I am quite new to being an at home mechanic, and I have ran into a problem with my gs 250t. A couple months ago, I noticed that the engine had a little difficulty starting up every now and then, I didn't think much of it, but looking back I also saw that the choke was very sensitive on the bike, and that the bike was ticking over above revs etc...
As I said I didn't think much of it, and I thought, when I have some free time I can clean the carbs etc...
Unfortunately over the course of 3 days in September, the bike went from push starting to not starting whatsoever. I didn't know at the time what a vacuum leak was, and I thought it must be a blocked jet/fuel line, bad fuel, or something along those lines. I spent a lot of time deliberating, I was getting good spark, the spark plugs were in good condition, but to be safe I replaced them. There was clean fuel, however none of it was entering the pistons, and the engine would not fire whatsoever, no catching at all... not even with starter fluid sprayed directly into the carbs. I thought it was an air fuel ratio issue I changed the air filter and tried again, still no luck.
After some digging I learnt about Vacuum Leaks, and looked at getting the carbs rebuilt, which as it turns out, the turnaround time for this is quite long, a couple of months, and costly (I am a student, and I need the bike to go to work.)
I am firmly convinced that the above issues are due to a vacuum leak, I dug around some more and found that a common issue for vacuum leaks in the manifold rubbers. Unfortunately there are no measurements I know of to compare them to, in order to determine if they are warped, however they are not cracked, and the rubber is still relatively flexible. The screws around them are fairly stuck in place, I am worried about destroying them If I try to take them off without an impact screwdriver, also very difficult to get at due to orientation with airbox.
I had another look at the system this weekend and saw that the metal inserts on the airbox were loose, and also that the carbs were dirty where they connected to the air-box. I have seen on the forum, that pods etc... cause a lot of difficulty with the bike. The force needed to push the airbox into position is quite great, I'd be surprised if there was an air leak, but the dirt is quite visible. Do you think that a leak between the airbox and the carbs could prevent the bike from catching? The inside of the carbs are very clean, not a hint of residues or dirt, as though they had been rebuilt already. The pilot jet screw has been tampered with, as there are marks from a screwdriver from before.
I wanted to know what you all thought about the issue above, if you think it is a vacuum issue, carb related or seal related, I have some industrial rubber silicone sealant, and vulcanizing tape which may fix the problem, I am going to replace all the hose clamps as they all are at their smallest adjustment, before I use any industrial products.
I left it into a shop when it broke down, but no-one could identify the problem.
I'm not in a place right now to pick up another bike and take out another policy, (Irish Insurance likes to price gouge massively) If anyone knows a way (even temporary) in which I can get the bike started and running decently for a couple months (until June) it would be much appreciated, I still need to take my full drivers test etc... hopefully I can do so before my policy expires.
In case I cannot get the bike to start still, If anyone could refer me to somewhere to buy the correct sized manifold rubbers, or an adapter type unit just in case, it would be much appreciated.
Does anyone know why absolutely no fuel would be able to get into the engine? I am stumped as to why the carbs would shut closed completely when there is no vacuum.
Thank you in advance for your help.
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