my baby needs some help GS700e

[nicholasvankley]

Hello,
New to the forum. I know you guys and gals get alot of questions about problems with the GS' but Ive went through things that I know to check. It all started when I was on the highway cruising around 65 -70mph it backfired and instantly started losing power, as I was coasting I decided to blip the throttle to see what it would do and it just continued to bog down. The problem that I'm having is the bike will start, will not overhead (after 15 mins of idleing the engine is running at 140 F externally) It will idle ALL day long but as soon as you give it any kind of throttle it "loads up" or "bogs down." Im currently out of state and I had a buddy look around on it and he said that one of the carbs was cooler than the rest (full of fuel??) On a side note the battery is dead Ive been push starting it every since I got it, even before the backfire happened.

ANY ANY information or some suggestions to check would be greatly appreicated, Ive fallen in love with this bike and do not want to get rid of it.

[cowboyup3371]

Welcome to the site. Get yourself a new battery and start reading on Basscliff's site (he'll be along later to greet you) and the stator papers in the garage area on the main page for the site (not the forum but the actual www.thegsresources.com page). Also tell us what kind of maintenance has already been done on the bike, how long you've had it, etc. Finally, throw your location in your profile and your bike info in your signature (find both under User CP) as there might be someone close by to help.

[nicholasvankley]

I picked it up about six months ago. When I bought it the PO said he just had the carbs synced. When I first got it the battery was fine but over time it just started getting worse(only starting after long rides) I had a mechanic 'friend' come look at it and after awhile he took a bill out, held it over the muffler and it would suck the bill up occasionally.He said this was a symptom of a valve problem. is this correct? On a side note the bike is currently located in Tampa,fl but Im in the works to ship it to my current location (Chicago)

[jwhelan65]

Check all the vitals first but it sounds like a carb problem or possibly electrical. Like Cowboy said start with a fresh battery and see what happens.

[nicholasvankley]

thanks everyone for the replies. can anyone tell me about this dollar bill trick over the exhaust, Ive never seen that done but the guy was a oldtimer so I figured it might be valid.

[cowboyup3371]

Personally, I think he's blowing smoke but please just go through all of the required maintenance (carbs disassembled, properly dipped, and orings replaced; valve adjustment while the carbs are off, etc etc). Until Cliff gets here, start by searching for the top ten newbie mistakes thread and also go to http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff)

[platinum2]

sounds like a electrical issue, mine did that boiled the battery, would run good until long rides, the stator wires were melted, check all wires, under the tank, and at the stator, get a new battery
then when running you can spray water on each exhaust pipe yto see what ones are hotter
check the intake manifolds there also could be a air leak , the rubber will pull away from the metal you cant tell unless you pull on them, or they are off to look at, i had 2 bad on mine,and a couple other bikes ive owned

these bikes will lose power when the battery drains and will backfire! lights will dim ect....

[tatu]

thanks everyone for the replies. can anyone tell me about this dollar bill trick over the exhaust, Ive never seen that done but the guy was a oldtimer so I figured it might be valid.

It's a way of telling what might be coming through the engine, What he'll have been looking for is oil flecks that might have come past the rings or vlv seals/guides it will give a quick indication of something expensive in the post. Not conclusive by any means but quite good to know if you're buying a second hand car with high miles.
Though you need to be sure that you're looking at oil and not black soot from rich mix.
You don't need to go through all that palaver, you can usually smell what he was looking for.

[nicholasvankley]

I also forgot to mention the low beam headlight stopped working and it does actually have dim lights. It sounds like I need to install a new battery and give the carbs a good cleaning and inspect for vacuum leaks. Just for peace of mind, does this sound like a large internal problem or more about going through all the checklists that you GREAT members have provided?

[tkent02]

That is a valid test on car valves, if the paper sucks back into the tailpipe it indicates a valve leaking. With a good engine the paper only blows out away from the tailpipe. On a GS this would indicate the valves clearances are too tight, or maybe the valves have been too tight for so long that now a valve is burnt. Go through everything on Cliff's list, your bike sounds like it needs a lot of work.

And don't let it idle that long, that will ruin an air cooled engine.

[nicholasvankley]

thank you everyone for the help! Ill be checking things out on it this weekend. on a side note when Im running my air cooled engines I always have a high powered fan running over the fins.

[JMHJ]

The stator scrapped out on the 700 we had in the family for a while; t/sigs quit working, then finally it just wouldn't run if I remember right. R/R was still ok.