1980 gs850 breathing issues.

[Ed Hall]

I am putting this bike together I got it as a non running project barn find. I got it running with liberal amounts of seafoam and a good carb cleaning. I do not have the air box mounted or anything else aft of the carbs. The bike will idle but dies quickly once you give it throttle. I understand that is to be expected on these cv carbs with no air restriction. The bike needs new air filter. The stock foam disentigrated. If I get the $50 KN filter for the stock airbox will ineed to readjet the carbs? or is the stock foam type of filter the recomended one?

[mrbill5491]

I am putting this bike together I got it as a non running project barn find. I got it running with liberal amounts of seafoam and a good carb cleaning. I do not have the air box mounted or anything else aft of the carbs. The bike will idle but dies quickly once you give it throttle. I understand that is to be expected on these cv carbs with no air restriction. The bike needs new air filter. The stock foam disentigrated. If I get the $50 KN filter for the stock airbox will ineed to readjet the carbs? or is the stock foam type of filter the recomended one?

Ah a newbe, welcome to the GS forum. You should be getting a Mega welcome from Basscliff soon.

For starters, you have a 32 year old bike which probably is going to needs tons of maintenance. To answer your main question, yes the bike will not run with out the stock air box. If you buy the K&N (I would buy it) ( of which I run ) at this time you won't need to rejet with the stock airbox. If and when you decided to go to a 4 into 1 exhaust then you'll have to rejet some. If you go to pods and a 4 into 1 things get more interesting. So for now, a few things you need to look into, carbs, total rebuild with new orings, gotta adjust the valves period, clean the tank, and petcock, new plugs, oil and filter, brake lines and fluid. Tires, wheel bearings, steering head bearings, and swing arm bearings need to be inspected, cleaned, regreased and or replaced. Electrical system needs to be inspected, all connections cleaned and or replaced if burnt. Charging system needs to be checked as well, stator and R/R. This is the major stuff, the fun has yet to begin. Once done, you'll have one fine bike on your hands.

[Ed Hall]

done so far

The bike has only 17k on it and the valves dont rattle (had a gs650 in the 80's it had valve rattle) I got new/used tank. When I cleaned the rust out of the original I found not much metal left. It leaked badly. I Cleaned the petcock, flushed the brakes, replaced all hoses, replaced the tach cable, lubed the rest. I pulled running boards and fwd controls off (I dont like them) put stock pegs and controls on it. It has a smaller battery than stock a 12N I think. I am not sure why the previous owner did that but it is working so I left it until it becomes a issue. I cleaned and repaired the electrical connections. think I need to do it again. The charging voltage is only 12.8 or 12.9

[tom203]

Ed Hall said....."The bike has only 17k on it and the valves dont rattle (had a gs650 in the 80's it had valve rattle) "

Valve rattle? more likely cam chain loose, the valve clearances on these critters is tiny (.002 inch) and gets tinier as things wear- i.e. don't trust your ears. here's a link to get you thinking

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/GSR_Greeting.html

[Steve]

if you would like to hear the engine rev before you get the airbox back on, take a shop rag, fold it in half and drape it over the carb intakes. Use hose clamps or zip-ties to anchor it to the two outer carbs, then start the engine. This will allow good throttle response, and will even allow you to drive it around the block, but will not be good for establishing jetting baselines.

As Mr. Bill mentioned, your 32-year-old bike needs maintenance. Even more so, now that it's 33 years old.

The most important things that you want to address before you go any farther are to verify valve adjustment, clean the carbs and ensure proper charging. Don't wait for the valves to make noise. They usually tighten up in use, and going tight will damage the engine. THAT noise is EXPENSIVE. There is more to cleaning the carbs than simply dropping the bowls and spritzing what you can see with some carb cleaner. Unless you KNOW that the bike has been a daily driver in its very recent history, you will likely need to pull the rack completely apart and soak the carb bodies and jets overnight (each), then put them back together with new o-rings. It sounds like you already know that there are charging issues. With a few minutes of testing, you will be able to determine whether you simply have a loose connection or will have to replace some parts.

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[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!!

Hi Mr. Ed Hall,

The valves should rattle. If not, then they are probably too tight, which is bad and will lead to burned valves. They should be checked every 4000 miles according to the factory manual. The stock replacement K&N air filter does not require rejetting. I use that and the UNI foam air filter, going back and forth using whichever one is clean. Follow the maintenance lists carefully using the time-tested, tried-and-true procedures you will find on my website. Skipping steps or taking shortcuts will lead to frustration at best, injury and mayhem at worse. Pay close attention to the Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Here's your "mega-welcome".

EDIT: See The Stator Papers, the electrical (stator and r/r) "how to" guides on my website, and the supplemental charging system information in the electrical section.

If you are here you probably have a 30 year old motorcycle that needs about 20 years worth of maintenance. You'll find all kinds of helpful tips, procedures, manuals, diagrams, "how-to" guides, etc, in the links below. Let's get started.

Let me dump a TON of 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. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. 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

[Ed Hall]

Thank you

Lot of information to go over.

[Steve]

Lot of information to go over.

BOOKMARK IT.

You WILL be referring to it often.

.

[mrbill5491]

okay okay 33 years old...oui vey