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    Never leave it up to the last guy

    So I bought my 79 GS850 last year from a guy who said he adjusted the valves, sealed the airbox, cleaned the carbs, changed the oils.... "just get on her and ride". The bike was always rough, and burped and farted when she was cold - I thought the problems were pretty deep down.

    So today I was going to go for my first ride of the year - changed the oil, jumped on and burped and farted my way to the gas station. When I arrived at the gas station I started filling the tank... and then it dawned on me that I hadn't yet reactivated my insurance for the bike... so I burped and farted my way back to the house very carefully.

    I took the airbox off just to see if there were issues... well...

    First off there was a torn seal on one side, the insides were full caked on dirt and rust, and generally it was just not in great shape. So I tore the whole thing down to individual parts and spent the next couple of hours cleaning and drying each part and when I reassembled it things looked much better - even the rubber was in better shape. I then put a thin bead of silicone everywhere there might be an air leak of any kind.

    The result - WAY better cold starting and idle and though I haven't driven it yet, when I get my insurance on tomorrow - I get the feeling that the bike will be much better.

    I'm posting this because I don't think it can be overstated - even the smallest leak can cause significant performance issues.

    #2
    Originally posted by legaleli View Post
    So I bought my 79 GS850 last year from a guy who said he adjusted the valves, sealed the airbox, cleaned the carbs, changed the oils.... "just get on her and ride". The bike was always rough, and burped and farted when she was cold - I thought the problems were pretty deep down.

    So today I was going to go for my first ride of the year - changed the oil, jumped on and burped and farted my way to the gas station. When I arrived at the gas station I started filling the tank... and then it dawned on me that I hadn't yet reactivated my insurance for the bike... so I burped and farted my way back to the house very carefully.

    I took the airbox off just to see if there were issues... well...

    First off there was a torn seal on one side, the insides were full caked on dirt and rust, and generally it was just not in great shape. So I tore the whole thing down to individual parts and spent the next couple of hours cleaning and drying each part and when I reassembled it things looked much better - even the rubber was in better shape. I then put a thin bead of silicone everywhere there might be an air leak of any kind.

    The result - WAY better cold starting and idle and though I haven't driven it yet, when I get my insurance on tomorrow - I get the feeling that the bike will be much better.

    I'm posting this because I don't think it can be overstated - even the smallest leak can cause significant performance issues.
    Better keep looking, because there is likely to be more "just get on her and ride" stuff awaiting!
    1981 gs650L

    "We are all born ignorant, but you have to work hard to stay stupid" Ben Franklin

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      #3
      Hi,

      Originally posted by tom203 View Post
      Better keep looking, because there is likely to be more "just get on her and ride" stuff awaiting!
      I concur. CLICK HERE and go through the maintenance lists one more time to make sure you have checked everything.

      Nice work there Mr. legaleli.


      Thank you for your indulgence,

      BassCliff

      Comment


        #4
        And your carbs should be VMs, not nearly as sensitive as the BS carbs.

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