1980 GS 550L ... hard start... high idle.. low fuel mileage

[aeroaj]

So newbee on site..
i have a 1980 gs 550L... I am having carb issues, i recently rebuilt the carbs with new seals and jet. The Bike is a hard starter most of the time starting fluid is used unless the bike is warm. Once it is running it idles at 3000 RPM when the clutch is in. Also I a getting very poor fuel mileage.. 3.2 gallon tank --> 70 miles ouch. So I am trying to fixes this the idea was the air/fuel screw on the engine side of the carb.. however i think this is covered by a metal plug.. it is this ok to remove? I was thinking dilling and tapping then pulling the plug to get access to the screw. Any input would be great.

[Adler]

Are your carbs synched?

[aeroaj]

Not yet.. Sync from what i understand is the last thing to do.. mabee not?

[Adler]

Im not very familiar with the cv carbs but Im pretty sure synching them should be done as soon as you can. Were they bench synched at least?

[DanTheMan]

Did you soak the carbs 12-24 hours in Berryman carb cleaner and clean all the old dried up jelled up gunk out of them, replace all the o-rings and clean the small passages with a wire? What jets did you replace and why? If it didn't need rejetting because of replacing the airbox with pods or some such, it probably didn't need re-jetting. Very important the airbox seals, the airbox boots seal, and the carb to head boots seal well. The carb to head boots have o-rings to seal them too and usually need replacement as well. Air leaks (lean condition)can cause hard starting and high idle speeds. Also, have the valves been adjusted yet? Leaking valves also cause hard starting and the need to use starting fluid.
Yes, the plugs can be drilled out, those are air mixture valves and there are o-rings in them to seat them as well GSR member robertbarr has cycleorings.com with all the o-rings you need to do the job properly I think.
BassCliff will be along shortly to give you a mega welcome with links to all you need to know to get your bike running properly, or search his name and you can get a link to his GS lovin' site as well.

[Larry D]

Welcome !!!!!!

Hard starting is a classic sign of the valves in need of adjustment. A high idle normally points to an air leak.

How did you clean your carbs ? Why the new jets ? Have you ever adjusted the valves ? What other maintenence has been done to the bike ? We need a little more info.

[aeroaj]

No.. not sure how to go about this.. i am going to sync them with the vacuum gauge.. I am not sure if this air/screw plug is ok to remove or not?

[Larry D]

Okay....wait......

Before you set a plan of action, I highly recommend spending a fews days (at least) reading through some of the information on this site.

Educate yourself some. There is a ton of info here and before you go off with a plan of action, please spend some time reading.

[Adler]

Your short list of maintenance tasks is as follows:
Check your valve clearances
Replace intake o-rings (from cycleorings.com)
seal the airbox with weatherstripping.

[Planecrazy]

Okay....wait......

Before you set a plan of action, I highly recommend spending a fews days (at least) reading through some of the information on this site.

Educate yourself some. There is a ton of info here and before you go off with a plan of action, please spend some time reading.

I agree with Larry ... once you've read some of the "standard" info here you'll have a much better feel for where to start on your bike. Also, if you "follow the yellow brick road" and do the things typically recommended in order you'll find others on the forum are more willing and able to help guide you toward the solution to your problem...

Welcome!

[aeroaj]

The first time i opened them up they looked to be spotless with regard to the jets. So i sprayed and scrubbed the body with a tooth brush. I didn't soak the carb. Do I need to separate them complete before i soak them? I replaced the jets because they were pitted and really nastly. I bough the OEM parts off of Babbits. I also had a tear in two of my Diaphrams.. i replaced those with new one and checked the other two. i put the whole thing back together and #4 carb wasnt shutting off, i took the float out and adjusted it down until there was no leak. I did this with the carb on the bike so i didn't check the depth correctly. I am going to take the carbs off and re-check the float level .. i think #4 is off because that cyclinder is running hot as well. ok that the history. no changes to the engine or transimision and other then ligt bulbs and a few fuse nothing else... I have had this bike for 2 months the previous owern had the bike for a year and ran it all of 150 miles..

[tom203]

These carbs just really need to be REALLY clean -rebuilding is overrated! Since the metal caps are still on over the idle /air mixture screws, these passages didn't get cleaned adequately and are most likely gummed up.The high idle might be caused by the idle stop screw holding the the throttle plates too far open to compensate for the lack of fuel in the low speed circuit. There are tiny holes that clog up easy and will prevent decent running at part throttle. Lose the starting fluid and do a thorough cleaning and you'll be a lot happier!

[Dave8338]

...what filter type are you running?
...as mentioned, a really good carb cleaning is in order if not already done.
...as for a list of "to do's" you won't have one until you go through the bike and find out what really needs to be done.

DO NOT take short cuts.

Welcome to the GSR!!!!

[aeroaj]

Thanks for the help guys, i will take this apart tonight. As for soaking the carbs can I do this we the carbs still attachedto each other?

[Adler]

Thanks for the help guys, i will take this apart tonight. As for soaking the carbs can I do this we the carbs still attachedto each other?

Most carb dips will damage the rubber components, better to dissasemble.
There is a guide to it on BassCliffs site.