82 Gs110G Question

[jtbullitt]

Just picked up a 1982 GS110G this past weekend with bad ground wiring. I replaced the ground wire (Black w/white stripe) and got it to fire up. trouble is I can't get it to idle. It runs good from abbout 2000-5000 RPM (MID-RANGE) But bogs down on W.O.T. It does pop and carry on a bit, almost like it has a vacuum leak or something.
This bike is in great shape with 32,000 mi. on it.
It has sat for approx. 2-years maybe more.
Plugs look clean and have good spark.
Air filter is clean.
Battery is a little weak, but it ran like this even after a full charging.
The intake boots are a little rusty around the base, but internally look good. I did notice that the clamps are tightened to thier full extent and still can swivel around the boot with a little force.
I took the carbs. off and removed the bowls, they were clean and the needles do move up and down.
Plug wires do look a little aged.
There is about a 1/2 tank of gas in it, might be a little stale, I would hate to get rid of it with the price of gas being where it is. Would it hurt just to run this tank thru and see if it clears up? Or could there be another issue?

[chiphead]

Search the forums. Probably is leaking at the intake boot orings. While running, spray WD40 or Brakleen where the rubber intake boots meet the head. Engine RPM changes or stumbles. Replace the intake boot orings. Carbs should be completely disassembled and cleaned. Pull out all the jets etc etc. Did you get the mega welcome from Bassclef yet? If so there are a ton of good links in that.
Congrats. You've got yourself a nice ride.

[BassCliff]

Hee Haw Howdy!

H Mr. jtbullit,

Sounds like you've got a diamond in the rough. Here's a little something to help you sort out the rough bits. It's 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)

[Steve]

Just because the bowls are clean does not mean the rest of the carbs are clean. :shock:

And, even though the price of gas is right up there, half a tank is only going to cost $6 or so. Considering that your bike will not run properly, and if you try to ride it in that condition it might stall out just when you want to GO, is your safety really worth only $6 or so? If you really want to keep the gas, drain it out and run it through your lawn mower or put it into your car, where the other 15 gallons of fresh gas will dillute the stale stuff into something useable.

Clean the carbs by completely taking them apart. Follow the links in that little mega-welcome above, you will find some good info and pictorials. You will need new o-rings for the carbs and the intake boots. Get them from cycleorings.com. You get all the o-rings you need for a VERY good price.

Also, if you are using the battery that came with the bike, and it has been sitting for 2 years along with the bike, consider it as trash. Even the best of batteries will not take well to just sitting for 2 years without an occasional charge, so even though you have had it on a charger overnight, or whatever, it will not be up anywhere near proper potential and should not be relied on.

Just my opinion, but you did ask for it. 8-[

.

[Redman]

JT, Welcome to GSR.

If BassCliff has a Mega Welcome; I quess this is just an ordinary welcome.

You say "a bad ground wire". You refering to the one that comes from the R/R gound on the battery box, goes into the wiring harnes and then lands on the frame behind the top of the battery box? Did it look like it became a toaster heating wire and burnt off all the insulation? (That sound like I just imagined those specific conditions?)

You do any voltage checks on your charging system/battery?

I am not one to diagnos your idle problem, other than to say the intake oring should be checked on a bike that you dont know the history. (mine were like shrunken hard plastic.)

[jtbullitt]

Thanks Chiphead, you were right about the mega-welcome, and thank you BassCliff that had to take quite alot of time to compile. I will check out the carb. info and tear them down for cleaning and service.

Steve...the explanation you descibed about the wire is right to the "T". About the middle of the backbone it is sliced into 3 seperate wires, the on that goes to a junction that includes the tail harness and goes to the frame behind the battery is the one that fried. Did you have the same experience or was this just a lucky guess? What could have caused this?
I know how to read a V.O.M. meter, but how would I check the charging system?

[Redman]

JT,

BassCliff has a pictorial description of checking the battery voltage. THis would be to get an idea of if the charging system is working, but not so much troubleshooting to determine why its not working (if it were not working).

I guessed that might be the ground wire that burnt, not just a random quess, but beacause that happened on my 82 1100GK. THe R/R failed, apparently in such a way that it dumped lots and lots of current down its ground wire. THat ground wire is connected to a screw on the battery box (but battery box maybe not so well grounded itself) and there is another ground wire connected there also, the one that goes into the wiring harnesss and then connected to the frame (as you found). So I suggest you check that other end of that wire you found, the end that is connected to the battery box usally under the lower stud/nut that mounts the starter solenoid. See if that is fried also. Maybe your R/R has failed (in which case you will probably have low voltage). If the R/R hasnt failed, but isnt well grounded it may not be controlling voltage well and voltage may be way way too high.

See, now you are getting more familiar with your bike. You and it are becomming one.

.
That is when I found out why many people recommend running a seperate wire from that battery box point to the batt negitive.