The fix to a wonky idle, ask Nessim.

[Guest]

A few days ago I wrote of a problem with the carbs on a 400E. Specifically there was a hunting idle i.e. it would go up and down in a cycle. I was sure that this may have been due to an inline filter which was filling and emptying in more or less the same cycle.

Our good friend Nessim strongly suggested it would more likely be air leakage around the carb intake boot o-rings. To me they looked fine but as he has often been correct in many diagnosise I figured it couldn't hurt to humour him so I changed them out. As ususal, he was right. Instant fix.

So the moral of the story is a) do what Ed. says and b) always change your intake boot o-rings no matter how good they look.

Thank you again my friend, you are a gentleman and a scholar....despite what anyone says

Cheers,
Spyug

[legaleli]

A few days ago I wrote of a problem with the carbs on a 400E. Specifically there was a hunting idle i.e. it would go up and down in a cycle. I was sure that this may have been due to an inline filter which was filling and emptying in more or less the same cycle.

Our good friend Nessim strongly suggested it would more likely be air leakage around the carb intake boot o-rings. To me they looked fine but as he has often been correct in many diagnosise I figured it couldn't hurt to humour him so I changed them out. As ususal, he was right. Instant fix.

So the moral of the story is a) do what Ed. says and b) always change your intake boot o-rings no matter how good they look.

Thank you again my friend, you are a gentleman and a scholar....despite what anyone says

Cheers,
Spyug

I owe him for a few fixes as well!

[spyug]

Sorry Ed. can't spell your nic

My bad! I can't even spell a persons nic properly. It should of course be Nessism. Bye the bye Ed. what does that stand for?

I often wonder what folks' screen names stand for. There are some dandies.

Mine 'Spyug" is a pet name my dad called me. Scottish, it is a little bird like a sparrow.

My sincerest apologies my friend

Andy (Spyug)

[chef1366]

His last name is Ness and he is his own nemesis??

[Nessism]

Stick with me Andy, I won't steer you wrong.

I've restored a growing number of these GS's and changing those O-rings is 100% manditory...so is changing the O-rings in the carbs, adjusting the valves, cleaning the air filter, fixing the R/R ground issue, etc. To me, the best way toward a reliable 30 yearl-old bike is to build a foundation by making sure all the basic maintenance is up to date. Frankly, I don't understand why many people wait until their bike breaks down and/or runs poorly before they do basic maintenance.

Regarding my screen name, I was shooting off my mouth one day (many moons ago) and a friend said something to the effect that I was spouting out with another "ness-ism".

[Charlie G]

He's right. Thanks Ed!

cg

[UncleMike]

My 1150 does this but has new boots all around. Perhaps I tightened the clamps a bit too much? I've sprayed water around the boots but got no reaction.

[Nessism]

My 1150 does this but has new boots all around. Perhaps I tightened the clamps a bit too much? I've sprayed water around the boots but got no reaction.

Some times the idle will hang if the mixture screws are too lean.

[UncleMike]

Some times the idle will hang if the mixture screws are too lean.

It's not hanging, it's hunting slightly and rhythmically. It only varies about 100rpm maybe, but it'll hunt from 1100 to 1200 and back, up and down.