Anyone in NH good with carbs?

[Boghog1]

Well I have an 85 GS550E it runs well when warm but seems to take a long time to warm up. I have not done anything to the carbs but the PO said that there was a jet kit put in it.
I just picked up the clymers manual today and I do have mechanical experience, I just don't have carb experience.
I read through a lot of post and have searched a lot on the site but some of the specifics if foreign to me, kind of like if I was talking jeeps said it has a BW1339 Tcase to most of you probably wouldn't understand what I was talking about. Basically I'm looking to find someone to watch over my sholder and stop me before I make a costly mistake.

[Boghog1]

TTT

Someone must know how to help me get this thing to idle? The idle adjustment screw is as far in as I can get it and it still stalls out.

[chiphead]

I'm not familiar with the bike but have you checked for air leaks with WD 40. Spray around the intake manifolds. Then pull the carbs off and clean them like a crazy man. Pay particular attention to the pilot circuits.
Do the exhaust pipes all get hot to the touch. Maybe it's only running on three?
Just throwing some ideas out.
Why was a jet kit put in? You running a pipe and pods?

[Boghog1]

I have not checked for air leaks with WD 40, how would I use that to check? it does seem to be running on all cylinders, all pipes are hot, it has a supertrap 4-1 pipe and the PO told me it had a jet kit installed. I have worked on nothing but automotive fuel injection in the past so carbs are a bit foriegn to me. I'll try pulling them out tonight

[rustybronco]

jump in and do them, just make sure they're as spotless as you can make them.

as you probably have seen http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

yes I know what a borg warner t/case is...

[chiphead]

I have not checked for air leaks with WD 40, how would I use that to check? it does seem to be running on all cylinders, all pipes are hot, it has a supertrap 4-1 pipe and the PO told me it had a jet kit installed. I have worked on nothing but automotive fuel injection in the past so carbs are a bit foriegn to me. I'll try pulling them out tonight

With the bike running at a consistent low RPM, slowly spray WD 40 around the carb intake manifolds 1 cylinder at a time. If the idle raises or lowers, it means that somewhere WD 40 (and air!) is being sucked in downstream of the carbs, creating a lean mixture. On most of these old Suzis, there is an O ring that sits between the rubber intake manifolds and cylinder head that hardens and creates an air leak. Or sometimes, the intake boots rot and crack.

[Boghog1]

Chiphead: I'll give that a shot when I get home tonight.

Rusty Bronco: I have seen that link and have studied it, I guess even though they are vastly different carb set ups the basics apply.

[skreemer]

you have the bastage child carbs from mikuni/suzuki... neither will own up to the fact they exist...
first of all you need to know what kit or at least what jets were put in there. Are they the same all the way accross or the two middle ones different(like the stock setup)?

Do you have a 4 - 1 with the stock airbox or do you have pods?

check your carbs against the baseline below... If you need more help or have a little more info post up and I'll help you out a bit... As you can see from my sig I have a "slightly" modified '83 GS550E

(this covers 83 - 85 GS550 E, ED, ES, ESD, ESF *not the "L" models though)
83 GS550E
Mikuni
BSW30SS
30 mm



Fuel level: 6.5 +/- 0.5mm (.26 +/-.02in)
float height: 20.5 +/- 1.0mm (0.81 +/- .04in)
Main jet:
cylinders 1 and 4: 95
cylinders 2 and 3: 102.5
main air jet: 1.0
Jet Needle: 5C64
Clip position: 1 groove from top
needle jet: P-2
Throttle Valve: 120
Pilot Jet: 35
Bypass: 0.8,0.7,0.8,0.8
Pilot outlet: 0.7
Float valve seat: 2.5
starter jet: 55
Pilot screw: Preset (added by me when you drill them out they are set from the factory to 3 or 3.5 turns out from bottom.)

BTW the carb leak check on yours will test two cylinders at a time... It's best/easier to just replace the 4 small o-rings and to make sure your boots from the carbs to the block are in good shape...

here's someone else we're walking through carb issues with... he hs some pics and a few tips we've posted to him might help you out...

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=106286

[Boghog1]

Well I rode the bike home last night and about a mile from the house she starts to run like poop. stalled out on me three times, the last time was in front of a van as I was turning into my driveway, I had enough momentum to keep going just held the clutch in. I was reading a ¼ tank but it seemed like it was not giving any gas so I added a gallon, threw in some seafoam and sprayed some deep creep into the carbs, let it sit for 15 and started it up. took a bit to get it to fire but she was running much better. I'm going to do it again tonight and see if it helps, I really don't want to pull the carbs apart if I can help it. Fuel injected I would have no issues carbs just scare me.

Skreemer: I have the stock air box with a 4-1 I did check for any leaks at the boots and it turned out negative, I will still order the o rings just to be safe. I'll check out that link, where is the best place to get O-Rings for this I checked http://cycleorings.com but he did not have the 85 listed. any chance there are other carbs I can swap in? Fuel injection? There is no way of knowing what the PO did for jets, it was done back in 96.

[chiphead]

If you order o rings you will have to pull the carbs to install them. If you pull the carbs, I highly recommend you disassemble them and clean them.

[rustybronco]

I really don't want to pull the carbs apart if I can help it. Fuel injected I would have no issues carbs just scare me.

Injectors or carbs both mix fuel with air... just be light handed with the tools to remove the float pins if stuck and with seating the needles, gorillas are not allowed to work on them, ok?

[Boghog1]

I'll use a light hand thanks, I'll let you know how it goes, the local bike shop did not have a listing for the carbs so I need to get them pulled to order any gaskets I might need. I did order a new fuel petcock rebuild kit and that should be here Monday or Tuesday.

[skreemer]

Skreemer: I have the stock air box with a 4-1 I did check for any leaks at the boots and it turned out negative, I will still order the o rings just to be safe. I'll check out that link, where is the best place to get O-Rings for this I checked http://cycleorings.com but he did not have the 85 listed. any chance there are other carbs I can swap in? Fuel injection? There is no way of knowing what the PO did for jets, it was done back in 96.

if they offer o-rings for any GS or GSX 550 in E, ES, ED, ESD, EF, ESF and containing the years 1983 through 1986 it will work just fine. The only one you have to watch out for is the "L" models...

Unfortunately because of the way the engine was made and the carbs they fitted you can go bigger or smaller (26 mm or 33mm) but not switch out completely. Fuel injection is an option.. there are a few home grown options out there such as the megasquirt setup. THough that would require you building and fabrication some parts as well as creating some electrical components.

Checking the jets is east just pull off the carbs pull the float bowls and read the numbers on the tops of the jets.

[Boghog1]

okay so I pulled the float bowls, on cylinders 1 and 4 I have 107.5 on cylinders 2 and 3 I have 100, I suppose I should just unscrew them and swap them or is there more to it than that?

the bowls don't look too bad but they are soaking

What numbers on this are main air jet and jet needle

http://alpha-sports.com/spst/1985%20GS550E/07.gif

[skreemer]

sounds like you have a "stage 2" kit just slightly up from stock (stock it 95 and 102.5)...

the main needles are #27... #29 and #28 are the main jets... #31 is the emulsion tube... #52 looks like it is supposed to be the pilot jets(getting the number on those would be helpful too) but I would need a picture of the "bottom" to give you a better idea of all that stuff...

the air mix screws are shown there but not numbered. If you look at #41(your choke needle) on either side is a circle with a hole in it. Those are the air mix screws. they are usually covered by a plug though may be visible if the plug has been drilled out. If you are running those jets and your air mix screws are set to stock the bloody thing would be hell to get to idle correctly...