Bike Runs like absolute Crap after re-painting tank!!!

[GabrielGoes]

i just repainted my tank and the side of my air box covers and as i assemble everything today all happy after about 5 days of not running her... i used some gas to start her up and it was running extremely lean i believe? (very very deep sound with backfiring at times when the revs drop near 3-4k rpm = i mention this later on as "limp")

i mean the bike ran 100% without even the slightest problem for all the 2k miles i put on it untill i had to go and paint some stuff... i thought it was bad fuel so i syphoned out all the fuel and put in fresh 93 and it still runs like absolute garbage! heres my experience from riding it: after sitting for a while she runs GOOD then all of the sudden it becomes limp and runs really bad like it barely revs at all... so after riding around in the terrible condition all over the place hoping it would fix.... at random times it just WAKES RIGHT UP! like real fast and everything and then all of the sudden it just goes back to limp mode...riding for an hour it CONSTANTLY changes from riding normal then super Limp... 85% of the time its limp and all of the sudden she wakes right up and almost throws me off the bike...

this problem is absolutely KILLING ME! all i did was paint the tank and airbox covers which i put on pretty good... carbs stuck with a paint chip maybe ? (btw i have high flow in-line fuel filter) im absolutely stumped the bike ran PERFECT untill i painted the tank + airbox covers... thank you for reading and any help...

[GabrielGoes]

does this sound like a carb problem or a fuel blockage problem? i might have nudged a carb boot a bit so tommorow i will try to put them on better possibly.. the side of the airboxes are on pretty damn tight but the rubber seals were in pretty bad shape but i dont think any air can really get in the way the covers sit on the sides..does the rubber seal on the sides of the airbox have to be perfet in order to run properly? thanks guys for reading

[Mekanix]

2 things I can think of.

1 did you sand blast the tank ? If so particles could find a way past the in-tank filter and the next one you've added and clogg the small filters on the needle seats. (happened to me and ended up ruining needle and seats)

2 Air-box seals, If you have CV carbs they need some sort of restriction and leaks cause them to lean out or not having a filter causes the same thing.


good luck

[SqDancerLynn1]

Try running it without the filter THE in tank filter is all you need unless your tank has a bad rust problem.. Make sure the air box cover seals are still sealing.... and the petcock is working

[Smokinapankake]

Did you paint over the filler cap? Could have somehow blocked the venting, causing vacuum to build inside the tank, pretty soon fuel flow stops.

[srsupertrap]

+1: Venting Check Steps
1) Get it running super limp and return to your garage.
2) Remove the filler cap . . . start up does that make the problem go away?
3) If so the paint overspray might have clogged or partially clogged the vent like Smokinapankake has stated. IMO, that is most likely scenario

[GabrielGoes]

where is the filler cap? do you mean the gas cap? and where is the other vent you guys are talking about? i was thinking maybe my air filter dried out because the airbox covers were off and i need to oil them or something... i dunno but im gonna try

[GabrielGoes]

checked the plugs... one of them was completely BLACK i dont get it how could it be running rich?

[srsupertrap]

Right: Filler Cap = Gas Cap. That cap is vented. If the exterior was subjected to overspray that may be your issue. Try the other things and let us know

PS: Don't oil the airfilters yet. Fix one thing at a time.

[Nessism]

Sounds like the bike is dropping cylinders. I don't know what the problem is but if you are running stock jetting with a header you are on the lean edge, and it doesn't take much to push the bike over the edge to misfire.

[GabrielGoes]

so guys i manned up and stopped wining and took them carbs off (looked liek a nightmare the way the prev. owner had em) took apart every little thing untill my hands were legit black.. several things were off and in all different specs so i had to adjust em all and i finished about an hour ago and she fired right up! went to the gas station and bought some gumout and filled up.. the GS is happy as can be now i only rode a few miles but she sure runs good... thanks everyone for helping me out and ease the pain a little bit! btw my ninja 250 carbs were WAY harder to get on/off lol this GS is a cinch!

[rideOn]

i got my gs from a p.o. who had just painted the tank and could not get it to run. turned out that paint had got into the petcock and clogged up the works. i went ahead and had the tank re-lined and stripped the paint off (it was a terrible job). right now, it only has a flat black primer on it. can't decide what to do with it. i'm actually thinking plain black with nineteen on one side and eighty two on the other. maybe in a nice handwriting style, but low-key.