idle mixture screws

[Nessism]

Ive allready replaced the stator since the previous owner relaced the rectifier and that wasnt it...eeverythings good with that now..I'm regretting buying this bike....you guys make it sound like theyre piles of junk!! does anything go right with them???

man i hope not!! i just picked the bike up last summer with 13000 miles . it was a garage kept bike..it looks like the top of the engine, the valve cover?, has been off at least once so I'm hoping a valve job had been done in the past. if the valves were out of adjustment wouldnt it run poorly all the time?? and I'm not sure what a carb cleaning with o-rings is

i didnt just blindly buy a 25 year old bike with the hopes of riding of into the sunset,just because i'm a jr member doesnt mean i dont know anything about bikes... my this is my 8th bike.. ive had alot of experience with suzukis I had a gs750, an 87 gsxr750 and a 90gsxr1100 along with some yamahas and 1 honda. some of you guys are starting to come across as arrogant asses!!!!!!!! it was a simple question, f**k.

Some of your posts above...you complain about the bike needing work...don't know the status of the valves...don't know what "a carb cleaning with o-rings is" and then you get mad about what you perceive as people talking down to you.

[saber1971]

no i dont know what a carb cleaning is with o-rings is!!! I didnt have anyproblems with the gs750 and on my 2 gixxers I ran mikuni flatslides.

[saber1971]

no i dont know the status of the valves..its the quietest,smoothest running bike(except when cold,I do live in wisconsin)i have ever owned and i dont really want to go ripping the motor apart if i dont have to....

[Nessism]

no i dont know what a carb cleaning is with o-rings is!!! I didnt have anyproblems with the gs750 and on my 2 gixxers I ran mikuni flatslides.

After 25 years the various o-rings inside the carburetors get old and brittle thus they don't seal well and allow leakage - both air and fuel. The carbs also accumulate varnish which blocks passages and jets.

There is a member that sells o-ring kits for very cheap prices http://cycleorings.com/

There is also a very nice carb rebuild series on this site http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

Personally, the first thing I do when purchasing an old GS bike is tear down the carbs and make sure they are 100% before doing anything else. It's an easy job and pays dividends in the end.

[Nessism]

no i dont know the status of the valves..its the quietest,smoothest running bike(except when cold,I do live in wisconsin)i have ever owned and i dont really want to go ripping the motor apart if i dont have to....

The valve clearance tighten with mileage because the valves recede into the head. Wait long enough and all the clearance will be gone thus the valves will never seat. Valves that never seat burn, particularly the exhausts. It's worth the effort to make sure this never happens - that's why Suzuki specs checking the valve clearance at regular intervals.

[saber1971]

thank you i will check into that

[greg78gs750]

saber,

these bikes are pieces of crap. especially the 1100's. you should just give it to me, there is a scrap yard down the road that will give me 25 bucks for it, ill split it with you....

[chuckycheese]

Unique

Even if you're very familiar with motorcycles, these old GS motorcycles are pretty unique (as are many others). My neighbor has a 1980 CB750 and it's soooooo different from mine. I'd be lost if I tried working on it.

[baldbastard]

Idling fine after it's warmed up might indicate a lean condition like you suggested. Turning the mixture screws out a quarter to a half turn might might just fix your issues.

Having said that...I've done hours of searching on this site and the responses you're receiving are just he standard things you will need to check sooner or later on a new to you bike. Good luck, and let us know how setting the carbs turns out.

[saber1971]

I'm going to bite the bullet and rip her apart... took the carbs off this morning and I'll tell you what...airboxes suck!!!!
i might as well clean the carbs and make sure all the circuits are good and clear.. the idle screw caps were off so the previous owner must have been in there also, looks like im going to adjust the valves while its all apart and i got a good clean shot at everything. its best to know everything is up to specs.... at least its still too cold and wet around here to be riding..

[renobruce]

The valve check is no big deal. And it can have a big effect on how the bike runs cold vs. warm. That and the carb clean-up and you are probably good to go. Do you have a carb synch tool?

[saber1971]

thanks guys now look what you made me do to my bike....i had to take the wheels just to get at the airbox...J/K:-D new tires going on..





Want to email somebody a link to this photo?

[renobruce]

Looks like a nice, clean bike!

[BassCliff]

Hey howdy hey!

Mr. sabre1971,

Forgive me for not making your acquaintance sooner. I'm just here to give your the official "unofficial welcome". Actually, it's the world's most dangerous 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 has been improved with pictures!

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
http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Motorcycle_Wiki

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)

[saber1971]

ok... just got done checking the valve clearances, they were all at .003" .....I know they should be .003-.005...now should i leave them there or adjust to .005"...as I put more miles on, does the valve clearance get bigger or does it get smaller????? thanks also I'm thinking of setting the carbs up to canadian specs.. anyone ever try a 160 Pilot air screw or a 170 to help with idle problems with the idle screws out 2 1/2 turns