Newby with GS850G

[romtang]

I called the previous owner and asked him if he had any problems starting the bike the month he owned it. He told me that 5 min b4 he started the bike he went out and turn the petcock to prime. Then he had NO problem.
FYI----maybe that'll help figure out whats wrong with my GS850.....

[dpep]

I called the previous owner and asked him if he had any problems starting the bike the month he owned it. He told me that 5 min b4 he started the bike he went out and turn the petcock to prime. Then he had NO problem.
FYI----maybe that'll help figure out whats wrong with my GS850.....

Good info. See if that does it. Definitely a fuel delivery problem. Maybe a leak in the vaccum line? After you get going are you able to run for extended periods at highway speeds without a problem? When you park the bike at day's end there should be enough gas in the float bowls to at least fire the bike with the choke on. It does not sound like that is the case for your bike. You can check that with the drain screws on the bottoms of the carbs. Also see if there are any specks of rust in gas you drain. And see if you can see any rust spots inside your tank. Remember to Prime your carbs to fill the bowls back up when you are done. Possible culprits: vaccum line, petcock, rust in the system.

[romtang]

Yes after it is running it runs good. Although, this morning on the way to work, when I opened the throttle fast, it acts as if it is going to die. Left for lunch now and battery died trying to start. Didn't switch to prime;(
So I walked home.

[romtang]

Made it back to work and the bike started up fine.
Got off work 4 hrs later and bike started fine this time.(had petcock on prime)

[dpep]

Yes after it is running it runs good. Although, this morning on the way to work, when I opened the throttle fast, it acts as if it is going to die. Left for lunch now and battery died trying to start. Didn't switch to prime;(
So I walked home.

You are not getting enough gas to the carbs. It would be one of the things I mentioned in my previous post. The smaller hose coming off your petcock is the vacuum line. If it is cracked or does not have airtight connection at both ends it would reduce the flow of fuel when the lever is in the ON or RES positions. When the Lever is on PRIme the gas just flows in by gravity; the problem is that not enough gas will flow into the carbs that way to sustain running at speed.

You are getting just enough gas to your carbs to keep the engine running steady. There isn't any extra in the bowls if you need to punch it. And when you shut down there isn't enough in the bowls to start it the next time. The priming gravity feeds enough gas into the bowls to start it.

Vacuum line or petcock are bad. Rust in the tank could have started the problem.

[romtang]

Okay thanks for the info. I looked and I do not have a fuel filter. . If there is rust in the tank a filter would be good, right?
How hard is it to paint vetter side bags? Can buy set of side bags with brackets for $50.00 but no trunk Oh yeah they are red. My bike is not..

[Steve]

Anybody with decent car-painting skills should be able to paint the Vetters. Just remember that only the doors get painted, not the entire bag.



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[dpep]

Okay thanks for the info. I looked and I do not have a fuel filter. At least I don't have one on the main line coming out of the tank. Neither from petcock to carbs. If there is rust in the tank a filter would be good, right?

If you have rust coming from the tank, you need to properly coat the tank with Kreem or Pur and then clean out the fuel delivery system from the petcock thru the carbs. Sorry, but anything else is a bandaid that will repeatedly fall off and at the worst possible times. You can use a fuel filter as a diagnostic, to confirm the existence of rust, but it will not cure. For one thing it is downstream from and of no protection to the petcock which is very susceptible to rust and tank crud.

[romtang]

If you have rust coming from the tank, you need to properly coat the tank with Kreem or Pur and then clean out the fuel delivery system from the petcock thru the carbs. Sorry, but anything else is a bandaid that will repeatedly fall off and at the worst possible times. You can use a fuel filter as a diagnostic, to confirm the existence of rust, but it will not cure. For one thing it is downstream from and of no protection to the petcock which is very susceptible to rust and tank crud.

Couldn't I stick a filter before the petcock?

[dpep]

Couldn't I stick a filter before the petcock?

No, the top of the petcock sits IN the gas tank. There are only two type of gas tanks on our twenty five year old motorcycles: those that have been coated, and those the need to be coated.

[bwringer]

PLEASE don't use Kreem. That stuff is krap. Pure heartbreak in a bottle. it looks like Elmer's glue, and I suspect it is, because it works about as well.

If you need to coat your tank, get a Por 15 kit and follow the intructions diligently.

http://por15.com/PRODUCTS/COMPLETEKITS/CYCLETANKREPAIRKIT/tabid/103/Default.aspx

[romtang]

If I pull the fuel line shouldn't gas flow freely out of the petcock??

[Steve]

Gas WILL flow freely out of the petcock under three conditions:
1. petcock in ON, vacuum applied to vacuum port (this is GOOD)
2. petcock in PRIME (this is also GOOD)
3. something is broken (this is not so GOOD)

I suggest you drain as much gas as you can out of the tank, remove the tank from the bike, remove the petcock. Examine the screen that covers the inlet area for crud. If you need to clean it, try spraying it first (I use carburetor cleaner and canned air), as it might be very brittle and break. I believe replacement screens might be available, but I am not sure.

If you happen to remove the screen, take a good look at which way it came out. If you look carefully inside the screen, you will see that there are essentially two tubes, one goes near the top, the other is short and ends just above the bottom. This difference in height is the amount of your reserve. If you happen to put the screen in backwards (yes, it WILL fit that way), you will NOT have anything in reserve. (don't ask how I know.)

While you have the petcock out, examine the bottom of the tank to see if there is any rust collecting there. This will determine the amount of cleaning (or coating) you will need to have done.


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[dpep]

If I pull the fuel line shouldn't gas flow freely out of the petcock??

Only if it is set on Prime. If is set to On or Reserve there will need to be a vacuum in the vacuum line. You can test this by pulling the fuel line, leaving the vacuum line on, and cranking the engine a couple of quick turns to see if gas does flow out. Have a funnel or container under the petcock and a shop towel handy.

[romtang]

That's alot of great info!

Since the only time I have problems starting is the first start of the day, I'll try taking the line off and see what results I get. (gas or No gas that is the question)