carb install method 1100EZ

[robez]

For those of us too stupid to use new boots...
After wrestling the carbs on my 1982 GSX1100EZ trying to reinstall without new boots, I had great success and relief with this method.

1. Hold air box/plenum back as far as it will go with rope or similar.
2. Get 2 sheets of clean 0.5mm gal/zinc/al cut to around 500 x 100.
3. Spray one side of sheets with silicone lube and stand them up against boots.
4. Slide carbs in between the sheets on lubed face until they line up with boots.
5. Grab sheets using vice grips and slide them out.
6. Wriggle, lever carbs into boots.

It is still tricky to attach throttle cable on the way in, but if you cut the front sheet as small as possible you still have room to get fat fingers in.

Hind sight would have seen me replacing the boots, but you live and learn.
(should have got onto GSR earlier).

[Guest]

Damn. My 1100E came with the rear half of the airbox removed and a big K&N filter installed. I pulled all that and installed pod filters first thing. Carb removal/installation is a piece of cake, but it has to be because they come out a few times getting the jetting sorted...


Mark

[robez]

Damn. My 1100E came with the rear half of the airbox removed and a big K&N filter installed. I pulled all that and installed pod filters first thing. Carb removal/installation is a piece of cake, but it has to be because they come out a few times getting the jetting sorted...


Mark

Yep.. Mine has large uni-filter in place of rear air box. Ummd and arrrd about putting pods on. In the end really just wanted to get the bike running.
Still unsure if there is a price to pay for running pods as opposed to the oem plenum.
I used to ride a fairly highly strung Yamaha RD250LC with pods. If I got caught in a rain storm it wold die instantly. So I can see the advantage of performance but also in the Yammies case, the disadvantage. Was constantly pulling those pods off to clean.

[Guest]

Yep.. Mine has large uni-filter in place of rear air box. Ummd and arrrd about putting pods on. In the end really just wanted to get the bike running.
Still unsure if there is a price to pay for running pods as opposed to the oem plenum.
I used to ride a fairly highly strung Yamaha RD250LC with pods. If I got caught in a rain storm it wold die instantly. So I can see the advantage of performance but also in the Yammies case, the disadvantage. Was constantly pulling those pods off to clean.

The things I have noticed are the mileage goes down some compared to stock (not a huge amount, but it is noticeable) and crosswinds occasionally rob a small bit of power (again, not a big problem but it does happen once in a while). The pods don't get oiled down on the GS like on a piston port 2 stroke, I only clean them once or twice a season at most unless I had to ride through a dust storm or other catastrophe. I had an 86 GSXR750LTD with pods on it that would lose a huge chunk of power and run like garbage in a cross wind but the 1100E has no such tendencies. I will happily trade the power gained, looks and sound for the extremely minimal downsides I have noticed.

Edit - That is with APE pods in place. K&N pods would be the same, but I make no guarantees the el cheapo paper element ones will do as well.


Mark

[robez]

Mark

That is probably all the convincing I need. Just need to find the time and effort.
How much fudging around have you had to do with your carbs to keep the engine wild and happy?
I assume we both have the same 1982 bike. BS34SS carbs. 4 into 1 .

Rob

[Rob S.]

Don't you just love the battery/carbs/air box setup on our '82 11e's? And how about the seat? Sometimes requires 3 arms to get it off!

All this was done to lower the seat height an inch from '81, also resulting in updated styling for the world's fastest production motorcycle.

I'm no longer a DIY'er, but I remember decades ago installing pods on my KAW 900, and it ran swell. No messing with the carbs required.

My SUZI 1100e? After getting the APE pods on, it was not ride-able until I covered up about 85% of them with electrical tape. And then I rode it over to Powerhouse on Long Island, where it was professionally jetted on a dyno.

The result? My 1100 ran from idle to red line with nary a cough, sputter or lull. In the five years since I joined this site, I have not encountered a single owner who was able to accomplish the same thing on the big EZ. But it is possible.

I wish I could provide you with the settings (jettings) my guy installed, at least to provide you with a good starting point, but he never revealed them to me. And I have asked.

-Another Rob, another EZ.

PS I think it took 4 tries to get my jets so great.

[robez]

It's pretty funny the first time you try to remove/refit rear air box and carb bank.
It's like they were installed by an army of tiny rubber men with special powers and rare tools.
Patience and practice seem to be the key...or pods.
No more struggling with access AND all the thrills that come with sucking more air.
I enjoy wrenching as you call it in the US and I guess pods are going to demand a fair bit of trial and error.
There is a saying round these parts.."dig a hole...fill it in". Should be fun.
Time to start the purchase list.

[Guest]

How much fudging around have you had to do with your carbs to keep the engine wild and happy?
I assume we both have the same 1982 bike. BS34SS carbs. 4 into 1 .

Mine is an 82 1100EZ. BS34SS carbs, APE pods and a Kerker 4-1 canister exhaust system (not the megaphone style). I think they are probably very close to the same. I would have to look in my notes to see how many times I had the carbs off getting the jetting right but I think it was 7 times. I originally jetted it using the el cheapo paper element filters I swore at above, then switched to the APE pods and had to go back in to raise the needles a notch to clear up a small midrange flat spot that came with the APE pods. If your OEM needle is adjustable I can get you close as a starting point and then you would have to fine tune it on your own from there. If you have the same non-adjustable needle as the US models got then you should buy a Dynojet stage 3 kit and go from there. I prefer the OEM needle as it has a much finer taper compared to the Dynojet needle and offers more precise control over the transition onto the needle and the midrange jetting.

Edited to add a gratuitous pic. Ignore the mismatched colours and no side panels, I was playing with repainting it and this was in between times. It is going to be British Racing Green with a white stripe when finished.

Don't you just love the battery/carbs/air box setup on our '82 11e's? And how about the seat? Sometimes requires 3 arms to get it off!

I figured they simply hung the engine and airbox in space and then welded the frame around them. The seat is a choice piece of contraption, all right.

The result? My 1100 ran from idle to red line with nary a cough, sputter or lull. In the five years since I joined this site, I have not encountered a single owner who was able to accomplish the same thing on the big EZ. But it is possible.

Mine runs as well as any stock carbureted bike I have owned. Starts easy, idles smooth, pulls hard and smooth at any throttle opening at any revs, no flat spots or hiccups anywhere and screams to redline. I would say it is the same as yours. I didn't think it was that hard to sort, either. Some of the smaller GS's like the 550's seem to be much harder to sort with pods and pipe. All mine took was some patience and the time to work methodically to the end result.

I enjoy wrenching as you call it in the US and I guess pods are going to demand a fair bit of trial and error.

Figure out what you have in your carbs and let us know. My current setup is:

Pilot jets: 47.5 (stock)
Mixture screws: 3.25 turns out
Needle is on 4th groove down from top
Main jets: 142.5
Slides have not been drilled yet, but I plan to do that next spring

I live at 3400ft elevation, so you may end up needing to go a bit richer on the mixture screws and the main jets. The CV carbs will self-correct the parts in between once you have the needle set properly.

I have also degreed the stock cams to 106I/108E lobe centers. Best thing I have done besides the pods. It significantly improved midrange power and the transition up into the midrange is smoother than before. No loss of top end that I could tell in street riding. It pulls so much harder now that I occasionally get some clutch slip in the higher gears, that was never a problem before I did the cams.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me and I will answer what I know.


Mark

[robez]

Thanks for the offer Mark. Have PMd you.


With a 'pipeline' well baffled 4 -1 being the only obvious mod, she has the following carb setup:

Pilot jets 47.5
Mixture screws 2.5 - Num 2 is stuck - 3.0 - 2.5
Needle in middle groove. (3 down)
Main jets 110

For convenience of access I've temporarily replaced rear air box with large unifilter.
Not surprisingly, it's running a bit lean.
But the plan is APE or K&N pods.

Does this needle look like oem? Is it suitable to run it (adjusted) and with the right size main jets?