GS850gl carb sync gone south

[jsandidge]

ya think this might have been part of the problem? [ATTACH=CONFIG]56216[/ATTACH]

No doubt about that. You find all kinds of PO shenanigans.

[Uncamitzi]

No doubt about that. You find all kinds of PO shenanigans.

Oh.. I can't blame that one on the PO... if anything it was MY lack of attention to detail or understanding of things.. I had one of the tips break off and went through hell and even designed my own tool to remove the tip from the body. IMG_20180908_162138503[1].jpg My guess is I had the 3 already installed and when the new airscrew arrived I just got it in without checking if it matched the other 3.... another lesson learned.

[Uncamitzi]

Got the new idle air mixture screws... because of the wear on one of the "good" ones.. I replaced two of them (mis matched #1 and #3 looked a bit worn because it was closed for years?), backed them off the soft seat 2.5 turns.. got all ready to sync the carbs... and started the bike to let it warm up... after about 6 or 7 minutes.. the bike is idling better than before.. LOTS better than before. I guess having having one that was miss matched and one that was screwed all the way down.. was affecting it more than I had guessed.

[Uncamitzi]

Was running pretty good. As I was buttoning it up, getting ready to test the carbs on the road... I sprung a leak in the fuel supply line.... to get to the root I took the airbox off so that I could get to the hose clamp I have on the carb. after replacing the fuel line I spent about an hour trying to get the air box boots back on... then I remembered they go on better when they are attached to the carbs and then the whole shabang is remounted together... well, while the air box was off, I figured it was a good time to clean my air filter.. and then I got to looking the sad job I did on my repaint... So, already long story made longer.. I stripped the old paint off, cleaned and primed and re-painted the air box. This is the stripped box. IMG_20180914_155135819.jpg almost a shame I need to repaint it.. a bit more shining and it would look better this way.

[Steve]

... so that I could get to the hose clamp I have on the carb. ...

What are you using for hoses? If you use OEM hoses, you don't need any clamps.

.

[Uncamitzi]

I use non-OEM fuel hose and a filter, That's what I use, and it's fixed now...I'm not going to change as even though my tank is sparkling clean, when I changed the filter there was stuff in it. So I'll keep the filter. I went from a 45 deg angle to a 90 deg angle that relieved the stress on the line from the tank, that is where the leak formed at the filter. So new flexible fuel hose and a clean filter. With the air screw replacements (I checked and they all match now) the response on the throttle was amazing. I've never had the RPM up to the red line without a considerable lag ... and now it flies to faded red line (old tach) if I'm not careful On the stand it held at 7k with a firm steady hum... The carbs were not far out of sync (which amazed me) The airbox is now clean painted and pretty (as is my K&L filter) and after I spend the day puting the carbs back on I plan to go for a nice test ride. When I bought this bike back in 2012 I had hadn't ridden a motorcycle since high school. This has been an adventure in learning and yes, I've learned most of what I know from the wisdom and experience here on GS. I expect I have a lot more to learn.

[Uncamitzi]

IMG_20180915_135656617.jpg Looks pretty...now to hide it back on the bike. a few touches of liquid rubber around the edges of the airbox end gaskets...

[Uncamitzi]

Wow, found a short Youtube on reinstalling the carbs back into the intake boots with a ratchet strap.. It worked so well it was almost scary! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4qZIq0-cWg

[Uncamitzi]

Back to the drawing board. I've tried to look through the GS pages but I guess I'm just too frustrated with it right now. Got the carbs back on, cleaned and painted the airbox which was checked for leaks and integrity. On first blush the throttle was more responsive and after checking carb sync and fiddling with the mixture screws... I'm stuck. As I leave on a test ride the bike feels great. After about 2 miles I notice some missing... and the idle drops to near 0 at stop signs. When I pull the plugs all four are coated with soot (black carbon) I've had the screws from 1/2 turn all the way out to about 4 turns.. and the results are always the same.. I'm tired and going to think on this now... I'm tired of getting my fingers burned and cleaning spark plugs... so I'm again, open for suggestions.... but my guess right now is float height.... ?

[Uncamitzi]

So, fouling all 4 plugs with carbon, I've tried all the permutations of turns on the screws... then decided that may not be my problem. I checked the voltage at the coils and found I'm only getting 4.8 volts at the primary end. so again, I seem to be working this from the wrong end.

[Big T]

First, clean all of your electrical connections* and coat with dialectric grease prior to assembly
Then, check your voltage again
If the coils aren't getting 12 V +, you'll have issues

*Pulling the ignition switch and fuse box apart also. Ask me how I know this

[Uncamitzi]

First, clean all of your electrical connections* and coat with dialectric grease prior to assembly
Then, check your voltage again
If the coils aren't getting 12 V +, you'll have issues

*Pulling the ignition switch and fuse box apart also. Ask me how I know this

I've cleaned the contacts and coated with dielectric grease. I have also pulled the fuse box and cleaned and replaced connectors (they were fused and burnt) The fuse box is now cool to the touch while the bike is running. I pulled the right side cover and noticed that water had gotten into the timing advance and it was a bit stiff and rusted. Cleaned that and oiled it up moves freely now and looks clean.. checked the gasket and tightened the case. That made a difference. Things are getting better.. but I'll run down the voltage drop tomorrow. As I got home from my test ride I pulled the gas tank (again) and somehow the fuel petcock had moved from run to prime and gas went from hell to breakfast before I could get the damn thing turned... NEVER had that happen before.