a few questions for the forum

[alke46]

Bear with me guys. I just purchased my 79 GS1000 in August of this year and decided to go through it as I was not sure what condition it was in. I removed and dipped the carbs and thought I was very careful in setting the floats to spec. I have been having trouble trying to fine tune the carbs and today pulled them off. #2 float was not set properly. (now corrected).

The float bowls show a little bit of brown crud in them already and I have been meticulous in having clean, fresh fuel at all times even installing a new in line filter.
What is up with this? How often do these old GS models need the carbs cleaned?
Anyway, I am rechecking all the settings and resynching on the bench in hopes of having her back on the road asap.

Also wanted to know if the airbox boots should be replaced with oem or does someone sell aftermarket boots for this? Mine are showing wear so don't know for sure just how well they are sealing the box to the carbs.

Thanks for your indulgence.

Larry

[JTsGS650]

The fine brown crud is probably rust from your gas tank. It's curious that it's gotten past your inline filter though . I'd suggest either cleaning the inside of the tank with phosphoric acid or sealing it with a POR-15 kit. Once the carbs have been thoroughly cleaned you shouldn't need to clean them again unless they sit for awhile. You may want to replace the fuel line as well.

[hampshirehog]

Unfortunately for the VM carbs the front part of the airbox comes as a complete unit (excepting the chrome side panels if yours has them). This means that the rubbers aren't available separately.

If yours are still soft and haven't perished or been abused (cut etc) they are probably still doing the job. Even if the rubbers have gone a bit stiff you can still get a good seal by warming them up before installing on the carbs - a bit of warmth restores the flexibility for a short time until they cool off.

[TheCafeKid]

You can get new airbox boots for MOST of the GSs at www.bikebandit.com Not positive on your particular model, but they have many of them. Did you rinse the carbs after dipping them? You have to get that dip out of them or it will turn to varnish too.

Brown sounds like rust. Perhaps over the winter you should take the tank to a radiator shop and see if they can help you out with that, but at least getting the scale out of it. Even a nice inline filter wont catch the smallest bits of rust in the tank.

[Steve]

How often do these old GS models need the carbs cleaned?

Once when you get the bike and again whenever it is neglected.

I cleaned the carbs (several times before I finally got it right ) on my wife's bike four years ago. I verify mixture adjustment every year when I do a valve check, but the carbs have not been off the bike since they were cleaned.

.

[alke46]

You can get new airbox boots for MOST of the GSs at www.bikebandit.com Not positive on your particular model, but they have many of them. Did you rinse the carbs after dipping them? You have to get that dip out of them or it will turn to varnish too.

Brown sounds like rust. Perhaps over the winter you should take the tank to a radiator shop and see if they can help you out with that, but at least getting the scale out of it. Even a nice inline filter wont catch the smallest bits of rust in the tank.

Yes, the carbs were rinsed after dipping. I was afraid that the trouble may be with the condition of the tank. It looks as though it was coated with something but whoever did it did a sh+tty job on it. Looks like a project for the middle of January when it will surely be too cold to ride.

I checked bikebandit.com and it seems as though the airbox boots are NOT available. Darn!!!!!

[TheCafeKid]

Yes, the carbs were rinsed after dipping. I was afraid that the trouble may be with the condition of the tank. It looks as though it was coated with something but whoever did it did a sh+tty job on it. Looks like a project for the middle of January when it will surely be too cold to ride.

I checked bikebandit.com and it seems as though the airbox boots are NOT available. Darn!!!!!

Start asking around on the board here, someone may have a decent set. Or, see if another model of bike from that era has them still available. The 77-79 750, 79 850 also used the same VM25 carbs, and the airbox boots are probably the same thru all those models.

[alke46]

Start asking around on the board here, someone may have a decent set. Or, see if another model of bike from that era has them still available. The 77-79 750, 79 850 also used the same VM25 carbs, and the airbox boots are probably the same thru all those models.

That is a good idea TCK, thanks.