79 gs850 vm carbs

[Guest]

I removed the carbs last night and noticed that when I looked into the carb port, that feeds the motor, there is a small hole in each with what looks like a needle jet that is adjusted from below and infront of the bowl.
What I found strange is that in carbs 2/3/4 you cannot see the needle, only a very tiny hole.
In carb 1 the needle is protruding out by about 1/16".
Is this because the hole was larger, and to balance the needdle had to be screwed in further to compensate.
I assume this is the fuel screw(needle).
The bike was running very well but I did have a problem with the fouling of #1 plug on startup.
I am tearing down the motor to examine the valve seals and rings as a winter project as well.
Thanks for any help yo can offer.

[Don-lo]

I think that may be the infamous "broken needle tip in orifice". Someone must have screwed it all the way in to reset it, and the fragile tip broke off. It is a common problem, and there are a lot of previous posts on how to fix it.

[Nessism]

Yup, the broken tip is a common problem. In the process of removing the tip the hole in the carb body must have gotten enlarged.

Generally this is not a problem although you might have to pay attention to how far open the screw is. My thinking is that the orifice will flow more so you might want to reduce how far that fuel screw is open. Fouling plugs are idle could be a result if you are dumping in too much gas...which apparently is what your bike was doing.

Good luck.

[Piston720]

Thankyou.
Presently the needle is in there and when you look at the screw below it is threaded further in which would indicate that the needle is still intact but is sitting much higher.
I will have to try turning the screw out and see if the needle lowers. If it does, does that mean that the needle for that particular carb will just sit higher in the orifice?
A little history.
I am the original owner and I brought the bike out 3 years ago after sitting for 15 years while the family aged. I made the mistake of leaving gas in it and it required a major carb clean by a pro. It has been running very nicely the past 3 years and I thought it would be a good time to become more familiar with what makes this bike tick.
It has almost 60000miles so it deserves a refreshing.
My winter project.

[Piston720]

Well, I turned the screw out and the neddle tip did NOT move.
I managed to push the tip out, and have another screw on order.

[Nessism]

Well, I turned the screw out and the neddle tip did NOT move.
I managed to push the tip out, and have another screw on order.

Where did you order the fuel screw? They are hard to come buy unless you purchase a K&L GS750 carb rebuild kit - which comes with the screw.