Need help 1980 GS550E

[Outlander]

I purchased this bike back in 96 or 97, has 10k miles on it. Buddy sold it to me for 10 bucks, as it was not running.

I just had the carbs (cv) bs32 off the bike, cleaned them to the best of my knowledge. Installed them, fired up the bike. banks 3 and 4 run great. Nice color to the plugs, hitting beautifully. Couldn't ask for better. Banks 1 and 2 are messed up. Really rich. Plugs fouled with gas. I don't know what is going on.

I torn em apart again, gave em a good spray down, and again, same thing. 3 and 4 hit nice, 1 and 2 don't.

Figured I better add some info. I have great spark on all cyclinders. Good compression, everything should be fine. I just can't seem to get her to fire on 1 and 2. Pipes are cold to the touch.

Any ideas?

[Steve]

"a good spray down" does not constitute a good cleaning. In order to clean them properly and thoroughly, you will have to disassemble them and dunk them.:shock:

Have you seen (and followed) the Carb Cleaning Series? Besides reading that, you will need a can of Berryman's carb dip and a set of o-rings from cycleorings.com.

The can of 'dip' will say to soak the carbs for 15-30 minutes, but you will get better results if you dip them for 15-30 hours.
Take your time, be meticulous, do a good job, the results will be worth it.

.

[BassCliff]

Hee Haw Howdy!

Hi Mr. Outlander,

Are all the plugs getting good spark? Do you need new plug caps? Also, try the carb rebuild series mentioned below here 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)

[Outlander]

Thanks for all the great info. I have read and reread a lot of it, and have purchased o-rings, and other parts for my bike.

I can not seem to find carb boots, the ones going to the cylinders. I will keep looking, as I do recall sporadic idle, and increasing idle, which seems like a vacumn leak.

Tomorrow I will pull the carbs completely apart, and give em a good soak. I am sure they could use it. I seen holes in parts that I didn't know had holes. So I am sure I need to do more cleaning.

I will keep you all updated on my progress. Thanks for being here, as I had no where else to go...except a shop, and I don't really trust them.

[Steve]

I can not seem to find carb boots, the ones going to the cylinders. .

Since you are going to have the carbs off, anyway, and it appears that you might be taking the intake tubes off to change the o-rings, you can evaluate them to see if they really need to be changed. Most of the time, you only need to change the o-rings, as the boots might still be pliable enough.

.

[Outlander]

Hey Steve

Thanks for the follow up. I have pulled the intake boots off, the o rings are solid. Like crystal. If I attempt to remove them, I am sure they will shatter. They are old.

I have looked at the boots themselves. Each and every single one has some cracking. I do not see any that go all the way thru. I don't know if it is worth trying to replace them now, or later when the cracks do make it all the way thru.

At any rate, trying to find these things is proving very difficult. If you could kindly point me in the right direction, it would greatly be appreciated.

As a side note, I tore down number 1 carb today. I could not for the life of me get the idle jet out. I sprayed wd 40 down it and pb blaster, and neither could free the jet. I ended up snapping off the brass piece to turn out the jet, so had to buy an extracter, which worked. Now I need to replace a jet too. Any ideas there? Carbs are bs32ss or something very similar to it. I have another set of carbs, but those are jetted differently. The numbers are not the same. The old carbs have a lower jet number, than the ones I have.

[Scotts]

Outlander, Look above in your very own mega welcome. There is blue name. Mr robertbarr. If you click on it, or the link below. (it does the same thing)

You will be good to go.

I got my o rings from him.

http://cycleorings.com/

Scott

[Outlander]

Scott

I have purchased the o-rings, however, the boots themselves are cracked. I don't see them cutting all the way thru, but I would assume that is only a matter of time. All o-rings have been ordered, as well as some screws.

[Scotts]

Did not have to order boots.

Don't have experience on these.

Scott

[skreemer]

to help the boots a bit hit the local hardware store or farm and fleet and look for silicone refreshing spray. It's not a permanent fix but it should help.

they are parts # 19 and 20... be aware there is a left and right side... they are 24.62 a pop.

Carb boots engine side for 80 GS550