new gs owner carb and paint questions

[johnb9]

I just bought a 1982 gs 650 with 23k on it; the guy I bought it from said he was the second owner and it was his first bike. I have one question about the carburation and one about gas tank paint. This is my second bike though I am still relatively inexperienced with working on them.

1. The previous owner said he cleaned the carbs last summer and since then the rpms would spike (to about 4-5k) when he would shift or come to a stop; to address that he said simply "slowed the idle" to the point that it stalls now if you don't twist the throttle slightly when at a stop. He said it has been this way since late last summer and he just got used to it. He has been riding to work this spring before he sold it to me.
I am looking for suggestions for fixing this problem without resorting to taking it to a shop for a full carb cleaning and adjustment if possible.

The bike does seem to run pretty well at rpms above 1000 and has power etc.


2. THe gas tank (silver) is maked by gas spill streaks; some spots near the fill opening the paint is gone- it's down to bare metal; I am wondering if there is a reliable way to paint it myself and have it look pretty good or if it is worth taking it to a body shop to have it done professinally.

The side covers and the fenders are in pretty good shape.

Addressing these two problems initially will make it a decent bike.
Thanks for any suggestions.

[Calvin Blackmore]

the dreaded carb intake boot leak or so it seems.
some 650 specific content matter experts will tune in soon to give you a detailed rundwon on what to test.

[Calvin Blackmore]

tsk tsk has this guy not even been properly welcomed?
where are the lurking 650 owners?

all out shining or driving?

[Calvin Blackmore]

do you have any pictures of this bike
I find it odd that the paint would get eaten away by gas
It may be a paint job done by an previous owner with inferior materials.

the RPM flucuation issues are generally related to leaks in the carb intake either betweeen the head and the carb or between the airbox

[Suzuki_Don]

The idle problem is a lean condition which causes the idle to hang. Usually it is an air leak at the intake boots where the "O" rings between the boots and the cylinder head have outstayed their welcome. In other words they are "buggered". Ask previous owner if he replaced these "O" rings when he had the carbs off last time. The other and easier solution could be that the idle mixture is just too lean. Do the idle mixture adjustment via the "highest RPM method" (search posts, many have written about it). Or just try screwing the air mixture screws in 1/2 turn or so to see if this improves things. But it is most likely to be the intake boots.

[BassCliff]

Hee Haw Howdy!

Hi Mr. johnb9,

Because it's so hard to find a good wrench (but not impossible) to work on these old bikes, most of us like to do our own work. I agree with Mr. Calvin Blackmore about the carb boots and intake O-rings. Have a gander at the information in your very own 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 if your bike uses shims for valve adjustments, send an email to Mr. Steve requesting a copy of his Excel spreadsheet that helps you keep track of clearances, shim sizes and other service work.

These 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**********************
Additional parts/info 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/

For valve cover and breather cover gaskets, I recommend Real Gaskets (reusable silicon):
http://www.realgaskets.com
The Rice Paddy (salvage/used)
http://www.ricepaddymotorcycles.com
Carolina Cycle
http://www.carolinacycle.com
Ron Ayers Motorsports
http://www.ronayers.com
MR Cycles
http://www.mrcycles.com
Moto Grid
http://www.motogrid.com
If all else fails, try this:
http://www.used-motorcycle-parts.org/
Used bike buying checklists:

http://www.amadirectlink.com/roadride/Riderresc/checklist.asp

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html
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)

[BassCliff]

2. THe gas tank (silver) is maked by gas spill streaks; some spots near the fill opening the paint is gone- it's down to bare metal; I am wondering if there is a reliable way to paint it myself and have it look pretty good or if it is worth taking it to a body shop to have it done professinally.

The side covers and the fenders are in pretty good shape.

Hello again Mr. johnb9,

Via the GSR Homepage you can gain access to The Garage Section with some pretty cool info. Here is an article about painting on the cheap.

There have been many here with successful "rattle can" paint jobs.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[niko]

had similar idle problems with my 550, it was a leak in the intake due to a loose boot between airbox and carbs, when i got it fixed the idle would hang at like 3-4000 as i was coming to stops, fixed that by adjusting idle down as it had been turned up by p.o. to fight the stalling from the loose carb boots.