78 GS550 first long ride noises?

[Guest]

I took my 78GS550 on its first long ride since getting it on the road. About an hour straight cruising at about 100kph. I was obviously listening and paying attention to the performance the entire ride. Along the way I kept hearing little pings or ticks ... At first I wondered if was just road debris hitting the frame? It wasn't at all rhythmic. Just kind of random but fairly constant. A bit too constant I thought. Also I could little back fires from the exhaust.. Just the occasional little pops. All the while my power seemed consistent and my rpms perfectly steady. What could these be? Any theory's? The bike is completely stock engine wise. Stock pipes, carbs, air filter, jetting etc. I wondered if the little pops might be contributed to timing? I have wondered if the timing is off before. The little random ticks or pings?? I have no ideas.. I suppose I could have been nothing.. But its a new to me bike. I put it on the road, so I have no faith I did anything right!! Haha!

[steve murdoch]

Occasional little pops or backfires could be caused by an air leak.
Check the carb boots for cracks or loose clamps. Make sure the airbox is properly seated.

[Jmcb]

How about timing??

[steve murdoch]

If the timing is not spot on you usually get crummy performance, maybe even poor gas mileage.
How do the plugs look?

[The1970's]

If the bike has been sitting for quite some time you may want to check the tension on your spokes. I can't be sure of what you are calling a "tick or ping" but that is how I would describe the sound my spokes occasionally make. Supposedly the occasional ping is normal from spoke wheels if any of the spokes are touching each other. They wear a little groove into the other spoke and "ping" when the weight flexes them out of this groove. It only takes a minute to check to make sure they are all tensioned sufficiently.

As for the backfires I would agree with either an air leak or other carburetor problem, possibly something (water) in the fuel? I don't think the timing would cause it but dirty points or a bad resistor cap could certainly do it

[Jmcb]

All the plugs look more or less fine. If anything a bit dry looking perhaps. But colour is fine. So sort of rules out air leak no? Which is what's made me wonder about timing of some sort..