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    New here with my GS850GL!

    Hi everybody! New here and I hope to learn a lot from you guys. Here's my story.

    I'm currently 22 and live in Southern Maryland where I was born and raised. I've been riding for about 3 years now. My starter bike was a 2001 Yamaha Virago 250. It's a nice little bike. Lightweight, quiet, smooth, reliable... scratch that. She left me stranded once and I had to come back with a truck to get her, lol. Anyway, I've been riding that for a couple years and this past spring I figured I really need to move up to a bigger bike. So the search began.

    I found a few nice deals, but one bike really stood out to me. It was this GS850GL. The previous owner did't know too much about engines, but yet he was trying to do all sorts of work to it. Needless to say, when I bought the bike, it was bought as a "project." He told me it just needed some carb work done, but I knew better than that. I didn't buy just the bike. He sold the bike, plus another bike and a half worth of parts along with it, including another engine. I wasn't looking for a project. I was looking for a reliable (and already running) bike to hit the roads with. But once I found this, I couldn't pass the deal up. He was selling everything he had for $1,000. Sold.

    When I finally got her home and started working on her, I stripped off all the extra crap he had installed (windshield, side bags, sissy-bar/trunk) and then got to the engine. I took the carbs off and completely cleaned them. Not sure who did the work to them before, but there were a bunch of mix-matched parts. For example, 3 carbs had a 115 main jet, the other one was different. It looked to me like everything was apart, and in order to sell the bike, he just threw the s*** together. Whatever, I had a total of 8 carbs (1 broken), 3 sets of main jets, 2 sets of pilot air jets, etc. I knew I could make something work. I got her fired up that weekend, but she wasn't happy. Right off the bat, I heard a bad knock on the left-hand side (I think it was from the #2 exhaust), an exhaust leak, no power, no idle, etc. I knew I had some work ahead of me...

    The next week I had a family emergency, so the GS got put on hold. The emergency involved 2 last minute rout-trip flights from the east coast to Hawaii. So once that was all said and done, I had to build my funds back up. The GS was on further hold. I finally started messing with it some more about a month or two ago.

    I replaced a bad fuel petcock that kept draining the tank into cylinder #2's intake (through the vaccuum line), matched up all the parts in the carbs and reset the float levels. I kept tinkering with her, but she just wasn't having any of it. I feel like one or more cylinders just wasn't keeping compression. So I said screw it. I pulled the engine (call it and engine B) and swapped it with the other one I had (engine A). I "think" that engine A that's in there now was the original. The previous owner must have bought another GS for parts, so I "think" engine B was from that other bike. I had no idea why engine A wasn't in the bike to begin with, so I expected something to be wrong with it. I threw it in this past Sunday, and after priming the carbs, she fired right on up. She felt right. No knocks, no grinding. She ran smooth and revved up great.

    So being my impatient self, I went to the MVA on Monday and got her a tag so I could go for a test ride to see how she ran. Now this is where I'm at now. She starts up quick (an indication of running rich, right?) and idles great. When I start going, she has power and torque on the low end, but there's no mid-range power (from ~3,000-6,000 rpm). If I push through the bogging and get her up to 7,000, she pulls like a champ. In 1st and 2nd at those rpms, shes almost trying to pick the front wheel up. Once I stop, she idles right around 1,000-1,500 no problems.

    As an extra note, when I'm just cruising around 3,000 rpm (right on the upper edge of the low-end power band) she's got just enough power to hold my speed. If I pull the choke out 1/8 - 1/4 of the way, then she get's a little more power. At that point, I could accelerate a little bit.

    I just realized that I wrote all that out in my intro post, but hey, now you guys know where I stand, haha.

    #2
    Welcome
    Keep tinkering - The GS850 is a GREAT bike once you get it sorted out.
    And this forum is the place to get the help too..
    There are so many knowledgeable and great helpful people here I am sure you will get it working properly in no time.
    Pictures are always welcome (visual society) so post a few
    My thoughts are the valves need adjusting and then the carbs tuned properly.
    Check for air leaks in the air box or the boots to the carbs and the boots from the carbs to the engine.
    Once these are all assessed and proper the bike should run as designed.

    Currently in the Stable :
    2002 Honda Goldwing GL1800 Sunburst Pearl Orange
    1983 Suzuki GS850 GL Blue & Black

    " I am never lost until I run out of fuel...until that moment I am EXPLORING."
    - Carl R. Munkwitz

    Munk's Maxim: "There is no such thing as a cheap motorcycle"

    Comment


      #3
      Thanks,

      The GS definitely seems like a fairly bulletproof design. Its just a matter of working out the last of the kinks.

      The carb boots are good. I checked them when I switched engines. My gut is telling me that the main jets are the wrong size. I can't recall what size is in there now, but it just feels like shes really rich in the mid throttle range. One thing I didn't mention is that I'm running pod air filters and the last owner put on an aftermarket exhaust (I'm not sure the make or model of it). I'll post some pics later today when I get off work.

      Comment


        #4
        You're probably lean, not rich. When you pulled the choke (which is actually an enrichener) you said it pulled better, right?

        1983 GS750ED-Horsetraded for the Ironhead
        1981 HD XLH

        Drew's 850 L Restoration

        Drew's 83 750E Project

        Comment


          #5
          Mid range is kinda a weak spot for these 850's I think..
          Plenty of oomph but it runs up kinda slow-like -- until you get to the higher RPM's
          Then it goes like crazy --this is how mine seems to work...
          I usually ride it pretty sedately anyway -- shifting at around 4000 RPMs ..
          But when I want to really get on it -- she just accelerates smoothly to 5500 and then BAM ! -- it runs up to 7 to 8K in an instant
          But the low end grunt is really worthy - I use mine primarily as a daily commuter bike and just easing my way through traffic without working the gearshift much is nice...
          Currently in the Stable :
          2002 Honda Goldwing GL1800 Sunburst Pearl Orange
          1983 Suzuki GS850 GL Blue & Black

          " I am never lost until I run out of fuel...until that moment I am EXPLORING."
          - Carl R. Munkwitz

          Munk's Maxim: "There is no such thing as a cheap motorcycle"

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by jsandidge View Post
            You're probably lean, not rich. When you pulled the choke (which is actually an enrichener) you said it pulled better, right?
            Yeah, I'm thinking that now. I pulled the carbs off last night and checked the main jets. It had the stock size #115 in it. Just to give it a shot, I had a new set of #110's that I threw in. I test drove it down the street and back and it ran even worse. Still had the low-end, but even less power from 2,500rpm and up. So I know I need bigger main jets.

            For an 850 with pod air filters and an after-market exhaust (Not sure what the exhaust is. See pic.), what size jets would be recommended?

            Note: This pic was taken just after I got the other engine swapped in -- its missing the side covers and turn signals.

            Comment


              #7
              Haven't seen a seat like that on an 850GL, have any other pics of it? It sure is an improvement appearance-wise from the stock seat.

              With pods and aftermarket exhaust, you generally have to do quite a bit of tinkering before it'll run right. I believe the standard advice is to get a Dynojet Stage 3 kit, which should come with a few different sizes. Here's the one for the 850 (no pics, unfortunately): http://www.dynojet.com/pdf/3306.pdf

              Once you have the carbs properly tuned, get some decent handlebars on that thing and it'll be a blast to ride.
              Charles
              --
              1979 Suzuki GS850G

              Read BassCliff's GSR Greeting and Mega-Welcome!

              Comment


                #8
                Thanks. I know I've seen a lot of people recommend the Dynojet kit. I didnt know it required that kind of irreversible alterations (drilling out holes), but I guess I'll have to. Hopefully I can grab a kit within the next week or so.

                And most of the pics I have are from when I was working on the bike. I'll have to see if I have any good shots of it. Its been raining for a few days here, so I won't be able to get any new shots soon.

                Originally posted by eil View Post
                get some decent handlebars on that thing and it'll be a blast to ride.
                What's wrong with my handlebars? Lol. I pulled them back a little and I think it sits pretty comfortably now.

                Comment

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