Sudden Loss of Power 1980 GS850 G

[FreeRadicalz]

hey everyone, i haven't been able to do any trouble shooting on the bike just yet, been very busy. I plan on dedicating the weekend to it for sure.

i have noticed a couple other issues:
rubber boot at airbox not on very well (for cylinder #1)
carb boot wet looking (for cylinder #1)
cylinder #1 not firing

so i guess i have my hands full. but i'm going to test the electrical this weekend. then see if theres a spark for cylinder #1. looks like some carb-work in the near future too. i've parked the bike in my garage, i don't wanna ride it till i know whats up so as not to cause any more damage to her. gonna start figuring it out asap. i'll surely be on here asking a ton of questions.

thanks for your help folks!

FR

[FreeRadicalz]

Hey Everyone,

Well i finally was able to get everything done that i want to do on my bike: replaced air filter and sealed up airbox w/ new boots. Disassembled carbs, cleaned and replaced a couple jets, set float heights, w/ new boots. Got all my valve clearances within spec and replaced valve cover gasket, half moons, and breather cover gasket.

She had a hard time starting with the temporary gas tank but she fired up eventually and i was able to sync the carbs w/ Morgan Carbtune as best as this rookie could to. i found it nearly impossible getting to the #2 carb w/ the carbtool because of the choke cable and throttle cable were right where i needed to be. But i got em goin pretty much in sync. I put the gas tank and seat on, and went for a good long ride around the city late last night. She ran so much better than before and no stalling or sputtering out.

Unfortunately, this morning she wouldn't start! she almost started up, but wouldn't turn over. I wonder why? Any thoughts?

[DanTheMan]

Did you choke it? I assume it turned over (pistons went up and down, crank rotated), but wouldn't fire. My 1100G and my 850 both require full choke to fire in the mornings, especially as it gets cooler. The 1100 is a real stickler for choke, if I don't run it for a couple of days the bowls seem to run dry and I have to put the fuel valve on PRI, start it, and switch to RUN.
Sometimes it takes a lot of cranking with full choke to get it to fire, just don't crank and crank and crank until you run down the battery, that's hard on both the battery and the starter.

[2BRacing]

Unfortunately, this morning she wouldn't start! she almost started up, but wouldn't turn over. I wonder why? Any thoughts?

Is the battery good? Have it load-tested at a battery centre. If the battery cannot supply enough energy (amps), it will be difficult to get the bike to start easily. The starter uses a lot of energy and then there is not enough available to result in a strong spark.

Do you have a battery tender? Charge the battery fully and then try starting the bike again.

[FreeRadicalz]

i got a can of starter fluid and sprayed a lil shot into the snorkel. she started right away and kept running. i can shut it off of a while and she'll fire up again no problem. but if i leave it for anywhere to an hour to overnight, she won't start again without a lil persuasion from the starter fluid. i'm thinking two separate things right now. first, i got her running way too rich and need to better set the air mixture screws on the carbs, or; i sprayed a little too much filter oil on the air filter, which is making it run too rich as well. when she runs it sounds a lil wet. maybe it wont start because its hard to start a fire with a wet log (so to speak). I"m gonna pull the tank and try to adjust the carbs better. also, i think i'm gonna wrap the filter in a dry cloth and try and wring out some of the excess oil.

but all in all, she got so much more zip now, engine runs smooth and quiet, and she's not sucking air in the wrong places. thanks to everyone here for the help and advice so far, this rookie never woulda made it to this point without you all. i'll keep you posted.

[49er]

Good to hear you're nearly there.

Many over oil their air filters.

To avoid this on my 850, I use lawn mower 2 stroke mix to soak the foam in, before re-fitting it to the filter frame. There is ample oil film left on the foam after the petrol evaporates, and you never have to worry about over oiling. Give it a try.