symptoms of bad o-rings

[821100gl]

I havent been on forever.my bike has been sitting since it started acting up this past summer. It was running bad barely pulling itself and such.
The owner did have the carbs synced and all that before i got it.i was wondering if maybe the o rings are bad thats why its running bad?just wondering if you know what bad o rings make a bike do.i almost wanna check them.but if it aint them my bike is going in a shop soon (once i get my tax money) so hopefully they can fix it.thanks

[chef1366]

Have you excluded any conclusions?

[821100gl]

i am thinking its something to do with the gas. my headers were always really blue.i checked the electrical system seemed fine.i dont know much about bikes so i guess i should just bring it into the shop and have them fix it. 45 an hour aint that bad.

[Steve]

True, 45 an hour is not bad, but will they even look at it?
Many (most) shops will not even look at a bike that is over 10 years old.

Looking at your profile, I see a 4-into-1 header and "K&N filter". Is that a K&N element in the stock airbox or individual pods? Either way, the jetting should have been changed, it's just a matter of how much. Pods will need bigger jets than stock airbox, but the header requires a change, too. If the jetting is not changed, you will be running lean, and running lean is what turns your headers blue.

The very first post in this Tech Forum is a carb "sticky". In it you will find jetting for most models of GS bikes. Might be a few pages into the post, but look for the stock jetting for your bike, then look at the jets that are in your carbs. Those that know better will have to chime in here, but you should probably be up at least 3 sizes for the header and probably another 2 if you have pods, too.

While you have your carbs off to check the jets, why not give them a good cleaning, too. Don't just look at them and spray them with cleaner, DIP THEM. You will need to take them completely apart, dip them and put them back together with new o-rings. The good news there is that o-rings are cheap from cycleorings.com. When you order your carb o-rings, get the intake tube o-rings for just a couple bucks more. While you are at it, go ahead and get the stainless screws for the intake tubes, too. Total investment in o-rings and screws will be about $25. The can of dip might cost about $25. Just over the cost of one hour of shop time, if they will even look at your bike.

By the way, one of the symptoms of bad o-rings in the intake tubes is an idle speed that changes as the bike warms up. Usually, the speed goes up as the bike warms up. But, while you have the carbs out for cleaning, just 8 more screws and you can change the o-rings and be sure.

.

[821100gl]

thats the kind of air filter is in my bike.

But ya i dont know where to look for motorcycle shops.
I found some on craigslist but i dont know if i wanna do that.
It sounds like when you mod a bike it really messes things up i wish the guy i bought the bike from would of kept it stock.
but ya i guess maybe i should just dip the carbs and check the jets.
i would bring it to a shop but maybe its something i can fix myself for cheapier.