A beginner, both mechanically and on this forum..

[Anonymous]

So I decided it would be a wise idea to take a look at my starter motor, as it seemed to have stopped functioning... so off came my airbox, carbs and cam chain tensioner... I checked the motor out, it looks fine and runs fine... so i suppose the issue may be the starter clutch (suggested by another GSR member)

Original thread here:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/viewtopic.php?t=24353

frusterated that all was for naught I put the bike back together... worse.. while I can still kick-start the bike ('79 GS850's have that option stock) it now seems to be misfiring on cyl 1 or 2... there is a small amount of white smoke when at idle (coming from the left exahaust) more when rps increase as well as some backfires.. at the same time I start to see a bit of white smoke out of the right pipe... I'm guessing I'm running on 2.5-3 cylinders at the moment, which is driving me nuts, I just bought the bike, and I've already goofed it up! I would guess that this all must be a mixture problem, as I doubt the little bit I did taking the cam chain tensioner on and off caused any of these issues, but I don't have any clue on how to go about fixing this!

Please help, I've tried all I know (very little) adj. choke/throttle/idle checking filter, gaskets etc.. please help me get this thing running right! the starter can wait!

Some pictures (copy+paste these links in address bar):

http://www.geocities.com/c_mingus2001/GS850G/GS850G-R.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/c_mingus2001/GS850G/GS850G-F.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/c_mingus2001/GS850G/GS850G-T.jpg

[SqDancerLynn1]

Chances are the carbs will need to be cleaned. When you removed the carbs any sediment, junk that was in the bottom of the float bowls made it's way into the jets or one of the float valves causing one of the carbs to flood.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

White smoke means you're burning oil. Oil in the cylinders will cause the plugs to have a weak spark or no spark at all. You have to inspect and see if it's rings or valve seals, etc. Oil in the cylinders and lower compression will cause poor combustion and the bike will never run well.
If you can't afford the proper repairs, there are products made to extend the life of hi-mileage/worn engines. These are added to the oil and help the rings or seals seal better. They're not a permanent repair, but many people get lucky and get several thousand more miles before the problem comes back and forces a proper repair.
Just an option I thought might help you.

[SqDancerLynn1]

It can also be caused by deluted oil--- GAS in the crankcase so check the oil

[KEITH KRAUSE]

It can also be caused by deluted oil--- GAS in the crankcase so check the oil

Yeah. Let's hope so. No big deal to change the oil.
If there's gas in there, you need to find out why.

[Anonymous]

I did an oil change, quality was high, level was good... My bud suggested using an fuel additive that might remove any water deposits in the carbs/cyclinders, a hope that this white smoke may just be a bit of water in one of the carbs/cyclinders.. I've been layed up for a bit with 2 busted legs, so I haven't been able to get down to take off the carbs or even kick start the bike, but I'll give that a shot shortly.. it does get a bit moist up here in the great north west.

Thanks for all of the suggestions, sorry to lack so much mechanical inclination.

[Carter Turk]

A beginner

It might be worth twisting off the spark plug caps on the cylinders in question to see if corrosion is an issue. Just pop the sparkplug cap off the sparkplug and twist the cap counter clockwise while holding firmly on the wire.

Everytime I get motivated to do this, I find green corrosion around the wires. If your sparkplug wires are long enough, you can snip the corroded part to expose fresh wire then twist the cap back on.

A fairly simple trial and error thing that might net some results. May as well check the ground wire from engine to battery to see if its clean and tight. Carter

[Anonymous]

checked the wires and plugs, the wires look great gut plugs in cylinders 1, 2 & 4 all appear very sooty after only a hundred-ish miles of riding (plug 3 appears perfectly worn for that low milage)... wouldn't this be a fuel mixture problem? lack of enough air? still haven't started the thing up again, nor have I pulled anything else off of it.. the weather is great, I'd love to be out riding!

Thanks.

aside from that, I've been thinking that this really shouldn't be a carb issue, or anything that I've caused. It really seems that it's pretty aparant that this white smoke must be water in the system at some point (likely cyl. #2).. I hope that this is resolved with an additive.

Not to say I shouldn't adjust the carbs, it looks like I may need to increase air - judging from the sooty plugs.

Thanks again, and feel free to rebuke any of my novice troubleshooting.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

If you think you have water in the carbs, just take out the bowl drain screws. I've never heard of water making white smoke. A little condensation looks whitish, but it doesn't linger as long as smoke.

[Anonymous]

I ended up getting my dad to kickstart my bike today, before I did any further repairs or used any fuel additives.. It did seem to be running a bit rough (all 4 cylinders were fairly equally hot) but the exahaust did seem to be regular between the two pipes

the smoke was gone, it backfired right as being started (probably flooded it a bit), but the bike seems to be running alright, I might narrow the gap on those plugs a bit .029ish? and see if that makes it purr a bit more nicely.