80 GS1000G long list of problems

[crichter]

I just bought a 80 gs1000 was running fine when I bought it, now it won't run without the choke on it backfires and the plugs have carbon build up. This is the first bike I've ever owned and although I do all my own auto repairs I don't know much about bikes. Where should I start??

[850 Combat]

Classic signs of clogged pilot jets in the cars. You need to start with cleaning them, and that doesn't mean spraying them with cleaner. It should have its air box and filters installed to run as well. Nice bikes though.

[crichter]

Oh yeah forgot that it has white smoke out of one side of exhaust too.

[Nessism]

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

[eil]

Basically, you need to get caught up on _all_ of the regular maintenance that a 33 year-old motorbike requires in order to run right. You're likely to run into problems if you try to cut corners and just troubleshoot individual issues instead without going through all of the routine maintenance first.

If you head over to the GS Owners forum and introduce yourself, BassCliff will post a Mega Welcome with links to guides, tutorials, and service manuals. But for a sneak peek, you can start reading this: http://members.dslextreme.com/users/..._Greeting.html

[850 Combat]

The white smoke is probably water vapor. I wouldn't worry about it.

[crichter]

So I replaced the plugs and put some carb cleaner in the tank (as recommended before I just start tearing into things) and got some really bad smoke from the right exhaust pipe. I figured I would take it for a blast and maybe burn some carbon off. Well short lived, the throttle cable broke. Now i'm digging into that and realize I have to pull the carbs off to get the bottom of the cable off. And wow, super tarnished, and they smell like turpentine really bad. So do i try a complete rebuild or what should my next step be? And thanks for all the help so far.

[koolaid_kid]

You might as well do the complete rebuild. Lots of tiny passages that you can't really get to.
Order a set of o-rings from Robert Barr, get some new float gaskets since they are probably 33 years old, and follow Nessism's guide from BassCliff's web site. And if your engine has o-rings between the head and the intake pipes, order them as well.
When you are finished you will be glad you took the plunge.

[crichter]

pretty bad I guess?

[crichter]

Update. While waiting for my throttle cable I did a carb overhaul and tightened a few things here and there, Got it all put back together and runs like a dream! Thanks for the input it helped a bunch.

[crichter]

I'm still getting a slight backfire, any thoughts?