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Not fully starting....

  • Thread starter Thread starter KitKat
  • Start date Start date
K

KitKat

Guest
Hi all, so i bought my bike, a 78 gs 550e, many months ago, and it wasn't running, but I got it running after going through the carbs and setting the timing gap and it ran perfectly!

I let it sit for a couple months, and didn't put gas stabilizer in it (i know, not smart) so this weekend i went through the carbs, thoroughly, and reset the ignition timing.

Oh the bike has only around 8000 original miles

So when i go to start the bike, i set it on prime for a couple minutes put it back to on, and start it and the bike comes to life for a couple seconds and dies, like its out of gas (and the tank has enough gas). I try and keep it on prime and run the bike and it does the same thing. I tried adjusting the idle screw, but to no avail..

Anyone have any insight or suggestions?

Edit: the petcock has been tested and it is fully functioning.

Thank you so much!
 
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Will it restart after it dies?

How long does it have to sit before you can restart it?


How long does it run when it does run?
 
Hi,

Make sure the carbs are clean, float height is properly set, vacuum hose and fuel hose are in good repair and connected properly, airbox properly installed, air intake system with no leaks, clean air filter, no rust in gas tank, no inline fuel filter, more suggestions HERE.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
BassCliff said:
Hi,

Make sure the carbs are clean, float height is properly set, vacuum hose and fuel hose are in good repair and connected properly, airbox properly installed, air intake system with no leaks, clean air filter, no rust in gas tank, no inline fuel filter, more suggestions HERE.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
Click to expand...

ok, so inline filters are a 'no-no'?
and where can we find info on float height?
 
JCSkokos said:
ok, so inline filters are a 'no-no'?
Click to expand...

Inline filters are unnecessary if you have a clean fuel tank. If you must use an inline filter, make sure it is for a gravity feed system. But even those can be restrictive. Most inline fuel filters are for fuel pump systems and can be restrictive, causing fuel starvation. On a motorcycle, use a fuel filter meant for a lawn mower or other gravity fed engine.

...and where can we find info on float height?
Click to expand...
In your manual. Or have a look at the carb pages on my website.



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
Hi, thanks for all the responses.


It will restart for a little bit after the first time, without waiting that long at all (maybe 30 seconds or so) but it runs only for a few second.

Choke circuit: one of the carb body's has a broken choke jet, which i thought would be a problem, but when i put them back together a couple months ago before storing the bike, the bike started and worked fine even though that carb's choke jet was broken....
 
KitKat said:
So when i go to start the bike, i set it on prime for a couple minutes put it back to on, and start it and the bike comes to life for a couple seconds and dies, like its out of gas (and the tank has enough gas).
Click to expand...

I've been fooled before thinking I had plenty of fuel in the tank, only to find I was out of gas... There's quite a bit of gas still left in these tanks after the fuel level gets below the petcock inlet. Just something to check...
 
I will check that tomorrow. Are there any other things i should check?

And what do you guys think about the whole choke issue thingy...

Thanks!
 
I would think a broken choke jet would be a problem. But, if it's only on one carb, it should still keep running with the other three. These bike can run on 2 cylinders, albeit with a lot less power.
 
Hey guys, sorry it took me a while to get back, but i "started the bike" after priming it (it was only able to run for 2 seconds or so, checked the plugs and they were not that wet. They were actually kind of black, covered with soot, so i cleaned them using some fine grit sand paper, put em back in, tried again, and still they arn't that wet :(

what does that indicate?
 
it doesn't run for very long at all, only 1 or 2 seconds, which may not be enough to get the plugs wet? im struggling to find out what the issue is
 
Are your float bowls filling up?

Pull one of the drain plugs and see how much gas comes out

After that, maybe some new spark plugs

Are the plugs uniformly black?
 
Yea the float bowls are full, and the plugs are all black, going to get new plugs right now!
 
update: just noticed that when the choke is off, as i try and start the bike, if i slowly raise the choke on, it sounds like air is getting pushed out / escaping from somewhere... will research this and try to fix. Sounds like a sucking noise. Any opinions / insight?

Edit: nevermind, i heard this sound with my airbox open and it was actually just the sound of air sucked from the airbox
 
Last edited:
Hi,

Is your air filter clean and NOT over-oiled? What voltage are you getting at the coils? See post #4 above.



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
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