I guess I'm just screwed...

[en12gine]

Well, I took the advice of some of you about my previous quandry, and called the local shop to see if they had any pins. Actually talked to one of the guys in the shop. He's advising me that the vacuum float isn't the the part that I need to worry about, it's inside the carbs. In fact, he said, "You are not even close to where you need to be!" UUUUUGH!! Is there anyone around the Lexington, KY area that can talk me through this situation and can maybe help me out? I'd love to try and do this myself, but I know very little about bikes and the inner workings of them, even less. I told my coworkers about the carb problem, and the sounds of "eeeeeeew" went resonating through the room. Also, "go let the pros do it before you mess it completely up" came out. I'm at a crossroad. Do I venture to try and fix this thing myself with limited ability (i.e. no garage except at the fire station where I work) or do I go on and bite the bullet and take it to the shop where the sky is the limit, but my wallet isn't. Let's not forget, the wife is eyeballing me and watching to see if the "I told you so's" continue. HELP!! Thanks for any and all help.

Craig in KY

[doctorgonzo]

Tearing down the carbs intimidated me as well, but seriously, you can do it. Find a workspace inside (anywhere, a big closet, the kitchen table, ok, wife might not like that), download and print the re-build guide, download and print the carb section in your service manual (if you don't have one), get some egg cartons and ziplock bags (to be labeled and filled with things like "Float bowl screws", and "Choke actuator parts") take digital pictures of each section before you tear it down, take your time and walk away from it when needed, don't try and do it all in one day.... and you will be fine.

[buttonhook]

Let's not forget, the wife is eyeballing me and watching to see if the "I told you so's" continue. HELP!! Thanks for any and all help.

Craig in KY

Been there!!

[buster]

Every bike I pick up I get eyeballed. I think I missed what exactly was wrong, I thought you just had a broken float hanger or something. If the carb CAN be fixed than look for parts and do it yourself. Don't forget bikebandit has the microfiche of the carbs exploded so you can get the name of the part that your missing or that is broken. But I agree take your time, rushing through a carb is shooting yourself in the foot to see if it hurts. (it does). Even if you have a folding table that you can set up on temporarily, after the chemical part is done you can tear apart and put back together inside the house, just layout a towel or something. I do mine on the breakfast bar when I want to get on the wifes nerves...lol

I was intimidated by carbs at first also, but the only thing I don't do myself now is the final sync. 50 bucks for the shop to do it professonally or 100 bucks for a sync tool..

If you can't find the parts online PM me and maybe the Jap Bike junk yard by me has the part and I can ship it too you.

[buttonhook]

also www.cheapcycleparts.com does as well

[ryonker]

Just relax; take a deep breath and don't be in a hurry! I am a total novice and I have taken my carbs apart (and cleaned them) several times and everything still works. Take your time; take pictures and ask a lot of questions. It doesn't sound like your screwed to me. It's not like you fired up your engine w/out oil. Keep at it!

Rick

[en12gine]

thanks for the support

Well, it looks like I'm going to have to bring this badboy into work one day on the weekend and try to figure it out. I appreciate the support. It does get intimidating when those around you tell you things like, "I tried it and the floats weren't the right level and mine was all messed up." But, I'll go give it a shot and let you know how it goes. Probably be a few weeks before it will be all said and done. Hey, maybe I'll get to ride this thing NEXT summer! Thanks again.

Craig in KY

[Suzuki mad]

Have a look at the carb cleaning series here http://www.thegsresources.com/files/vm_carb_rebuild.pdf

or here

http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

and ask yourself the question can I do this? If the answwer is I'm willing to give it a go then ask the guy's on here more questions as most have done this job already. If the answer is NO then break out the wallet or sell the bike.

As for her in doors, the evil eye is only to keep you in place. Who rules your world, her or you?

Suzuki mad.

GS1000ET 1981
GS(X)1100ESD 1983
GSF1200K1 2002
Soon GS1000S 1980

[Archania]

As for her in doors, the evil eye is only to keep you in place. Who rules your world, her or you?

It all depends on if you intend to sleep next to her anymore and how comfortable your couch is... lol

Or you can be divorced and happy!

[spyug]

You can do this carb stuff. Have faith. Prepare yourself with the printouts as suggested and round up your carb dip, brushes, wires and picks, screw drivers and pliers, carb cleaner spray shop towels and a big mug of java. Get your order in to Mr. Barr for a set of o-rings and find yourself a quiet place with a flat surface to work on. Be systematic and patient....don't rush. Do it right the first time.

If the boss gives you the evil eye and the I told you so, just grin and tell her " I just saved $200 by doing this myself" then arrange to take her out for dinner with your savings.

Seriously, you can do this. The first time is a bit scary but it gets easier every time. After 5 years and 4 bikes I can pretty much do them in my sleep. I had a Virago that I had the carbs off and rebuilt about 6 times in one year. What first took about 4 hours soon became 20 minutes.

Good luck with the project and let us know how it goes.

Cheers,
Spyug

[buster]

In my experience (limited) I would say when she says "I told you so" you just say "yes you did"

Believe me the first time I rode one of these motorcycles out of my garage and down the block the look on her face with her jaw dropped was priceless...but she told me so.

[Suzuki mad]

OK.

Took 2 students (both 15) who are not mechanics but school kids and took them through a slide (VM) carb and a CV carb. Took them 90 minutes with explanations.

Took out a GSX250E set of carbs from the bike and had them stripped, cleaned and refitted within the next 90 minutes including doing an exhaust pipe. All they needed was a couple of screwdrivers, some cleaner and some paper towel.

Took longer to refit the airbox to the carbs.

Suzuki mad

[MelodicMetalGod]

Welcome to the fun!

Just wanted to add my support the idea that you can deal with the carbs yourself. If you ever played with legos or tinker toys, then you have the foundation of working with carbs. I agree with Suzuki Mad...playing with the airbox is the most difficult part of the process.

My particular recommendations:
1) Get every manual available for your bike. They're all helpful.
2) Have patience/take your time, especially when learning for the first time.
3) Don't be afraid to ask any and all questions here at the GSR. Chances are that whatever issues your bike has have been successfully resolved by many others on many other bikes and, collectively, we all love being able to use our experiences to contribute to the success of other GS-ers.

Look at it as a challenge and enjoy the process.

Oh, and don't let your wife discourage your efforts. I'm sure she means well, but if she really wants to help, just ask her for her support and promise her the first pillion ride when all is right.

[BassCliff]

Hee Haw Howdy!

Hi Mr. en12gine,

I've got a mega-welcome for you!

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 (and most other models) 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
http://www.bikepics.com
Basic motorcycle maintenance/repair:

http://www.dansmc.com/mc_repaircourse.htm

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)

[SqDancerLynn1]

You work at a fire station? Don't you have any mechanical types at work to help or look over your shoulder?