cold blooded...

[biglong350]

i have a 78 gs550e. the intake seals are NOT leaking. the bike runs great when its warm doesnt miss or pop or anything. however its a pain in the butt to get it started when its cold.. any ideas on whats going on?

[nisom512]

i have a 78 gs550e. the intake seals are NOT leaking. the bike runs great when its warm doesnt miss or pop or anything. however its a pain in the butt to get it started when its cold.. any ideas on whats going on?

I know there is something that people know about this but I cant remember what it was so if I remember I will let you know.

[SqDancerLynn1]

One thing needed is a good strong spark. Have you checked for 12 at the coils, It will change if the points are closed
may need to turn the motor

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. biglong350,

When was the last time you checked your valve clearances?


Thank you for your induglence,

BassCliff

[Steve]

Improper valve clearance is a classic cause of hard starting when cold.

.

[biglong350]

have not

i just got the bike over xmas time. i havent checked the valves. i had ttr 125 and it did the same thing. i have a rm125 and it fires up everytime i kick it. ready to go. i am getting dissapointed with 4 stroke bikes. like i said i havent checked them. first i thought it was running lean so maybe the boots and o rings were leaking but their all good. i dont understand because it seems to run aleright warm. also i have to play with the idle screw to get it to idle right(every time)! please help!!!!!!

[nisom512]

i just got the bike over xmas time. i havent checked the valves. i had ttr 125 and it did the same thing. i have a rm125 and it fires up everytime i kick it. ready to go. i am getting dissapointed with 4 stroke bikes. like i said i havent checked them. first i thought it was running lean so maybe the boots and o rings were leaking but their all good. i dont understand because it seems to run aleright warm. also i have to play with the idle screw to get it to idle right(every time)! please help!!!!!!

Well to me it sounds like waht every one esle said you need to do a valce clearance adjustment. this is really easy. ask steve to Email you his handy Excell sheet(he has already posted in here on your topic), then with your idle problem, to me is sounds like you dont have good o-rings. a varing idle like that is due to bad intake o-rings becasue of an air leak in the intake boots. here is the best place to get them. Plus I thought mine were fine but my bike ran bad so I changed them out and man am I so happy I did cause it runns great now!! and they are only like $4.50

http://www.cycleorings.com/

Dont give up on it you just got it man you should have seen the effort I had to get mine going the guy I bought it from didnt do any maintanance. I think once you get the right maintanance done on the bike I think you will like it much better than your rm125. a LOT better.

[biglong350]

so

i know i have already got them i just have to install them. what kinda difference did it make? did you have the hard starting problem. also how do i know how to adjust the valves?

[BassCliff]

i know i have already got them i just have to install them. what kinda difference did it make? did you have the hard starting problem. also how do i know how to adjust the valves?

Hi Mr. biglong350,

Not to be redundant...

You'll find many "how to's" and manuals on my website. Read up on the procedures and let us know if you have any questions.

Pay particular attention to the "Top 10 Common Issues" as I roll out your welcome mat...again.

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. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

You'll find lots of GS lovin' on my website.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Steve]

... also how do i know how to adjust the valves?

Do you remember back on your very first post where BassCliff came in just a couple of posts later and gave you his Welcome Wagon Treatment? Did you read any of that? Yeah, there is a lot of information in there, but there is also some very good information in there, and some of it applies directly to YOUR bike. Go to BassCliff's website, you will see an area at the top that shows Service Manuals for several bikes. Yours is the second one from the top. Download it. You don't have to print out the whole thing, just do the sections you need when you need them.

Now scroll down a little farther on BassCliff's page, you will see a link to Valve Adjustments (8-valve). That is his illustrated tutorial that will enhance what the service manual tells you. As Nisom512 suggested, you can also send me an e-mail request (click on my name for address info), and I will send you a copy of my Excel spreadsheet that will help you with the math to do the valve shim calculations.

It will only take a little more to get your bike running right, and you will be pleasantly surprised how easily it starts, right along with your RM125. Different bikes, different parts, different procedures, but both bikes should serve you well.

.

[spyug]

In addition to the valve settings you should be concerned about voltage to the coil as Lynn said.

You want to do the coil relay modification as outlined on BC's excellent site. This modification makes a world of a difference and the cold blooded nature of the beast is eliminated.

I heartily recommend it.

Cheers,
Spyug.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

first i thought it was running lean so maybe the boots and o rings were leaking but their all good. i dont understand because it seems to run aleright warm. also i have to play with the idle screw to get it to idle right(every time)! please help!!!!!!

What exactly are you doing to the idle screw "every time" to get it to idle right?
Are the rpm's rising once warmed up and you then adjust the idle down? Then, with the next cold start, the lowered idle adjustment makes it difficult to start unless you raise the adjustment again?
If that's your routine, classic intake leak.

[biglong350]

so..

does the valves get to loose or to tight causing the problems? also i cant find the link for the relay to coil modification. let me know. thanks a lot.

[Steve]

On the 8-valve engines, valves typically get too tight. This causes valve timing issues and some mix blows back into the intake tract, where it gets mixed with more gas. A really wrong mixture makes it very hard to start, especially with lower compression.

Don't worry about the coil relay mod just yet. Have you measured your voltage at the coil to see if you even need it? Although good voltage at the coil is wonderful, if everything else is working well, your bike will survive if it's missing a couple of volts there. But, like most tech-related things on this board, you can find the coil relay mod on BassCliff's little website. Bookmark his website, you will be referring to it many times.

.

[biglong350]

so

alright when i go home this weekend it sounds like i need to start with checking for B+ at the coil, if not ill repair that, replace the o rings hopefully the intake tubes are ok, ill do that and see how things run, i might put a new set of plugs in it just to be sure their ok. and if it still is starting hard than ill do the task of the valve adjustment. i know i need to do it i dont want to burn a valve that would suck. anything else i should be checking for? the only thing i have really done is changed the oil and filter and re gapped the plugs.