carb cleaning

[micrawavewindow]

ok so i think i cleaned the carbs BUT the bike still wont run there is no fuel to 3 cylinders so i think i may not have cleaned them properly, i cleaned out the needle jet but could not find the pilot jet(doh). when the bike is turnin over it throws fuel out of a little hole on the back of the carb is this due to having no airbox fitted.There is fuel in the float bowls (all4) but none getting to the engine am i being thick. i am going to remove the carbs again so any pics would be great. some one was telling me there is little holes near the butterfly and i did not clean these. the carbs were really bad with black sticky stuff. money is of short supply so any info is greatly appreciated thanks alot

[hampshirehog]

Hi and welcome to the funny farm. Cliff will trundle along later with the official welcome but in the meantime down to business with those carbs. Basically you haven't cleaned them properly - and there are no short cuts (many have tried and they have all failed). There is only one route - have a look at:

http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

They're 850 carbs but they're 'the same' as yours for a strip and rebuild.

[Big T]

Plus, when you're done cleaning them, you'll find it still won't start

Why?

You have to have the airbox in place and connected

[cableguy]

^ Definitely true

Fortunately, carb rebuilds are not that expensive to do properly, so make sure you do it right the first time unless you just love doing the same jobs over and over.

For the best help, take pics when possible and include model/year/mods info about your bike in your signature.

Welcome!

[Steve]

Plus, when you're done cleaning them, you'll find it still won't start

Why?

You have to have the airbox in place and connected

Actually, it should start and idle, it just won't do much else above that.

.

[spyug]

Welcome aboard. As HHog says there is no quick and easy way of cleaning carbs and spritzing them with aerosol carb cleaner isn't going to cut it. You will need to strip them and dip them in carb cleaning solution ( available by the gallon from good automotive stores) for a minimum of 24 hours, followed by poking through all the holes in the jets and blowing compressed air through the passages. A set of replacement o-ring is also very necessary and our friend Robt. Barr here is the go to guy (cycleorings.com).

There really is no other way of doing it and while the first time it seems daunting it really isn't. Read and folliow the tutorial. Organization is the key, so have containers for the parts of each individual carb and don't mix and match the parts. Make sure they go back in the carb body they came out of. Don't dunk any rubber parts like o-ring or diaphragms either or they will melt. As it calls for soaking each carb body for that 24 hours it is easiest and quickest if you have four containers so you can soak them at the same time. I use large margarine or ice cream tubs. Just big enough to squeeze the carb bodies in and cover with 1/4 gallon of cleaner. Strainer the cleaner after use as you pour it back into the can.

Do the work in a clean well lit area. Clean the exterior bodies of the carbs as well as you can before dunking them and when you dunk throw in the jets and emulsion tube to soak as well. Take your time. The first time you do it it may take several hours to dissassemble and several more to reassemble. After a time or two you be able to do it blindfold, in your sleep and within an hour.

Anyway its a rite of passage with these old bikes so get to it my friend.

Good luck.
Spyug

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. micrawavewindow,

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Below you will find a fairly complete list of all the things that need to be checked, cleaned, repaired, replaced, adjusted, etc, for you to have a decent running machine. It's a little something I like to call the "mega-welcome". Read it. Learn it. Love it. Live it.

Anyway, let me dump a TON if information on you and share some GS lovin'.

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", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. 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

[Redman]

ok so i think i cleaned the carbs BUT the bike still wont run there is no fuel to 3 cylinders so i think i may not have cleaned them properly, i cleaned out the needle jet but could not find the pilot jet(doh). when the bike is turnin over it throws fuel out of a little hole on the back of the carb is this due to having no airbox fitted.There is fuel in the float bowls (all4) but none getting to the engine am i being thick. i am going to remove the carbs again so any pics would be great. some one was telling me there is little holes near the butterfly and i did not clean these. the carbs were really bad with black sticky stuff. money is of short supply so any info is greatly appreciated thanks alot

I have run 1100G without air box. It would start and run but notr rev very much or very well.

If you have gas comming out of carb inlet, ... I would say that would be for same reason I had the same thing, and that was related to float heights being way off. IN my case I think it was because I must have inadvertantly swapped floats from one carb to another. I had one cyclinder not firing, and it was that carb that had gas dripping out the inlet (I saw gas dripping out airbox after a while, so I took off air box, and ran some more so could see which carb it was comming from.). I readjusted the float heights and that was all better.

Why do you say "no fuel to cyclinder"?

Oh, you said "black sticky stuff". Yikes.
That could require a very serious carb cleaning.
What did you do for "carb cleaning"? Spray carb cleaner in here and there?
A more serious proper carb cleaning would involve taking carbs apart from each other, removing all jets, and doing a "dip" in a carb cleaning solution for a day each.



>>later note:
Oh, Welcome to GSR.

[micrawavewindow]

well..... i have stripped two of the bank of 4 and was wondering if i could use thinners to soak them in(as i have some in the shed). just so everone knows all pilot jets are blocked and so were the air jets(i am a plum ). for serious tho can i use cellulose thinners to soak the seperate carbs in or would it affect the brass and such as i dont want to make a mess of them as i cant afford a new set cheers
Neil

[hampshirehog]

Cellulose thinners works fine but you need to make sure that you have removed every last thing made out of rubber or nylon on the carbs. The brass bits will be fine (I'll often soak jets in thinners - removes old varnish very quickly). Don't skimp on removing the mixture screws and the washer / o ring either.