A newbee with a new begining

[scotty]

When i worked on commercial electric motors it was good for temporarily unfreezing stuck shaft bearings--auto trans fluid did it too.

[Darkchyld]

Ok, this is getting interesting. John got the air filter. Oiled it up and out it in. Fired up to show him the smoke issue and sitting there at an idle it generated its own little cloud. We threw around ideas and thoughts about what it was for a minute but it still boils down to oil getting into the combustion chamber.
Theres this road up the canyon, highway 148, 13% grades, nice and twisty, suns just setting. Gotta try it out! At first this GS ran like I expected. Down a little bit from my 1100 I'm used to but good pick and reved to red line in the first three. Got 7 miles up and the engine started loading and by the time I got off to the side it died. No start. was able to coast it all the back home. Pulled the plugs. They really looked good. Light tan and dry, (scratch head here ), Cleaned them and put them back in. Fired right up. ( More head scratch ) No smoke. It idled about 10 minutes and started missing on cyl 1&2. Again the plugs where fouled. Black wet. Going to get some new ones tomorrow.
Any thoughts out there?

[Darkchyld]

This is one to have a good laugh over! Solved the running problem. Put new plugs in it this evening and she fired right up. Still some smoke but seemed less then before. Headed up the canyon and didn't get two miles before it died, coast home again....
This time its sitting there on the center stand and I get the odor of burnt rubber. Now, I've overhauled the carbs and of course I needed new vent lines. Had some 3/16" id vacuum line laying there so I just cut it in half and routed it acordingly. It just happened that the line for carbs one and two came to rest on the exhaust pipe, as the pipe got hot it sealed the end off. No vent on 1 and 2, excess gas flowing in flood and foul. Cut off 1 inch and headed to the canyon again. How many different ways can you spell happy.. :P
Went all the to the top, from 6200 ft to 10,400 ft. Pulled hard and strong all the way and I didn't have to coast in! Checked the plugs and they're light tan, all four!
Now that was the good good stuff, heres the bad...
My left pant leg is soaked with motor oil. Engine is down about a pint and a half. Looks like it came from the cam chain tensioner or the oil pressure sending unit. Messed up the clean and polish I've done on the bike. Bolts are tight, (sigh ). Going to be busy this weekend on other matters so It will have to wait till next week.

[DMPLATT]

I'm a little confused here. You mentioned the Compression check and only had 50 in 3 of the 4? Or was that 150?

Anyhow, sounds like you got her running good. The oil is probably an easy fix. Earl had that and it was a slight leak from the valve cover.

Anyhoo, awesome job. And welcome to the GSR. Sounds like you fit right in. 8)

[Darkchyld]

The first time I checked the compression it was really odd. 1,3,and 4 had about 50 and 2 had well over a 100, I think it was like 150. Now all cylinders are about equal at 125, 130. Still get smoke on start up but it goes away pretty quick. Wonder if the seals on the valve guides are just dried out. Took the time this morning to clean the oil off the bike, can't really see where its comming from. Got a wedding reception to night and tomorrow got to go to the city to send eldest Daughter back to New Jersy. Might not get back to it until the week end.

[scotty]

sounds like valve stem seals. sometimes when you are group riding ask someone if they see a little smoke when you are decelerating

[Darkchyld]

This is probley the last update on this little project. The bike seems to have an electrical issue. I can ride for 8-10 miles and the engine quits. Runs really good during those miles but I still have to coast down the mountain to home. Seems to be heat related cause once I get home, the motor is cooled and it starts right up. Leaks. It leaks motor oil from the cam cover, the head gasket, the cyl base gasket, cam chain tensioner, oil pressure sending unit, ( really bad from there ), theres even gear lube seeping from the final drive. The seals and gaskets have just dried up and failed. There is currently a differance of opinion between John and myself concerning reimbursment for my time and efforts. He seems to think I owe him for a fence I built for him a decade ago. (Thats another long sad tale in itself.) So I've cleaned it up, drained the fuel from the tank and carbs and put it somewhere safe and dry until John comes to get it. :roll:
Next is a 81 Yamaha TT500 I found in a barn. This long weekend I hope to have it checked out and at least cleaned up. Let me know if you want to hear of it.
Thanks GSResources! I'm glad I found you!

[mcycle-nut]

Re: Update on the 850L

As I understand the story my friend bought this machine new in 84 from a dealer in Pasidena CA. In fact his title states it's an 84 but the frame numbers say 82. He then rode up the coast then west through Nevada to Utah and Lake Powell where put the bike in a storage locker with his boat and "forgot" about it. The odometer has 813 miles and still has the 600 mile reminder sticker on it.

How does somebody "forget" about a bike they bought brand new and only put 813 miles on? More money that brains I guess!

[Darkchyld]

Maybe in the past, today he seems to be a resentful old fart, nothing to good to say. Too many years out in the north desert by himself maybe?

[Darkchyld]

The owner picked up the 850 today.
Paid me a total of $2.23 for my time and efforts.
He filled the tank with fuel and at the same time told me he was taking it to storage locker. I did remind him that if its more than 3-4 weeks he needed to drain both the tank and carbs.
"yea", was his response.
What a waste...