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What is wrong with this picture?

Steve

Steve

GS Whisperer
We went to Maryland over the weekend to visit one of my sisters and to pick up an 850 that my younger son had purchased from Max (GSR member). The bike is in pretty decent shape for a 27-year-old bike. I knew it was a runner, but also did not expect it to be able to be ridden home. We got it home without any problems and did the once-over to start a checklist on what all we plan to do to the bike. It starts easily enough, but seems to be running on only two or three cylinders, and will only run on full choke. I had already planned on checking the valves and cleaning the carbs, so this just reinforces that idea. After an overnight soak with degreaser and a trip through the car (bike) wash, it cleaned up quite nicely.
IMG_3787.jpg


Of course, my son wants to start worrying about cosmetics right away. To help give him a taste of the work that is involved with getting a bike in unknown condition back on the road, I showed him how to remove the front wheel so he could remove the disks and start cleaning the wheel. (Yeah, it's the back wheel in the picture, but I did not get a picture of the front wheel in-process.)
IMG_3836.jpg


While he was having 'fun' with the wheels, getting them ready for paint, I decided to check the condition of the charging system. Voltage at the battery did not seem to rise, so I checked the stator. Resistance seemed OK, so I went for a voltage check. Remember when I said that it only runs on full choke? I did not think it would be running that long to do a quick stator voltage check, and in less than a minute, my son called out to me..."HEY, DAD..." Fortunately, the camera was very close, as we have been getting pictures of just about every step of the process.
IMG_3824.jpg


Suffice it to say that valves and carbs will be checked/adjusted before the beast roars again.

By the way, can anybody identify the header? I can not find any marks on it anywhere. Appears nicely made, and the muffler is nice (for me, at least) in that it does not kick up like most of them do, leaving room for saddlebags.


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Yeah, they fire, it's just that it only runs on full choke. I am guessing that even the choke circuits are plugged in 2&3. Just co-incidence (I think) that it's also cylinders that are fired by the same coil.

Carb removal start tomorrow afternoon when the kid gets home from school, so I'll let you know what we find. 8-[


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That is a sidewinder pipe of some make. Hard telling. the header looks V&H but the can does not. Almost looks MAC but i dont think so there either. Maybe Kerker? Either way, obviously doesnt kick up, which lends itself to clearance probs.
 
Man those things are glowing! That running high idle on full choke? How long? Wheew.
 
I think i have a few cam covers layin round here in the extras bin. Dunno if i have a full set but im pretty sure i have 3 at least, if you'd like em.
 
nice color on the outer pipes ! :-D
planning on doing the same to the other two ? :shock:

unless the headers are like paper-thin ... i somehow think that getting the engine to that temperature can't be too good
 
No immediate plans to add color to the inner pipes at this time. :-s
Header pipes don't seem to be thin anywhere.

That was running between 3500 and 4000 for less than a minute. :shock:

Normally I don't like to run any bike that fast on choke, but it was the quickest way to get a voltage reading off the stator.
By the way, the voltage checking was interrupted, so I still don't know what shape it's in. :(

Interesting sidebar: I know it's not good for the engine, but I wanted my son to hear how the bike sounds without an exhaust system on it. Only let it run for about 2-3 seconds, but it was enough to see that cylinders 2&3 were the only ones with visible flames coming out the ports, so I know they are firing. :shock:

TCK, I might be contacting you about the covers and maybe some other parts. We still on for the transportation this weekend? Call me.


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Im thinking im going to have to bump it back to the 22nd, Steve. I'll PM you the gory details, but it hasnt worked out the way i had hoped over the last couple weeks monetarily.
 
Thats all good, i have the whole day off...you have a PM good sir :)
 
Wow! Must be almost zero fuel going through 1 and 4. Nothing to counter the heat build up. Timing may be way off too.
Parts won't last long under that condition.
 
I know what you mean, even though it goes against common reasoning. "How could the have no fuel and be so red-hot?"

Seeing as how the bike is 'new' to us and known to be in less-than-perfect condition, it will have ALL of that kind of stuff checked before earning parole from the garage. 8-[

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hey steve,

I noticed the bike had a 4 into 1, is that stock on that particular bike? Could that be adding to your problem?

Cory
 
KRISTI'SGS550 said:
I noticed the bike had a 4 into 1, is that stock on that particular bike? Could that be adding to your problem?
Click to expand...

To the best of my knowledge, none of the GS bikes ever left the factory with a 4-into-1 pipe. Yes, it could conceiveably be contributing to the problem, but the primary concern, and the whole point of this thread is the color of the two pipes. I have never seen pipes on a bike quite that cherry (not cheery) red. :oops: The carbs will be coming off this afternoon when the kid gets home from school and we will soon find out what really caused the coloring. I can assure you right now, I'm not that good with PhotoShop, so the picture was not doctored in any way.

While each of the carbs is in for its daily soak, I am going to try my hand at using that valve adjust spreadsheet that all you guys are talking about. Hope I can figure it out. :-\"

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That is really a nice looking bike Steve! :-D I've never seen pipes glow like that either! Wow.
 
Chuckster said:
That is really a nice looking bike Steve!
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's not too bad, but it has some serious competition in the garage, so he wants to get it painted and polished. I am trying to get him to slow down a bit so we can make sure all the mechanical stuff is good before we get into the expensive cosmetic stuff. Wheels are already cleaned and polished, shifter cover is polished. Carb parts will be polished when they are clean.

Since there are several other relative newcomers to the board besides you, here is the competition in the garage:

My bike, 2000 GoldWing SE:
PB134226.jpg



My wife's bike, '82 GS850L:
small850Left.jpg



His brother's bike, '86 Venture Royale:
P3040493.jpg



With what he has in mind for a paint job, it definitely won't be embarassed to be seen in the company of these bikes. \\:D/


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Wow Steve, you have some nice bikes! The Goldwing is beautiful. It looks so comfy I might fall asleep riding something like that! :shock: That's real cool that your wife rides too and can enjoy your hobby with you. That's a really nice bike she has too. My wife is too busy with our 5yr old and 9mo old but maybe one day she can. She does tolerate my passion for it pretty well. That's a real nice Yamaha. It looks like it's been very well taken care of. How does it rate as to tourer compared to the Goldwing? I can see where the new GS might have a complex in your garage but I'm sure it will be top notch when you and your son are done! :-D -Chuck
 
Are they too red? :) Wow...RED!!! :shock: I wonder if the chrome is blue, now that things have cooled down. :-D Looks like a good project, for sure. I've found the easiest way to clean up old, grunged rims, is to get some aluminum aviation stripper and soak them up real well (in the back of the truck on the way to the car wash)...a couple of bucks in the machine and they come out looking like new and are ready for paint and new clear coat.
 
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