1985 GS550L Newbie with questions

[granny_rocket]

Hey Folks!
New member to the motorcycling world but not the auto world. A little background info...I own an Olds Cutlass and im an avid member of several forums and email list. The cutlass has a mildly beefed up 307cid motor with 3.73 rear gears. Not bad, and its a 4 door....its quite a sleeper!

Anyway, I have a few questions about my "new" bike. I just purchased a 1985 GS550L and im having a few problems.

1) my tach is noisy beyond belief. Anyway to fix it? cable lube, replace cable or replace tach?

2) once I take the choke off and the motor is warm, the bike doesn't want to idle. What could be the possible causes?

3) what is the cylinder number order and what is the firing order? I have a slight feeling the previous owner swapped plug wires around because the #1 plug wire was where I would imagine plug 2 to be and the #3 wire was where plug one would be.

4) i need to replace the front fork seal. How hard of a job is this for myself to do or should I just leave it to a pro?

Thats all I can remember as of now, but thanks in advance for any input! It is greatly appreciated!!!

[Jay B]

Re: 1985 GS550L Newbie with questions

Hey Folks!
New member to the motorcycling world but not the auto world. A little background info...I own an Olds Cutlass and im an avid member of several forums and email list. The cutlass has a mildly beefed up 307cid motor with 3.73 rear gears. Not bad, and its a 4 door....its quite a sleeper!

Anyway, I have a few questions about my "new" bike. I just purchased a 1985 GS550L and im having a few problems.

1) my tach is noisy beyond belief. Anyway to fix it? cable lube, replace cable or replace tach?

2) once I take the choke off and the motor is warm, the bike doesn't want to idle. What could be the possible causes?

3) what is the cylinder number order and what is the firing order? I have a slight feeling the previous owner swapped plug wires around because the #1 plug wire was where I would imagine plug 2 to be and the #3 wire was where plug one would be.

4) i need to replace the front fork seal. How hard of a job is this for myself to do or should I just leave it to a pro?

Thats all I can remember as of now, but thanks in advance for any input! It is greatly appreciated!!!

Alright I'll give you my .02 cents worth.

1. Try lubing the tach and cable. Use 3 in 1 oil or WD 40 on the tach and cable lube on the cable. If that doesnt get rid of the noise replace the tach.

2. There could be several reasons for the bike not idling right. First try to adjust the idle with the idle speed adjustment under the carbs. If that doesnt work you will probably have to tear down and clean the carbs completely. Probably should do that anyway if the bike has set for more than 6 monthes.

3. I dunno, one of these other brains will have to help you with that.

4. You should be able to replace the fork seals yourself. Its not hard. Do a search on this site for some good instructions.

[Anonymous]

Re: 1985 GS550L Newbie with questions

3) what is the cylinder number order and what is the firing order? I have a slight feeling the previous owner swapped plug wires around because the #1 plug wire was where I would imagine plug 2 to be and the #3 wire was where plug one would be.

Sitting on the bike, cylinders are numbered 1-4 from left to right. IIRC, 1 and 4 fire together, and 2 and 3 fire together.

Michael

[Guy]

Re: 1985 GS550L Newbie with questions

Hey Folks!
New member to the motorcycling world but not the auto world. A little background info...I own an Olds Cutlass and im an avid member of several forums and email list. The cutlass has a mildly beefed up 307cid motor with 3.73 rear gears. Not bad, and its a 4 door....its quite a sleeper!

Anyway, I have a few questions about my "new" bike. I just purchased a 1985 GS550L and im having a few problems.

1) my tach is noisy beyond belief. Anyway to fix it? cable lube, replace cable or replace tach?

2) once I take the choke off and the motor is warm, the bike doesn't want to idle. What could be the possible causes?

3) what is the cylinder number order and what is the firing order? I have a slight feeling the previous owner swapped plug wires around because the #1 plug wire was where I would imagine plug 2 to be and the #3 wire was where plug one would be.

4) i need to replace the front fork seal. How hard of a job is this for myself to do or should I just leave it to a pro?

Thats all I can remember as of now, but thanks in advance for any input! It is greatly appreciated!!!

Alright I'll give you my .02 cents worth.

1. Try lubing the tach and cable. Use 3 in 1 oil or WD 40 on the tach and cable lube on the cable. If that doesnt get rid of the noise replace the tach.

2. There could be several reasons for the bike not idling right. First try to adjust the idle with the idle speed adjustment under the carbs. If that doesnt work you will probably have to tear down and clean the carbs completely. Probably should do that anyway if the bike has set for more than 6 monthes.

3. I dunno, one of these other brains will have to help you with that.

4. You should be able to replace the fork seals yourself. Its not hard. Do a search on this site for some good instructions.

[Guy]

I wouldn't try lubricating the tacho unless you want to ruin it completely. Oil inside either of the clocks will upset the mechanism to the extent that the indicated mph/rpm will be meaningless.

[earlfor]

Re: 1985 GS550L Newbie with questions

When sitting on the bike, the cylinders are numbered from left to right 1,2,3,4. You have two coils and each coil has two spark plug wires.
The two spark plug wires from coil on the left go to cylinders 1 and 4 (it does not matter which wire goes to which cylinder)
The two spark plugs wires from the coil on the right go to cylinders 2 and 3. (it doesnt matter which wire goes to which cylinder)

That the bike will not idle without the choke being pulled out says that either the idle passageways are clogged/blocked (it apparently is running on the choke circuit primarily) or you idle adjustment screws are set TOO lean. Either way, it idoesnt idle because the mixture is lean. You will likely need to clean the carbs...at least the idle circuits anyway.

Earl

Hey Folks!
New member to the motorcycling world but not the auto world. A little background info...I own an Olds Cutlass and im an avid member of several forums and email list. The cutlass has a mildly beefed up 307cid motor with 3.73 rear gears. Not bad, and its a 4 door....its quite a sleeper!

Anyway, I have a few questions about my "new" bike. I just purchased a 1985 GS550L and im having a few problems.

1) my tach is noisy beyond belief. Anyway to fix it? cable lube, replace cable or replace tach?

2) once I take the choke off and the motor is warm, the bike doesn't want to idle. What could be the possible causes?

3) what is the cylinder number order and what is the firing order? I have a slight feeling the previous owner swapped plug wires around because the #1 plug wire was where I would imagine plug 2 to be and the #3 wire was where plug one would be.

4) i need to replace the front fork seal. How hard of a job is this for myself to do or should I just leave it to a pro?

Thats all I can remember as of now, but thanks in advance for any input! It is greatly appreciated!!!