Stuck rings?

[motogeezer]

Recently found a very nice '82 650GL at a reasonable price. The bike had not been ridden much, having only 14000 miles on the clock. it had, what I thought, the
usual "sat too long, gummed up carb" syndrome. Hard to start, and bogged when you roll on the throttle. Found one of the diaphragms in a carb to have a hole in it.
Replaced the suspect part, cleaned all carbs and re-assembled. Still didn't run worth a toot.
Long story short: The local Suzuki shop agreed to check it out for me. Said it must be the carbs. So they take the apart, clean, reinstall, tune. Still doesn't run.
They checked the valve adjust. No problem, right on the money. They checked the compression, and low in one cylinder. They've decided it has a stuck ring.
As I write, they are trying to "un-stick" the offending ring or rings without taking the engine apart... penetrating oils and the like.

Any one care to chime in? Am I headed down a slippery slope? Any advice/comment is welcome. Nice old bike, but hate so spend a fortune on it.

[rustybronco]

Generally a top end cleaner poured into the fuel will help loosen stuck rings. GM used to make a a good product.

[tom203]

Your local shop ain't interested in this poor neglected bike, except as a way to drain your wallet (and hoping you'll go for some new model on their floor). You got to do this work yourself.

valve adjust.".right on the money"- sure it was
very time consuming to clean these carbs properly, very easy to make things worst with quickee sprays and prayer.
having one weak cylinder won't cause hard to start, probably won't cause much noticeable power loss. Bike needs to be run to free up sticky rings (if you actually have them) , but this means valves and carbs need your tender loving attention!
go here and do some reading about common issues

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/GSR_Greeting.html

[GS1150Pilot]

This forum rocks!

[almarconi]

I agree with Tom, most shops do not have a clue how to work on vintage bikes. Get yourself a service manual and do the work yourself. If you must use a shop, try to find one with an old codger working in the service area. Expect to spend many times what the bike is worth if you can't do the work yourself.

[Guest]

The shop is correct by not having to take the engine apart and attempting to use a penetrating oil down the plug holes to try and loosen up stuck oil rings but all your advice about doing the work yourself is correct but I guess it's too late for that now.

[Grimly]

Frankly, I'm wondering what kind of dozy incompetents are working in the local shop if they didn't do a compression check in the very early stage of things.

[robertbarr]

So, a 'stuck ring' is a diagnosis after finding one cylinder with low compression? How low? Did they give you the numbers?

Assuming (assuming...) there's nothing horrible or dangerous evident, I'd cure that stuck ring with a thousand highway miles and six tanks of fuel. Wait until next spring, so you can enjoy the ride (which is kind of the whole idea...).

[qcktvr]

Hi everyone,
Interesting, is the cylinder with low compression the same one fed by the carb with a ruptured diaphragm??
Thinking maybe resulting lean mixture led to burnt valve or worse?
I would squirt oil through plug hole and retest compression...
An old bike is a great way to learn, BUT be VERY careful dealing with wheels, brakes etc, can be painful if you screw up
Take care