new member, gs650 carb issues

[jakeh]

Hi guys, I recently bought a 1982 gs650 in good shape except it has sat since 2008 and carbs are all but useless. Tried pulling them off and removing and cleaning jets as well as vigorously squirting carb cleaner through all of the passages and still no fuel to engine. removed them again and saw that when I manualy pushed the floats up and down, the little needles only followed maybe half the time. tried to remove one of the float pins, but ended up snapping off one of the legs in the process. Im so fed up right now Im really on the verge of just finding a new set of fresh carbs for the bike. Any suggestions on A: fixing my POS carbs, B: what and where I could find a new assembly? I know I need to buy a rebuild kit for the carbs but if I cant even get the floats out whats the use?

[tkent02]

Patience Glasshopper.

[eil]

Any carbs you manage to buy are likely to be as bad or in worse condition than the ones you already have.

Are you following one of the carb rebuild guides on BassCliff's site?

Like tkent02 says, motorcycle maintenance requires patience. Also a clear and rational mind. Without these, you will not be happy with the results.

[gpd211]

Tried pulling them off and removing and cleaning jets as well as vigorously squirting carb cleaner through all of the passages and still no fuel to engine. removed them again and saw . . .

Remove them again and do a proper cleaning. It involves soaking the at least over night and new o-ring set.

[Nessism]

You might want to check the carb rebuild tutorial linked in my signature. For one thing it will tell you how to get the float pin out without busting the carb bodies. Also check the Newbie Mistakes thread so you know some common problems to avoid.

To get a new carb body, try the Parts Wanted forum, and be specific on which carb you need.

Good luck

[tom203]

Please read Nessism's carb cleaning tutorial. Once gummed up, these carbs can't be cleaned completely by spraying and blowing- there are tiny passages that are tenacious at holding gunk.

You might find a decent set of used carbs on ebay- but they still would require cleaning;or they could be in worse shape than your current set, hard to tell till you open them up. Some broken float legs can be repaired.

[Winterstein182]

Hang in there.

I just got done this morning with my 650 that's been sitting for 3 months. I busted 2 carbs! Don't feel bad. If you're gonna work on stuff things like this are gonna happen. No carbs showed up on eBay for weeks, then 2 sets on one night. I bought them and had my bike running great 4 days later. You can do this! The easy way out is to buy a spare set for about 100 bucks and drop them off to someone, but you'll miss the great buzz I have right now. P.S. Some of these aftermarket slides are junk. I'm running 2 of the 30 year old ones right now!

[Nessism]

I just got done this morning with my 650 that's been sitting for 3 months. I busted 2 carbs! Don't feel bad. If you're gonna work on stuff things like this are gonna happen. No carbs showed up on eBay for weeks, then 2 sets on one night. I bought them and had my bike running great 4 days later. You can do this! The easy way out is to buy a spare set for about 100 bucks and drop them off to someone, but you'll miss the great buzz I have right now. P.S. Some of these aftermarket slides are junk. I'm running 2 of the 30 year old ones right now!

The carb rebuild tutorial details how to clean up the carbs without damaging them. Wish more people would research before busting stuff.

[Winterstein182]

My ebay carbs looked like this. Wow!

Just be ready for this. You WILL need a rebuild kit. Ha ha!

[Winterstein182]

The carb rebuild tutorial details how to clean up the carbs without damaging them. Wish more people would research before busting stuff.

Wish you weren't a grump.

[Steve]

Just be ready for this. You WILL need a rebuild kit. Ha ha!

For that? You don't need a "rebuild kit", you just need a good cleaning and the stock parts.

Wish you weren't a grump.

He's not really a grump. It's just that we have so much information posted on how to do the job properly, some of the new guys (and a few of the older ones) jump in, do the job incorrectly or bust parts, then comment on what grumps we are. We are just saying that it's all out there for the looking (and taking). If you have trouble finding it, ask, we will show you.

Yeah, we might grump a bit about having to show you where the stuff is, but eventually, you will catch on.

.

[Winterstein182]

Really?

A good cleaning repairs float bowl gaskets, rubber plugs and diaphragms? Since when?!

[Winterstein182]

To be fair...

To be fair, this site is priceless and Basscliff is THE MAN!

[BigD_83]

A good cleaning repairs float bowl gaskets, rubber plugs and diaphragms? Since when?!

I'm not reading into the responses what you are. I don't see where anyone suggested that a good cleaning fixes everything that is wrong with a gunked up set of carbs (and yours were absolutely nasty)

I think what is being said is that the aftermarket jets, etc that come in the rebuild kits are of lesser quality than the original parts (as you found out form the slides), and whenever possible, reuse what you have or try to source other original or OEM parts.

There are going to be times when one would have to use an inferior part due to lack of availability of OEM parts. Diaphragms do spring to mind...rubber plugs are available as individual units (partsnmore for one) and gaskets, if you are not lucky enough to be able to pull them off in one piece, can be homemade quite easily if you are a DIY kind of person.

[Winterstein182]

Agree 100%!