2 Slow Starting Cylinders

[OLJOCLARK]

Hello,,,, from alabamy,,again. Oljo here.I've been getting to stretch my 1978 gs 550e out a little bit here lately.It runs great ,,cant hear or feel any missing while riding er around some.The next thing to work out is that when it's cold, not been started that day,,,,two cylinders are slow to fire off. This evening it was slower than normal.I usually choke to start,, two cylinders fire right off,,and then start backing off on the choke until i can use the throttle.when doing this today ,after seeing the other two were a lot slower to fire, I shut er down waited about five minutes,,cranked,, got three cylinders...shut er down again ,,waited ,,,,cranked and got all four. Flooding at start up maybe? i'd like to try to correct this myself.The plugs all seem to be getting the same spark when looking at it with my spark plug tester. any carb adjusting tips for this problem? thanks in advance...oljo from alabam

[earlfor]

The first thing I would do is check the carb synch to be certain all four carbs have the same vacuum levels. If you have no vacuum, or reduced vacuum on a cylinder, you will have reduced fuel draw in proportion to the vacuum lost. No vacuum, no fuel.

Earl

[chef1366]

Sounds like the float bowls are emptying and are trying to fill. Try priming the bowls first with the petcock and see if this helps.

[SqDancerLynn1]

Not sure what you have available where you are/ I would add some SeaFoam cleaner to the gas for a tank or two to see if it helps

[Steve]

Good replies so far, but I am going to add one more item. It is possible that the idle circuits in two of the carbs might be dirty and not working. As you speed up and use more throttle, you are getting into the pilot circuit and main jet, which appear to be working better.

One way to verify is to check the sync on the carbs to make sure they are all pulling evenly, as earlfor has suggested. If those two still take a while to warm up, you will likely have to clean the carbs, but running Seafoam through a couple of tanks would be a great way to start the cleaning process. For cases like yours, I would run a double concentration, but be sure to get the bike out and ride it. Gas with a cleaner added to it works better when flowing, so don't just add the Seafoam, ride a few miles to get it into the carbs and let it sit. It is better to add the Seafoam, top off the tank, then go for a 100-mile or so ride.

.

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[OLJOCLARK]

A Little Luck

Thanks, folks for the input.Igot off work this evening,primed the carbs ,all four fired off quick! I'll try this again tommorrow.It's about time i dropped in on my mechanic,I'll run the synch idea by him,and see what all is involved.I don't know how myself.He's been a good help and a great parts supplier.Usually,one to three days on anything! Can't beat that! I'll check on the sea foam too,, thank's again. I'll post some more if it continues to crank good priming,,maybe it'll help someone else too. Oljo from A:-Dlabam

[OLJOCLARK]

Another Day

Just a line or two on the cylinder situation.I primed the 550 again today and it started right up! rode about 20 miles and ran great! thanks folks........oljo:-D