Help with 1983 GS450L carbs

[gs450L]

Hi,

My friend just bought a 1983 GS450L. I normally work on honda cb's but I am trying to help her out. The bike runs, but not great. It sat for a while so I want to rebuild the carbs. There is also a vacuum leak or something and the idle will run up to 3-4k after its warm. I will replace the large o ring between the carb and the head.

I can't find any carb rebuild kits that are specific to the 83 450L. I would hate to get them apart and find a crusty o ring and have to wait another 2 weeks for parts. Can anyone advise me on what I should have on hand before I open up the carbs.

Also, I checked the valve clearance. I couldn't fit a 0.015 feeler gauge through any gaps. Is it worth the cost of the shims and tool to get the proper clearance. I would hate to go through all that hassle for something that may not help any.

Thanks for your help.

[Steve]

Welcome to GSR.

You do not need "rebuild" kits for the carbs, get o-rings from cycleorings.com. Soak the BARE carb bodies, jets and float bowls overnight in Berryman's Carb Cleaner Dip, re-assemble with the new o-rings.

Chech your clearances again. The specified minimum is 0.0015" (note te extra zero?), so your 0.015 will NEVER fit.

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[gs450L]

Do the float bowl gaskets usually fall apart or can they be reused? I looked at the cycleorings.com but didn't seen any options for the 83 gs450l. Will the kit for the 4 cylinders work or should I get the 80-82 twin kit?

That was a typo, I did use the 0.0015 feeler gauge.

[Steve]

The '82 and '83 carbs are definitely different on the 450. You can use the kit for the "regular" CV carb kits. The '83 carbs are virtually identical to the ones used on the GS1000 and GS1100.

I was hoping there was a typo.

No need to spend any money on shims until you know what you have in there. Look up user "BassCliff". He has a website in his signature that has LOTS of information on how to work on these bikes. There is a tutorial on valve adjustment, and it has a supplement on how to use a zip-tie to hold the valve open without that "special" tool. That is the method that I use and prefer. Check all your shims (the sizes should be printed on the under side), see which one is the thinnest. You might be able to move it to the other locations to see if that size will be correct, but PLEASE DO NOT MOVE THE CRANK UNLESS THERE IS A SHIM IN EVERY LOCATION. It is possible to use a coin (quarter, half dollar) in place of a shim for temporary duty during the adjustment session, but there MUST be something in place of the shim before turning the crank, or you will damage the cam.

Feel free to take advantage of the offer in my signature.

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