Best way to see if getting fuel

[Anonymous]

I ha ve a 1981 gs650g which has been sitting for 9 years and "suprise" it won't start. So I have checked the plugs on the no. 1 and 4 cylinders and it seems to be getting spark so now I want to check to see if it's getting any gas. Any ideas about the best or most efficient was of doing this? Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

[Anonymous]

crank it over, then pull a plug out and see if the plug is wet or if you can smell fuel in the cylinder. or try taking the plugs out and cranking it over with the throttle open.. fuel should come out of the plug holes.. hope this helps

[earlfor]

Turn the petcock to "prime" setting. Fuel will flow into the float bowls by gravity. Prime does not require engine vacuum. Let the bike sit for 30 seconds with the petcock in the prime position. Turn the petcock to the "run" position to shut the fuel flow OFF. Remove the float bowl drain plugs and drain the fuel into a small glass or clear container. Check that each float bowl holds the same amount of fuel. If no fuel is in the float bowls, then you have either no fuel in the gas tank, a faulty petcock, or faulty/stuck float needle valves. If you have fuel in all the bowls, then the choke circuits are probably blocked. It should at least kick and try to fire if the chokes are working.

If the bike has been sitting for 9 years. It is about 99.9% safe to assume the carbs are not going to work and it is not going to run until you remove the carbs, dis-assemble them, soak them in carb dip, blow the passageways out with compressed air, replace the various internal "O" rings, re-assemble and install them and and set the idle mixture screws.
Once running, a vacuum synch of the carbs will be required.

Since the bike has been sitting so long, I would check the petcock for fuel flow and go directly to carb rebuild. I wouldnt waste my time fiddling with float needles and trying to adjust something that is probably blocked up anyway.

(carb rebuilds are not THAT difficult)

Earl

[Anonymous]

Thanks sooo much! I'm quite new at this as I just got the bike on Sunday and I'm really looking forward to fiddling with it to get it work. I've seen the slide description of the carb cleaning and I look forward to giving it a try although I have a bit of trepidation, but , with care and forethought hopefully I be able to complete it sucessfully. Once again thanks for your time and expertise...

[earlfor]

Go the the homepage of this site. On the left bar, you will see a carb rebuild series. Its an excellent "how to" complete with pictures at every step. If something isnt clear in the series, just post a question here. The secret is just being careful, keep all the parts of each carb segregated to that carb and take your time.

Earl

Thanks sooo much! I'm quite new at this as I just got the bike on Sunday and I'm really looking forward to fiddling with it to get it work. I've seen the slide description of the carb cleaning and I look forward to giving it a try although I have a bit of trepidation, but , with care and forethought hopefully I be able to complete it sucessfully. Once again thanks for your time and expertise...

[RacingJake]

I was going to say a match and wait and see if it goes boooommmmm.

But if you don't like my idea........ I'd probably go with Earls 8)

[Anonymous]

That was my first thought...

[KEITH KRAUSE]

I was going to say a match and wait and see if it goes boooommmmm.

8O We're supposed to help members, not blow em' up!

[RacingJake]

But that's why we have Fire Dept's