85 GS550L Idle

[davmaj]

First off, this is my first bike.
I have just purchased a 1985 GS550L. It has the Mikuni BSW30SS CV carbs.
The problem I am having is the bike will only start and idle with the choke open. If I try to close the choke or touch the throttle, it dies.
The previous owner stated the it had been parked close to the end of 2008 and hadn't been started since. The carbs were not drained.
I do not know where to start. Do I have the carbs cleaned, do I run seafoam through them?
Someone please help.

[Danjal]

Your first step is to clean the carbs. Dont half ass it. Just do it all and while you're at it goto http://www.cycleorings.com/#BS_Series_O-ring_Kit and get the right stuff for your carbs to replace the o rings while youre at it. Its not expensive at all.

Use carb cleaner to clean them and get every nook, cranny, pipe, and hole clean in them. Visually inspect them too. I needed a little led light to check mine out and a paper clip to clean out the pickup line from the bowls.

Check out basscliffs site for carb cleaning links and common problems. Check em all out. Invest the time now and enjoy it all summer long.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/GSR_Greeting.html

Theres also intake o rings on the cycle o rings store page too. Might as well get some too since its a common prob and the carbs are going to be off do those as well. Its another $3.50 at most. Im not 100% positive if you need the large or small rings, but I have the same carbs and same year and I needed the large ones. Make sure you email him and state that. And again when ordering. All the instructions are on his site.

All that said I have an 85 550es. Its definetly cold blooded. It HATES being cold. It wont switch over off of the idle unless its warm. I can lower the choke setting and give it some throttle and move it that way, but if its not warm it wont idle steadily until its warm. Once it is warm after 3-5 mins it'll idle smoothly like a champ. There were tons of reports and articles stating almost all 550's were like this too. Chances are yours is going to follow suit too.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. davmaj,

Oh! Mr. Danjal beat me to it. Well let me welcome you to the forum also.

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

[davmaj]

Danjal and BassCliff, thank-you very much for the information you provided.
Since this is my first bike, and I know nothing about the carbs, I have set an appointment to get it in to a repair shop. They said it would cost $160 + parts to remove, clean, reinstall and tune. I hope that is a good price because it has to go in about an hour. I will post again when I get it back, hopefully it will be running right.

[BassCliff]

Danjal and BassCliff, thank-you very much for the information you provided.
Since this is my first bike, and I know nothing about the carbs, I have set an appointment to get it in to a repair shop. They said it would cost $160 + parts to remove, clean, reinstall and tune. I hope that is a good price because it has to go in about an hour. I will post again when I get it back, hopefully it will be running right.

Hi,

Good luck. It is very seldom that you find a bike shop that does really good work on these classic bikes. The procedures referenced in your "mega-welcome" are tried and true, proven time and again to work. At least read up and familiarize yourself with the proper procedures so that you can do them after the shop messes up your bike. I don't mean to sound harsh but I've seen the scenario over and over again here in the forums where people get their bike back from the shop and it's still not right, and it's usually worse. Keep us informed.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Nessism]

Thread moved but moved where???

[BassCliff]

Hi,

The link isn't obvious on the forum startpage.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/forumdisplay.php?f=92

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/forumdisplay.php?f=129

Click right on the titles "Bike Maintenance" or "Technical Forums" in the headings of the section. It's going to be a little confusing for a while.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Danjal]

Danjal and BassCliff, thank-you very much for the information you provided.
Since this is my first bike, and I know nothing about the carbs, I have set an appointment to get it in to a repair shop. They said it would cost $160 + parts to remove, clean, reinstall and tune. I hope that is a good price because it has to go in about an hour. I will post again when I get it back, hopefully it will be running right.

OMG hang your head in shame. (Ok I cant blame you for the tuning and balancing bit. Its a bit of a PITA unless you have the proper manometer)

[chef1366]

Danjal and BassCliff, thank-you very much for the information you provided.
Since this is my first bike, and I know nothing about the carbs, I have set an appointment to get it in to a repair shop. They said it would cost $160 + parts to remove, clean, reinstall and tune. I hope that is a good price because it has to go in about an hour. I will post again when I get it back, hopefully it will be running right.

I'll do it for half that price.

[jtjastal]

I have an '83 550L that had the same issue. I had never worked on a motorcycle before, and after spending hours reading different posts on this site, and getting a repair manual for my bike, I was able to get my 550 running great. I would listen to most of these guys before any shop mechanic. Here is what I did to my bike:

1. I checked the valve clearance first. No matter how clean the carbs are, if the valves aren't adjusted, it won't run right.

2. I cleaned the carbs. Sea foam will not do a thorough job. I took mine completely apart and dipped them in Berryman's carb cleaner overnight. I used compressed air to blow out the tiny holes in the jets. The carb cleaning series on this sight is a great reference. REPLACE ALL THE O-RINGS IN THE CARBS.

3. Bench synch the carbs. There are a few ways to do it, and they can be found on this sight. I just held mine up to a light and adjusted both so there was a sliver of light showing through each carb's throttle plates. After I bench synched, I adjusted the idle mixture screws out 3 full turns.

4. Replace the o-rings on the intake boots and make sure the boots aren't cracked or hard. Make sure the boots and clamps that go from the airbox to the carb are in good shape also.

5. Make sure the airbox is not cracked or warped. My airbox was warped because the previous owner over tightened the clamps. It was sucking way too much air. Here's what I did:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=154484&highlight=airbox+repair

6. Make sure the boots from the airbox to the carbs are lined up PERFECTLY with the carbs. There are small marks on the boots and the carbs that have to be lined up. If they are not, the boots will cover up one or more of the small holes on the back of the carbs. I took my carbs on and off at least 6 times after I had done all of the above and it still wouldn't run right until the boots were lined up properly. I hate to say it, but this may have been the root of my problem all along, and you may want to check this first.

I was able to learn how to do all that from spending a relatively small amount of time on this site. After having done all that my bike runs great!

Hopefully the shop was able to fix yours, and I just wasted my time typing all this. If not, maybe some of this will help. Good luck!

[Colorado85gs550]

How'd the carb clean/tune go at the shop?