Having the most fun ever!

[Guest]

I've been dealing with a starter issue in my '78 GS1000. I got a rebuild kit from Ricks, didn't really work with my starter. Pretty certain its taken from some tractor or something. Well i have a rusty shed found GS850 on the side of my garage, pulled the starter out and tested it, it works. got new oil seals in it, brushes looked good. Put it in my bike. Now the bike will start, only if i choke the hell out of it, and tighten the air screw on the carbs ALL the way in. then it runs like garbage and eventually dies. Ran fine before, was only dealing with the starter. Did i bump something? does this bike hate me? running outta ideas.

[notronk]

I will note, that it did run great last week for a day, then the starter did nothing again.

[Steve]

Ran fine before, ...

How long ago was "before"?

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[notronk]

5-7 days ago. and before that, last summer.

[Steve]

5-7 days ago, it was running beautifully and you rode through two tanks of gas with absolutely no issues?

Or did you "choke the hell out of it", get it sputtering, have it die, then give up on it?

Basically, it sounds like it has not been running for a year. CLEAN the carbs, replace the o-rings with a kit from cycleorings.com. Please keep in mind that cleaning the carbs is NOT just dropping the bowls and spritzing some carb cleaner spray in there, it is a multi-day process. The carbs need to be completely stripped down and soaked in "dip" overnight, then rinsed out and re-assembled with new o-rings. If you are not comfortable with the process, send them to one of several members here that offer that service for a modest fee. Your carbs will be returned in tip-top shape, then you can address the other issues.

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