gs850 won't start cold, Help!!

[kvgarrison]

Hello, I just bought a real nice looking 82 gs850gl with 11000 miles on it and the thing takes forever to start cold. When it warms up it starts fine, but I've killed the battery twice trying to start it cold. I have changed the plugs and wire caps, drove about 100 miles and the plugs are fouled black carbon. I pulled them, cleaned them, got it started again and after about 100 miles the plugs are fouled same way. The thing that's confusing me is that it runs fine and starts fine when it's warm, also the number three pipe is blued and only the three pipe. I am not a mechanic and bough this bike because I heard they were great bikes and the guy told me there was nothing wrong with it, obviously he warmed it up before I got there to look at it because I did'nt have any problems with it until it got cold. Also the front fork seals may be blown, any suggestions, thanks.

[DimitriT]

It sounds like your carbs need service. I would pull them and go through them carefully, cleaning all the jets and passages. There's a great step-by-step instruction page on cleaning carbs here:

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

You'll probably want to replace the old o-rings. You can find replacements here:

http://www.cycleorings.com/

Once you've got the carbs cleaned, you should probably look at replacing the o-rings behind your intake boots. The goal is to eliminate air leaks which will throw off your mixture and cause problems.

As part of a tune up you should also check/adjust your valve clearances. This could also affect your cold starting.

[BassCliff]

Hello Mr. kvgarrison,

Welcome to the forum! You have purchased one of the finest motorcycles available. Give it a little love and it will last forever.

I'd start with valve adjustments. Then think about carb adjustments (including but not limited to cleaning, rebuilding, balancing, fuel mixture adjustments, etc). Check your air filter, it should be clean and not wet with oil. It needs only a very light spritzing of oil to help trap contaminants. Also, make sure your airbox is sealed up really tight, both side covers and the top of the air filter cage. This usually involves cleaning off the old, rotted material and replacing it with new weatherstripping. I used 3/8" sticky-backed HVAC stripping after cleaning off all the surfaces.

Of course, before you tear into your carbs, you might try about 8oz of Sea Foam in a tank of gas and see if that helps. After that tank has been used up and you're refilled you can try some Marvel's Mystery Oil in your gas. But definitely check valve clearences. Ask the previous owner if there is a history of valve checks.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Grandpa]

I owned two consecutive 1982 GS850GZ's. Each of them started within a split second of pressing the starter button, just like my 1984 GS1100GK does.

The carbs need work. This is usually the result of inactivity. Worst thing a person can do to a motorcycle is let it sit and not ride it -- often and hard. Check out also the items mentioned by the others on this thread.