1979 GS850G starting issue

[Guest]

I was not sure which section post this in so I thought general would be best.

Here is the deal. I have a 1979 850G that is in great shape with only 22k on the clock.

I performed the following maintenance and the bike is still a major pain in the butt to start when cold or has been sitting for a week or so. I find I need to use the kickstart to get her going more often than I care to.

carbs properly cleaned - dipped and new orings
valve adjustment
sealed airbox
electronic ignition
new plugs


bike is stock and in great shape. Once running all is fine. Does not burn oil or leak oil. Bike was difficult to start prior to doing work listed above. Some direction would be a big help.

[azr]

How is the spark? have you checked the voltage getting to the coils? You know that coil mod only costs a couple of bucks and can turn a slow starting bike into a race horse.

[Big T]

Sitting for a week?

Try turning the petcock to Prime for a minute or so, then start it

[doug g]

Sitting for a week?

Try turning the petcock to Prime for a minute or so, then start it

I have tried that.

[doug g]

How is the spark? have you checked the voltage getting to the coils? You know that coil mod only costs a couple of bucks and can turn a slow starting bike into a race horse.

Did not do the coil mod. I guess I should look into it.

[Steve]

The coil relay mod is just a Band-Aid, it's better to fix the root problem, rather than apply patches.

It sounds like you have done all the proper stuff, how about the fine adjustments?
Where are your pilot screw settings? The fuel screw (the one on the bottom) should be about 3/4 turn out from lightly seated, the air screw (the one on the side) should be about double that. Granted, those will only come into play once the bike is running.

Since it is hard to start, I would suggest verifying that the "choke" tube that sticks down into the float bowl is clear. Pull the float bowls and the "choke" plungers, doing whatever is necessary. It has been a while since I have worked on a set of VM carbs, I don't remember if you can pull the "choke" plungers without separating the carb rack or not. Spray some carb cleaner into the hole and jet in the float bowl that feeds the "choke" pickup tube. Be careful, it will spray back at your face from another hole.

Spray some carb cleaner into the "choke" pickup tube to see if it comes out near the tip of the plunger. Spray some carb cleaner back down from the little hole in the plunger area. Follow all of this with some compressed air. Verify your float height, then put it all back together.

One last item when you get it all back together: are you starting it correctly?
Apply the "choke", pull the clutch lever (unless that has been bypassed), press the starter button, do NOT touch the throttle. The "choke" (actually an enrichment system) on these bikes requires the high vacuum of a CLOSED throttle to work. If you open the throttle AT ALL, there will not be enough vacuum for it to work, and you will be tyring to start by using the regular pilot circuit, which is a bit too lean for cold starting.

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[azr]

Did not do the coil mod. I guess I should look into it.

It's an easy one to check. If the voltage at the coils is more than a 1 volt drop, basically below 11 volts, you should probably do the coil mod. If it's that or higher you'll probably want to do as Steve suggests. I've had to go back into rebuilt carbs more than once that's for sure.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I cleaned up all the wiring and did the coil relay mod just to make sure I have the maximum voltage at the coils. It fires up with the touch of the button every time.

Even after a coil relay mod you will have electrical issues if you do not clean the entire wiring harness, connections, grounds, fuse box, blinker stalks, ignition switch, everything.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Steve]

I cleaned up all the wiring and did the coil relay mod just to make sure I have the maximum voltage at the coils. It fires up with the touch of the button every time.

On the other hand, I have not done the coil relay mod on any of the six bikes that have come through my garage, and all of them start "with the touch of the button every time".

Not saying you shouldn't do it or that it won't help, just that it might not be the problem. As azr suggests, check the voltage at the coils, then compare it with the voltage at the battery without changing anything. If there is more than a volt difference, try cleaning some connections first, if that doesn't work go ahead and do "the mod".

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