A weird carb question (I think)

[550ERAT]

1983 GS550E. Carbs have been rebuilt/cleaned with new parts installed. Everything is airtight, no leaks. Here is the problem. Bike will start right up cold, on choke but WILL NOT IDLE. You have to keep on the throttle for a few minutes to keep it running. Once you jump on the bike, take it for a spin, the bike settles in and idles wonderful. What am I missing? The plugs are new, the gas is good, the air filter is new, everything looks ok, I am perplexed. ????????

[chuckycheese]

Lean?

If it runs just right after taking a spin, I'd guess you're running really lean. Did you remove your air screws when you cleaned the carbs? How are your air screws adjusted? What do your plugs look like? If they're really white, that's gonna be your problem. Let us know!

[Steve]

Actually it sounds rather normal for a stock bike.

One thing you can try is to turn the mixture screws out a bit to richen the mixture at idle/low speeds. This will help reduce the cold-blooded nature of the beast. If there are still covers over the screws, they are still set at the factory's very lean setting.

They were set at this very lean setting to meet EPA regulations, but the bikes barely ran, let alone well. Richening up the mixture just a bit will help driveability immensely, and might even help fuel economy. \\/


.

[fgh]

When you say the "Bike will start right up cold, on choke but WILL NOT IDLE" what are you doing? The normal settings to start an '83 are to set the choke on full, leave the throttle shut and crank the bike. On most you have to let them idle at 2000 to 3000 for upwards of five minutes. Are you turning the choke off all the way immediately after it starts?

[chuckycheese]

Really!

If I had to run my bike at 2000 or 3000 RPMs for 5 minutes in order to get it to idle, I would start working on it.8-[

(I'd check the plugs, for sure, and probably synch the carbs if the plugs looked good.)

[Calvin Blackmore]

your bike behaves just like mine always has
anemic cold blodded bastard without a choke but after a few minutes it runs fine

Ithink this is normal for this engine

dont forget to diseange the choke it makes pipes so very yellow

[550ERAT]

Thanks everyone. The plugs look good, actually maybe a little rich. Yes the air screw plugs are gone and the screws were removed. The bike runs the best it ever has after warming up. My start procedure is choke full on, qwik blip of the throttle and hit the button. Once it starts, I keep on the gas for a couple of minutes, then jump on, put her in gear and take off. Once I've gone about a block or two, she idles and runs great. SO, if I read everything right, this seems pretty normal?