1983 Suzuki GS 550 E @12,000 original miles

[Guest]

Hello there! I bought a 1983 Suzuki GS 550 E about 2 months ago and this thing is giving me a headache. I will admit this rather bluntly and and up front - my mechanical knowledge is limited. I will describe in as much detail as I can regarding the problems I am having with this restoration project.

When I found this bike, it had rotted in someone's garage since 1994, the turn signal rubber mounts were completely gone. However, the turn signals worked (once a fresh battery was installed). I did the usual (I guess) cleaning, rep[ainted covers and gas tank (cleaned out gas tank - my god nasty stuff) and put a see through fuel filter on the gas line.

Changed the spark plugs and it took a long time to start but eventually did. I was so thrilled (yay!) but it would stall and die under 1,100 rpms. Ran just fine above that. The tailpipes smoked but that was expected because it had been there so long (water). I figured it was probably the carburator that needed to be adjusted, maybe the throttle screw and what not. I decided to run sea foam through the carburator (who knows how much varnish was in the engine from gas older than 10 years) When I got the bike to crank back up - Holy Mother of G-D !!!!! Smoke, smoke and guess what ...... even more smoke came out of the tail pipes - there was an endless supply. All that carbon was being cleaned up by the seafoam. I let it run this way for a half hour until the smoke cleared - then added more seafoam with the same results. Eventually the engine died and wouldn't start back up (DANG!). I figured I carboned out the spark plugs so I went and got some NGK plugs and tried to fire it up --NADA, zilch - just the starter motor but no fire. I have tried to figure out why this has been going on. So this is what I have done thus far:

1) Removed Carburator and cleaned with Carburator Cleaner (the stuff in the paint can) removed all rubber parts before doing so. Found peice of the old fuel filter in the carburator - Carburators are CLEAN!!!
still no fire (DANG!!!)
2) Stared at the bike for 3 full days scratching my head.
3) Called everyone I knew who knows anything at all about automotive stuff - was told to see if the leads had fire (why didnt I think of that?)
4) Tested the leads - they had fire
still no fire (meaning the engine turned over and over but no catch).
5) My dad (62 years old) came over and tested the leads, sometimes they had spark sometimes they didn't. The spark was white - not blue. The spark plugs were wet.
6) Replaced spark plugs with Champion 809 plugs with .026 gap
7) took old spark plug wires out of the coils and replaced with 7mm wire and got thick fat blue spark (Coils are good)
still no fire (DAGnammit)
8) took spark plugs out and put very few drops of gas in spark plug hole #1 and spark plug hole #4 and still got nothing.
9) tried starter fluid - nothing.

BTW Compression is good and it is getting fuel.

10) Seriously contemplated resorting to witchcraft.

Now I know that this could be an igniter problem or a rectifier or signal generator problem. I tested to see if they were all getting currents and measured the OHM - all of these are working and have current - but my knowledge as to if they need to be replaced or not is well ...... limited.

The kickstand switch is fine - are there any other safety switches or whatever that I am overlooking?

I do not have the carburator boots banded back on, but the seal is good on them.

The fuses are all good.


Please help - I am bald and have no more hair to pull out.

[Nerobro]

Did you clean the mixture screws? Underneath the metal plugs on the top of the carbs? Do you have the choke cable installed?

[txironhead]

Toss the Champions and put NGK back in it, it'll be a happier bike.

Yes, there is another switch, the clutch safety switch. But if you're getting spark, that shouldn't be the problem.

Chances are you've either still got some gunk in the carbs (see the CV carb rebuilding section in the garage section of this site) or they're very much out of tune. Also, odd as this may sound, toss the inline filter. The vacuum operated gravity feed petcock these bikes use can't pass enough fuel through an inline. Wish they did, it's cheap insurance.

By the way, did you change your oil and filter? If you didn't, change it immediately.

I'd be leaning towards carb trouble in your situation. Those little jets and passages can clog up very easily. Also, take your petcock out and make sure that the screen inside the tank is clean.

[Redman]

I would still suspect the possibility that the carb jets clogged up with gas/varnish that got dislodged with the seafoam.

You mentioned the spark was weak/intermittent. One thing that often gets overlooked with ignition trouble is the sparkplug caps. Yes, the caps, not the wires. The caps cost about $5 a piece, and they do deteriate over time and usage. They have the resistor in them that can fail over time, goes to way too high a resistance or near open. They twist-n-pull off the wire. And some will say to cut off about 1/4 inch of the wire to get to fresher wire conductor when replacing the caps. WHen you take one off, then you will see how the cap makes connection to the wire.

Were are you located?.

[Schweisshund]

I am located in Canton, Georgia. My other bike I got in running condition was my first project -- its a 1983 Honda Nighthawk CB 700 SC. A friend gave it to me for free but it was in parts all over his garage. It took me 6 months to figure it out and I thoroughly enjoyed it (like a jigsaw puzzle only you get a running bike when you figure it out).

As for the petcock, I am either going to have to buy a new petcock or purchase a rebuild kit because the turn knob is broken and I have to use pliers to turn it. However, it is delivering fuel - I can see it in the see through filter I put on the gas line.

I will recheck the carburator and see if those jet screws are clogged. Also, I left the trickle charger on the battery overnight and before I left for work this morning I went to see if it would "magically" start but it didn't - it almost fired up - I heard it. Can a battery still be good but not have enough cranking amps? Just curious.

[txironhead]

A battery can read 12V and still be bad. You need to have a load test done on it, most auto parts stores can do it for free.

Most people here don't have good success with rebuilding their petcocks, it's probably recommended that you get a whole new one. You can usually find them on Ebay new for about $45.

[Schweisshund]

Yes, I did change the oil and filter with motorcycle grade oil. The choke is installed (I also had to clean them and lubricate them and they are in very pristine working order - at the handle choke cable forks into two seperate choke cables that attach to the carbs).

[spchips]

Ill throw it out there - did you count out the turns when you removed and cleaned the adjustment screws on the carbs?

[nabrams]

Eliminate a possible weak battery from the equation by boosting from your car battery (NON-running car!!!).

Having said that:
Instead of going about the restoration process piece-meal, why don't you search for the many posts on this forum (some by me) that list the many "sanity-check" steps/verifications needed when restoring a bike that's been sitting (based on what you've said, you definitely should consider your bike as belonging to this category) - and then actually DO the checks.
This will save you MANY hours of frustration and TONS of money.
If you're a beginner (in terms of mechanical skill) you're looking at between 30 and 60 hours of work and a couple of hundred dollars for purchasing tools you'll need (besides whatever parts you need for the bike) - just trying to give you a realistic estimate based on personal experience. In the end you'll have a reliable machine for a fraction of the cost of a new bike.

[txironhead]

Since so many of these bikes are being rescued from garages, barns, etc where they've been sitting for who knows how long, a detailed list would definitely make a good sticky or entry in the garage section.

Anyone up for the task?

[Schweisshund]

I will try to download pictures onto this site from my digital camera of this restoration project at some point.

I did adjust two jet needle screws on the top left carb (as your sitting on the bike) the other two are impossible to adjust as the previous owner stripped them (arghhhh). I counted the turns to the bottom - 4 and 1/2. Both were the same. I am going to have to figure how to back the stripped jet screws out on the top right carb (above spark hole #3 and #4).

Would PB Blaster and a wire from wire brush to get fluid down the threads help?

[Schweisshund]

I will try to do my best entry for the garage section. I had better start learning how to take better pictures

[LeeGS550E]

I have the left over rebuilt carbs from my 550 engine that I don't need anymore. Let me know if you want them ($50?). I'd let the pb blaster sit in the screw threads for a while, then try to get enough bite with a screwdriver or easy-out.

[Schweisshund]

Yes sir - I would like those carbs and thanks for the offer. Will a money order be fine? If you want, send me an email to steventurner01@gmail.com with your address and also let me know how much shipping is - will include it in money order/check. (would rather send money order)

[LeeGS550E]

Ok, I'll PM you.