82 gs850g carb problems.... Help Please!!!

[hubert hefner]

i guys i have an 80 gs850g that im redoing and the air box on it isnt very good. it isn't restricting the air like it needs to so it makes the bike really hard to start. Well i ant to either put pods and bigger jets or just use the old air box and put bigger jets. all of the jets are stock and so is the rest of the bike. So what size jets(main and pilot) should i put in it if i use the stock air box and also if i use pods. i've replaced all of the intake boots and everything but i just cant get it to seal right. if you put tape over the intake on the air box it doesnt even try to suck the tape when you crank it over but if you take the box off and put card board on the back of the carbs it will start right up. So i'm trying to figure out the jets and sizes i need. any help would be appreciated. thanks

Just realized i had it as a 82 and its actually an 80 oops!

[teddux]

i guys i have an 82 gs850g that im redoing and the air box on it isnt very good. it isn't restricting the air like it needs to so it makes the bike really hard to start. Well i ant to either put pods and bigger jets or just use the old air box and put bigger jets. all of the jets are stock and so is the rest of the bike. So what size jets(main and pilot) should i put in it if i use the stock air box and also if i use pods. i've replaced all of the intake boots and everything but i just cant get it to seal right. if you put tape over the intake on the air box it doesnt even try to suck the tape when you crank it over but if you take the box off and put card board on the back of the carbs it will start right up. So i'm trying to figure out the jets and sizes i need. any help would be appreciated. thanks

I would suggest leaving your jets stock as you have a high chance of screwing up your carbs.
If you want more power or whatever you think you will achieve, buy a bigger engine/bike.
Turn your idle setting down.

[rustybronco]

There are holes in the bottom of the factory air box, so putting tape over the air box intake won't make the tape want to be sucked into the air box.

I would suggest that you do all the basic maintenance to your bike such as adjust the valves, overhaul the carbs, properly clean and oil the air filter, check the voltage at the coils, do a coil secondary resistance check, ect. before you decide to go to with the pods-rejetting route.

The stock jetting works fine on a bone stock bike.

[Steve]

Sounds like your airbox is definitely not sealed up like it should be. Do you have the 'snorkel' that goes up the back of the box?

Hard starting when cold also could be a valve adjustment issue, but you say it sarts when you block the carbs directly.

Are you using the "choke" correctly to start the bike? Set the "choke" lever to somewhere between half and full, do NOT touch the throttle, press the starter button. If necessary, adjust engine speed with the "choke" lever, NOT the throttle. When the engine is warmed sufficiently (between 30 seconds and a full minute, if properly tuned), you can ride off.

What size jets? Stock mains are 115, stock pilot fuel jets are 40, stock pilot air jets are 180. If you change to pods or a header, you will need to increase the mains by 2 to 4 sizes, depending on the item you change, if you do pods and a pipe, 5 to 8 sizes, again, depending on what you install. You will also have to shim the needle to raise it. Only in extreme cases might you have to change the pilot jet to a 42.5.

Have you rebuilt the carbs? I know you said you changed the boots, but did you replace the o-rings behind the boots? Clean carbs, a properly-sealed airbox and properly-adjusted valves will have that engine running like new.

.

[Larry D]

Here's a couple pictures of the air snorkel. For some reason these get discarded in a vain attempt to make the bike run better....I think they are with all the side covers, exhausts and airboxes.....

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. hubert hefner,

Here are a couple of links to guides about getting your air intake system in order...

Air Intake Repair:
(Airbox removal, intake boots and O-ring replacement)

Airbox Sealing
(by Mr. Roostabunny)

Here you see the snorkel on the back of the 850 airbox as it's being removed...


Here is how I sealed up the side covers for the airbox....


You must also put weatherstripping on top of the air filter cage to seal that conjunction. There are pictures in Mr. Roostabunnny's guide.

And in your "mega-welcome" will be a couple of maintenance lists with lots of fun things to check, clean, replace, tweak, etc, that will help get your classic motorcycle running the way it should. You'll also find lots of GS850G lovin' on my website. Please feel free to visit and help yourself to the information that has been gathered there. Now, on to the "mega-welcome"!

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", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. 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

[hubert hefner]

If you want more power or whatever you think you will achieve, buy a bigger engine/bike.
Turn your idle setting down.

Lol i have another bike this is a hobby for me. 07 boulevard m109r is my daily rider.

The carbs are rebuilt,everything is stock all the jets are new everything is new. the o rings are new all of the boots are new(intake and air box side) the snorkel is still there i did have to re attach it and seal it back up. the choke is workin correctly. just having trouble getting the box sealed up completely I will fix the seals on the airbox covers and see what that gets me. pretty much everything is new except for the airbox itself. I'm not trying to make a race bike outta it just want to enjoy it a little bit. Its basically been a partial resto b/c i've fixed or replaced almost everything on it. It used to be my stepdads bike and i bought it from him b/c he always talked about how fast it was while it sat in the garage for atleast 10 years with nothing being done with it. (yea i know it doesnt compare to my other bike on the power end of the deal but i love all motorcycles equally) its not fast b/c its all stock but it'll be fun though.

After i figure the carbs out it will pretty much be finished after the paint is done. I'm pretty excited about it.

thanks for the nice welcome and all of the help.

[hubert hefner]

Well i got the airbox sealed up and i don't think the choke is working. i'm gonna have to look into it i guess. It will start now but when you pull the choke out it tries to kill the engine even when its cold then if you hit a sweet spot it will come up in rpms a little bit and then it will go back down and die. any ideas?

Thanks, Dustin

[chuck c]

I have exactly the same problem on my '80 450. I await enlightenment.

It will start now but when you pull the choke out it tries to kill the engine even when its cold then if you hit a sweet spot it will come up in rpms a little bit and then it will go back down and die. any ideas?

[hubert hefner]

It seems to me that the choke (ticklers) are leaning the bike out and making it die. this thing is a real bear to start when its cold. I wonder if the tank being off of the bike would make it do anything like this b/c i have the tank off of it right now. the passages all should be cleaned in the carbs for the ticklers. it runs great when its warm.

[BassCliff]

It seems to me that the choke (ticklers) are leaning the bike out and making it die. this thing is a real bear to start when its cold. I wonder if the tank being off of the bike would make it do anything like this b/c i have the tank off of it right now. the passages all should be cleaned in the carbs for the ticklers. it runs great when its warm.

Hi,

Having the tank off will not make a difference. Have you adjusted the valves? In a previous post you said the carbs were "rebuilt". Does that mean they were properly cleaned and reassembled with an O-ring kit from http://cycleorings.com? See the procedure referenced in your "mega-welcome". Sorry, we have to ask these things. Keep us informed. Sometimes there just can't be any shortcuts in order to obtain a properly running GS.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[twr1776]

Today, 02:25 PM BassCliff Have you adjusted the valves?

+1, if the valves are not adjusted it will not start very well. It sounds like your choke circuit is plugged up. If your valves are adjusted and the choke working properly you should only need to use the choke for starting.

[chef1366]

The copper choke tubes (jets) are clogged. These are the rods that fit into the float bowl or the jets in the float bowls themselves are clogged. The choke tube goes through float bowl and picks up fuel through the bowl.
When your choke is turned on you are opening an air port at the top of the slide that is "supposed" to pick the fuel up but since yours isn't you are just pulling air. This is why you are leaning out with the choke.

[hubert hefner]

Hi,

Have you adjusted the valves? In a previous post you said the carbs were "rebuilt". Does that mean they were properly cleaned and reassembled with an O-ring kit from http://cycleorings.com?

I replaced all of the o-rings that came with the rebuild kit and cleaned all of the passages. i'll check the choke tubes again, i did have to tear the carbs back down and clean them again after i rebuilt them the first time b/c the gas tank had rust in it but that has been taken care of. i might have missed something the second time though. it's hard to tell.

thanks for all of the help guys