1982 gs 1100 e

[todd]

Put a set of used carburetors on today that came off same model. It will start and run with the airfilter box off, but not very good. It won't start or run whatsoever with the airfilter box on. Any suggestions on this problem?
thanks.

[sedelen]

Do you know the condition and jetting and perhaps a little history of the carbs you put on? If you don't you'll probably want to check them for serviceability and jetting size as a minimum.

[spyug]

If you don't know the history then I'd suggest rebuilding them yourself. The tutorial is easy to follow and you will have peace of mind that they are done right and definitely clean.

On the face of it I think you have air mixture screw issues but it may also be dodgy o-rings through out. Air infiltration is always an issue with carbs. So when in doubt, strip, dip and rebuild is the best approach.

What do you know about the carbs. I'll bet the seller said they were rebuilt, but do you really know.

Good luck with it.
Spyug

[Katarat]

If the carbs are factory stock they wont run worth a crap without the airbox on & filter in plus the lid. Put it on before rebuilding anything to see if you really have a problem. Yes, I know its a lot of work, do it anyway

[AJ]

If it runs with the airbox cover off - but not with it on - chances are it is way too rich.

Except.... Are you talking about starting it with the "choke" lever on? This is a fuel enrichener circuit that produces an air/fuel mixture way richer than normal idle through midrange (say 4-5000 rpm). After the engine has been run a few minutes, you should be able to start and run the engine with that off.

You'll probably end up needing to rebuild these carbs, but you can try to start with just a cleaning of the float bowls and verifying that the slides move and the vacuum diaphragms are good. The main jets are known to wear out, needing new jets and needles. How many miles are on the bike?

1) Pull a spark plug or two. Brown, black and sooty? Or nice tan? Or white?

2) Verify that all four cylinders are firing. After starting the bike, take a shop rag and touch each exhaust pipe to see that it is hot. Much to my surprise, my 1100e started and idled ok with only two cylinders firing. I have never had a bike that would do that before without shaking like crazy.

3) Look at the front of the carbs, by the engine. There is a "mixture" screw on top of the tube going into the intake boot. As delivered from the factory, these have brass plugs pressed into the holes to keep you from adjusting the mixture screws. Do you have the plugs in them? If so, they are probably set ok, but you will want to drill and remove the plugs when you are rebuilding the carbs.

If the plugs have been already removed, try resetting them to stock position. Screwing them in clockwise - gently - until they bottom out (GENTLY), then open them back up 2-1/2 turns counterclockwise (stock setting).

4) You may also have one or more stuck float or bad float. The low-speed circuit on these carbs is very sensitive to fuel height in the float bowl. If a float is improperly set, the float is bad, or there is dirt holding the fuel valve open, then the fuel level will be high.

Hope some of this helps. I now have a TON of experience with these exact carbs. If you want to talk some evening, send me a PM and I'll send you a phone number.

[Katarat]

It is very easy to strip off the screw driver slot in the pilot jets and to break off the idle mixture screws by over tightening. make sure you have an exact fit screw driver and if they dont move use a good penetrating oil & soak for a few days or some heat on them. Once the head is gone thay are a bear to remove. Just by an O-ring kit and clean them up first & be done with it