81 GS850G Dying out at higher RPM

[bigtuck21]

I have an 81 GS850g, I bought a carb rebuild kit, rebuilt the carbs and it will sit and idle like a dream, but every time I get on the gas the bottom drops out and it dies. If I hold my arm over the air intake on the carbs w/o the airbox attached it will run perfect through any RPM, I attach the airbox and the bottom drops out and it dies again when I give it gas. It's a project I started a couple winters ago, but have lost motivation, I bought new rubber boots, and the correct clamps "They were using old hose clamps" I am guessing the old boots\clamps were letting too much air by. I also notice the air filter leaves a fairly signficant gap when slid into the airbox, is that normal?

I would also be interested in selling it if anyone is interested. It has a fairing/windshield, and hard lockable bags and trunk.

[Octain]

When you say "carb kit", what did this said "kit" consist of?
To properly clean these carbs all ya need is an oring kit from www.cycleorings.com
some time, and a can of barrymans carb dip.

I dont know this first hand but it's said that carb rebuild kits are junk.

[Nessism]

Something is wrong with the airfilter. Maybe the foam is missing from the cage? The airbox end caps have foam inside also which need to be fresh and sealing otherwise the bike won't run right.

Bottom line is the entire airbox system needs to be intact and sealing as designed otherwise the bike won't run right. Also, the intake boot pipes that bolt to the cylinder head need to seal properly (did you replace the O-rings on these?).

Good luck

[bigtuck21]

The Carb kit consisted of new stock jets, the ones it were not stock, new seals for the bowls on each carb, they were shot, and that was it. Cleaned everything else up with carb cleaner and it fired right up, again idles perfect, but dies out when you hit the throttle, if I restrict that airflow it runs great all the way through. This forum has me interested in the project again, the side covers still have good foam on them and seem to seal well. I replaced each of the 4 rubber boots on the airbox, and ordered new clamps for each side from the dealerships, not sure about an O ring, what I got was the rubber boots, the old ones were rock hard and cracked, and 8 clamps 4 on each side of the boots. I have yet to put this all back together, but what is concerning me is the gap above the air filter, maybe I need a new one of those. If all this fails I plan to run up to J&P cycles and get an aftermarket air filter kit that goes on each carb individually. Have any of you done this? That airbox seems a clunky poorly sealed waste of space.

[Nessism]

Check this thread to see what airbox sealing is all about... http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=187839

And another showing the airfilter cage foam... http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=187575

There are tons of similar threads in the archives. The Advance Search feature is very useful (hint: limit your search to "titles only" and search on keywords).

BTW, please check the Newbie Mistakes thread linked in my signature. It will help you short cut the mistake making process.

[7981GS]

Change your main jets to 117.5's and it will be happy.

Daniel

[Nessism]

Changing the jets shouldn't be done to mask a problem with the filter not sealing. I suggest fixing the airbox first, and then if the bike still doesn't run right, consider jetting changes.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. bigtuck21,

Carb kits generally contain inferior quality parts and are incomplete at best. See the carb rebuild tutorials on my website and use an O-ring kit from cycleorings.com.

You'll want to go through the maintenance lists in your "mega-welcome". You have a 30 year old motorcycle that probably needs 20 years worth of maintenance. Take NO shortcuts so that you and your bike will be insanely happy.

Let me dump a TON of information on you and share some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Steve]

If all this fails I plan to run up to J&P cycles and get an aftermarket air filter kit that goes on each carb individually. Have any of you done this? That airbox seems a clunky poorly sealed waste of space.

You think you have jetting problems now? Wait until you install the pods.

You just got BassCliff's welcome page. There is a link there to sealing the airbox, which includes adding a strip of weatherstrip foam to the top of the air filter to seal that gap.

Once you have all the gaps sealed, it should run just fine. No, it's not the "rip your arms out of their sockets" type of fine, but it will scoot along very nicely.

Yes, I am speaking from experience. Had one 850 that was "catch and release", still have three in the stable.
You can click on the links in my sig to see them.

.

[bigtuck21]

Nessim, thanks for the info on sealing that airbox, that is the exact gap that I have, and could very well be my "Final" task to at least get it running decent. I didn't change the jets to fix the airflow problem, I ordered new jets because I soaked the ones that were in it in carb cleaner for weeks and couldn't get them clean, plus someone had stripped them so badly I could barely get them out. I'll get some pics of the bike put together and put them up on here as soon as I can.

[Octain]

Was the kit a K&L kit?