Plug wires reversed?

[Supernaut]

So I was trying to start my GS850 last weekend and to my dismay I got it running... on the 2 right side cylinders only. This confirmed by the cold exhaust (or raw fuel vapor rather) coming out the left pipe.

Which lead me to a dirty thought today... In my rage of trying to piece this together last summer, could I have the 2 left side plug wires reversed? I am normally very careful to never have more than one wire off at a time. But anything is possible.

Now, lets assume they are not reversed and are on the proper plugs. Could I hurt anything by swapping them and trying it that way? I confirmed that all plugs are indeed sparking.

[airbornespud]

it won't hurt anything to swap them. they're not firing now, so if they're right and just not firing, swapping them isn't going to change anything except the spark timing.

if they're right and it's carbs, there's a lot to check. low speed jet plugged. float levels. petcock. and probably 6 or 10 other things i'm not thinking of right now.

[Supernaut]

I am aware of all the other possibilities. I just thought that would be a super simple thing to check first before digging too far.

[Supernaut]

Well that was a pipe dream. I was out there and low and behold the plug boots are designed in a way so they can't be reversed. D'oh!

Bah, looks like carbs have to come off again. The boots are so extremely hard and brittle that they can't really be reused. Can decent boots be found at a wrecking yard? I don't want to buy new ones as I'm just fixing this thing to sell it. In other words, I don't want to put any money into it. Just get it running.

At least they mysterious electrical problem it had last year where the generator was not giving a charge has fixed itself somehow.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

You won't get it running right without putting some money into it. You might as well sell it as a non-runner and let the next owner put his money into it.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff