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Hello all; first an apology...signed up quite some time ago but as a dad to two young kids and working overtime didn't get much garage time and therefore not many questions, but here goes:
I bought my GS400X 10 years ago; it had been sitting, and continued to sit with me for 8 years. The PO had thankfully left the tank with some Sta-Bil in it so amazingly it WOULD start and run, but (sing along) 4,000 rpm idle, didn't come down.
So finally I got off my butt and started working on it. Read every carb tutorial on this and BassCliff's site. The carburetors have been stripped, dipped, every passage thoroughly blown out, new O-rings from cycleorings.com, new intake boot O-rings AND new intake boots, as well as new paper gaskets between the aluminum boot spacer and the head (as far as I know, the GS400(X) is the ONLY bike that has this feature). I am comfortably certain that nothing is leaking between the carb and intake port.
I have not adjusted the valves yet; but read on.
New air filter element. However I'm not sure this is doing me much good, because these 400X's again have a filter box setup I'm not sure the 4-bangers or even the 450 twins do. There is the steel box with the filter cage, then a blow-molded plastic plenum with two J-shaped rubber boots emerging that clamp onto the carb horns. BUT: the flange that the left boot connects to is collapsed. Far as I can find on the parts websites, that plastic intake plenum is part of the airbox and is no longer offered as a replacement part. Ebay hasn't turned up much either. But onward.
The dang bike is behaving exactly as before I ever put wrench to bolt. A bear to start, but catches once warm. Idle climbs (vacuum leak!), doesn't want to come down (Vacuum Leak!), dies with choke off (VACUUM LEAK!!!), will go down the road ON CHOKE but hesitates noticeably. I've had the idle screws at the factory 1.5, had them at 2, 3, 4 turns out, no noticeable difference.
One, ONE thing I've noticed. Sometimes coming to a stop sign/light, yes the idle's roaring, I can cut the ignition off/on and the idle will drop back to normal. This is the one thing that catches with me. If I had a consistent vacuum leak, how would briefly dropping the RPMs by blipping the ignition help? One kindly coworker (an HD rider) suggested maybe weak CV slide springs. But I've never heard of that or seen it on this site, yes I looked. Also, is the airbox leaking really an issue at start? Sure I can see it being a problem under load or WOT, but is it going to affect the bike that badly with the throttles and slides closed and we're just kicking it over on a cold start on choke? I hasten to add I'm not being sarcastic; I'm genuinely curious.
I'm a bit frustrated, friends and neighbors. If I had a daily rider and this were my project "toy" I'd be perfectly happy to laugh and tinker and fiddle with her til the cows come home. But I'm a workin' dad on a tight budget, this is my very first bike (I'm 34, started late in life), I work on it when I can late at night after the kids have sacked out, and I've watched May and June sail past and my machine is keepin me parked. I finally said the heck with it, put it on choke and took it around the neighborhood tonight just to feel the dang wind in my hair. I don't mind telling you it's a bit nervewracking when you're a new rider, still trying to be cautious and remembering what they taught in the MSF RiderCourse, while at the same time tapdancing with the throttle and choke so you don't die at a light.
And we all know the 400X has no electric start, so when I DO die at a light I've gotta roll out of the way and kick the crap out of it to relight it while cars sail by, their drivers no doubt giggling at the fat guy on the weird old bike.
Sigh, ok that's my story. Please feel free to pick it and me apart; I'm out of options, friends. And thanks.
I bought my GS400X 10 years ago; it had been sitting, and continued to sit with me for 8 years. The PO had thankfully left the tank with some Sta-Bil in it so amazingly it WOULD start and run, but (sing along) 4,000 rpm idle, didn't come down.
So finally I got off my butt and started working on it. Read every carb tutorial on this and BassCliff's site. The carburetors have been stripped, dipped, every passage thoroughly blown out, new O-rings from cycleorings.com, new intake boot O-rings AND new intake boots, as well as new paper gaskets between the aluminum boot spacer and the head (as far as I know, the GS400(X) is the ONLY bike that has this feature). I am comfortably certain that nothing is leaking between the carb and intake port.
I have not adjusted the valves yet; but read on.
New air filter element. However I'm not sure this is doing me much good, because these 400X's again have a filter box setup I'm not sure the 4-bangers or even the 450 twins do. There is the steel box with the filter cage, then a blow-molded plastic plenum with two J-shaped rubber boots emerging that clamp onto the carb horns. BUT: the flange that the left boot connects to is collapsed. Far as I can find on the parts websites, that plastic intake plenum is part of the airbox and is no longer offered as a replacement part. Ebay hasn't turned up much either. But onward.
The dang bike is behaving exactly as before I ever put wrench to bolt. A bear to start, but catches once warm. Idle climbs (vacuum leak!), doesn't want to come down (Vacuum Leak!), dies with choke off (VACUUM LEAK!!!), will go down the road ON CHOKE but hesitates noticeably. I've had the idle screws at the factory 1.5, had them at 2, 3, 4 turns out, no noticeable difference.
One, ONE thing I've noticed. Sometimes coming to a stop sign/light, yes the idle's roaring, I can cut the ignition off/on and the idle will drop back to normal. This is the one thing that catches with me. If I had a consistent vacuum leak, how would briefly dropping the RPMs by blipping the ignition help? One kindly coworker (an HD rider) suggested maybe weak CV slide springs. But I've never heard of that or seen it on this site, yes I looked. Also, is the airbox leaking really an issue at start? Sure I can see it being a problem under load or WOT, but is it going to affect the bike that badly with the throttles and slides closed and we're just kicking it over on a cold start on choke? I hasten to add I'm not being sarcastic; I'm genuinely curious.
I'm a bit frustrated, friends and neighbors. If I had a daily rider and this were my project "toy" I'd be perfectly happy to laugh and tinker and fiddle with her til the cows come home. But I'm a workin' dad on a tight budget, this is my very first bike (I'm 34, started late in life), I work on it when I can late at night after the kids have sacked out, and I've watched May and June sail past and my machine is keepin me parked. I finally said the heck with it, put it on choke and took it around the neighborhood tonight just to feel the dang wind in my hair. I don't mind telling you it's a bit nervewracking when you're a new rider, still trying to be cautious and remembering what they taught in the MSF RiderCourse, while at the same time tapdancing with the throttle and choke so you don't die at a light.
And we all know the 400X has no electric start, so when I DO die at a light I've gotta roll out of the way and kick the crap out of it to relight it while cars sail by, their drivers no doubt giggling at the fat guy on the weird old bike.
Sigh, ok that's my story. Please feel free to pick it and me apart; I'm out of options, friends. And thanks.
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