New Owner needs Help!

[brian]

Hello everyone,

My name is Brian and I just purchased a 1980 GS 850. It was pulled out of the garage after a year and the old owner couldn't get it to start. He found this website and through the knowledge bestoyed here, he rebuilt/cleaned the carbs and installed a new petcock.

He says he followed the carb guide on this website.

1. The bike will turn over strongly.
2. I even pulled the carbs and checked the main jets...no clogs. In fact the insides of the carbs appeared spotless. to include new gaskets on the bowls.
3. I filled up the bowls with the petcock on pri. (then switched back to on)
4. Pull the choke out
5. Turns over but never starts
6. Oh yea, air filter is removed for now. (and I understand that it needs to be on to run, but I would at least like it to start before I assemble everything.)

What am I doing wrong?

I would really like to start to enjoy this motorcycle...any help/direction would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

[Dave8338]

Welcome to the GSR.

Do you have spark?

[brian]

Old owner says he checked it, and it was good. (and so far I trust him)

How do I check it, pull one of the plugs out of the engine and leave it (or reconnect it) connected to the spark wire and then try to start?

[Guest]

Yes check the spark by grounding the plug somewhere on the head and crank.
After cranking and not starting make sure the plugs are wet and you are getting gas in the cylinder.

[brian]

Ground to the head?

Do I just touch the spark plug to the head or should I create some special wire or something?

FYI - the bike has new spark cables and plugs, which makes me think that the old owner did what he said.

* my guess is that the plugs will be dry *, but I'll wait until you respond so I can properly ground the plug.


Thank you for your time...I really appreciate your knowledge.

[Guest]

Take the plug out, attach it to the coil lead and lean it on the head to ground it out. Then crank and make sure a spark jumps the gap. It should be white and not yellow.

[brian]

OK, checked the spark. Here we go:

1. the spark plug is new but the tip is extremely black (like black charcoal)
2. there was a little spark, but it was so small I could tell you what color it is.
3. And it's dry.

[Guest]

Clean the plugs
Prime the carb bowls by using the prime feature on the petcock.
Wait 2-3 minutes for the bowls to fill.
Pull the choke all the way out and do not touch the throttle and try to start it.
Make sure the battery is good and fully charged.
Oh and adjust the idle until the butterflies are open a little bit or with no air it will just flood out and cause black plugs.

[brian]

YOUR AWESOME! SHE LIVES!

Ok, now let tell what I did:

1. Cleaned plugs
2. Primed like you said
3. Tried starting and nothing happened...(so early today I read a post saying that someone put a towel over the air intakes to give it some back pressure...so)
4. That's what I did...I put a t-shirt over the intakes and she started!

she didn't stay running, but atleast she ran for about 10-20 seconds...with that said...

What do I do next...( I know I have to install the intake and make sure it's tightly sealed)...but what other tips do you have in your knowledge bag..

Again...Thank you, Thank you, Thank you...

P.S. My wife says thanks too!

[Guest]

Install a nice sealed airbox and ride.

[brian]

Again, thanks so much!

Next steps for me is to seal the air box and then sync the carburetors...then ride!

Thanks!

I love this website!

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. brian,

Let me share 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

[brian]

Ok, now I have (I think) a new problem, that runs along with what's happened earlier. I have installed my airbox...it's sealed, but the bike will not start.

Back to early post, if I cover the carb intakes with a t-shirt and it starts...for a little while at least...what do a adjust to get her to run with the airbox installed.

What adjustment restricts air to the intakes?

Or am in not getting enough "pull" pressure from the engine?

Again...I'm just lost...

[Guest]

Install NEW plugs. Dont just clean the old ones. Put new ones in.

[brian]

I'm going to the parts store now, will let you know what happens...thanks!

P.S. I love your cafe, that's the look I'm going for...where (or how) did you make your seat?