Choke Cable location

[clagrow68]

I have Mikuni carbs on my 79 GS850G and the only choke I see is the one on the side of the carbs themselves. Yet, I have the choke cable under the gauges but it doesn't connect to anything on the carbs. Has someone switched out the carbs or what am I missing, as I don't see where I can attach it.

[rphillips]

Your OEM carbs didn't come with a lever on the carbs, should be cable operated. If you're lucky somebody has replaced them with an earlier set that used a lever. Is the choke on your carbs just a little flat lever that slides up and down, if so they're an earlier set. Congrats... Oh, almost forgot Welcome..

[Rob S.]

Yes, there is one overriding reason why a lever on the carbs is better than a remote knob on the dash or a lever on the left hand grip. Less is more. No cable or linkage to be adjusted or foul up. And they frequently did foul up with age.

The reason why the move from a push-pull knob near the key in the center of the dash to a lever near the left thumb on the 1982 11E was an improvement, according to Cycle World, was that the choke required a lot of fiddling during start up. And your left hand was required to be on the bars holding the clutch in.

More complexity is just asking for trouble. Refurbishing the choke control on my 11EZ was quite a lot of work.

Welcome to the site.

[rphillips]

I've never heard of a problem, of any kind, at all, with the choke on the carbs.

[clagrow68]

Thanks all! Much appreciated. I figured it was an "either or" situation just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something as far as where the cable needed to go. I've always had old KZs and had the choke on the side like this one.