Unusual Petcock problem '82 gs850L

[esj001]

I have read numerous threads about the petcocks on these bikes--Mine seems to flow fuel very freely in all 3 positions (on res and prime)--there is no fuel in the vacuum line and the sump doesnt seem to be filling with gas--i understand that if the diaphragm is leaking it will cause this to happen, but wouldnt my vacuum line leak gas or my oil sump have gas in it--i also suspect a carb problem because i can get it running pretty easy but it does not want to idle even when i turn the idle up--the only way i can really keep it running it to have the throttle cracked almost halfway--any advice would be greatly appreciated

[tkent02]

The petcock has a little O ring to seal off the flow when it shouldn't be flowing, yours isn't.
maybe you can replace the oring, maybe you need the whole petcock.
Open it up to see how bad it looks inside...

As to how it runs, have you done the entire carb cleaning procedure in Cliff's website?
Most likely the pilot jets and circuits are all plugged up, and there will be more. There always is.

Has all of the other neglected maintenance been caught up? There's not much point in troubleshooting until all the usual culprits are taken care of.

[esj001]

Thanks for the info---i think im going to get the petcock rebuild kit--no i havent done the carb clean yet but have read over it and plan to do it--also how do i find out exactly what model i have--the haynes book i have is kind of confusing in this area --i believe it is a gs850gl z model late '82---nothing i have read seems to designate a glz specifically or am i reading to much into it and should just call it a gl

[Steve]

Just because the petcock does not shut off does not mean that the carbs will overflow.

It just means that they can overflow.

You have to have TWO failures to flood the crankcase. If the float valves are in good shape, they should hold back the gas, but if they leak, too, they are depending on the CLOSED petcock to keep from flooding the crankcase.

Tkent suggested making sure all the basic maintenance is up to snuff, I will second that.
You need to have a good starting point and know that the basics are good before tending to the details.

.

[esj001]

oh and the maintenance on it has ben kept up--it was running prefect up until a little over a year ago when it started having battery charging issues but thats a whole different story

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. esj001,

The maintenance lists in your "mega-welcome" will get you to that warm fuzzy spot in GS utopia, if you take no shortcuts. Let's get started.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

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

[bwringer]

It's a GS850GL -- the Z simply designates the 1982 model year, and is optional. Sometimes you see it used as "GS850GLZ", sometimes not.

It has a silver engine, correct?

The reason I ask is that you mentioned that it was a "late '82". If the engine is black, it's really an '83 model, most of which were built in late 1982. There are a few detail differences in parts between the model years. It's pretty common for a bike's first title to get based on the build year instead of the model year -- the '80s were a more casual time, I guess.

[esj001]

yes it has a silver engine--thanks for the clarification--im so glad i found this site, it will probably keep me from getting rid of the bike