83 550e help

[gord_s]

Hi and great site, I have a really nice condition 83 gs550 I got from a guy that had it stored in a shed for 3 or 4 yrs, the carbs were not drained in that time and he said he put stabilizer in but I don't think he ran it through, I'm guessing he just poured some into the tank. The float bowls were stained a green colour and the old fuel that came out of the bowls and the tank smelled not like gas should smell. I've had the carbs off and cleaned a few times and each time I see improvement, it went from running on 2 cylinders barely staying going only with the choke to now it sits and idles very nicely, it revs good but just a little bog or hesitation if I quickly crack the throttle when its idling 1200 or so rpm's, if I hold it at 2 to 3000 rpm's and give it a quick crack it sounds good, no hesitation. Also when I check the exhaust headers for heat 1, 3, and 4 will sizzle water drops, #2 cylinder is hot but not were it should be. So it's a big improvement from when I started but still needs a little help, Any tips would be appreciated.

Also when I'm doing these test runs it's without the tank on fuel going through a funnel mounted beside the bike and 3 or so feet of line, and I haven't been putting the carb to air box boots back on , so its running open carbs, those boots are a bugger to get on.

Thanks.

[seuadr]

while you were cleaning the carbs, did you go completly through them, including pilot jets? sounds like either an air leak or a fuel problem. i would double check your idle circuit and make sure it's clean, wouldn't be a bad idea to replace the rubber in there as well, if you can.

check to make sure the airbox is sealed well, as well as good, soft rubber between the engine and carbs. if it's old and hard, a short term fix is to put the rubber in some hot oil and let it soak.. i did mine in an over in a foil aluminium pan, 'bout 250 degrees for 30 mins. made them much more pliable. also, if i am looking at the right parts fische, you have 4 o rings in the boot between the boot and the head.. replace those immediatly, it's a real commong lean/miss problem with GS's and you can get'em for aboud a dollar each.

[gord_s]

I thought I was doing a thorough cleaning on the carbs, I did this a few times and each time I saw improvement, the last time I did it I let everthing the wasn't rubber soke in varsol for a couple of days, then blown with compressed air.

I've never had the intake rubber off the engine, I am sure it's original rubber so not as soft as it could be, I'll try your hot oil treatment, good tip. This has the duel 2 barrel carbs.

thanks

[seuadr]

http://www.mrcycles.com/fiche_section_detail.asp

looks like this?

i'm talking about parts 22 and 23. if that isn't what yours looks like, i'm afraid i'm not sure :P

but ya, air leaks there will wreak havoc with the engine. i would also bench sync the carbs there before you toss'em back on after softening the rubber and replacing the o-rings.

[blowerbike]

number 2 number 2...hmmmmm.
did you block the vaccum port off on the carb(i believe number 2 is the one that goes to the petcock).
if this is the case...well, you get the idea.

[chef1366]

The CV carbs will not run right w/out the airbox.
Did you plug the vacuum port on the #2 carb from the petcock?

[GQROD]

Replace the intake boot o-rings, this will ensure no air leaks from the boots.

Check your plugs for color. Gap them properly or get new ones.

Adjust pre-mix screws to attain proper fuel air ratio on each cylinder this should bring number 2 into line.

Check and adjust choke cable for easier starting.

Do valve adjustment

Bench sync

Vacuum sync

Make sure petcock works.

Re-check plug color and adjust until you have a light grey to tan color.

Make sure vent hoses are not kinked

Make sure floats are set at the proper height.

Make sure you can see light through all the jets then you know they are clean.

Put the boots and air filter on or you will not be able to get it to run right and the settings will change if you do get it running then put the air box on after.

These engines run lean so be prepared to go one up on the pilots to get it to idle.

[MelodicMetalGod]

Welcome to the show gord_s!

Sounds like you've got a nice specimen of a GS550 there.

Lot's of good advice above. I'll add only that it sounds like you're cleaning of the carbs may not involve forcing carb cleaner and/or soft wire through all passages during cleaning. Soaking works in many situations, but just a as many seem to require a bit more to get some of those tiny passages cleared out. If you opt to do this, just be sure to use safety glasses with spray carb cleaner (it WILL come back at you at least once) and if you use wire be certain it's made of something SOFTER than the carb material so that you don't scratch/gouge the carbs.

Best of luck!

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!

Hi Mr. gord_s,

I'll add my greetings too. Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of suggestions and links to vendors and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website, full of wisdom that I've been collecting from the generous members here. Thanks for joining us. Don't forget, we like pictures. Not you, your bike!

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[gord_s]

Thanks, lots of great advice. One thing I didn't mention, I am doing these test runs with new plugs, I've switched them around in checking them and it hasn't run enough to colour them. This is my plan, I'm going to order new intake boots, the 2 pieces that seal the carbs to the airbox, the old ones have hardened up and are tough to put back on. Then I'll put the tank back on and test run it with that so the petcock vacuum line is connected (I haven't been pluging this) I'll see what this does and if it's still the same I'll pull the carbs back off look at the intake rubber and go through the carbs again.

I'll keep you posted on this project. I've been riding for a long time but am new to suzuki's. My regular rider is a 97 bandit 1200 which I've just had one season on, love it.

[seuadr]

definitally, when you get those boots, don't neglect to replace those o rings.. i know they seem really trivial, but when they go bad, it makes this go bad on the bike. i had a lean condition that moved around between 2 and 3 for 2 weeks i tried to track it down, it was impossible, because it kept moving. turned out to be those orings,, replaced those and everything was fine, got it synced and off we went!

[MelodicMetalGod]

definitally, when you get those boots, don't neglect to replace those o rings.. i know they seem really trivial, but when they go bad, it makes this go bad on the bike. i had a lean condition that moved around between 2 and 3 for 2 weeks i tried to track it down, it was impossible, because it kept moving. turned out to be those orings,, replaced those and everything was fine, got it synced and off we went!

+1

Even after complete/through carb cleaning, it wasn't until I replaced the o-rings that my bike ran to spec.

Best of luck!

[gord_s]

Hey guys, I'll give an update on where I'm at, I don't get much chance to work on it through the week so I just got back at it today.

I tried to soften up my intake boots(between carb and air box) in a slow cooker in some canola oil, paper toweled them off and re-installed them. plugged the vaccum line for the petcock (it came out of #3) and started it with no other changes from before. Same results, it idles nice, bogs from idle with a quick crack of the throttle but a slow twist it will rev nicely so really no change, water drops sizzle on the pipes of 1, 3 and 4 but #2 is just hot, no sizzle.

I pulled the carbs off and there is slight bit of gas puddling at the bottom rim of the intake manifold for #1 and 2 cyl. definetly wetter than 3 and 4. Looked at the spark plug for # 2 and it hasn't run enough to show much on the plugs but it is showing signs of black , running rich.

I pulled off the intake manifolds and they look good but the o-rings have definetly flattened out where they compress against the engine. I called and ordered new ones(9 bucks each)

When I get those and try another run I'll post the results.

Thanks

[gord_s]

Hi guys, I seem to be making progress but?? It's definetly better but I'm still not getting #2 cyl. fully if at all , the way I'm checking each time I try a run is after a few minutes of idleling I'm dropping water drops on each pipe, 1, 3 & 4 sizzle and 2 just evaporates, I'll also pull the spark plug cap off 2 and start and it doesn't sound or rev much differant than with it connected.

What I can say is
-it is starting easily on full choke
-idles good(for 3 cyls. I think) with the choke off after a short minute or so of running.
- it has a much crisper rev when I quickly crack the throttle, it was bogging before, and had to be slowly revved to bring up the rpms

this is what I've done since starting this thread
-replaced the intake o rings
-completed dissasembled the carbs and split them(hadn't split them before)
-soaked them for a day in varsol, blew air through all passages
-adjusted my valve clearances( I wrote down the before clearances if it'll give anyone a clue I'll post them)

this is the part that's bothering me, on dissasembling the carbs, 2 of the jets I left in, the heads were getting a little destroyed so I left them in, they were the same 2 in the same float bowl, not the main jets, the 2 smaller ones beside. I have had them out before and know they are clean. What bothers me is I didn't pay attention the what side it was.

I know I have to do a compression check again, I did one when I 1st got the bike(2 yrs ago) with a borrowed tester from neighbor and him helping me, it was the push and hold kind not the thread in kind. I didn't write the numbers down but remember they were pretty consitent. Will do another when I can get his help for a few minutes.

That's all I've got now, this has been a long term project but been on the backburner most of the time and I want to clean this thing up by next spring. any thoughts will be appreciated. thanks

[gord_s]

Good news I think on the compression test, I'm getting very consistent numbers I think, 145 right across with only #3 cyl. a little higher at 150+

I went through it 3 times, with a very old but good quality push on rubber nipple type tester. cold engine and wide open throttle.

I also layed all 4 plugs along the top of the cam cover, gently held so they would ground well, turned the lights off and cranked the engine, all look to be sparking the same.

I can't tell much about the colour of the plugs because they are fairly new and haven't coloured yet, when I pull out the dead cyl. plug after a test run it is dry, and maybe just a touch darker than the others.

I must say this thing is going to purr when all 4 cyl. come up, when its warm now just a quick stab of the starter button fires it.

One thing I know I need to do is vacuum sync the carbs, something I've never done and don't own a tester. Any tips on this will be appreciated.