1982 GS1100 Won't Start

[Gordo]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the GS site, but I already know that this is the place for all my questions. I've had my GS since Easter. It didn't start when I picked it up from the previous owner...dead battery. Took it home, trickle charged the battery and it started right up. Did't ride it. though; too much snow in Spokane this year. New battery now,so I tried to start it and POW! Seemed like a backfire from the front of the engine. Fuel leaking from the front of the engine. down the crankcase and onto the exhaust pipe collector. Never had anything like this on any other bike. Ideas and suggestions would be most welcomed! Thanks.

[49er]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the GS site, but I already know that this is the place for all my questions. I've had my GS since Easter. It didn't start when I picked it up from the previous owner...dead battery. Took it home, trickle charged the battery and it started right up. Did't ride it. though; too much snow in Spokane this year. New battery now,so I tried to start it and POW! Seemed like a backfire from the front of the engine. Fuel leaking from the front of the engine. down the crankcase and onto the exhaust pipe collector. Never had anything like this on any other bike. Ideas and suggestions would be most welcomed! Thanks.

Hi Gordo, welcome to the GSR. Excpect to receive the official welcome soon.
If your bike has the original petcock, the diaphragm may have a split in it sending fuel down the vacuum line into the crankcase. Take the filler cap off the crankcase and smell the oil for fuel vapours. If that's what has happened, you will need to replace the petcock and change the engine oil before trying again.
The other possibility is that one or more of your carbs has a sticking float that is causing the carb to flood. They will all need a good clean if the bike has been sitting a while. It would be timely to check the valve clearances in the near future as well.

[tkent02]

Only thing I can think of is that the petcock may have stuck open, filling the entire engine up with gas?

Go carefully here.

[Nessism]

Hey Gordo,

Welcome to the site.

GS bikes are extremely durable bikes but they do need maintenance.

Most likely your bike needs a carb rebuild. Pretty easy job using the rebuild info available on the site. http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

Good luck.

[BassCliff]

Hee Haw Howdy!

Hi Mr. Gordo,

I can't add much to the wisdom you've already received. So I'm just going to give you my mega-welcome! \\/

Dear fellow GS rider,

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)

[Gordo]

Thanks for the hearty welcome. I think I'm really going to enjoy the correspondence! A little more background on my "won't start" dilemma. The previous owner said that it ran just fine. I took the bike basically site unseen from a Craigslist ad. I wasn't too worried about how it ran, since I didn't pay anything for it; I work for an airline and traded buddy passes for it. I took the guy's word for it and trailered it home. It did start up after a charge to the batt. and then I started cleaning it up a bit to see what was underneath the road grime. The fork seals need to be replaced, and it had a few other mostly cosmetic issues. The forks seemed to be misaligned in the clamps, and it will need tires as well. The last time I started it was on or around Easter Sunday. The other day I tried again, and like it said, it went BANG...out the front of the engine. Could it have been the head gasket that went away? The carbs were a bit flooded and my worry is that the cylinders loaded up with fuel and that this created a hydraulic lock in one or more of the cylinders. How tough are the rods to bend in this type of situation? I'm familiar with the legendary bulletproof-ness of the GS engine, but could it have met it's match with me? I'm prepared to stick it out to a large degree with this bike. I absolutely love the looks, and have since they first came out. I've got lots of crazy thoughts going thru my head right now...the committee in my brain is working overtime right now. Sorry if this post is too long. I guess I'm just wanting to jump into this site both feet first and get to riding again. Thanks again for the welcome. By the way...I'll post pics as soon as there are some worth posting.](*,)