaning out all the varnished gas in the carbs, changing the oil, etc, there is also 90wt gear oil in the bevel gear case and the rear differential that needs to be replaced periodically. You should also clean every electrical connection and electrical ground you can find from the headlight bucket to the tail light. Run the ground wire from the regulator/rectifier directly to the negative post of the battery.

Do you have a manual? If not, PM me. I'll see what I can do.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
(The unofficial GSR greeter)
walmart_greeter2.jpg
 
Also, at a minimum, change the brake fluid too. Just dump in some fresh DOT4 and pump out the old stuff until it runs clean, then bleed the brakes to stiffen them back up. Going through the calipers completely is ideal.
 
Thanks for the info guys. How big of a job is it to rebuild the carbs? I figured that's what I probably would have to do. I'm not sure if I can do it myself so I'll probably take it to the stealership unless you guys convince me to do it myself. I do have a complete manual for the bike. My uncle took really good care of it. He had the brakes completely rebuilt about 8 yrs ago but I'll probably go ahead and at least change the brake fluid. I briefly looked over the wiring and it seems to be ok but I guess I'll get into it a litter deeper and give it a good look over for bad connections or bad spots. It really is in great shape, I have to get pics on here. Where is a good place to buy replacement windshields for the Windjammer fairing?
 
fxbrry said:
I'm not sure if I can do it myself so I'll probably take it to the stealership unless you guys convince me to do it myself.
Click to expand...

It will never run again if you do. How do you think they sell new bikes?
No one there knows how your GS works.
It's a D-I-Y thing for sure.
 
If I rebuild the carbs myself, is there a rebuild kit that I should buy? I assume that the seals and gaskets need to be replaced.
 
fxbrry said:
If I rebuild the carbs myself, is there a rebuild kit that I should buy? I assume that the seals and gaskets need to be replaced.
Click to expand...

In my earlier reply I gave a link to cycleorings.com. It's recommended that you purchase an O-ring kit, plus carb boot o-rings, and try to reuse the old brass parts currently in your carbs. If you find that something is not reusable, try Z1 enterprises for carb kits. Unfortunately, some carb kit parts are not exactly like the original parts thus the general recommendation is to reuse your old brass if possible. Plus, many carb kits do not supply all the O-rings necessary to do a complete job. A good plan is to order some float bowl gaskets from Z1 and the O-ring kit and have a go. If some of the jets are no good, order a carb kit, or two, to get the brass you need - don't forget to compare the old parts to the new ones to see if they are exact matches.

Good luck.
 
Four years? No problem...... You'll get it running like a top.
Mine sat over 20 years in a barn & I got it fired up with no significant work before I bought it.
 
Holy smokers FX. I see a lot of suggestions to start ripping into repairs but I'll tell you from a lot of experience with engines (especially gasoline) that have sat around: If it was running right before, it's probably just got a little gum in the carbs and it's also likely that the cam chain tensioner MAY stick a little (any rattling?) . IF THAT WAS MINE, I'd verify the battery with a load test and system voltage as being normal then dump a pint bottle of fuel injection cleaner into the tank and take it for a drive......work it some - use the choke if you have to, to get away and then start to ride it.....MORE times than not, I've come back with an engine running pretty nearly normal. If, at that point, it isn't running any better (which I'd bet against), at least you know a lot more about the rest of the bike and how it's working.
 
I ran it with the choke out and worked the throttle trying to get it to free up. I ran up and down the road a few minutes going through the gears. If I give it too throttle it bogs and dies, if I turn the choke off it dies. When I first started it, it would only go to 2000 rpm before bogging, after running it up and down the street it would hit 5000 rpm. All this was while working the choke and the throttle at the same time. It never would idle without the choke. I guess Im going to pull the carbs off this weekend and see if I can see anything and clean them up a bit.
 
You can also do a search for vetter on e-bay. There's a whole industry in used vetter parts, including new Slipstreamer windshields. Got one from there for my Windjammer.

Thanks,
 
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