Bike bogging out and barely pulls itself

[821100gl]

My bike i got a couple months ago traded my truck for it.
its a 1982 suzuki gs1100gl
4 into 1 Vance And Hines Exhaust
K&N air Filter
supposly last owner rebuilt the carbs.
it ran great when i got it until like a couple months later it was sputterings sometimes when giving it gas.changed the plugs(that were black looking) and ran better again for a month or two put about almost 1000 miles on it and now its acting up again sputtering can barely pull itself.checked the plugs and they were tan.i did drive it seemed kind of better but it was acting great but they sometimes was still sputtering.ill check tommorow and give you a update.

[Big T]

The problem could be electrical. Did you check to see what color spark you are getting?

The tan spark plugs are a good sign, it's jetted correctly for the pods and header

[TheCafeKid]

You could have a bad coil. Either intermitant or Griffin on the board said he had one that would overheat and start cutting out. He couldnt prove it for the longest as it would always test fine when the bike cooled down. SO one day he rode it till it started to do that, and then as quick as he could, ripped the tank off and tested while it was still hot, and sure enough, it was bunking out on him. Replaced the coil and never had a problem again.

[821100gl]

uh i didnt wanna hear electrical lol i heard these bikes had that issue.i didnt check what color spark it was.whats the best way to do that? Take one plug out and turn it over?

[chef1366]

Is the fuel tank clean of rust?
If it got gradually worse it probably is a fuel problem.
If it just got bad all at once more than likely it's electrical.

[TheCafeKid]

Yup lay the plug on the head and see what colour the spark is, if you have spark. You need to pick up a multimeter if you dont have one already, and test the coils, plug caps and wires too. Thats another thing to check, when was the last time the caps and wires have been changed/cleaned? The caps will screw off, and are replaceable. The wires will eventually burn a bit, and you need to cut back some of the rubber to expose some new wire and screw your new caps on. Helps alot.

[821100gl]

ill check the tank to make sure thats clean nothing floating in it.

about the plug caps they look original do they still screw off? or if you take them off you got replace. if so how much to plugs caps cost?cause i never did anything involving plug caps on it just the spark plugs.

thanks for your help guys also

[chef1366]

On the plug caps. They screw on. Take it off and snip a little wire and screw back into good wire.

[TheCafeKid]

ill check the tank to make sure thats clean nothing floating in it.

about the plug caps they look original do they still screw off? or if you take them off you got replace. if so how much to plugs caps cost?cause i never did anything involving plug caps on it just the spark plugs.

thanks for your help guys also

The originals screw off. Especially helpfull because you cant simply change plug wires on the original coils because they are built into the coil. I think ive seen them going on ebay for like 22 a set, likely cheaper from an actuall parts dealer like Z1 or Bike Bandit. If they are original, i would suggest changing them out just for peace of mind. It certainly cant hurt, and cut back the rubber on the wires to get yourself some fresh clean wire exposed.

[821100gl]

Updated Info.
Drove it today put 45 miles on it.
i took off went full throttle and it went really fast then shifted into 2nd and full throttle it would sputter like it was out of gas but then clear out.
it sputter once in a while not that much.
like sometimes in 1st just crank it down and it will sputter and go away.
it just sputtered for a second and went away.
i drove it all today without it stalling at all but the sputtering gets annoying.but it seem to run great the whole time.

[TheCafeKid]

Updated Info.
Drove it today put 45 miles on it.
i took off went full throttle and it went really fast then shifted into 2nd and full throttle it would sputter like it was out of gas but then clear out.
it sputter once in a while not that much.
like sometimes in 1st just crank it down and it will sputter and go away.
it just sputtered for a second and went away.
i drove it all today without it stalling at all but the sputtering gets annoying.but it seem to run great the whole time.

I would be checking to see that you are getting good spark for sure man. Are you having any charging issues at all by chance as well?

[821100gl]

No charging issues.I let it sit since Saturday and i drove it yesterday and it fired up after a while took a couple cranks.

[Loose Seal]

Sounds pretty similar to the issues I'm having...and I think it's spark related. I've had good spark when I test it but then have had the occasion where #3 and/or #4 are definitely not firing.

Put new caps on it, they're $4 each and should be replaced anyways. Just have to keep narrowing down - but my guess is coils.

[flyingace]

Didn't read all the posts, but do you have an inline fuel filter? It may be partially clogged and letting a limited amount of fuel thru. Remove it and see what happens.