1983 GS650GL Starts and Redlines!!

[Guest]

Hi, I'm having some new issues now with a 650gl I picked up last summer. I'll give some background...

Carbs have been torn down, cleaned and put back together, oil change, filter, brakes redone, coil relay mod, air box replaced with pods(waiting on jet kit to come in to swap that)...had the bike running about a month ago and it was running decent. Noticed 2 of my pipes were running cold, after a few tests notice my 2-4 coil was getting low voltage, so I did the coil relay and the plugs fire great now. Got it all back together yesterday and after a bit of cranking I finally got it started...and it proceeded to redline Instantly! Check the obvious culprit(throttle cable) but the cable works properly, does not snag at all, looking in the carbs the butterfly plates are closed but yet it starts and jumps to 6000rpm every start! I did also change my handle bars, I lost about 5" of length from the old ones, but I'm pretty sure the throttle cable is not the issue.
Any ideas someone could throw my way would be much appreciated!
Thanks!

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Maybe your change in handlebars has messed with the choke cable's normal routing. I'd check that. (I'm making the assumption that the choke lever is a left thumb deal under the indicator switch on your bike.)

[Guest]

It is on the left handle bar switch. The clutch cable looks good as well, it opens and closes the way it did before the handlebar switch. The new bars I put on are shorter then the one that was on the when I got, so I lost a few inches on the the bar so there is slack in the cables.

[Guest]

20181008_125548.jpg here is the difference in handlebars

[Guest]

20181008_125714.jpgand the throttle and check cables, same as they were when I took them off.

[Steve]

I would put my money on the throttle cable pulling the butterflies open just a bit.

By the way, if you have a coil powering 2 & 4, you either have a very unique GS or it's wired incorrectly.
The coil on the left should power 1 & 4, the coil on the right should power 2 & 3.

.

[Guest]

I would put my money on the throttle cable pulling the butterflies open just a bit.

By the way, if you have a coil powering 2 & 4, you either have a very unique GS or it's wired incorrectly.
The coil on the left should power 1 & 4, the coil on the right should power 2 & 3.

.

Yea lt is going to 1&4, just had them on and off a few times and in that picture the cables were crossing each other.
Oh and I ended up WD40'ing the crap out of my throttle cable and apparently that seemed to have fixed things!
It's crazy, the more I fix on this bike, the more I find is wrong with it lol it's a vicious cycle!

[tom203]

"...apparently that seemed to have fixed things!"

Do yourself a favor and get an new OEM throttle cable- a little extra length shouldn't be an issue.

[Wingsconsin]

Yea lt is going to 1&4, just had them on and off a few times and in that picture the cables were crossing each other.
Oh and I ended up WD40'ing the crap out of my throttle cable and apparently that seemed to have fixed things!
It's crazy, the more I fix on this bike, the more I find is wrong with it lol it's a vicious cycle!

I see you list your location as Steinbeck ..? Is that Steinbach ? - Do you work at the Loewen Window Factory or drive for Penner ? --

The more you fix - the more you find to fix cycle is what I have been through for nearly 4 years on my GS850GL -
Now I have it running really well - and LOVE it ...
There is no such thing as a cheap motorcycle

"...apparently that seemed to have fixed things!"

Do yourself a favor and get an new OEM throttle cable- a little extra length shouldn't be an issue.

Sound advice !
The WD40 will not work long term and it ends up turning sticky (WD40 isn't great for such applications in my experience) -
temporary repair yes-- long term -- new cable

[Guest]

I see you list your location as Steinbeck ..? Is that Steinbach ? - Do you work at the Loewen Window Factory or drive for Penner ? --

Yea it is Steinbach, i guess i didnt spell it right. Nope, used to work at Loewen's years ago but that was only for a short time. Couldn't handle working in a factory and having buzzers control my day

The more you fix - the more you find to fix cycle is what I have been through for nearly 4 years on my GS850GL -
Now I have it running really well - and LOVE it ...
There is no such thing as a cheap motorcycle




Sound advice !
The WD40 will not work long term and it ends up turning sticky (WD40 isn't great for such applications in my experience) -
temporary repair yes-- long term -- new cable

Yea cant say i dont enjoy the work! Especially getting it running a bit better with every part fixed!
And thanks for the advice! I guess ill start sourcing a new throttle cable on the next order!
Thanks

[Nessism]

Have you changed the carb boots and O-rings? If not you may be getting air leaks leading to a high idle. This and other things to watch out for are detailed in the Newbie Mistakes thread.

[Guest]

Actually i did the air leak test, by spraying WD-40 while the engine was idling and there was no change in idle speed. After getting my throttle cable unstuck i was able to adjust it and get it running quite nice!

[Guest]

Have you changed the carb boots and O-rings? If not you may be getting air leaks leading to a high idle. This and other things to watch out for are detailed in the Newbie Mistakes thread.

Just read through that thread. Good tips! After reading it I think for the most part i am heading in the right direction according to that list! Although after doing the WD-40 test, which i read was a good way to check for air leaks...i kinda checked that part off my list lol, but i think i will source some boots and O-rings and try to get those swapped out this winter.
Love this forum! So many people with great knowledge on these awesome old bikes!

[Guest]

Just an update...

Changed the boots and O-rings with brand new ones, its running better but definitely needs some adjustments. Ive a colortune on order and a carb sync tool, hopefully that will help.

I've ran into a new problem tho...i think it still has to do with the length of my throttle cable on the shorter handlebars i swapped to. The bike will idle fine but as soon as i turn the handlebars to the right the dang thing revs up like a beast, turn them back to the left and it goes right back down to idle. Im assuming the cable is getting pulled/pushed on dramatically...any thoughts??

[Burque73]

Just an update...

Changed the boots and O-rings with brand new ones, its running better but definitely needs some adjustments. Ive a colortune on order and a carb sync tool, hopefully that will help.

I've ran into a new problem tho...i think it still has to do with the length of my throttle cable on the shorter handlebars i swapped to. The bike will idle fine but as soon as i turn the handlebars to the right the dang thing revs up like a beast, turn them back to the left and it goes right back down to idle. Im assuming the cable is getting pulled/pushed on dramatically...any thoughts??

You nailed it with the cable being pulled while turning the handle bars causing the rev issue. Check the manual for correct routing, especially if your new bars are shorter, cable length may not be the problem but routing it incorrectly will do it.

I have heard the colortune doesn't do much for the CV carbs but works great for VM type carbs. Maybe someone else can confirm that.