point me in the right direction

[cutlass79500]

bought an 81 gs 850 l the carbs were off the bike and tank was empty clean went thru the carbs all passages were clean boots were good all floats were set right diaphrams were good and work properly. installed everything the only way it will run is full choke . bike wont take any throttle you can coax it up then idles down slowly no black smoke you can hear a cyl popping a little after you coax the throttle a little . i havnt checked the plugs yet its almost like the gas is turned off. tried external fuel supply still the same seems like carbs but not ruling anything out thanks

im going to check the plugs first he told me that he was on his way back to atanta from orlando when the stater went he drove it till it wouldnt go anymore possibility the plugs are gas fouled from spark getting weaker when the battery was discharging if thats not it will pull the carbs replace the orings ect go thru them with a fine tooth comb

[first timer]

You running a air box and filter? if not try that and report back.

How where the carbs cleaned? Dipped? They aren't clean until they have been dipped, 12 hour per carb should be good.

[Nessism]

You running a air box and filter? if not try that and report back.

How where the carbs cleaned? Dipped? They aren't clean until they have been dipped, 12 hour per carb should be good.

...also replace all the O-rings inside the carbs and on the intake boots with parts from cycleorings.com

[cutlass79500]

air cleaner

runs the same with airbox on or off air cleaner in or out . i figured that might of been the problem so installed the airbox and filter

[first timer]

yeap O-rings and dip. Number 1 remedy

you can also check your spark. Are you running new plugs? if not try some. Check the spark of each wire with a new plug and see how strong the spark looks. Big and blue or dull and yellow?

Are you pretty mechanical or do you need clearer info? (not tring to be rude we just get a wide varity of members all with differant abilty.)

[robertbarr]

Here's BWringer's standard lecture (abbreviated):

One of the secrets of the GS850 engine and carburetion is its outstanding low-speed manners. This, in turn, allows you to much more easily exploit the corners of its handling envelope, which leads to more giddy fun than you've ever had with your clothes on. As most racers eventually find out, smooth is fast.

Brian's EZ-and fun plan for GS850 happiness:

1) Seal the airbox and air filter with weatherstripping.

2) Ensure no intake leaks. Spraying WD-40 or water doesn't tell you much, since very small air leaks can cause problems even though they won't suck in enough WD-40 to make a difference. Replace your intake boot o-rings and boots if needed, and seriously consider spending the lousy $28 for new airbox/carb boots.

3) Ensure clean carbs with correct settings, new o-rings, and original OEM jets. No, not just squirted with something. I mean completely disassembled.

4) Check/adjust valve clearances (Manual calls for every 4,000 miles. This is not optional.)

5) Ensure healthy electrical system.

6) Seriously consider upgrading coils and plug wires.

7) Install new, stock NGK B8-ES plugs gapped to .031".

8 ) Fine-tune float height and idle mixture screw to ensure best off-idle transition.

9) Clean air filter and reinstall with only the lightest oil mist -- over-oiling and/or letting the filter get dirty is a common and critical mistake, and will make the bike run funny at low speeds and run rich. This may take a few tries.

10) Make sure the exhaust seals are sealing.

11) Ooh, much better now, huh? You're gonna need upgraded suspension - Progressive or better fork springs and shocks. Set suspension sag appropriately.

12) Upgrade brakes with new pads and stainless lines to deal with all that extra speed.

13) Install new petcock, since I'm going to head to the roof with a rifle if I have to read about yet another #2 plug fouling and failed hillbilly attempts to rebuild the petcock and/or deny there's a problem.

14) Oh yeah -- check compression somewhere in there to ensure the valves and rings are reasonably healthy.

15) You'll probably need new OEM clutch springs -- the clutches last forever, but the springs get tired after 20 years or so under pressure. E-Z and cheap.

[cutlass79500]

carbs were clean

all carbs were clean when he pulled them off he cleaned them and i recleaned them again . cant find any vac leaks with wd40 . probbibly would be a good idea to check exhaust temps . once i figure this out should be a nice ride no noises or anything motor sounds good .to give you a little more insight on the bike was running good in 2002 stater went bad thats when he decited to pull the carbs clean them and drain the tank put all new handlebar switches ect .he messed up his back and cant bend over to finish it .he finally figured out his riding days were over

[Nessism]

all carbs were clean when he pulled them off he cleaned them and i recleaned them again . cant find any vac leaks with wd40 . probbibly would be a good idea to check exhaust temps . once i figure this out should be a nice ride no noises or anything motor sounds good .to give you a little more insight on the bike was running good in 2002 stater went bad thats when he decited to pull the carbs clean them and drain the tank put all new handlebar switches ect .he messed up his back and cant bend over to finish it .he finally figured out his riding days were over

Search function is your friend. If you dig through the archives for very long you will come across one person after another that "cleaned" their carbs only to continue to have problems. You will also find lots of people that assume they don't have a vacuum leak based on the WD-40 test. Common thread with most of these people is that they short cutted the carb rebuild series and did not ungang the carbs, did not soak them in carb dip, did not replace the O-rings inside, and did not replace the o-rings on the intake boots. Until you do these things you don't know where you are at so it's hard to eliminate possible problems.

I've rebuild 6 different GS bikes so far and each and every one of them had old hard o-rings in the carbs and intake boots, that if they weren't leaking before hand, they would have been soon if I had not changed them.

Please forgive me if you are the rare individual that truly knows what they are doing with old machinery and my lecture comes across the wrong way. I just want to see you get the bike running.

BTW, I've never seen a 850 that would run without the airbox. Put yours back on to eliminate that possibility before you go checking out the spark.

[cutlass79500]

orings

just ordered orings for the carbs as well as the intakes. hopefully will all work properly when fimished ptetty clean bike no rust paid 700 for it

[Big T]

bought an 81 gs 850 l the carbs were off the bike and tank was empty clean went thru the carbs all passages were clean boots were good all floats were set right diaphrams were good and work properly. installed everything the only way it will run is full choke . bike wont take any throttle you can coax it up then idles down slowly no black smoke you can hear a cyl popping a little after you coax the throttle a little . i havnt checked the plugs yet its almost like the gas is turned off. tried external fuel supply still the same seems like carbs but not ruling anything out thanks

im going to check the plugs first he told me that he was on his way back to atanta from orlando when the stater went he drove it till it wouldnt go anymore possibility the plugs are gas fouled from spark getting weaker when the battery was discharging if thats not it will pull the carbs replace the orings ect go thru them with a fine tooth comb

Everything you are saying points to dirty carbs and/or air leaks. So follow the words of the masters above.

Go to cycleorings.com and order an O ring kit for the carbs and one for the head boots. Tear the carbs apart and clean everything again in a dip while you wait for them to arrive. Spray the dip off with carb cleaner and inspect every part.

And just keep posting up your progress. Every problem you'll have with this bike has been addressed somewhere on this site

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!

Hi Mr. cutlass79500,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for joining us. 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 for lots of GS850G lovin'. That's where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Also be advised, we like pictures. Not you, your bike!

EDIT: I just saw your bike. Yes, that's a nice example. Thanks for sharing.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[cutlass79500]

must say very impressed with the website really like the helpfull links most of them i saved and added to my pdf manuels. been wrenching for about 30 years never to old to learn something

[terrylee2u]

Welcome.. you have a very nice looking bike. I'm sure you will enjoy many hours and miles of riding it once you get the kinks out...