82 GS 450 re-jetting advice

[TerminusEst]

As the title says, I got my hands on an abused 450 for a project bike to learn some wrenching. The carbs came equipped with these for an air intake:


Not exactly stock to say the least. I have gone through much of BassCliff's website and many of the relevant posts here in the carb section, to determine that I have the odd BS34SS carbs with a 17.5 pilot and 115 main jet. They have been torn down, cleaned, and rebuilt completely now, and I am installing K&N pod filters with a foam cover, and the exhaust will remain stock. I have just a couple questions:

First, I'm hoping to find out is which main jets I am most likely to need so I can purchase sizes within two steps each side of that rather than 70 dollars worth of main jets from 117.5 to 140.

Second, what is the proper order for changing needle shims between each different jet?

I intend to make these pods run well, so I want to be sure I find just the right settings.

[Guest]

Wow that's ugly! Glad to see you're keen on doing the right thing though.

I just purchased a pair of K&N pods for my '82 450E also, but I"m a way off from rejetting as I have an exhaust to get made up first, so I won't be going with stock.

I plan on using the advice from this site when rejetting, along with much other advice from this forum:

http://www.motorcyclecarbs.com/

My understanding so far is that with K&N's and stock exhaust, you should only need minor changes, maybe one up on the mains and a slight needle shim or something.

On the other hand, if you feel like forking out a little more, I believe there is a stage 1 Dynojet kit for the '82 carbs, but there is no stage 3.

Stage 1 I'm pretty sure is right for better breathing with stock exhaust which is what you will have.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. TerminusEst,

You'll find a jet kit for the GS450 at http://www.dynojet.com that should work well for you (their part number 3113, I think). The Dynojet kit comes with specially tapered needles that make tuning the midrange easier. Or you can try the less expensive but more time intensive route of manually jetting it and shimming the stock needles. Let me start by dumping a TON if information on you and sharing some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff