77 gs550 wont start

[kingquadrunner]

just bought a 77 gs 550 got it to run at the ladies house gas was coming out the over flows. pulled the carbs cleaned them put them back in after a while she started again the cut out pulled the carbs they were filthy put them back in now it sounds like it isn't getting gas. put some gass in the cylinders she runs on that but when that runs out she dies. tried the whole prime for 3 minutes nothing then tried to see if i can get it to flood out the overflows and nothing going to try a gravity feed to day to see if its the petcock any ideas please im all out of ideas
thanx jon

[satchmo]

just bought a 77 gs 550 got it to run at the ladies house gas was coming out the over flows. pulled the carbs cleaned them put them back in after a while she started again the cut out pulled the carbs they were filthy put them back in now it sounds like it isn't getting gas. put some gass in the cylinders she runs on that but when that runs out she dies. tried the whole prime for 3 minutes nothing then tried to see if i can get it to flood out the overflows and nothing going to try a gravity feed to day to see if its the petcock any ideas please im all out of ideas
thanx jon

How did you clean the carbs? If I read the above correctly it says you cleaned the carbs, then put them in, then pulled them again and they were dirty. Is this right?

If she's running when you put gas in the cylinders, then it probably isn't electrical, so I'd stick with the carbs. I would strip the carbs completely and dip the bodies and the jets to clean them. Are all your needle and jet settings right? Are you running pods?

[Larry D]

just bought a 77 gs 550 got it to run at the ladies house gas was coming out the over flows. pulled the carbs cleaned them put them back in after a while she started again the cut out pulled the carbs they were filthy put them back in now it sounds like it isn't getting gas. put some gass in the cylinders she runs on that but when that runs out she dies. tried the whole prime for 3 minutes nothing then tried to see if i can get it to flood out the overflows and nothing going to try a gravity feed to day to see if its the petcock any ideas please im all out of ideas
thanx jon

First of all, Welcome Jon, nice to have you here.

What is your experience with motorcycles ? Where are you in the world ? We like to know some history of you and your bike.

If little history is known of the bike, the carbs should be cleaned, dipped and rebuilt with new o-rings as per the carb cleaning series on the homepage of this site. The o-rings get hard and brittle over the years and need to be replaced.
Also a valve adjustment is required. They should be adjusted every 4-6 thousand miles. If it's never been done that you know of, it is needs to be done. These bikes like the valves adjusted just like a kid loves candy !!

Using the search feature will unveil years of posts concerning carbs and everything else about these bikes.

It hard to expect to change the oil, fire it up and ride. It's a 32 year old bike, it needs some maintenance regularly.

We also love pictures. Here's how to post up to four via photobucket. Good Luck !!!

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/how_to_post_pictures.pdf

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. kingquadrunner,

There's lots of great stuff all over this forum and on the GSR homepage. Here is your unofficial "mega-welcome". Pay particular attention to the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

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!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[kingquadrunner]

thanks all right now im at paul smiths college in the adirondacks i found the bike on craigs list the lady took it as payment from her bfd and didnt wantit i offered her 200 and now i got a bike. to clean the carbs I pulled them all apart cleaned them with carb clean replaced the gaskets and put them back together. yesterday i ran a gravity feed and she started and idled no problem so today im gonna pull the petcock and see if it can get rebuilt/cleaned or if i need another one
thanks all,
jon

[Dave8338]

thanks all right now im at paul smiths college in the adirondacks i found the bike on craigs list the lady took it as payment from her bfd and didnt wantit i offered her 200 and now i got a bike. to clean the carbs I pulled them all apart cleaned them with carb clean replaced the gaskets and put them back together. yesterday i ran a gravity feed and she started and idled no problem so today im gonna pull the petcock and see if it can get rebuilt/cleaned or if i need another one
thanks all,
jon

Greetings, Jon. It sounds like you got the bike on the cheap. Spend some of the money you would have paid for a "runner" and buy a new petcock. I promise that you will not regret it...

[kingquadrunner]

do u no were i can get a new petcock i called 3 dealers and 2 said they cant get it and 1 dealer said he can get 1 for 115 and couldn't guarantee it would fit
thanks
jon

[satchmo]

Pingle it up, you won't regret it.

[Steve]

Pingle it up, you won't regret it.

Why does (almost) everybody automatically say "Pingle it up, ..."?

There is nothing wrong with a good stock petcock for 99% of the users of this forum, and, ...
they are perfect for lazy idiots like me who don't want to have to bother with manually turning the gas on and off every time I ride.

.

[Skateguy50]

cant tell you how many times i have left my wifes tank in the on position... a few steps away fromt he bike i remember and change it back. I like to stay good and lazy as well, she can keep the on / off petcock on her rebel.

[Big T]

Why does (almost) everybody automatically say "Pingle it up, ..."?

There is nothing wrong with a good stock petcock for 99% of the users of this forum, and, ...
they are perfect for lazy idiots like me who don't want to have to bother with manually turning the gas on and off every time I ride.

.

Yeah, my stocker only lasted 29 years, what junk!*

Try Bike Bandit or flatout or one of the other links in Basscliff's site. About $50-60

[satchmo]

Why does (almost) everybody automatically say "Pingle it up, ..."?

There is nothing wrong with a good stock petcock for 99% of the users of this forum, and, ...
they are perfect for lazy idiots like me who don't want to have to bother with manually turning the gas on and off every time I ride.

.

True. Actually I use a stock petcock on my 1150, although I had a pingle on my old 77GS550. I find for someone who remembers to turn it off, the pingle will work all the time everytime. Stock petcocks can suffer from a number of problems from seizing to crapped out diaphgrams.

If my stock petcock goes, it will be replaced with a pingle.