Blowing her to start?

[ziggy2528]

Ive got they same issue on a 80 gs550. In the morning I checked the temp and in the high 60's all it needed was choke. In the low 60's I would give 1 full twist of the throttle and let it return, and full choke and i could "catch it" and give a couple blips of the throttle it would run fine on the idle/choke. Lately its low 50's and I just pull the choke on and coast it down the driveway and bump into 2nd gear. Once it fires up it runs good on the choke but I give up trying to burn the starter up or draining the battery. Only another month to ride before its freezing.

[earlfor]

I agree that this is the problem. So ,what else can be done to alleviate me having to blow the side of my bike every morning?

You could try talking dirty and giving her a big goose.

Earl

[OldVet66]

I'm not in the least an authority on carbs, but it strikes me a little odd that while blowing into the vent tube that some gas leaks out of the gasket. If it leaks pushing gas out, it is certainly leaking air in. You may be temporarily sealing it until it warms up and seals itself, or maybe you don't notice it, but I would think this might have something to do with it. I remember using CRC to find leaks in manifolds, and you could hear a rpm change when you sprayed on a leak.

[bradleymaynar]

Okay, read this dusty thread and only once did someone talk about voltage issues. Typically my 1100 is very finicky at temps below 50. Use the choke and it fires right up but I have to goose the throttle to keep it running. The blowing into the vent tubes isn't much different than putting the bike on prime, only a little quicker.

HOWEVER, when I replaced the old (4 years) battery, the bike fired superbly everytime. I guess what should be kept in mind here is that when you turn the key, a whole lot of lights come on before the bike is running. Therefore the power is reduced to the one area you need it most upon start, the coils. I've been amazed at what a simple fix a new battery can be when the bike starts to "act up" in the morning. And, as always, it's better to start cheap and easy then to tear it down to fix a simple thing. My .02.

Brad bk

[Steve]

The blowing into the vent tubes isn't much different than putting the bike on prime, only a little quicker.

Well, ... sort of, ... amost, ... not really.

PRIme will fill the float bowls before trying to start the engine to assure that they have the proper amount of gas in them. (You should not really need to use it very often if everything is working well and you ride the bike at least once a month.) Blowing into the vent tubes will pressurize the float bowls, forcing raw gas through all the jets, into the carb throat, making it a super-rich "choke" substitute. This might be necessary if your normal "choke" (enrichment) circuits are not working properly, but is such a pain to use, I would recommend just cleaning the carbs to fix the problem instead of constantly applying a 'band-aid'.

I guess what should be kept in mind here is that when you turn the key, a whole lot of lights come on before the bike is running. Therefore the power is reduced to the one area you need it most upon start, the coils. I've been amazed at what a simple fix a new battery can be when the bike starts to "act up" in the morning.

Yes, a new battery will do wonders to fix that situation, but you still have a huge current drain when you turn on the key. That is why I have installed a relay in the headlight circuit that opens the circuit when the starter button is pressed so the headlight is not on while cranking the bike.

.

[bradleymaynar]

Well, ... sort of, ... amost, ... not really.

PRIme will fill the float bowls before trying to start the engine to assure that they have the proper amount of gas in them. (You should not really need to use it very often if everything is working well and you ride the bike at least once a month.) Blowing into the vent tubes will pressurize the float bowls, forcing raw gas through all the jets, into the carb throat, making it a super-rich "choke" substitute. This might be necessary if your normal "choke" (enrichment) circuits are not working properly, but is such a pain to use, I would recommend just cleaning the carbs to fix the problem instead of constantly applying a 'band-aid'.



Yes, a new battery will do wonders to fix that situation, but you still have a huge current drain when you turn on the key. That is why I have installed a relay in the headlight circuit that opens the circuit when the starter button is pressed so the headlight is not on while cranking the bike.

.

Thanks for the clarification on both points Steve.

Brad bk

[Steve]

Thanks for the clarification on both points Steve.

Brad bk

No problem. It has amazed and amused me to see how many times someone will post "just blow into the vent tubes to start it". On any of the GS bikes that I either have in my garage or have worked on, it's quite an ordeal just to get to the tubes, let alone get my mouth close enough to blow on them.

Once you realize that you are doing that because the carbs are not working properly, it just makes sense to pull the carbs and clean them. Yeah, it may be a pain pulling your carbs due to a stock airbox, but add up all the times you are being inconvenienced to blow on your vent tubes and compare that to the one time you will have to pull the carbs for cleaning.

On the electrical side of the post, most of the other bikes I have ever had would either cut the headlight off when using the starter or use some other method of delaying the headlight until the engine was running. I was surprised to find that the GS did not have this feature, in spite of all its other advancements and niceties.

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[almarconi]

On the electrical side of the post, most of the other bikes I have ever had would either cut the headlight off when using the starter or use some other method of delaying the headlight until the engine was running. I was surprised to find that the GS did not have this feature, in spite of all its other advancements and niceties.

My GS has an on/off switch for the headlight. I usually turn it off when I am starting the bike.

[Steve]

My GS has an on/off switch for the headlight. I usually turn it off when I am starting the bike.

Yeah, but they started phasing that out with some of the '80 models and discontinued it completely with the '81 models.
With some of the '81 models, you could still file away the locking tab and still have a working switch, but the left handgrip housing was completely changed for '82.

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