Advise Neeeded 1981 GS450S

[Anonymous]

Hi

My problem, I am sure, is still the carbs, and I am going to take the plunge and take them out and clean them .. first time ever .. but I have the guide from here so I am sure that will help.

Basically I want a little advise on what people might think the problem in these carbs are more specifically. Heres what I have found

The bike is often difficult to get running

The bike when ridding seems to lack any power. ie it feels like there should be more there. This I am aware may well be because I usually ride my 2002 GSX750F but all the same it feels to me like there is more there power wise but it doesnt want to come.

I have, just today, found a small hole in the right hand muffler and it is wet with petrol.

I know the hassle is most likley in the carbs but what I am wondering is, would most people say the carbs are flooding, and if so would that be more likley dirty carbs that arent closing properly or faulty/worn parts, or something else that I havent been able to logocally come up with. I am wondering in most peoples experience have they found a clean out has cured the problem, or a refit was needed.

Thanks for reading this verbose message .. let me know what you guys think 8)

[SqDancerLynn1]

dirt is a carbs enemy, but what do the plugs look like ??

[gspaul]

You are looking for a nice blue fat spark ,if that's there it's carby time.

[robinjo]

Are both headers hot after running for a few minutes?
Does it idle well?

[Anonymous]

problems

Hi
The headers dont seem overly hot to me .. I have something to add a mate of mine called and asked if the throttle is returning fast or slow .. and the throttle is slow slow .. to come back down to idle revs, he sugests that it might be the throttle cable is shot or needs serious adjusting because it may not be closing properly and therefore flooding the engine .. does this sound possible to you guys ?

[gspaul]

OK. that problem needs to be fixed, take the cable off from the hand grip, and just squirt some penatrating oil down there.Keep doing it, if it don't work ,either you need a new cable or your carbs have a lot of crap in them.

[nabrams]

I know you don't want to hear this (because I didn't want to either), but after restoring two GS450 bikes (mine and a friend's), I think I'm qualified to say:
1. You've got to totally disassemble those carbs and get them spotlessly clean. Use a very thin wire to clean those jets if you're not sure that they're totally clean. I tried all other methods and there was still some stuck on varnish until I physically scraped it off with a wire. The floats may be leaky (happened to me twice!) and your float valve may be worn. See other posts on how to check these things.
2. Air leaks (in air box and all boots that connect to carb and at any point in the exhaust system) will kill your bike's performance. See my other posts about this.
3. The remarks from others about spark are critical as well. Spark must be visually verified.

Until you verify these things, you're just guessing.