my gs450e won't go over 50mph

[C0TT0N]

hi all,

1983 Suzuki gs450e. It sat for 5 years then i bought it 4 days ago. when i first started riding it the bike would spit and sputter and backfire. after the past 4 days of riding it with high test gast and a carb cleaner everytime i fill up it doesn't do any of that anymore. the problem now is that the bike will not go over 50 mph and has a hell of a time getting up hills. the bike starts fine and idles fine. hardly any "get up and go" to it. There are NO modifications to the bike. that i can tell. The bike just eats up the gas. im only getting about 50 miles to the tank...if that. No manual came with the bike but i assume its about a 2 gallon tank. after riding there will be a small puddle of gas on the ground that appears to be coming from an overflow hose. this is only after riding or having the bike idling for over 10 minutes or so. I tried to regulate the amount of gas going in by playing with the primary to reserve valve but none of the settings seem to be helping. please help. trying to get it ready to go riding with buds on july 4th. anything will help but i am trying to prolong the inevitability in which others seem to think that the carbs need rebuilt. ugh. thanx

[justmount1]

you are running to rich u need to get your carbs set to specs

[C0TT0N]

the couple of people that looked at the bike said that it doesnt have any adjusters on the outside of the carb. what do you recommend and do i need to not put in high test gas?

thanx

[Dave8338]

The bike just eats up the gas. im only getting about 50 miles to the tank...if that. No manual came with the bike but i assume its about a 2 gallon tank. after riding there will be a small puddle of gas on the ground that appears to be coming from an overflow hose. this is only after riding or having the bike idling for over 10 minutes or so. I tried to regulate the amount of gas going in by playing with the primary to reserve valve but none of the settings seem to be helping. please help.

The PRI on your petcock is for PRIME. You should have three settings on the petcock...OFF RUN PRI. The PRI setting is only used to fill the carb bowls if drained (leaking or otherwise) You should have the vacumme opperated petcock. In the RUN position, with the bike off, there should be no fuel flowing from the petcock. Sounds like you have a petcock issue in addition to needing the carbs gone through.

[txironhead]

You need to completely clean your carbs. A detailed walkthrough can be found here:

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

After four years of sitting, I'm amazed it even started.

[C0TT0N]

thanx alot for the help im sure your right but im going to check out the petcock and see exactly what it says incase i have anymore questions.

[C0TT0N]

Though mine only has 2 carbs are the principals the same or do i need a different instruction?

[justmount1]

the principals are the same except u will get done in half the time :-)

[C0TT0N]

hah! i like the sound of that

[catfishk]

pull the plugs and take a look at them. chances are they are very wet and black from running very rich. also, look under the seat and remove the airbox cover to get at the air filter; it might be spent or otherwise restricting air flow

i have the exact same bike, and followed those instructions to clean up my carbs. some people get away with running carb cleaner through them or just quickly cleaning their insides by hand

remember, when you install the re-assembled or cleaned carbs, check that the boots and o rings between the carbs and cylinder head. the boots should not be brittle and the o-rings still soft and rubbery. i'd go ahead and replace the o rings as they are cheap and are probably hard and spent like mine were. this will save you trouble later on, and prevent it from idling and accelerating all wonky

run regular gasoline, from a reputable station. i prefer the Chevron Techron stuff, myself. high octane gas is a waste as this is neither a high compression or forced induction engine

[C0TT0N]

thanx for the tips.. pulled the air filter off and it spits out a mist of gas and the filter was pretty soaked. as far as the boots and o-rings... do i need a carb kit for that..if so...looked in many places and still haven't found it. is it possible to buy all them separate at a local motorcycle shop? or do i have to wait a month for someone to order it?.. didnt see any on ebay either.

[catfishk]

you can get most every part from bikebandit.com or your local dealership. for the carb bits, there is a place online to get the proper o-rings and seals for a rebuild. do a search on this forum and you'll find the link
this stuff is pretty cheap, but it adds up fast. you'll probably be spending another $75-$100 before you're running right

[justmount1]

http://www.cycleorings.com/order.html this is robert barrs ordering page for your carbs and since u only have dual carbsu will have enough for two rebuilds:-)