Problems with 83 gs550es

[Flyboy]

but it has trouble starting/idling

You may want to do the valve clearences, valve clearences out of whack are a typical cause of hard starting, also, as I said, you want to try and beg, borrow, steal, to get your hands on a set of carb sync gauges and do a sync on those carbs. (well, not steal ;-)

 

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. David_510,

Yes, it sounds like you've done great work so far. You just need to finish all the normal maintenance procedures. A valve adjustment and a carb (vacuum) sync should improve things nicely. Take care of any air leaks in the intake system. Keep us informed.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[David_510]

Is doing the valve adjustment hard? I've never tinkered with valves before..

 

[mlinder]

Let's start at the beginning here.

Simply put, any carbed 70's/80's bike that has not been rejetted and meets EPA standards is going to be lean.
That means, they require full choke to start when it's anything less than 70 degrees out, and it won't run well (or at all under load) until it is fully warmed up.
Expecting the bike to run well after only a minute or two of being on at idle is only asking for disappointment.

Things that need to be done with a bike that's been sitting:

Absolutely clean carbs. That means main jets, idle jets, and emulsion tube. That means float needle. That means all the passages that run around in the CV carbs everywhere.
The airbox and filter must be installed. Again, these are lean to begin with, so using a less restrictive filter, or none, with stock jetting, is only going to make cold starting harder, and probably give you less power.
You need to bench synch your carbs. That means, in the case of the CV carbs, that the butterfly valves are, to the best of your ability to eyeball, the same amount open, at the same time.
You need to check for air leaks. At all the boots. From carbs to head, and from airbox to carbs.
Start the bike, let it idle. Spray carb cleaner at each boot. If idle changes, you have a leak. It has to be addressed.

You have to check your valve clearances before you do a carb synch. Or, for it to actually mean anything, anyway. You can carb synch without doing valves, but all you're doing is synching the carbs to an unsynched engine.

After the valves are done, synch your carbs with a carb synch. The motion pro is inexpensive and works quite well.

There are places here on the forum that will tell you how to check your valve clearances. The manuals have a step by step, as well.
It's not a big deal to check them. It's more of a deal to change them if they are out of spec. Erring on the side of 'loose' is a good idea. Makes engine a bit noisier, but is less wear and tear on your valve train.

Start from the beginning, and follow through to the end, and know what to expect.

 

[David_510]

Where do i get new half moons from? For when i do the valve clearance?

 

[cowboyup3371]

Your local dealer will have them or order from someone online like gssuzuki.com or one like it. And yes it would be best to do it then. Also, get with GhostGS1 about the shim club...definitely a lot better than trying to buy some from a dealer.

 

[mlinder]

Where do i get new half moons from? For when i do the valve clearance?

Again, start from the beginning.

I don't know what half moons are.

You can buy shims online from many places, and usually your local shop will have a reasonable assortment as well.

You may not have to change your shims.

Go make your measurements and see if you need to. Sometimes, it's a matter of switching 3 or 4 of the ones you already have around, and you need only buy 1 or 2.

Start from the beginning.

 

[David_510]

I don't need shims for my bike.. If i understand correctly....

So i should get the half moons from a dealer? I look on gssuzuki.com and can't find anything

 

[mlinder]

I don't need shims for my bike.. If i understand correctly....

So i should get the half moons from a dealer? I look on gssuzuki.com and can't find anything

Um... GS550's are shim-over-bucket valve design...

Shims are how you adjust valve clearances.

 

[cowboyup3371]

That's because you won't have half moons on your bike. Just looked at the fiche and yours is part of the cylinder head gasket itself, part number 11173-43402 sold for about $28 at GSSuzuki. But I would still talk to your dealer and check other parts houses online. You'll find the decent ones in Basscliff's welcome he gave you.

 

[cowboyup3371]

It also looks like you'll have a tappet adjustment on that bike. Look at this fiche of your bike (83 550 ES) in the Cam Shaft section

http://www.gssuzuki.com/fiche_secti...y=Motorcycles&make=SUZUKI&year=1983&fveh=2109http://www.gssuzuki.com/fiche_section_detail.asp

 

[David_510]

ok... well isn't the '83 550esd a 16v? From everything i've read it is.... And accordingto the guide on basscliffs guide... The valve clearance is adjusted by a screw.. Not shims...

 

[David_510]

Ok... So the gasket i need is one peice... I haven't taken it apart yet.. Waiting to get all the parts before i start it..

 

[mlinder]

You still need to check your valve clearances...

 

[David_510]

ya... ima check those once i get the gasket for it... That way i don't tear it apart and have to wait tilll i get the gasket to put it togethor.. I hate having things tore apart waiting for parts to re-assemble it.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Check the valve adjustment guide for the 16-valve engines on my little website. You don't necessarily need to buy special tappet tools. The author of the guide (Mr. basic) made his own. It does help to have two feeler gauges when performing the adjustments.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[David_510]

I've got blade gauages... So im all good just waiting for my gasket... Hopefully i can have this thing running good soon..

 

[David_510]

Ok so after months of sitting im back working on it... Heres a problem i ran across. I found the answer somewhere on the internet but can't find it again...

So i'll ask here... On my 83 suzuki it's a dual carb... Well i have 2 different jets... One is a 95 the other is a 102.... Now which one goes where? Do the bigger ones go on the Inside? and the smaller outside? Or the smaller inside and the bigger outside?

 

[tom203]

Ok so after months of sitting im back working on it... Heres a problem i ran across. I found the answer somewhere on the internet but can't find it again...

So i'll ask here... On my 83 suzuki it's a dual carb... Well i have 2 different jets... One is a 95 the other is a 102.... Now which one goes where? Do the bigger ones go on the Inside? and the smaller outside? Or the smaller inside and the bigger outside?

According to diagrams at Alpha-sports.com, looks like bigger jets go on inside carbs. Someone else will corroborate this to be sure!

 

[User]

Main Jet for # 1&4 = Mikuni #95
Main Jet for #2&3 = Mikuni #102.5
Per service manual