Bike will not Rev

[sprayberry1]

I'm trying to resurect a 1982 GS1100 for a friend. It's actually in great shape, been sitting indoors under a cover for 15 years or so. I've thuroughly cleaned the carbs, installed new plugs, tested coils, ignitor etc. It does seem to be getting fuel and has spark. It will start, but will not rev up. I have been doing this without the air filter in, so will try relacing that next. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanx....

[Steve]

First of all,

Next, how "thuroughly" (thoroughly) did you clean the carbs?
If you just removed the float bowls and emptied a can of spray at what you could see, you now need to clean the carbs.

Finally, unless you do some serious re-jetting of the carbs, you will not get ANY throttle response without an airbox.

.

[Mysuzyq]

They run poorly without any air filter, so install it, and try again. 1100E (chain) or G/GK (shaft drive)? Welcome to the forum!
Tony.

[chef1366]

http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. sprayberry1,

With a 30 year old bike, sometimes there a no short cuts. The information below should get you pointed in the right direction. It's how I say "Howdy!"

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now 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

[bwringer]

Perfectly normal.

Without every last piece of the airbox(es) and air filter in place, perfectly seated on the carbs, and perfectly sealed, the bike will fall flat as you describe when you yank on the throttle.

Also, stop being coy about which 1100 you have -- is it a shaftie or chain drive?

[sprayberry1]

This is a GS1100E. Chain drive. I haven't gotten to working on it for a few days, but hope to get back out there tomorrow. For the record, it has a K&N filter in it and has 125 main jets. Looks as though all of the airbox is ther except for the top. Owner says it ran fine that way, so we'll do some more exporing tomorrow.
Thanx for all the help so far....

[KitKat]

the GS series was meant to operate with a complete and sealed air box. I wouldn't trust the PO if he said it ran fine without the top. They need em or they'll run crappy

[chef1366]

the GS series was meant to operate with a complete and sealed air box. I wouldn't trust the PO if he said it ran fine without the top. They need em or they'll run crappy

For the 1100 this is an old trick for a little more HP.
I ran with the airbox lid off, 117.5 main jets, 47.5 pilot jets and around three turns out on the idle mixture screws.
If you have rust in the tank and sediment in the carbs good luck getting it running right.
Get a filter though and see if the slides are moving smoothly.

[sprayberry1]

Yeh, didn't notice what pilot jets are in it. Idle screws are at 3 1/2 turns. Fuel tank is very clean, and has a glass filter so I can see what's going on. Carbs have been gone through and slides seem to function fine. I'm going on a mountain bike ride in just a few minutes, and then will get out there in the shop and start poking at it again...

This is a "one owner bike. (original owner) He made these changes (K&N, airbox lid and jets) within a few weeks of purchasing the bike. It now has 20K miles or so, so I think it ran good for him. He has given me the original "shop" manual with all documentation of work done.

[Turtleface]

Yeh, didn't notice what pilot jets are in it. Idle screws are at 3 1/2 turns. Fuel tank is very clean, and has a glass filter so I can see what's going on. Carbs have been gone through and slides seem to function fine. I'm going on a mountain bike ride in just a few minutes, and then will get out there in the shop and start poking at it again...

This is a "one owner bike. (original owner) He made these changes (K&N, airbox lid and jets) within a few weeks of purchasing the bike. It now has 20K miles or so, so I think it ran good for him. He has given me the original "shop" manual with all documentation of work done.

I don't think you're allowed to post about an one-owner purchase without accompanying pictures. Show off your steed!

[Turtleface]

For the 1100 this is an old trick for a little more HP.
I ran with the airbox lid off, 117.5 main jets, 47.5 pilot jets and around three turns out on the idle mixture screws.
If you have rust in the tank and sediment in the carbs good luck getting it running right.
Get a filter though and see if the slides are moving smoothly.

Someone on here has posted the dyno results for airbox lid removal, even without a rejet, it's supposed to add a few hp, if I recall correctly. I ran mine without a lid to see if it would help when I was troubleshooting my stumbling problem, and I couldn't tell any difference in performance, positive or negative. My bike is completely factory stock, minus the few things in my signature line. Still have the caps on my idle mixture adjustment screws.....for the time being.

[trippivot]

did you check that the ignition advance unit to see if it moves and snaps back.
if it is stuck it will idle and start but will not rev up.

I'm trying to resurect a 1982 GS1100 for a friend. It's actually in great shape, been sitting indoors under a cover for 15 years or so. I've thuroughly cleaned the carbs, installed new plugs, tested coils, ignitor etc. It does seem to be getting fuel and has spark. It will start, but will not rev up. I have been doing this without the air filter in, so will try relacing that next. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanx....