GS1100E issues

[JUSS10]

so i traded my shadow 500 for a gs1100e a few months ago. it was running alright for a while but then progressively got worse. it would constantly pop and wouldn't idle. well it sat for nearly a month as i just didnt have the time to work on it. this past week i pulled the carbs and cleaned them all out and checked specs. floats were all right around 22mm and everything else looked great. i popped the plugs off of the air adjustment screws recorded the turns and cleaned them up. i then set them all at 2 turns out (seems to be a standard for most bikes). also noticed two of the exhaust studs were stripped creating leaks at the head. drilled and retapped with larger studs to fix that issue. its all back together and still pops and won't idle. i bench synced the carbs with a paper clip and didnt apear to need adjusting. i can't tell whats really going on in the cylinders cause the new plugs aren't "coloring" yet. compression is at least 130 on all cylinders. the only thing i can think of that has changed is the condition of the air filter. it has a deteriorating unifilter in there so i plan on getting a new one of those. also when i pulled the plugs before i rebuilt the carbs one side was white the other was black. so i thought a sync issue but as i said things looked alright. sorry, this is a lot of info but i'm trying to inform everyone with everything i can. also its running a yoshimira 4 into 1.

[chef1366]

You need to seperate the carb bodies and dip them.
Also do a valve adjustment.
130 is good!

[almarconi]

To properly clean the carbs you need to completly take them apart, soak them in carb cleaning solution, replace O-rings and reassemble them. Any other method is not going to get them clean.

Carb boots both the intake and the ones connected to the airbox need to be checked for leaks. Air filter should be replaced and if your airbox has a lid on it, it needs to be sealed and attached. A bench sync is fine for starters but the carbs need to be vacuum synced.

When you take your carbs apart make a note of the pilot and main jet numbers. Since you are running an aftermarket pipe your carbs may need to be rejetted. Is the airbox stock or pods?

If you have not already done it you should also adjust the valves.

Also check to make sure your battery is in good condition and fully charged.

Is the inside of the gas tank in good shape? Any rust? If you've got rust make sure to clean the tank and petcock out. Install an inline fuel filter..you don't want to clog your nice clean carbs with rust and sediment from the tank.

These items are usual maintenance item when you get a "new to you" bike. You should download a repair manual and go through the maintenance procedures to get your bike running properly.

[JUSS10]

ok lets see.

I separated all the carbs and removed everything making sure all passages were cleaned. i have a carb dip bucket of solution i use.

checked for leaks with starter fluid and it didn't seem to rev.

stock box. i thought about the jets but like i said it ran rather well when i first got it.

tank is clean but for tuning a use a plastic tank off a lawn mower with fresh fuel and a little sea foam

for the valve adjustment can i do that without having to replace the valve cover gasket?

and I am looking at getting a cab synchronizer (my homemade one works well but only on my two cylinder bikes) i was thinking either the motion pro one or the carbtune pro. which way should i go?

i think that covers everything from the last two posts.

[almarconi]

Sounds to me like you've got it figured out.

[JUSS10]

what about the valve cover gasket and which tuner do you guys think is best? i know i know how to do all this but it still seems to have issues hence the reason for the thread.

[chef1366]

I would get a gasket for the valve cover if doing the valves.
I would also get stainless steel allen head bolts.

Check the intake boots for cracks. Take them off and flex them and the cracks will show. If so get new boots and clamps.
Make sure the choke is closing completely.
Check plugs for fouling.
Running without a good air filter will cause running issues. CV carbs are sensative to air flow.

[almarconi]

i know how to do all this but it still seems to have issues hence the reason for the thread

Obviously, if you new how to do all this the bike would be running fine.

[Suzuki mad]

Popping can be caused by anything.

Work from the obovious to the not so obvious. The likely place to start is the carbs and fuel sytem. Then check the ignition timing, advancer, plugs, caps, coils etc.


Suzuki mad

[Road_Clam]

so i traded my shadow 500 for a gs1100e a few months ago. it was running alright for a while but then progressively got worse. it would constantly pop and wouldn't idle. well it sat for nearly a month as i just didnt have the time to work on it. this past week i pulled the carbs and cleaned them all out and checked specs. floats were all right around 22mm and everything else looked great. i popped the plugs off of the air adjustment screws recorded the turns and cleaned them up. i then set them all at 2 turns out (seems to be a standard for most bikes). also noticed two of the exhaust studs were stripped creating leaks at the head. drilled and retapped with larger studs to fix that issue. its all back together and still pops and won't idle. i bench synced the carbs with a paper clip and didnt apear to need adjusting. i can't tell whats really going on in the cylinders cause the new plugs aren't "coloring" yet. compression is at least 130 on all cylinders. the only thing i can think of that has changed is the condition of the air filter. it has a deteriorating unifilter in there so i plan on getting a new one of those. also when i pulled the plugs before i rebuilt the carbs one side was white the other was black. so i thought a sync issue but as i said things looked alright. sorry, this is a lot of info but i'm trying to inform everyone with everything i can. also its running a yoshimira 4 into 1.

You still have clogged pilot jet(s) and or pilot jet passageways. This is the #1 stubborn issue to correct from dirty carbs. I would suggest taking the bare rack of carbs to a dealer who has a proffessional carb dip/agitator cleaner. The commercial carb cleaner/agitator setup is the only way to really clean the carbs successfully, (I went through the same exact issues as you. My #3 carb had pilot jet debris that I simply could not get unplugged..

PS the only issue with the commercial cleaner is that it will strip the black paint right off the carb bodies (If you have painted carbs)

[trippivot]

FIRST you never separate the bank of 4 if you do you will have trouble for a very long time.
next if you have never had luck tuning a 4 cylinder bike STOP !!

this is not straight forward ....good carb work comes from experience

You have the talk right but you are missing something keep doing it over
and over and over again

[Nessism]

FIRST you never separate the bank of 4 if you do you will have trouble for a very long time.
next if you have never had luck tuning a 4 cylinder bike STOP !!

this is not straight forward ....good carb work comes from experience

You have the talk right but you are missing something keep doing it over
and over and over again

Never separate the carbs???? Are you joking? Separating the carbs is the proper way to get them clean since they can be soaked in dip that way.

In terms of cleaning them, a gallon a Berryman's carb dip is less than $20 - I'd go this way and skip taking the carbs to a dealer.

Since the carb o-rings are more than 25 years old it's imperative that they be changed out. Cycleorings.com sells a very reasonably priced kit that is pretty much a REQUIRED addition of any carb rebuild.

Short cuts are long cuts when it comes to this type of work.

Proper jetting is also required; a bike will pods and header will not run properly with stock jets. Period. Get a dynojet kit as appropriate or check the archives for jetting suggestions.

Good luck.

[GQROD]

I had never rebuilt carbs on a motorcycle this was my first bike.

I was leery of doing it since i did not want to mess anything up.

Anyone doing this for the first time especially on four carb bikes ( mine is only two carbs) can do it but it's a matter of following the experienced members instructions that have these carbs on their bikes since they have done this before and can walk you through any issues.

Definetly take the carbs apart you can clean them better.

In my experience Dealers are useless for diagnosing problems on old bikes.

Unless the carbs are rusted to death Berrymans and meticulous detailed cleaning of every orifice and replacing all o-rings is sufficient to do a good job.

New jets are cheap insurance against problems but a good cleaning is fine also.

The key is in tuning the bike after the carbs are cleaned. This requires patience and the right tools.

It's really what works best for you. But this sites members have years of experience on these bikes so their advice is gold that helped me a lot.

Hope this helps.

[Tomas03]

Fuel lines

Juss10,
I recently rebuilt the top end on my gsx1100 and I developed a problem just like yours. Turned out to be a kink in the fuel line. Have a look at that or the vacuum line might have a crack/tear in it.
With me I always forget to check the simple/little things as I jump to the worst case scenario first.

[Don-lo]

I will side with trippivot on this one: cleaning without separating the carbs is usually the safest way to go. Cleaning all passages vigorously with chemicals and pressurized air will remove all particles that have a chance of coming loose. It is more important to pay attention to the "precision areas": jet surfaces need to be soaked and scrubbed or replaced. O-rings in the needle seat are the most important to change. Disturbing the fuel tees can cause leaks that were not there before, butterfly screws are easy to strip, and there is a "special" pain of reassembly. I would disassemble if the fuel tees were leaking, if there was hard/crusty residue under the needle seats, or if the exterior needed to look new/perfect. Replacing the fuel line and installing a high flow filter is the best way to prevent particle re-entry.

I think recommending body separation to newbies is a good way to unnecessarily overwhelm them.

I can see there is some controversy in this, so I hope this is taken in the best possible way. It is my opinion.

I have worked for several bike shops, and have easily done several hundred carb sets. I probably separated 10 sets. The only rework I remember is a kz650 that had particles come from a reused fuel line.