Can't get my 86 GS450 running....help please

[pnwesside31]

Greetings all,

I'm basically a newbie to all this, and am inspired by this site, especially since I have an 86 Suzuki GS450.

Long story short, I didn't prep my bike well for the winter, but it was only 1-2 months between riding and this:

1st problem: Bike cranks and turns over, but when I give it gas it cuts out

What I did after that: Cleaned carbs, new gas, sparkplugs, airbox filter, fuel filter, oil, and made sure battery was charged.

After all that: Bike cranks and cranks, but no turn over.

Strange thing: When I replaced the plugs, the old plugs were both different, plus the overflow on the carbs was plugged with a screw.

Any help would be great.............thanks

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!

Hi Mr. pnwesside31,

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Please remember that we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us.

Take off the carbs, disassemble, and clean them spotless. Have you checked for good spark? It could be something as simple a new plug caps. When was the last time the valve clearances were adjusted? Keep us informed.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[pnwesside31]

Thanks for all that info, and the warm welcome.

[waterman]

Welcome to GSR. I don't own a gs450, but I don't believe they had an overflow from the carbs. Is this screw going into a hose that connects to the carbs? Hopefully someone with a 450 can give a better answer.

Another question I have is what technique do you use to start bike? In general, most of us will pull choke knob out to some degree (half or fully), thumb starter and wait till engine fires. At this point, these bikes will rev up over 2 to 3,000 rpms until the choke is moved in a little. I will wait until the bike can accept throttle without dying before I push the choke off and drive away. The key in all of this is to start without turning throttle, using only choke. Also, you need to have a fully charged battery to start a bike that has sat for very long. My dual sport also needs fresh gas in the carb bowls but it is a little more sensitive to gas quality than these older Suzukis.

[chef1366]

Take that screw out of the float bowl vent. No vent no fuel flow.
When you say "clean the carbs" what did you do?
Did you do a valve clearance check?
I rebuilt this exact model. It was pretty easy.

[silverhorse47]

Check your fuses?
S.

[hillsy]

Do you have 2 lines going to your fuel tap? If not, the overflow you mention might be the vaccum line for the fuel tap (plug it back up if it is).

And the GS450 only has one fuse. If it's cranking, that fuse is OK.

Good luck with it!

[carlos020465]

Greetings all,

I'm basically a newbie to all this, and am inspired by this site, especially since I have an 86 Suzuki GS450.

Long story short, I didn't prep my bike well for the winter, but it was only 1-2 months between riding and this:

1st problem: Bike cranks and turns over, but when I give it gas it cuts out

What I did after that: Cleaned carbs, new gas, sparkplugs, airbox filter, fuel filter, oil, and made sure battery was charged.

After all that: Bike cranks and cranks, but no turn over.

Strange thing: When I replaced the plugs, the old plugs were both different, plus the overflow on the carbs was plugged with a screw.

Any help would be great.............thanks

Hi Mr. pnwesside31:
My bike is Suzuki Gs 450 EX, You had cheked the float height?
Adjustment of the float height is made by bending the small metal tang
situated on the float pivot.
Buena suerte..!

[pnwesside31]

Woah, you guys are awesome. I didn't expect help that quick. I'll try some of the stuff you guys mention, and keep you posted. THANKS

[aquamon]

wow, a plugged vent, which idiot did that?
must be because the diaphragm in petcock is stuck.