80 550L Carb Question

[TheCafeKid]

I am pullin the carbs so I can get the rod out. There's no other way. I'm sweaty and irritated because they won't cooperate. I may try persuading them with a shot gun.

Oh dont do the shotgun.. They'll be running super LEAN then..

[kinnet]

Oh dont do the shotgun.. They'll be running super LEAN then..

My empty threats were enough. So I am gonna measure this now. I'll return with details.


I am measuring ~11 1/8.

[TheCafeKid]

So the rod matches more or less what mike had. But his is an later model. Dunno if that makes a lick of difference. Is the rod straight?

[mike_of_bbg]

Ok well let me ask you this if you don't mind Mike: I don't have another set of 550 carbs to compare to but allthe other cv types I have the choke plungers retract so the the keeper is almost touching the rubber hat on the plunger. On the 550 the plungers only go back far enough so that about >1/4 inch is still sticking out. Doesn't look right but I dunno if they are just a bit different. Can you confirm that they retract as much as others or is this the same on yours?

Not at all. My micrometer says .269" - .214" = .055", or about 1/16". The first measurement is from the end of the choke post on carb #1 to the rubber, the second to the inside lip of the rod coming out. So it is about 1/4" of total rod, but only 1/16" to the smaller-radiused part where the brackets grab, if that make sense. Hope I'm not sounding like an idiot. And by rod I'm talking about the one on the end of the choke plunger, not the rail.

[mike_of_bbg]

So the rod matches more or less what mike had. But his is an later model. Dunno if that makes a lick of difference. Is the rod straight?

My carbs may actually be from 80 or 81. The original choke assembly was the "push on #2" type, and I've since gone back to "pull on #4" from 82.

Going to go away for a while, but I'll check back in later. Let me know if there's any other info I can give ya.

[mike_of_bbg]

Are pictures really worth 1,000 words? Sorry about the angle and quality: best I can do with what I've got.

[TheCafeKid]

Ok so now I am home from work. And Rose has pretty much done all the work herself and I must say I'm rather impressed. She asked me to look and see if I agreed with what she surmised. The choke rod in fact seems to be correct. But the plungers aren't closing all the way for sure. Once we freed the plungers from the rod the bike seems to be running much better warm so that's definately part of the problem if not all of it. But what seems to sticking is the choke actuator. When the cable is pushed back in, the spring on the return arm seems to be hanging up, as the number two carb choke will stick open still while the rest since they're disconnected from the rod are shut all the way. I think we are going to try to clean and lube the mechanism and see if that helps.

[kinnet]

My tape measure says ~11-3/16" (sorry, you can convert to metric if you need). Mine's an 82, but I don't think the rail is different. The choke connection is, and I have the 80-81 parts if you need.

P.S. The rod extension on the right past the rod guide on carb #4 is about 11/16" when the choke is fully closed.

What parts do you have?
I think I might need the mechanism that the choke cable attaches to on the #2 carb, whatever it's called... does that make sense? ha.

[Nessism]

Please post some photos of the carbs with the rod and everything hooked up. I should have an extra pushrod too but need to see what you are up against first.

[mike_of_bbg]

Here's what I have - PM me if interested. Please bear in mind that I never actually USED these with a choke cable, but yeah the choke would close all the way. My 82 GS550L had LHC and those choke bits from an 80 or 81, but no cable. I went ahead and bought a LHC and the choke parts I needed to restore the stock 82 choke mechanism. It got tiring having to pull and hold the rail at every cold start

[hikermikem]

Here's a pic of my old 750LX carbs showing the choke rail. I remember getting frustrated with them once & realized I had the rod on backwards...

Check that the little brackets are positioned correctly too.

Good luck.

[chef1366]

Loosen all the choke rod screws until you find which bore the rod goes through is binding. I've had to drill these out a bit to get the rod to slide smoothly.
The rod is probably slightly bent. I have an extra one if you need it.

[Nessism]

Loosen all the choke rod screws until you find which bore the rod goes through is binding. I've had to drill these out bid to keep the rod to slide smoothly.
The rod is probably slightly bent. I have an extra one if you need it.

Good point from Bill here. Roll the rod on a flat surface to see if it's bent and then straighten accordingly.

[tkent02]

Where might a girl like me procure the correct one?

Steal it from Josh's 1100.
He'll never know, and when he does we will laugh at him.

[kinnet]

The rod was not bent, however it was a bit mucked up and rough so i cleaned it up as good as I could.
It seems thus far that the culprit was actually the lever not retracting properly. I cleaned that up as good as I could and it seemed to make a huge difference.
I'll make tck take it out for a spin tomorrow and see what happens.