My '82 GS550MZ Refit

[Big T]

DETORN,

Big T Quote "1. Your bike has mechanical valve settings - you take off that cover on the top of the motor and check the clearance with a feeler guage and adjust the screw accordingly to spec" .

I think Big T is mistaken in stateing you have "Mechanical Valve settings". I'm pretty sure you have shims that need to be swapped around to bring valves to spec. Not that hard to do, once you have done it once or twice.
cg

And here I thought he had a 16V motor!

Boy, I'm getting old

Dethorn,

Changing the shims isn't hard, hopefully you can borrow the tools.

Search for the Valve shim swap club and see Steve for his spreadsheet to keep track of your shims

[detorn]

The carb rebuild series says to replace the Rubber pilot jet plug, but I can't seem to find it on the fiche.

it also says to replace the drain screw gasket, so i need to find that too.

Can someone help me find these and the intake boots?

And just to double check, is this what I want to buy when/if I replace the petcock? Am I correct in assuming that I'll need to but the o-ring too? Going to try to get through as much of this as possible over the next three weeks, so I'll need to order soon.

I'm assuming all the o-rings it says to replace are what I ordered from Robert Barr...

Anything else I need?

Thanks

plugs are part 38 on the fiche, or part number 13357-44080 (be careful on bike bandit ordering this, it is mislabeled)

Part shark has the best price, but the shipping is so high I'm going to wait to order them.

drain screw gaskets are coming with the o-ring package (i shelled out the penny not knowing if I needed them or not. was a good move).

the intake boots I'm still waiting for someone to confirm, I think the part numbers are:
13881-47030
13882-47030

and that I need two of each?

rear tire arrived. front tire, turn signal lens, and brake light are in route.

[Larry D]

.........the intake boots I'm still waiting for someone to confirm, I think the part numbers are:
13881-47030
13882-47030

and that I need two of each?......

Depends on which boots you want.......the boots you list are for the airbox....there are also boots, under the cylinder head section, which are parts numbers 18 and 19. Or 13110-47010 and 13120-47010. You need two of each of these as well....left and right. You should have received part number 22, the o-rings, with your carb o-rings from R. Barr.

[rustybronco]

the intake boots I'm still waiting for someone to confirm...

and that I need two of each?

Why do you think you need them?
are they torn, cracked or hard, or do you just like to spend money?

pictures of them please...

[Steve]

... and see Steve for his spreadsheet to keep track of your shims

Here, I'll make it easy for you to find me.

See the last part of my sig for spreadsheet ordering info.

.

[detorn]

Why do you think you need them?
are they torn, cracked or hard, or do you just like to spend money?

pictures of them please...

I would have rather not had to replace anything

But since I'm going to be in there and all... I'll take some photos once the carbs are off.

But the why is that I'm just going to work through the common problems part of the super greeting. This bike hasn't been serviced in 25 years, so the stuff that can go wrong probably will.

[detorn]

updates.

Put the new plugs in today and all four cylinders fired. So at least we know the engine does work. Here is a clear pic of the old plugs in order (one is to the left).



I can't tell if it is the gas tank leaking or just the overflow splashing. I hope I don't have to add seal tank to the list. I'll know more once I get the tank off.


short vid of it running and stalling out with the leak shown. (vid). It didn't stall right out when I rolled the throttle, so it must have been the bad plugs not firing and flooding it out.

I played with the intake boots a little and the covering on them just started falling off .


finally, after shut down it made a weird pop corn noise, any ides? (vid)

the o-ring package arrived today, so I may be able to get the carbs done this weekend. woohoo

[Big T]

Those plugs look thrashed -#3 may not be firing, which us what your vid kinda sounds like

That thing on the tank looks like rust through - let me guess, it sat for years on the side stand, condensing water into the low spot on the tank

Have you looked inside the tank? Rusty? Get one of those little inspection mirrors on a handle and check it out

[waterman]

The popcorn noise sounds from your second video is typical of a motorcycle cooling down after shutdown. Nothing to worry about, just metal contracting as it cools, all of my bikes make these sounds. The running condition of any bike is hard to tell from audio recordings, at least to my ears.

Before throwing gobs of money at the intake boots, remove carbs and check to see if the boots are ripped or cracked on the inside. The flaking you see is not always indicative that they are trashed. Personally, I would be most concerned about carb condition and after a thorough clean by soaking, put them back on and see how it runs. I had a torn intake boot that I temporarily repaired using high temp RTV just to make sure motor was sound. Then I replaced boot after finding that all four cylinders were firing. I didn't want to sink too much money into project before I found out if it was going to end well. In your case, I would give that tank a close inspection, hopefully it is rust free on the inside and that is a spot of exterior corrosion. If not, then getting it fixed could be rather involved and potentially expensive if you need to replace since this bike is kinda scarce to find parts for.

I wish to welcome you to the forum and I am not trying to scare you away from fixing this bike. I am sure that you cannot wait to hop on bike and take off, but unfortunately, this bike like almost all used bikes will need some maintenance first.

[detorn]

manual is not clear.

With school done I started the refit in ernest today. Some good news first. The tank doesn't appear to be leaking. The petcock vacuum (the smaller hose on the petcock, I think thats what it is) hose was off and split at the end. The petcock itself seems to be fine, though I have ordered the o-ring so I will probably install the new one.

I was originally going to get all oem replacement parts, but now I think upgrading a couple of things may be cheeper and better for the long term health of the bike. So, if you have recommendations for replacement hoses let me know.

The bad news. This thing is unreal to get apart. The clutch cable runs through the carb assembly.


Question: Is it okay to unhook the clutch cable from the trans side (pictured)?


Still haven't managed to get the carbs out, I will take another run at it saturday. The bike is apart not, so if I wasn't committed before I sure am now.


Seriously, the instructions in the manual for removing the carbs are "Remove the Carburetors."

[Larry D]

Loosen up everything, boots, airbox, move around the boots as much as you can to loosen them. Then, it's a matter of wrastlin' them outta there. If you get the new boots, you'll be amazed at how much easier they go back in. Check the boots you have though, they may still be serviceable.

Make sure to disconnect the throttle and choke cables first.

[79FiveFifty]

the first time i removed my carbs i had a tough time because I too thought "my clutch cable was in the way."

It's not really in the way at all, it just appears to be. There is enough slack in the cable if you pull it through the frame some more to slide the carb past it and remove them from the bike.

The first time I took them out I also backed that lower adjustment bolt all the way out just to give myself some room, that's when i realized you can just pull more down from the top and it will fit just fine. Worst case.. you can remove the lever end if you really can't make enough slack but most people don't have to do that.

It looks harder than it is to remove all that stuff, losen all 8 clamps on boots.. unscrew all the electrical stuff from side of air box.. remove air box from carbs by pulling air box back off the carbs.. pull carbs backwards out of head boots and wiggle your carbs out. from there it's all fairly easy.

[Smokinapankake]

I've found that on replacing carbs it is immensely helpful to spray a little silicon lubricant into the intake boots, and to the airbox rubbers. Softens them up a bit and slipperies them up a bunch. Turned my 84 Kat 750 carb rebuild into an almost pleasurable experience.

[detorn]

So I don't know if it is the way that this bike in particular is set up, but this was pretty difficult. I disconnected the air box from the intake, but the intake was wider than the frame so there was no where to go with it really. I ended up pulling the intake up while pressing the carbs down and got them free. Though a clamp was lost in the process.



Already ordered the replacement and the replacement vacuum hose for the petcock.

carbs before shot:




Carbs out:


If any of the locals want to help me get these clean and the bike reassembled, I am not too proud to ask for help.

[Larry D]

Nice job !! Look under "GS Parts and Services", if you want to ship those carbs off for someone else to clean them up for you.