Cylinder numbers?1234 left or right

[basta]

HI
Sitting on my bike which cylinder is number one? secondly sitting on the bike which coil feeds which cylinders ie lh 1-4 rh 2-3? as my rh pair of cylinders are sooting up the spark plugs
getting back to basics the bikes a GS 550E 1980 POINTS AND CONDENSORS NOT ELECTRONIC IGNITION
THANKS ROY

[Steve]

Cylinders are numbered from left to right as you are sitting on the bike.
#1 is under your clutch hand, #4 is under your throttle hand.

Assuming a stock configuration, the left coil feeds 1&4, the right coil feeds 2&3.

And how did you manage to get an '80 bike with points?

When setting your ignition timing, don't forget that changing the point gap will also affect spark timing for that coil.
Be sure to check the gap on both sets of points and the timing on both coils.

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[basta]

Thanks Steve will check that out I thought maybe 3 and 4 were connected wrong hence the dirty plugs
As for the points issue i dont know the bikes an Italian import and the registration book says year of manufacter 1980 but that could be wrong
engine number is GS 550-198402 possibly a 79?
cheers Roy

[Steve]

The "Italian import" is the part that did it. I think only the US-spec models got the electronic ignition for 1980.

Did the rest of the world get electronic ignition for 1981?

Do you have VM or BS carbs? Easy way to tell is to look at the top of the carb. If there is a rectangular dome with three screws holding it down, they are VM carbs. If there is a large, flat, round top that has four screws holding it down, they are BS carbs. The US models got the BS carbs for 1980, just wondering about your bike.

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[basta]

Steve my carbs are CV Mikunis not VMs they have round tops and 4 screws are they the same as the BSs you mentioned?thought there were only 2 types of carbs on the old GS?
cheers Roy

[jmanz6]

The cylinder numbers are what got the PO of my bike in trouble. He thought he should put coil 1 on cylinders 1 & 2 and then put coil 2 on cylinders 3 & 4. He couldn't figure out why it ran so poorly like that. It would, in fact run but not very well or very long. I out the wires on the correct way and away I went. He did do me one favor though, he broke a head stud so I have to get it fixed...

[Steve]

Steve my carbs are CV Mikunis not VMs they have round tops and 4 screws are they the same as the BSs you mentioned?thought there were only 2 types of carbs on the old GS?
cheers Roy

Yes, there are only two types. The 'CV' part of the carbs you have is part of a generic designation. I have seen them called "Constant Vacuum" or "Constant Velocity" carbs, but the particular carbs that Suzuki chose to use were Mikuni's BS series.

Put a little more simply:
Through the 1979 model year, Suzuki used Mikuni VM carbs.
Starting with the 1980 model year, they used Mikuni BS carbs.
The BS carbs are a CV-type of carb.
(There might be exceptions, based on model or geographic location.)

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[basta]

generic designation? Ah like the hoover cleaner thats a vacuum cleaner just the names are changed (like BS series carbs are Constant Vaccum type) to protect the innocent
cheers Roy