brand new 1983 gs 850

[RonP44]

Not really but after scrubbing 14 years of dirt and dust off it looks just like it did when it got parked in storage..... this bike has sat in a shop for all this time and i stole it....i.e. FREE,FREE,FREE...
Now,I have rebuilt the brakes, got the lights working(need flasher relay, couldn't find one on ebay)did all fluids,cleaned gas tank........and last but not least THE CARBS...thanks to gs resources.( what a great web site )

Now the fun began... I primed the carbs a bit, checked the bowls, (my start button wouldn't do anything, so i bypassed it, temporarily) and BOOM,BOOM,BOOM... my second greatest restoration accomplishment (1967 full custom show bug,body off resto) the motor FIRED UP instantly.....!!!!!! after 14 years of sitting...... WOW...my wife and 2 year old came running out cuz even they doubted it would ever run cuz it had sat so long...did i mention it is a really pretty blue and purple color..\\/



OK, here is the deal. i did a complete carb rebuild and have done the air screw to 2 out 3 out 4 out 1.5,,,1,,,3.5,, you get the point..it starts fine on choke, revs high, comes down to idle BUT when you try and rev it at all it dies..... it will idle all day but wont take the gas....i am sure it is something simple(i.e. adjustment) so please help if you can cuz the local guy wants $65 an hour, which i am sure he's worth it, but i would rather do it myself with someones advice......I have less than $200 in so far and i know i will need other things as well, but i want to get it going so i can register it and get this bad boy on the road.....Man, does it sound good too!!!!!!:-D

[Macmatic]

My guess on the revving issue would be an air leak between the carbs and the head. Check the rubber boots for cracks or if its the type with a flange that bolts to the head and a tube for the carb to go into just go ahead and pull the carbs and boots so you can replace the o-rings in there. Unless you already did that... Do you have the airbox and air filter installed? These carbs are very sensitive to vacuum and many people have trouble getting them to run well with just the airbox lid removed.

I'd try voodoo next.

-/\/\ac

Edit: You're looking for a flasher relay? Unless you care about it being OEM just go down to the local Advance/Napa/Local Independant parts store with your old flasher relay in hand and tell them you want one for a bike. I was looking at them in the Advance down the road last year (helmet in hand) and a kid who worked there walked up and pointed to one of many and said "you want that one." He was right. I had to zip tie it in place but it works great. I'll post the part number if you need it.

[BassCliff]

Hey howdy hey!

Mr. RonP44,

Let it be known that on this day you are hereby cordially and formally welcomed to the GSR Forum as a Junior Member in good standing with all the rights and privileges thereof. I'm sure you know by now that "good standing" implies pictures! :-D

Great work on your 850. It's good to have another one back in the herd. Yes, these bike are very finicky about air leaks. If you've sealed the airbox, installed new O-rings and boots, then you might have to start checking float levels and messing with the jetting. Check for a vacuum leak in the line going to the petcock too, or did you replace that already?

Sorry but I'm still a noob at carbs. But don't worry, there are quite a few experts. I just wanted to say, "Thanks for joining us!" There, I said it. I'll shut up now. :-D

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
(The unofficial GSR greeter)

[txironhead]

Let it be known that on this day you are hereby cordially and formally welcomed to the GSR Forum as a Junior Member in good standing with all the rights and privileges thereof. I'm sure you know by now that "good standing" implies pictures! :-D

Do you cut-'n-paste that or do you actually have it memorized? Heck, I've almost got it memorized! Anyway....

Definitely sounds like an air leak. When you rebuilt the carbs, did you replace the carb o-rings? If it's the airbox leaking, you can seal it with some stick-on weatherstripping they use on truck campers and such. If you want to try and pinpoint the leak, grab a can of WD-40, stick the tube on it, and spray in suspect areas such as the intake flanges, the seals on the airbox, etc. Don't use starting fluid, as this does nasty things to the cylinder walls.

Did you say blue and purple? Definitely want to see pics of that.

By the way, people are going to start asking you what model you have (L, E, K, etc.). Typically, if it's shaft drive, it's an L, chain it's an E. I honestly can't remember if they made an 850E, so it may be a foregone conclusion.

[chef1366]

If you don't have an air leak I'd say the pilot circuit of the carbs still have crud in them. You dipped the carbs and used a wire on the tiny ports?



See the tiny port angeling left from the main jet. This could be your problem.

[Macmatic]

If you want to try and pinpoint the leak, grab a can of WD-40, stick the tube on it, and spray in suspect areas such as the intake flanges, the seals on the airbox, etc. Don't use starting fluid, as this does nasty things to the cylinder walls.

I always use a propane torch for this (unlit). I don't like to spray oily stuff all over my carbs and I've heard that WD40 can actually make rubber less flexible and more prone to cracking by taking elastomers out of the rubber. I figure the oily WD40 is only going to attract dust and grit and if it somehow caught fire from an arcing wire or something it would already be sprayed all around the carbs (!!) where the propane would just be a little flame at the end of a hose. It might be exciting but I don't think it'd be a big deal to pull the hose away from the bike and turn off the valve or just yank it off the torch nozzle.

Just put a piece of hose over the end of the torch and let a little gas out, about the same opening as the smallest flame you can hold so just cracked open really. Now use the hose end to search for air leaks, you can pinpoint the leak really well this way. This is great on cars too, especially ones that have vacuum lines running under manifolds and stuff.

-/\/\ac

[RonP44]

wow!

thanks in advance!!!!! the bike is an L with the lazy bars(put sport bars on to make it look and feel cool) it has flanges on the intakes so it probably needs those gaskets...i suspect it may be that little tube that could be clogged... i put the air box on while testing cuz i read all about the leak probs on G S R. i did everything on the carb rebuild page but the carbs were really varnished, so i may have to try and clean them out again.....I knew the job was dangerous when i took it.....



MY WIFE DOES NOT LIKE BIKES(with engines) AND WOULD NOT LET ME BUY ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY BROTHERS BUDDY BOUGHT THIS NEW AND PARKED IT WHEN HE STARTED BUILDING RACE CARS....HE SAID YOU CAN HAVE IT IF YOU WANT IT AND IF YOU CANT GET IT RUNNING YOU CAN JUNK IT....EBAY//// I SAID ARE YOU CRAZY... I WILL DO WHAT EVER IT TAKES TO GET IT RUNNING. IF YOU HAVE EVER RESTORED ANYTHING THERES NOTHING LIKE THE FEELING OF BRINGING BACK LIFE TO AN OLD DEAD HORSE,,,,,,OR A BUNCH OF HORSES...\\/ I will try to post some pics later today so you can see how purty it is:-D

[RonP44]

blue and purple

When i picked it up it was grey and black....dirt dust crap and critters in the airbox...this bike looked like a cop bike from mad max...full fairng, hard bags, back rest, crash bars, cruise.....it was loaded. When we took it to the car wash the high pressure wouldnt clean it. My little boy and I spent the first weekend with S O S pads and chrome cleaner just trying to find out what was underneath all the scunge,,,,,behold a beautiful factory paint job with minor scratches,,,awesome chrome 2% rusty( got it to shine like new) a few rusty spots on the frame (typical for a 25 year old bike) the paint is midnight purple with blue centers with gold pinstipe (factory) with clearcoat...not perfect but prettier than the ones for sale on ebay....it has brand new tires (14years ago, so those i am sure will have to be replaced once i hit the road) I HAVE STRIPPED IT DOWN TO LOOK MORE LIKE A SPORT BIKE CUZ IT LOOKS SUPER FAST THAT WAY.....the seat even looks brand new after cleaning. I started riding motos when i was 7 and i have not riden a street bike in a while. I sold my XR200 on craigs list that i have had since 1988 just so i could restore this bike...it sat for 7 years cuz my buds sold there dirt bikes when they got old and married and had babies..................I have dreamed of riding with my brother for a long time(((((he is the coolest guy i know)))) and with the GSR gangs help my dream will come true'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''





1970 yamaha 90
1971 honda 90
1974 suzuki 90 FAT TIRE BEACH COMBER
1978 yamaha rd250 (my moms)
1977 yamaha rd350 (my dads, my granpas, then mine)
1975 hodaka 100
1980 yamaha 125 STREET(learners permit bike when i lived in UK for 3 years
1985 kawasaki kx 125 (scary fast and dangerous) yes 125
1983 XR200 my favorite dirty
kaw 175 streeter fun fun fun

(there are more but i cant remeber them all)

needless to say this 850 is a monster compared to my past and i cant wait to go for a ride thru the country,,,,............

[bwringer]

If it's the same factory color scheme as my '83 GS850G, it's called "Cosmic Blue":




Make sure you replace the intake boot o-rings ASAP, and replace the intake boots as well if they don't look and feel new. Here's more info:

http://bwringer.com/gs/intakeorings.html

More stuff to do:

http://bwringer.com/gs/

[RonP44]

i checked the carbs and they appeared ok.

now i am wondering if the part i can't get to with the wire. since this is my first motorcycle carb rebuild i knew it wasn't gonna be easy. i have gotten quick pulling carbs. i am ready to pull them and do the o rings on the manifolds too. the diagram shows the tiny passages between the jets and i thought they were all clear but maybe not...:?

[txironhead]

Best thing to do is remove all of the plastic and rubber items, basically stripped down to the bare bodies, and dip 'em. Berryman's Carb Dip is the best currently available, you can find it at most automotive stores. It's the only way to insure they're completely clean. A followup with fishing line or thin copper wire is good, plus blowing out all of the passages with compressed air. The canned stuff for computers will do in a pinch, but try not to freeze the metal.

[RonP44]

2 * 2

after pulling the plugs for my compression test i found #1 & #2to be running a bit rich but #3 & #4 appear to be white (almost no fuel getting to the plugs) i suspect a fuel delivery problem...the carbs are cleaned and new internals but i may be pulling them and doing a good internal check again.

[txironhead]

I noticed this hasn't been mentioned before, you have the stock airbox, is it a stock-type filter inside? Also, does it have factory pipes or aftermarket? Someone might have been messing with the carbs and installed the wrong jets or, if you have a K&N filter or aftermarket pipes, it may need rejetting.

[RonP44]

stocker

This bike is all factory spec. i put a new UNI filter, plugs,new carb kits (all jets) Now i have ordered intake gaskets and i am going to work on my air box..seal.