78 GS550E throttle travel

[Guest]

Working on trying to start 78 550E for first time in 20 years. When I twist the throttle, I only get about a 1/4" of travel or less. I feel like I should get more throttle movement. I've twisted pretty hard and it definitely doesn't want to turn anymore. What can I check without pulling carbs from bike? Thanks.

[tom203]

20 years of sitting. Do yourself a favor and pull carbs, sooner or later you will have to anyway! They could be frozen internally from gunk.

[snaggletto]

20 years of sitting. Do yourself a favor and pull carbs, sooner or later you will have to anyway! They could be frozen internally from gunk.

The tank was emptied and carb bowls were drained when it was parked. It is still likely that the jets are clogged, but the throttle issue seems to be mechanical. Can anyone tell me what kind of travel I should be getting on the pull cable?

[CrazyCloud]

I'm guessing you should have more like an inch or so of travel. Try unhooking the pull cable and operating the throttle at the carb manually. If it moves a lot more you know the issue is the cable. If it still won't budge you know the slides are all gooped up in the carbs (most likely). Work the throttle at the grip with the pull cable unhooked to assure it functions freely.

[snaggletto]

I'm guessing you should have more like an inch or so of travel. Try unhooking the pull cable and operating the throttle at the carb manually. If it moves a lot more you know the issue is the cable. If it still won't budge you know the slides are all gooped up in the carbs (most likely). Work the throttle at the grip with the pull cable unhooked to assure it functions freely.

The slides were in fact frozen in the bores. I soaked them with aero kroil and carb cleaner until they loosened up. I then put on the tank and got it started up. It won't idle by itself but I can hold the throttle cracked and keep it running down to just under 1k rpm. I'm going to adjust the idle speed a bit and see. Thanks for the help.

[CrazyCloud]

It should idle well at 1000-1200 rpm (need to have airbox on), if not pilot circuits in the bowls or idle jets are probably clogged up. These old beasts are virtually indestructible, but they won't run well until you have adjusted the valves and meticulously cleaned the carbs. Check out BassCliff's site if you haven't yet, for a manual for your ride and lots of priceless info. Good luck with it.