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Bought my first bike and now it won't start!

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    #1

    Bought my first bike and now it won't start!

    I purchased an 1982 GS650 about 2 weeks ago. The previous owner told me that it basically had sat for 17 years, and that he recently had the carbs rejetted, a new battery, brakes etc. He told me it starts every time. When I picked up the bike, it started first time. I brought it home and it fired up first try over the course of several days, but it was raining so I didn't ride it. I took it out for a spin about a week agoi and rode about 4-5 miles never going over 40mph. I let the bike sit for a few days, and am ready to go out for a ride. I fire it up, it starts to turn over, but dies. I give it throttle and it dies even faster. After a while it doesn't even turn. I left it alone for 4 days and tried again. Same result. I replaced the oil, and charged the battery, same results. It seems like the mixture is too rich; I can smell fuel everytime I try to start it. My bike troubleshooting skills are very limited. Any ideas of how to proceed to solve this problem? I also notice, that the petcock valve for the fuel line won't physically turn to the off position. It seems like it wasn't designed to, yet OFF is definately visibly labeled on top. Does this sound right? Any help/advice would be appreciated.

    Cheers,

    -Ari-
    Tags: None
    #2
    If it sat that long I'd say there is c.r.a.p. in the tank that's not letting the petcock close and its flooding out. Was the oil really gassy? If so, pull the petcock apart and either the seal is covered in junk or the rubber is so old it cracked or came off. And no, they don't have an off position.

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      #3
      You probably got crap in the carbs and will have to clean them. Check the plugs too. It may have fouled the plugs if it is running rich. As to the fuel valve the stock fuel valve does not have an off position. On some of them if you shorten the lever so that it will not hit the tankand file off the tab you can turn it off. Normally it is vacuum operated, when engine vacuum is applied to the valve it opens. When you turn the engine off the petcock turns off

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        #4
        Does your petcock have a PRI "prime" setting? If you're on that then perhaps you're getting too much fuel. Also, does your choke cable/lever function correctly? With the choke on you shouldn't give it any gas/throttle when starting. Do you start it/did you start it with the choke on?

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          #5
          With the choke on, it dies even faster....Another thing I noticed was fuel mixed in with the oil when I changed the oil. What could that indicate?

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            #6
            With the choke on, it dies even faster....Another thing I noticed was fuel mixed in with the oil when I changed the oil. What could that indicate?
            Stuck floats would cause that. That is most likely your major problem.

            I would clean the carbs and clean the plugs.

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              #7
              The nice thing about bikes that have been sitting for 17 years is they have low miles. But bikes were not designed to be stored for 17 years. You definently need to do 4 things to that bike.
              1) Clean and protect the gas tank. If it is rusty, anything elce you do will just get hosed up again. (You may or may not need to use somthing like Kreme.)
              2) Take the petcock completely appart and clean it. (preferrably just replace it with a Pingle. A few minuits searching this board will turn up a hundred references.)
              3) Print out a copy of the carburator cleaning series here on the GS Resources, buy a $12 set of orings from Robert and a $15 can of carburator dip and clean the carbs. (Outside means outside!)
              4) Change the oil and filter again. Gas in the oil is BAD! In fact, change it again shortly after that.
              Patrick

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                #8
                more info...

                I talked to the previous owner...The bike has been running for several months, and the carbs were rejetted & cleaned only 150 miles ago! I'm hesitant to take them apart again knowing that...What else could it possibly be?

                -Ari-

                Comment

                  #9
                  Rule 1 on a new-used Motorcycle. Never trust that the previous owner did anything wright.
                  He may well have gotten her started after 17 years of siting. And that may have knocked enough junk into the carbs to get him to open them up and spray a little carb cleaner through them. But believe me, if the tank has anything but gas in it, (ie rust/dirt) all of his carb cleaning effort was for nothig. It is very easy to just pull one carb appart and see if it and it's jets are shiny and clean like a fresh carb should be. The nedle valve is easy enough to pull out and clean. But if you have gas in your engine, it could only come from one place. The gas tank! And the only way to stop it is to clean what is cloged (stuck open) in between the tank and the oil sump, and make sure it dosent happen again. How good of a job you do on the later will dictate wether the fix lasts 5 minutes or 5 years. You will be out a small amount of money and a little bit of effort if you do all of the things that I have recomended. I am not in favor of throwing money at GS problems. One of those steps will surely stop the gas in the oil problem. All of them will imptrove your bike significantly. That is about all the Soap Box I have. My opinions are based on the knowledge I have gained from the members on this forum. They will surely corect me if I am steering you in the wrong direction.
                  Patrick

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