My personal GS sob story

[loud et]

I run bike's on it in its pure form to get them started after being parked...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otqMVKXC2Pw

Eric

I heard those orange, high capacity fuel tanks are faster!

[MisterCinders]

Never go to that mechanic again IMO. What he told you makes no sense.

It's good to have some help nearby, 4 ears and eyes are better at sorting things out.

You can pick up a compression tester at Harbor Freight or AutoZone for pretty cheap. This $10 Harbor Freight special is good enough for some home tests.

You might have bad compression in a cylinder, but not a compression gremlin that runs around the cylinders. If you really had compression that wandered across cylinders, I'd wonder about sticking valves, not rings. For $10 you can test your own compression and know for sure what is going on.

[Frank Z.]

I don't have a ton of experience, but if you need a hand, I'm pretty good at figuring stuff out. At the very least, you wouldn't be the only one stumped

There it is. 2 heads better than 1 when you're starting out. Go for it and fix it and you'll be proud.

[mpencegs]

Pull the valve cover and adjust the valves.. its easy once you get the hang of it. You may need a new valve cover gasket if the old one is a pain. Spray the new one with WD-40 for easy future removal.. Also ensure that you have performed both a bench sync and vaccum sync on the carbs. Cleaning them doesn't mean anything if you do not sync them.

Note***** I had a slightly bent valve that gave me a compression gremlin. It would seal then rotate enough to loose compression then rotate and seal again. Replaced valves and rebuilt top end for 450 in parts and called it a day.

best of luck.

[Whitedog]

I was thinking valves also. Bent or tight valves could lead to compression issues. Adjust the valves for starters and finish a carb sinc. It may be all it takes.

[7981GS]

I was thinking valves also. Bent or tight valves could lead to compression issues. Adjust the valves for starters and finish a carb sinc. It may be all it takes.

I thought that he posted that he had adjusted the valves several month's ago.
He hasn't done that yet???

Eric

[Redman]

You have a 30 year od bike. It is going to have problems from time to time.

And you are learning to deal with it. (and probably are about to learn some more about the bike).

Valve adjustment is important for good proformance. But doesnt seem like would cause symptoms that come-and-go.


SOmetimes the resistor in the sparkplug caps can cause symptoms that come-and-go. Sparkplug caps can be checked with a multi-meter. Spark plug caps can be replaced for 4-5 dollars each.

.

[DevanJones]

I checked the valves when I cleaned the carbs myself. They were all within the limits I believe.

[DevanJones]

I don't have a ton of experience, but if you need a hand, I'm pretty good at figuring stuff out. At the very least, you wouldn't be the only one stumped

I might take you up on that, Eric. I'm also going to a bike night from another forum I'm part of (pnwriders.com) next tuesday and they're gonna try and help.

[DevanJones]

Alright. So I got the bike back today. It's running well enough to ride a little bit. I rode it probably like ten miles from the shop to my house and a couple more from my house to the bank and back. It's idling, albeit a little roughly. It is a little slow to accelerate and in higher gears it accelerates even less. It seems to be smoking a little out of the right hand side exhaust and the smoke seems to be from burning oil. The carbs are good and I dumped a can of berryman's in while I was down to the reserve part of the tank. I'm not good at describing things so I am mostly just keeping ypou guys updated until someone checks my bike out and puts it into words. In other news, my car won't start now so my bike is now my primary form of transportation to work and back.

[DevanJones]

And the car's fixed now!

[Big T]

Devan

Does your bike have points ignition?

[DevanJones]

Yeah. My bike has points, so I'm thinking I'll replace those now, too.

[duaneage]

An old bike is an invaluable tool for learning how to take care of machinery yourself and take pride in your work. I think your valves need adjusting and the mechanic doesn't know what he is talking about

[tkent02]

I think your valves need adjusting and the mechanic doesn't know what he is talking about

And keep in mind a used 850 engine is dirt cheap, I bought a good one one for $2 on ebay once. They are cheap and plentiful because the engines generally outlast the owners..