anyone that can sync carbs??

[Anonymous]

this is gonna be my last attempt on this bike.. i was wanting to know if anyone out there would be willing to sync my carbs, set my floats and whatnot for me on my 86gs550es..the places here in st.louis are wanting 300 to 400 to do this and i honestly don't have that much to put into the bike considering i bought the bike off ebay for 385.00 lol... if someone is willing to do it for a reasonable price i will ship them to you with a return shipping label and everything else...i'd greatly appreciate it thanks!!! i think they might just need a good cleaning and tuning i geuss all i can do is hope for the best

[gspaul]

They have to be synced on the bike,maybe you can find someone to help you in your area, rephrase you topic to attract people from your city.
Or you could buy the gauges for a lot less than they would charge you.

[scotty]

get your own gages. I seriously would try another shop.The price you were given tells me that the mechanic was not a mechanic and wanted to scare you off because he didn't know how to do it. It is a ridiculous amount. Suggestion. Look for a motorcycle junk yard where they sell used old bikes. Usually that sort are masters at wrenching and tuning just about any machine. JUST BE SURE ITS A RICE BURNER JUNK YARD

[Nerobro]

Well... We could certianly take care of the carbs. But what's preventing you from doing it yourself? none of it is terriably difficult. and syncing the carbs is next to imposable without your bike. (I happen to have two, running exmaples of the 550 TSCC engine so I "could" do it..)

I mean... Spend the $15, pick up a set of screwdrivers, and go for it. :-) You won't regret it.

[Anonymous]

where could i buy the gauges??

[Billy Ricks]

You can bench sync the carbs and they will be close enough that it should run decent. It just involves making sure the butterflies in the carbs are all set the same and opening at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Dude, you need to buy a manual as well before you give up

You've asked aload of questions lately and if you spent a few bucks on a s/h manual you'd get the money back in spades and it'd be a BIG help for you!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Suzuki-Gs550-Fours-1977-1985-Service-Repair-Main_W0QQitemZ4562205901QQcategoryZ378QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Good advice above. Take the time to find a manual. Please try to get the factory manual if you can. If not, find it later and get the best you can.
Morgan carb tune is a very nice tool that doesn't use mercury. But it's about $100?? I use a Motion Pro, with mercury, that's simple and works as well as the operator. About $40. You should also have access to two larger fans to cool the motor while synching. Learning to synch sometimes takes a bit and you don't want to over-heat the motor. Basic, but good fitting tools are necessary too.
Between the manual and advice here, there's no reason you can't do your own carb work. Just ask here first before tearing into the carbs. Make a topic on what to do BEFORE doing the work.
But expect the unexpected. You don't say what's exactly wrong with the carbs. Parts, very expensive parts, could be bad. If rebuilding yours is the right choice depends. If your bike will idle and respond reasonably well to throttle openings, then your very expensive rubber diaphragms are probably good. Those are the biggest worry. If the carbs show no serious corrosion, that's a good sign. If you just need new inner o-rings, manifold o-rings, float adjustment, cleaning...you can do this yourself.

[mark]

86gs: Hang in there and get the manual and with a little help from these folks, you can do it!

[Darkchyld]

Have you tried to "bench sync" them yet?
I can get very close with the following method.

One carb is not adjustable. Using a thin, .005" feeler gage, trap it under the butterfly. Using the idle adjust screw get it to where it just slides out.
This is the "base Line".
Now adust the other three, using the sync adjusters, so the feeler gage justs slides out from them. Do it two or three times to make sure you got them all right.
On my 1100 I use a mercury "Carb Stick" and this method comes so close I generally don't need futher adjustments.
Used this method recently on a GS850, there are other "issues" pending but when it runs, it runs well. I have NOT checked it with the carb stick yet.

[Anonymous]

Symptoms?

We know you have an 86 GS550ES.

We don't know any symptoms. Does it run at all? Does gas drip all over the ground/floor when it's just sitting and the fuel selector is in PRI (PRIME) ?

Just from knowing what you have, I can tell you some FACTS:

You have two carbs not 4 like most all 4 cylinder models have. They are very unique Mukuni carbs. The use a common float, needle, and seat in each carb but have two butterflies in each one. Each half carb has it's own fuel metering:

Idle passages, plugged (hidden by plugs) idle mixture screws (these are at the engine end of the carbs and are about 5/16 inch in diameter with a hole in the middle. These must be removed and the idle screws unscrewed and removed (don't mix them up) if you tank the carbs. There are rubber O rings on the end of these screws. Anyway, even though the manufacturers say not to mess with these, I've yet to see a carbureted engine that didn't need a touch up of idle mixture if anything else is done to the engine. The previous owner might have screwed up those settings (but maybe not)

Every one that said the carb sync is not a big deal is right. I agree, mechanically syncronized will get it running! There are only TWO vacuum ports to connect a gauge/syncrhonizer. You also have only ONE adjustment to make right in the middle between the carbs. It doesn't take much adjustment to change the sync and it's a bit of a challenge to lock the nut down when you have it set. The adjustment is betwen the carbs where the throttle cable connects to the carburetors.

If it's dripping gas, as I mentioned at the start, your float is sticking, needle is worn or just plain dirty but probably not bad. Mine cleaned right up with lacquer thinner.

If it runs over 4K RPM but not well below, concentrate on low-end or midrange. The low end doesn't seem to get clogged too easily so I won't dwell on that. Midrange though, is a frequent problem on one of these that hasn't run for a while. Midrange problems require a carb removal for good cleaning.

I'll leave that for a future installment afer we get some symptoms.

I recently readjusted my valves (according to service schedule) and had to re adjust idle mixture and synchronization. It ran really bad before the carb adjustments!


Runs the best it ever has.


Tim

[Anonymous]

the symptoms of the bike are that when you fire it up or let it cool down for say an hour or so the bike will fire right up idle good and everything like it's brand new..then when the bike warms up say after 15 20 min of riding it surges at idle and has no low end at all once it hits bout 6 grand it runs perfect and is difficult to start and sometimes doesn't. on the highway for instance the bike runs excellent but around town it sucks..i know how the petcock works and no it's not on prime and no it doesn't leak gas at all..i rejetted the main jets up 2 sizes up from stock since i have a 4 into 1 and a k&n with a stock air box and that woke the bike up alot but it still had that problem with the idling and when it warms up..and sometimes when it is surging i can hear it backfiring through the carbs..besides that though everything about the bike is perfect..

[KEITH KRAUSE]

OK. If this is your idle problem scenario: Start bike up cold, bike idles about 1,100 rpm's. Once the bike is warmed up/hot, idle rpm's climb significantly. So you turn the idle adjuster down to about 1,100 rpm's, ride off and all seems fine. Turn off bike so it cools down or overnight.
Now at cold/cooled down re-start, the bike won't start easily or idle until you turn the idle adjuster back up to 1,100 rpm. The bike warms up, the idle goes up....
Classic intake leak. Check the condition of your manifolds and any o-rings inside them. You may be lucky and just have loose manifold clamps, but bad o-rings/manifolds are more common.