81' GS 450t starting and idling issues.

[snark]

ok well i do have new o rings for the carbs so i may as well replace them when i get the carbs off the bike. I'll grab a can of carb cleaner and spray em too.

do you know where i can grab that masters oil? is it normal to find it at an autozone or checker?

Marvel Mystery Oil should be at any parts store.

Cowboy is right about the total rebuild if it has been sitting...and since you already have the o rings for the carbs. My carbs had a fresh rebuild when I bought the bike so I've never needed to worry about a the dipping, etc. What I do is more of a yearly maintainence thing.

Just remember you'll need to sync them, etc. after you do the rebuild.

[Mr Rogers]

Alright fine cowboy i'll do it right the first time!

I know deep down that i should do it all right while i've got the bike pulled apart instead of waiting for another issue to arise.

Alright i'll need to learn how to do that then. Basscliffs tutorial right? How much are the tools for syncing?

[pete]

Alright fine cowboy i'll do it right the first time!

I know deep down that i should do it all right while i've got the bike pulled apart instead of waiting for another issue to arise.

Alright i'll need to learn how to do that then. Basscliffs tutorial right? How much are the tools for syncing?

Do it right and you won't regret it

And use the guide done by Flaming Chainsaws, referencing the 4 cylinder one where necessary. Flaming Chainsaws' guide is specifically for our 450's and they're a little different to the other one.

This is the duck's guts of sync'ing tools:

http://www.carbtune.com/

But you can get the gauge style ones cheaper locally if that will suit your purpose. I don't have any as yet so can't comment...

[Mr Rogers]

ok so i've gotten back to work! I ripped the Carbs out cleaned them and replaced my rubber boots and o rings and just put it back together and threw the battery on( but not the seat) and gave it a try... the starter sounded like it was firing but the bike wouldn't give me any hopeful sounds. when i released the start button it sounded like there was an air leak ( a quick rush of air either out or in)... so it looks like i've gotten started again. I'll check everything over again when i've got some day light.

Just wanted to say hi to everyone and assure you (or myself) that the bike will be on the road!

[pete]

Mate glad to see you're back at it! Good work on the carb cleaning, and bugger on the not firing.

Did you prime the carbs before trying to fire her up?

[Mr Rogers]

yeah i did... to be honest i'm not sure if i got the boots synched down tight enough so i'm going to try to pick up some metal rings to replace my old piecers.

You know i've been looking at some of the other threads that have gone before me since i've been on my break and it really makes me want to do a whole over haul... for now i want to get the bike running again...

Pete i've seen that you've been a lot of help to other people and i appreciate you being so prompt to welcome me back!

I've never done a proper valve adjustment since i've had the bike so i'm thinking that's another think i should do very soon before the bike is on the road.

i watched a very cool (although way way long) video on how to do it. I always thought that it was difficult to understand when i heard people saying cams lobes shims and feeler guages... if anyone else was thinking about trying this but didn't know exactly what to do here you go! http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...54469142545363

[Mr Rogers]

Good news and bad news!
Alright I got my priorities straight and i skipped school today!
and the good news is that i got the bike running!
I went through the whole intake carb assembly and added a little grease to the seals and what not. Then i went and got some new metal ring clamps to replace the old spent ones that were on the bike.

I put some new gas in it and sure enough it fired up without a fuss.

Unfortunately i think there is still a hanging idle issue since the bike will rev up really high even though i'm not touching a thing...

something else that i should mention: i was checking out the bike while it was just idling there and i put my hand on the right spark plug. it shocked me! the left side definitely didn't do that when i was on the other side. I also hear some popping noises about once every 15-20 seconds coming from the right rear exhaust. i'm guessing that the right spark plug cap is bad or is misfiring... would i be thinking correctly?

[cowboyup3371]

Yea I would replace that cap. You can get them fairly inexpensively from the major suppliers still. Pull the old one off, cut a small amount back of the wire, screw on the new one.

[Mr Rogers]

Does a hanging idle come from a bad cap? i'm not sure what the symptoms are for it but i assume it needs replacing...

[cowboyup3371]

No, hanging idles come from vacuum leaks which means your intake boots and/or the orings. I would also check the boots on the airbox side and make sure they are in good shape.

[pete]

+1 on everything Scott said... definitely a vacuum/intake leak...

[Mr Rogers]

I just replaced all of the boots on both sides as well as o rings and ring clamps... i have a suspicion that it's something else. But i'll check to see if it's a leak again. Leave it to me to fix something incorrectly...

I feel like it might be something to do with my throttle cable, it snaps back and rolls smoothly but i think i need to check the whole thing over.

Also do you guys have any ideas on the occasional popping sounds that come when i'm revving the throttle?