starting trouble

[spec]

i just bought an 82 gs450
i love it
the guy who sold it to me told me
i might need to spray some starting fluid into
the air filter to start it when it's cold
well i never needed to for the first few weeks
now the weather here in S.C. is nicer and
it's starting to need the spray can this be fixed
the guy from the cycle shop said ( over the phone) it was just that the engine is old and not vacuming fuel and the only fix is to rebuild the enegine ????

[chef1366]

Get a compression guage if you don't already have one and check your compression. Remember to check it with your throttle wide open and the engine warm. If your compression is good your carbs probably need cleaned with a nice new set of o-rings http://www.cycleorings.com/
Also replace the o-ring behind your intake boot.
Here is a good tutorial

http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

Make sure your airbox is sealed and all your boots are plyable with NO cracks.
Also check your spark plugs and the connection on your spark plug boots.

[rphillips]

A complete eng. rebuild would be last thing I would think about, but the compression test will tell you for sure. I'll bet on the carbs. Good luck!

[arveejay]

i just bought an 82 gs450
the guy from the cycle shop said ( over the phone) it was just that the engine is old and not vacuming fuel and the only fix is to rebuild the enegine ????

He told you that because it was easier than telling you he had no idea what was really wrong with it. You will have fun trying to find a shop that will even look at an old bike. If they tell you it will cost more to fix it than it's worth maybe you'll buy a new bike.
Stay with it, it will live again.

[spec]

thank you all

thanks for the tips
actually the bike runs great
and most of the time starts with out even choking it
just when it sits for a while and it's cold sometimes it
needs a spray
but thanks a lot yall
- steve " spec "

[DickV]

I have an 82 GS450 also (a TXZ) and have had difficulty starting it some times. I have found that if I set the choke on when it is cold and don't touch the throttle it starts almost immediately. I let it warm up and as the idle speed increases I back off the choke lever. I have to let it warm up for several minutes before I can ride it with confidence that it won't stumble if I try to go with no choke. If I am impatient I leave it on part choke and go but then it usually won't drop down to a nice idle speed.
I suggest you just keep experimenting with the choke setting when starting and you might find the winning setting.
DickV

[bradleymaynar]

Hot or cold temps, I experience the same thing on my 1100 if it isn't started over a few days. My only suggestion would be to get a battery tender, and, maybe, replace the battery if it's older than a couple years.

I've found that if I start the bike occassionally when I know it's going to be parked more than a week, it will generally fire without much difficulty.

Brad bt

[tomo]

Not too sure about the carbs on your bike, but if it has breather pipes, try blowing into each (see my tip in tech tips), its worked well for me over the years and surprised a few others too !.