GS 550e questions

[richardgrhett]

Good afternoon all,
Name is Richard and just joined here due to my recent purchase of a gs 550e (also my first bike). I have a little mechanical sense but im hoping someone can help me out, i have begun cleaning the carbs and they look to be in very good shape, however my question is what in the world are these small adjustment screws on the bottom? my manual does not address these to my knowledge. I have tried to attach a pic, if it doesnt work my appologies.

Great site and thankyou for your responses in advance.

[Nessism]

Welcome Richard,
Those are pilot fuel screws. The tips on them are very fragile so be very careful to not seat them very hard when you set them after the rebuild - seat the screw and then back out 1 turn.

For more info on your carbs check the following link. http://www.thegsresources.com/files/vm_carb_rebuild.pdf

[BassCliff]

Hey howdy hey!

Mr. richardgrhett,

Are those VM carbs? What year is your bike (78 or 79)? There is a VM Carb rebuild guide here. Before I get myself into trouble, I'll just do what I do best. Here is my amazing Technicolor, totally outrageous, totally verbose mega-welcome! \\/

Let it be known that on this day you are cordially and formally welcomed to the GSR Forum as a Junior Member in good standing with all the rights and privileges thereof. Further let it be known that your good standing can be improved with pictures (not you, your bike)! Perhaps you've already seen these, but I like to remind all the new members. In addition to the carb rebuild series, I recommend visiting the In The Garage section via the GSR Homepage and check out the Stator Papers. There's also a lot of great information in the Old Q&A section. I have some documentation on my little BikeCliff website to help get you familiar with doing routine maintenance tasks (note that it is 850G-specific but many tasks are common to all GS bikes). Other "user contributed" informational sites include those of Mr. bwringer, Mr. tfb and Mr. robertbarr.
And here are some edited quotes from one of our dear beloved gurus, Mr. bwringer, with ideas on basic needs (depending on initial condition), parts, and accessories.

***********Quoted from Mr. bwringer************
Carburetor maintenance:

Replace the intake boot o-rings, and possibly the intake boots. Here's the procedure:

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

Here's an overview of what happens with this particular problem:

http://cycleorings.com/intake.html

You'll also want to examine the boots between the carbs and the airbox. There's a good chance these are OK, but check them over.
And finally, if things still aren't exactly right, you'll want to order a set of o-rings for BS carbs from the GS owner's best friend, Robert Barr:
http://cycleorings.com
Once you receive these rare rings of delight, then you'll want to thoroughly clean and rebuild your carburetors. Here are step-by-step instructions that make this simple:

http://thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

***********************************
Every GS850 has (or had) a set of well-known issues that MUST be addressed before you have a solid baseline for further troubleshooting. It's a vintage bike, and it's quite common (as in, every single GS850 I have had contact with) that there are multiple problems that have crept up and slowly gotten worse over the years. It's not like a newer vehicle, where there's generally one problem at a time.

These common issues are:

1. Intake O-rings (install NEW OEM or Viton only - common nitrile O-rings will quickly deteriorate from heat)
2. Intake Boots (install NEW -- these cannot be repaired)
3. Valve clearances (more important than most people think)
4. Carb/airbox boots
5. Airbox sealing
6. Air filter sealing
7. Petcock (install a NEW one)
8. On '79 models, install new points or Dyna electronic ignition (or at least verify that the old points are working correctly)
9. On all models, it's fairly common to have problems with the spark plug caps. These are $3 or $4 each, and often worth replacing if you're keeping the stock coils/wires.
10. Stock exhaust with NO leaks or holes -- good seals at the head and at the junctions underneath.
***************************************
OEM Parts/Online Fiches:

I would definitely double and triple the recommendations to use Cycle Recycle II and Z1 Enterprises as much as possible. These guys are priceless resources. Z1 tends to have slightly better prices, CRC2 has a wider range of goodies available. If you're near Indy and can bring in an old part to match, CRC2 has a vast inventory of used parts.
http://denniskirk.com - Put in your bike model and see what they have.
http://oldbikebarn.com - seems to be slowly regaining a decent reputation, but it's still caveat emptor. They don't have anything you can't get elsewhere at a better price anyway.
http://www.babbittsonline.com/ - Decent parts prices. Spendy shipping. Don't give you part numbers at all. Useful cross-reference if you obtain a part number elsewhere. Efficient service.
http://bikebandit.com - Fastest. Middlin' prices. Uses their own parts numbering system to obfuscate price comparisons -- can be very confusing for large orders. Cheapest shipping, so total cost usually isn't too bad.
http://flatoutmotorcycles.com - Slow. Cheapest parts prices, crazy shipping costs. Don't expect progress updates or much communication. Real Suzuki part numbers.
http://alpha-sports.com - Exorbitant parts prices. Different type of fiche interface that's quite useful at times, especially with superceded part numbers. Real parts numbers. Shipping cost and speed unknown due to insane, unholy pricing.

Stainless Bolts, Viton o-rings, metric taps, dies, assorted hard-to-find supplies and materials, etc:

http://mcmaster.com - Fast, cheap shipping, good prices. No order minimum, but many items like bolts come in packs of 25 or 50. Excellent resource.
http://motorcycleseatcovers.com - Great quality, perfect fit (on original seat foam), and available for pretty much every bike ever made. Avoid the textured vinyl -- it's perforated.
http://newenough.com - You DO have riding gear, don't you? Great clearances, always outstanding prices and impeccable service.
***************End Quote**********************
Here are some extra links:

GSR Forum member Mr. duaneage has great used upgraded Honda regulator/rectifiers for our bikes. Send him a PM.
New electrical parts:
http://stores.ebay.com/RMSTATOR or http://www.rmstator.com/

http://www.ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/index.php

http://www.electrosport.com/

The Rice Paddy (salvage/used)
http://www.ricepaddymotorcycles.com
Ron Ayers Motorsports
http://www.ronayers.com
MR Cycles
http://www.mrcycles.com
If all else fails, try this:
http://www.used-motorcycle-parts.org/
Lots of good info/pictures here:
http://www.suzukicycles.org

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed of your progress. There's lots of good folk with good experience here.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
(The unofficial GSR greeter)

[richardgrhett]

Thanks for the quick response its a 79. That link is very helpful! I suspected thats what they were, one of them looks to have been bottomed out from the PO and one is just completely different from other three so im guessing replacements are in order.

Where can i get JUST these fuel screws and some O rings?

[Nessism]

cycleorings.com for the carb o-rings. The fuel screws are not available separately, or are very expensive. When I redid my 550 carbs I purchased two 750 carb rebuild kits just for the screws and gaskets - all VM carbs use the same. Check Z1 Enterprises for the rebuild kits. And don't forget to replace the intake runner O-rings - they dry out and harden. I've got a bunch I'm trying to sell for $1 a set shipped. Send me a PM if interested.

[richardgrhett]

Thanks Nessism, im guessing this is the kit you purchased? http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=487

So the carbs used on this bike are the same for my 550 eh? guess thats what ill be getting shortly. one more question the PO also put pods on is rejetting necessary? or just recommended? the main jet size is 80 right now.... ( im running stock exhaust for now) Thanks again for the help just ready to get this thing running!

[Nessism]

Thanks Nessism, im guessing this is the kit you purchased? http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=487

So the carbs used on this bike are the same for my 550 eh? guess thats what ill be getting shortly. one more question the PO also put pods on is rejetting necessary? or just recommended? the main jet size is 80 right now.... ( im running stock exhaust for now) Thanks again for the help just ready to get this thing running!

Jets are different between the 750 (26mm VM carbs) and the 550 (22mm VM carbs). The pilot fuel screws are the same though. And yes, you found the kit I was referring to.

[richardgrhett]

Man my problems are just getting worse and worse. the PO apparantly bottomed out two of pilot fuel screws leaving a tip to clog up the hole. I managed to get one out but the other is jammed tightly....? anyone have any expereince with this? or am i about to buy a new carb??

[Nessism]

Take a long punch and knock the tip backwards working from the carb throat side. Had two like that on my set and was able to get them both out.

[richardgrhett]

yeah tried to push it back threw but its jammed really bad is it possible to drill this hole back out to speck? and are all these holes suppose to be the same diameter from carb to carb?

thanks

[hampshirehog]

I managed to get one out - once - using a compressed air gun pushed down hard. Otherwise I've punched them out.

[tkent02]

I got one out once, the second one the hole got enlarged quite a bit getting the tip out.
It did run OK afterwards, the screw was turned in a different amount than the others but it did adjust. If you cant get the tip out there are racks of these carbs in wrecking yards, for just a single carb body it shouldn't cost too much. The trick is getting the correct one...

[skreemer]

Nerobro and I cheated. We took em apart and used a "backout bit" from sears and a drill press.

We tried it by hand first and ended up breaking the bit...