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Help GS550ES carbs rebuild

  • Thread starter Thread starter jabull
  • Start date Start date
J

jabull

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I got my set of o-rings from cycleorings.com this week and put in the new intake o-rings and screws... however when i took apart the carbs for cleaning i can't find a single o-ring existing anywhere in there... it's as if they don't exist in this model. This is the 85 550ES that has twin 2 barrel carbs on it.

Anyone else had experience with these?:eek:
 
There aren't a lot of o-rings from the top of my head. Just the float needle, pilot adjuster screw, and choke.
 
p_s said:
There aren't a lot of o-rings from the top of my head. Just the float needle, pilot adjuster screw, and choke.
Click to expand...

+1.

You need to pull the float needle valve assembly, which can be a real bitch.
 
I got it all done and put back together... now the hard part... getting them tuned and running together without the right syncro tools :-) anybody recall where to look on this forum for factory settings for the mixture screws? BTW: thanks for all your help!
 
You set the mixture screws with the engine warmed up & idling. You slowly turn the screws in or out till the engine idles as fast as it will on each screw. If you adjust one & RPM jumps up really high turn the idle back down & move to the next screw. When you are done you will be amazed at how clean it idles, takes throttle, & starts up. Ray.
 
@rapidray - that is very helpful advice, I will give it a whirl tomorrow evening and report back.
 
it could just be my bike but if i set them to best idle they start with a push of the button when cool and i have to give it gas to start it when hot, it also loads up with fuel when driving. ive set mine to highest idle then backed them down to where i can get a decent idle
 
jabull said:
I got my set of o-rings from cycleorings.com this week and put in the new intake o-rings and screws... however when i took apart the carbs for cleaning i can't find a single o-ring existing anywhere in there... it's as if they don't exist in this model. This is the 85 550ES that has twin 2 barrel carbs on it.

Anyone else had experience with these?:eek:
Click to expand...
I just finished a rebuild of mine.

4 - small rings on each of the pilot air screws
2 - rings on each of the fuel needle valves
2 - rings on the fuel tube (I had to reuse mine as the cycleorings.com ones felt a bit small and the original ones were in good shape)
2 - rings on each of the starter/choke plungers
2 - rings on each of the float bowl screws (optional for some people)

That should be it.

My pilot air screws seem happiest around 2-2.5 turns out. I would suggest two as a starting point. I balanced my carbs with aquarium tubing, a yard stick, stick-tack, and automatic transmission fluid - worked well enough for me, but I have to re-do it as the service manual recommends balancing at 1750 RPM and I did it at idle.

Hope that helps.
 
thanks macgyver, ive done the follwing:
4 - small rings on each of the pilot air screws
2 - rings on each of the fuel needle valves
2 - rings on the fuel tube (I had to reuse mine as the cycleorings.com ones felt a bit small and the original ones were in good shape)

didn't find these.. i know the plungers, just didn't recall obvious o-rings there so i will have to look tonight when i start putting it all back together.
2 - rings on each of the starter/choke plungers

thanks for the great help!
 
jabull said:
didn't find these.. i know the plungers, just didn't recall obvious o-rings there so i will have to look tonight when i start putting it all back together.
2 - rings on each of the starter/choke plungers

thanks for the great help!
Click to expand...
No worries Mate!

I think I had a 'Eureka' moment last night while attempting to balance the carbs yet again. To that extent, the air tight sealing of the plunger cables is important. Follow my thread here for my efforts and discoveries to date:
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=141950
As many will tell you here, an air tight system is very important to the proper running of these bikes. I am discovering that first hand - doohhh!
 
Can you elaborate a bit more on the airtight discoveries with the choke plungers? I believe you are talking about the two plastic nut plungers that go into the carbs at the ends of the choke cables?
 
rapidray said:
You set the mixture screws with the engine warmed up & idling. You slowly turn the screws in or out till the engine idles as fast as it will on each screw. If you adjust one & RPM jumps up really high turn the idle back down & move to the next screw. When you are done you will be amazed at how clean it idles, takes throttle, & starts up. Ray.
Click to expand...

These adjustments are for the pilot screw (gas for idle), correct? I put mine back to where they were (~1.8 turns out), but i still am having trouble getting idle without a bit of choke. Should I just turn them out slowly until I can get it off choke and then do the fine tuning on each, then set the idle screw at the end? I'm gonna have to recruit a gas tank holder while I make the adjustments, so I'm hoping to have a solid plan before starting.
 
@MacGyer, I got it back together last night and also replaced the throttle cable as well. I got the bike started but still had one of the problems that I had before which was having to have the choke lever nearly fully on to keep the bike idling. After some negotiating I ended up adjusting out slack in the throttle cable to allow me to turn the choke off and keep the bike running, but i am suspicious about this.. now when i apply the choke the engine pukes a bit until I apply full choke... so it's like a dead spot in the middle of the choke. I put in new intake o-rings and intake boot clamps... but my guess is that i still have an air leak?
Not sure how much of all this ought to be cable adjustments?
 
just saw your last post which must have passed mine in cyberspace a few minutes ago. I suspect that I have the same problem as you have noted with the caps and seal around them. I will try it tonight and report back. thanks!
 
I siliconed the sleeves and cap to try and make an air tight seal on the choke plungers but it didn't seem to help much. Adjusting the mixture needles on carb 1 doesn't seem to do nearly anything to the idle, but adjusting 3 and 4 do... thoughts? In general, a quick test drive shows the bike has more power and is more responsive than before the rebuild, but something still isn't right.
 
I discovered that one of my starter/choke plungers would get stuck part way in the tube. I removed both plungers from the cables and dropped them into the tube. One went in and out easily at any rotated position on either carburetor. The other would get stuck part way down in one tube no matter what and in the other tube it needed to be at a certain rotation to slide in and out. I suggest you try the same with your plungers. I'll be posting more info in my thread.
 
i just dont know about mine, two sets of carbs and still rich on 1 and 2. Swapped choke cables a nd plungers(no change) set screws synced set valves swapped coils with spare ones and nothing has changed it, i can run 70mph all day long but slower/intown driving it loads up with fuel on 1 and 2
 
Thanks for the tip, I will check the plungers tonight. I am also googling (verb?) like mad to find a resource for a new set... so far the only thing that looks like a potential online resource is www.motorcyclecarbs.com
 
jabull said:
Thanks for the tip, I will check the plungers tonight. I am also googling (verb?) like mad to find a resource for a new set... so far the only thing that looks like a potential online resource is www.motorcyclecarbs.com
Click to expand...
I ordered a set of plungers, caps, and holders from www.parkshark.com. I have not received a confirmation yet. They are about $40 for a set of two. In the mean time I may try polishing them with Brasso as Calvin B. suggested. Incidentally the plungers are one part I didn't soak, perhaps a poor oversight on my rebuild project.
 
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