Poor starting tip for GS550 & 750`s

[Nerobro]

blowing into the tubes forces gas out of the carbs and into the intakes. That's what it does, and why it "works". It's priming the engine.

Shirley, if a bike doesn't start in a few secconds, it's time to quit. take the battery home, charge it. you have till march 1st to get it running right? Have you ever cleaned your pilot jets?

[ShirleySerious]

The bike's been like that all winter, not starting up easily. The battery is charging as we speak, and I will have to pay another visit tomorrow. Thing is, I've tried to get it started earlier this winter, and even though it took a while, it ran.

As for cleaning the jets, the PO did it but I don't have the knowledge and probably the equipment to do so. The last thing I need is for my bike to go from gas-saving fun warm weather ride to a money pit.

[Nerobro]

Never. Ever. Ever. trust anything the PO said they did.

Given all the starting problems you've had, my money is that your pilot jets and or mixture screws are all clogged to hell. And all the time the bike has NOT been starting has just been making the collection of varnish worse.

There is no solution other than cleaning the carbs. They are a royal pain in the butt to get out, but they're simple to clean.

Have your pilot screw caps been drilled out yet?

[ShirleySerious]

I'm willing to try to start it a few more times, since I've had this trouble before. Once it gets warmer it'll be easier to start, and I'll just give it an Italian tune-up (if you don't know what that is, look it up) and good as new.

I'm thinking maybe some starting fluid will at least get it running for longer than 5 seconds. Because unless the bike starts, it's not going anywhere. So if I'm gonna fix anything on it, it's gonna have to start first.

I don't know what pilot screw caps are.

Also, I remember hearing about something called Seafoam. Sounds promising, so I think I'll try it out. If it saves me the hassle of ripping out the carbs, I'm all for it.

[49er]

Shirley, you're not serious about this starting problem.
Bite the bullet and pull the carbs. There is plenty of help available on this forum for you to see this task through. You'll learn heaps about your bike along the way. When it starts and runs sweetly you'll know that it was worth the effort.
Have you sorted out that Yami plug problem yet?

[ShirleySerious]

The technical knowledge I have of working with things like that would only serve to make the problem worse. When I mean I don't know how to do that, I mean it. Even if I were to work on my bike, I would have to get it home first (it's in a storage area 2 miles away.) I want to try Seafoam, because if I can get it running with that, I'd have saved myself a whole lot of trouble.

I will only get the carbs taken apart as a last resort. My DIY skill only goes so far. If I can get a mechanic to do the job right at a cost, as opposed to doing it myself blindly, I would.

I bought some starting fluid and will get some Seafoam tomorrow and hope for the best.

Sorry if I come across as an a-hole. I'm stubborn and persistence pays off for me on a regular basis.

[tomo]

Nobody thinks you are an a-hole !. If you are`nt comfortable pulling the carbs then it`s best not to. Sorry to hear that the breather trick did`nt work but blew a baffle, wow !. Makes me think something else is amiss as that has never happened to me and I`ve used that trick for years !. Have you checked out if the plugs are sparking ok. If the bike fired a few times before the backfire, makes me wonder if one plug did`nt spark at first. The air fuel mix would get pushed into the exhaust, then probably ignited mixing with the hot gases from the others. I had that happen once with my CX500, turned out to be a duff plug. Might be worth trying new plugs. Think you can get similar problems if the ignition is retarded too but am not 100% sure, maybe someone else will clarify that. Be worth checking it out though, check the points gaps too, as they affect timing & may need setting. Another thing that can cause starting problems is a duff condensor. You can check them out if you open the points a little, with the ignition turned on. You should see a spark/arcing between the point faces. If not then could be a duff condensor. Just some ideas, but worth looking at.

[ShirleySerious]

I posted the result in another related forum but I almost forgot about this one. I tried some starting fluid a couple days ago, but to no avail. I went to U Haul yesterday with my friend to see if we could get a trailer to tow my bike home, but they turned him down because he didn't have the proper equipment on his truck.

So I went to see one last time if it would start before I would have to walk it home. I put the choke on and it fired up for about 10 seconds. I kept coaxing it and finally got it to stay on without the choke. I ended up riding it home. It's a good thing too because it started snowing last night and the roads all suck now.

I guess the message here is perseverance pays off. That and some Seafoam.

[tomo]

Great news !. Yep, bikes can be funny things. My old CX can be running fine, but park her up a couple of days and she is a pig to start, always used to flatten the battery trying. Once going, she runs fine. Fortunately, I found that breather trick works for CX`s too, so don`t usually have any trouble now, but I gather all CX`s are like that !. Anyway, glad to hear you got the GS running and got back home before the snow. It will be interesting to see how she fires up now, would`nt be surprised if it does now. All the best.

[kramer]

Just curious...would turning the fuel...hmm, I don't know the proper term for this, so, I'll describe it.

That little lever you turn when you're riding on the highway and the engine starts dying, so you switch the lever from "on" to "res" to tap into the "reserve fuel"...whatever the name of that thing is...

My '81 GS750E has a "pri" position, or priming per owner's manual. Is this effectively the same as blowing into the carb tubes?

This is all kinda funny to me...I'm a whiz at fixing computers but still a complete noob at understanding the nitty gritties of my beloved motorcycle.

[ShirleySerious]

That lever you describe is called the petcock. When you set it on PRI, it lets fuel flow to the carbs while the engine's off, useful for filling the bowls after taking the carbs apart.

As for your question, kinda, but blowing into the carbs will blow fuel into the throttle body, where as putting the petcock on prime with the engine running will do nothing but risk overfilling the bowls.

[snowbeard]

wow. I'm going to try this for sure. I've had issues with my bike starting for the four years I've owned it. I've been using ether (starting fluid) if it ever sits for more than a day or two, every day if it's cold. it seems not to have the suction to pull the gas without a little bump of ether to get the combustion started... this could be just what I needed.

not to hijack the thread, but Ty told me that my valves likely needed an adjustment, would loose valves maybe make it not as "sucky" when starting that it wouldn't be able to prime itself??

I would also add that people should check their hoses, pull them and make sure they're clear and open before blowing back into them, I've found some nasty junk in the airebox drain hose, likely due to my ether spray and overflown float bowls in the past, but I could see it picking up road grime as well...

thanks for the tip!!!!

[tkent02]

More likely valves too tight would do this...

not to hijack the thread, but Ty told me that my valves likely needed an adjustment, would loose valves maybe make it not as "sucky" when starting that it wouldn't be able to prime itself??

Too loose won't really hurt until they get very rattly.
They usually get tighter with wear too.

[snowbeard]

ah, still better do something to them, eh?


and while I'm here, thanks a ton for the "great" tip #-o it was cold and rainy, with a few styrofoam raindrops bouncing around on the bike. I decided I wanted to ride so I'd have the bike with me tomorrow (not going home after poker) so I said "if the ol gal will start with my new trick, I have to ride 'er"

great, so it started right up, and there I went in the freezing cold drizzle!!! tucked a towel under my jacket to wipe off the visor and froze balls all the way to work!!!

somehow the bike was having some surging issues on the highway at 60mph, I don't know why. It often will not start when its wet and I"ve always said that was a built in safety feature!!! I think the plug wires are less than waterproof...:?


well at least I may not kill the engine from squirting ether in it day in and day out now, thanks for that at least!!

[tomo]

Great, glad it worked !. I don`t claim it solves every starting problem but its always worth a try before pulling carbs or messing with electrics !. Both my GS750`s and my CX500 were pigs to start if stood a couple of days, but a quick blow down those breathers and away they go.