1980 GS450L Wont Start Help

[pete]

Not sure what the deal is with your slides, never just let mine slide down by themselves like that to see...

There are three O rings in addition to the intake boots... mixture screw, float bowl plug, and the most crucial is the needle jet. The jet is held in by the friction of the O ring.

[Dmpaul89]

update

Ran the bike some yesterday, I am pretty happy with how its turning out.
It runs decent. has some hesitation at 1/4 throttle. Only thing that bugs me is the idle had to be adjusted a few times as it seems to creep up on its own. Still have the stock jets with pod filters, I turned out the mixture screws to 3 turns and it seemed to run better.

Maybe Ill head up to the DMV today and get it registered

Thanks for all the comments, and info!

[pete]

Glad to hear she's running!

Until you get her really warm the first time, as in probably a 5 or 10 minute proper ride, you will find the idle difficult to get right and will rise a bit until then.

[Dmpaul89]

update

Well the bike is now registered and insured rode it about 30 miles yesterday. its running ok, seems a little hot but that may be lean condition due to the stock jets and pods. turned the mixture screws out even farther to 3 1/4.

I think there may be something wrong with the charging system as when I got back home it would barley turn over. Need to get a voltmeter on it....

also there is some valve tapping noise coming from the top end.... Guess ill be pulling off the valve cover soon.

but all in all its perfoming well for a bike that sat outside for close to 20 years.

[pete]

Definitely get that charging system sorted ASAP. If it's over charging you will be boiling your battery die and will potentially kill your ignitor, and that's not an easy fix on our 450's as they're now rare and way too expensive. There are options but still not necessarily cheap ones!

Sounds like a valve clearance adjustment is in order too, but glad to hear she's generally running well.

[Chrkut]

BEFORE YOU EVEN TOUCH IT AGAIN, FIX THE CHARGING PROBLEM

BEFORE YOU EVEN TOUCH IT AGAIN, FIX THE CHARGING PROBLEM
Pete and I both had to get new ignitors. Mine is a cheap homebuild (Still need to get the wiring diagram for you, sorry pete). You will have more problems than barely turning over if you let your charging system fry.

[Mekanix]

Well the bike is now registered and insured rode it about 30 miles yesterday. its running ok, seems a little hot but that may be lean condition due to the stock jets and pods. turned the mixture screws out even farther to 3 1/4.

I think there may be something wrong with the charging system as when I got back home it would barley turn over. Need to get a voltmeter on it....

also there is some valve tapping noise coming from the top end.... Guess ill be pulling off the valve cover soon.

but all in all its performing well for a bike that sat outside for close to 20 years.

Well I'd say your Regulator/Rectifier is fried if its original (actually replace the damn thing anyways if it is original :P)

Your stator probably took some damage due to it.
The guys are saying that when the RR fries it allows too much voltage to be produced and then it boils the battery, blows bulbs and then cooks the ignitor.

Sometimes all that happens is the connections get cooked. Those bullet connectors are garbage. Worth replacing or soldering the wires.

Running pods and stock jetting is definitely lean. Your only compensating with the low speed screws and its really only covering a small range. Its NOT enough to compensate for too small main jets or stock needles.

So for now, Throw in some 140 main jets. At least you can test it and not cook it.
But get a Dynojet kit for it if you want to keep the pods.
Its worth it and really your only choice to do it right.

Or find a good stock airbox, its allot less of a headache.

Everything that the guys are talking about is Required in order to get it to something where you can actually assess the machine. Without taking all the steps necessary its a real pain to work with and Nothing can be certain. Troubleshooting symptoms is impossible when there are to many unknowns.

Your mega welcome was well thought out and it does have everything you need to know in order to do all the necessary things to get your bike in good working order. It is the only shortcut to fixing these things as all the information is in one place so you don't have to search




Things to do:

Strip all parts off the carbs and dip the body's overnight. Be careful, that stuff will eat anything rubber.
Clean the jets.
Replace the intake boots and orings.
If your needle valves are leaking you can try polishing the needle seat with a Q-tip in a drill and some Autosoll metal polish on the tip.
Check all charging system connections
Check charging system output for DC and check if there is any AC as well.
Then check the stator for shorts to ground and proper ac output.
Check the RR if its Shunting at 13-14.4 vdc.
Connect all 3 wires from the stator to the RR and bypass the wires that go up to the handlebars.
Check valve shim clearance. Measure them and choose the ones you need. Buy them or join the shim club and trade up.
Change the oil and filter and then do it again shortly after so you get all the gunk out of there that came off while it was running.