no power

[wayfast73]

Hey guys, I useto be a member here years ago until I sold my gs but I bought it back a few weeks ago. When I sold the bike it was running great I rebuilt the carbs with all new jets/gaskets/needle/air screw, synced the carbs ect. I sold it and it was rode for a season and sat for a few years. When I got it back it did not have any low end and the top end would kick hard. I pulled the carbs apart and soaked them, the slide rubbers were fine and to double check I pushed them up and they all came down slow so I put about 3 psi into them and they all opened all the way. I reassembled the carbs but left the pilot jet plugs out and the bike started right up and had a lot of low end. I saw the plugs on the bench so I just put them back in and now it has no power anywhere, and if I dont have the choke on it will die. I could only get the bike up to 20mph with full choke and If I gave it anymore throttle it would die. I was thinking I had a air leak somewhere but the bike starts right up. The bike has a stock exhaust, the only thing that changed was I put in a k&n filter in place of the air box which has a outerwears on with half a shop towel wrapped around the replicate the air box. All the carb boots still look new since I replaced them when I owned the bike. I have a bike ride on saturday so Im hoping to get this one going so I dont have to finish wiring my harley.

[cowboyup3371]

Did you clean and dip the carbs thoroughly? I wonder if those jets are gunked up.

[Big T]

The little passage to those jets is clogged up

That's why it ran well without the rubber plugs and like crap with them

Pull the carbs and check that hole on the side above the rubber plugs

[wayfast73]

Yes I completely disassembled them, counted the amount of turns of the air screw each, dipped them, rinsed with warm water, blew them out with air, then sprayed carb cleaner through them. The jets all still looked brand new. It seemed like it ran a lot better before I cleaned them the bike always starts right up.

[wayfast73]

Ill check that passage, with the plugs out it had low and half the mid range but after that it would fall on its face.

[tkent02]

to double check I pushed them up and they all came down slow so I put about 3 psi into them and they all opened all the way.

This scares me. They should go up and down very easily.

[wayfast73]

When I say slow I mean they were dampened they didnt just slam down from the spring.

[Steve]

My question is "how are you applying 3 psi and to where?"


Clean the carb bodies AGAIN. It's likely not the jets that are plugged, it's the passages in the carb body.

When you "dipped" the carbs, how long were they in "the dip"? Go for a full 24 hours for each carb body.

.

[wayfast73]

I turned my compressor regulator down and used the blow gun to blow into the long oval passage at the top of the carb. I did not soak them long only about a hour each.

[Silvermachine81]

This isnt particularly helpful because it doesnt refer to the fixing the stock carbs but its something I often say so please dont take it the wrong way.
There always seems to be so many issues with the stock carbs and they have so many pieces in them that can go wrong.
I've read so many stories over the years similar to this and there always seems to be a lot of time spent and expense incurred rebuilding them and tearing of hair which seems hardly worth it sometimes. All it does is take away from the enjoyment of owning one of these great machines.

I truly believe your better off setting them to one side and buying a cheap used set of 36mm RS Mikunis.
They work perfectly with jets and settings that they come with and they transform the bike and show you what youve been missing all along.

[Big T]

I've read so many stories over the years similar to this and there always seems to be a lot of time spent and expense incurred rebuilding them and tearing of hair which seems hardly worth it sometimes. All it does is take away from the enjoyment of owning one of these great machines.

Cost of dip and O rings is about $50 US. Expensive???

Once you've dipped and O ringed your carbs, you're good for about 15-20 years

The 36 RS carbs have the same parts and problems and are too large for most GS applications

Most of the stories you'll find here are due to improper cleaning. Many new members clean 2-3-4 times before they get it correct. That doesn't cost any more money.

[wayfast73]

I have one of the carbs soaking as we speak, and I pulled out the petcock to clean that and the filter out before I put it back in. I also bought some rubber automotive fuel line incase the thin blue stuff I had on was kinking over the carbs and causing the bowls to not stay full.

[Silvermachine81]

Cost of dip and O rings is about $50 US. Expensive???

Once you've dipped and O ringed your carbs, you're good for about 15-20 years

The 36 RS carbs have the same parts and problems and are too large for most GS applications

Most of the stories you'll find here are due to improper cleaning. Many new members clean 2-3-4 times before they get it correct. That doesn't cost any more money.

Hey, just throwing up a different option and not trying to put anyone crook
Where I'm coming from is that I recently looked at getting a Shop kit of Mikuni o-rings and that was $118.00US + freight which was actually cheaper than buying all the exact sizes I needed from an online carb parts provider.
After reading a number of stories like the one above and of all the time and stress I just gave an alternate view.
RS's are a simpler carb than the stock CV's and RS36's are the smallest size recommended for GS(X)1100's but perhaps this thread is about a GS1000 and I may have missed that.

All I was saying is that if its getting too stressful and you start to feel like your throwing good time and money after bad that there is another option and the payoff is that you get better throttle response and more power.
Hell, My bike was even more fuel efficient once I put a decent set of carbs on it

So this info may or may not be of any interest to the original poster but I just thought I would put it out there

[Big T]

I'm sure if you read some more posts here you'll find recommendations for www.cycleorings.com

Robert is a member here - O ring carb kits are $15-20. I don't know what he charges to ship to AU, but it can't be much

I think you'll find that the advice here is based upon members effing it up themselves and finding workable solutions, which we share with others. I don't think anyone has ever not been able to revive their carbs with a good cleaning

Nothing wrong with your experience, it's just a lot more expensive

Check out BassCliff's site for lots more info

[Silvermachine81]

I think you'll find that the advice here is based upon members effing it up themselves and finding workable solutions, which we share with others....

I was actually trying to rebuild a very old set of mikuni RS's and cycleorings didnt have kits listed for those carbs.
The US based online place I tried was actually more expensive than ordering them locally!!!

Yes, I was a member here for several years but didnt visit for a while and found I had been deleted.
There sure is no place on the internet like this place for helping each other out of dificult & confusing situations.
I remember back when I'd be sitting in the garage trying to work out a problem, racking my brain and knowing it was either I sort it out myself or it goes nowhere.

These days we are so lucky for places like this because someones bound to have struck the same problem and people are always so willing to help or even give their time to help.