Hey Forum,
I can't shake the feeling that my daily rider developed an issue. It most likely is an intake O-Ring issue - if it's even an issue at all -, but nonetheless, I'd like to pick your brains for other possibilities, so I don't need to take apart my bike multiple times.
The reason why I wrote "If it's even an issue" is because my senses might be off, as I had to ride a loaner bike for some time, a 90ies Yamaha TDM 850. That's way way more power than I'm used to from my GS550E. Nonetheless, I can't shake the feeling that she used to pull better, and that the power band/curve fluctuates.
From a standstill, the bike begins to really pull at around 2500 to 3k, and then kicks in between 5 to 7k - but hitting a wall at 8500 to 9000, it's time to shift up to get more pull.
On the highway, it's worse; depending on the incline, in 6th gear, I just really can't get beyond 6k (120kmh / ~75mph). Shift down, I manage to push beyond 7k, but that's about it.
However, I also had rides where she almost effortlessly got into redline, which puzzles me a bit.
This is all somewhat unreliable information:
- I notice this stuff during normal riding/commuting, and I cannot afford to troubleshoot & test my bike in traffic too much; also, to really get a picture, I would need to go faster than the law
- A said, warped perception because of loaner bike
- Newbie rider; not really wound her out until recently
- No Idea how much power the 550 brings to the table anyway; air resistance, i.e. riding position really makes a difference I feel
- Never checked systematically against engine temperature (i.e. at which point after taking off the issues develop)
That being said:
- The valves have been adjusted just recently by a shop - didn't have time to do it on my own, but I trust them, and had them report all measurements to me
- The points have been replaced by the same shop (because of an accident, more on that later), so these should be good (also, I noticed this issue earlier)
- The spark plugs and caps have been replaced a while ago
- The R/R has been replaced with a SH775
- When requiring choke to start up, RPM do increase as the engine heats up (strong hint at intake O-Rings, right?)
- When I measured temperatures around exhaust collars, cylinder 1 measured hotter than all others (around 130?C, #4 at the same time measured 119?C), indicating a leaner mix than the others
I'm not sure wether I'd need to sync up the carbs as well, or check the timing advance.
I'm not looking forward to this work (the dreaded 550 airbox....), so I'd check as much as possible when I have her apart. Any hints?
I can't shake the feeling that my daily rider developed an issue. It most likely is an intake O-Ring issue - if it's even an issue at all -, but nonetheless, I'd like to pick your brains for other possibilities, so I don't need to take apart my bike multiple times.
The reason why I wrote "If it's even an issue" is because my senses might be off, as I had to ride a loaner bike for some time, a 90ies Yamaha TDM 850. That's way way more power than I'm used to from my GS550E. Nonetheless, I can't shake the feeling that she used to pull better, and that the power band/curve fluctuates.
From a standstill, the bike begins to really pull at around 2500 to 3k, and then kicks in between 5 to 7k - but hitting a wall at 8500 to 9000, it's time to shift up to get more pull.
On the highway, it's worse; depending on the incline, in 6th gear, I just really can't get beyond 6k (120kmh / ~75mph). Shift down, I manage to push beyond 7k, but that's about it.
However, I also had rides where she almost effortlessly got into redline, which puzzles me a bit.
This is all somewhat unreliable information:
- I notice this stuff during normal riding/commuting, and I cannot afford to troubleshoot & test my bike in traffic too much; also, to really get a picture, I would need to go faster than the law
- A said, warped perception because of loaner bike
- Newbie rider; not really wound her out until recently
- No Idea how much power the 550 brings to the table anyway; air resistance, i.e. riding position really makes a difference I feel
- Never checked systematically against engine temperature (i.e. at which point after taking off the issues develop)
That being said:
- The valves have been adjusted just recently by a shop - didn't have time to do it on my own, but I trust them, and had them report all measurements to me
- The points have been replaced by the same shop (because of an accident, more on that later), so these should be good (also, I noticed this issue earlier)
- The spark plugs and caps have been replaced a while ago
- The R/R has been replaced with a SH775
- When requiring choke to start up, RPM do increase as the engine heats up (strong hint at intake O-Rings, right?)
- When I measured temperatures around exhaust collars, cylinder 1 measured hotter than all others (around 130?C, #4 at the same time measured 119?C), indicating a leaner mix than the others
I'm not sure wether I'd need to sync up the carbs as well, or check the timing advance.
I'm not looking forward to this work (the dreaded 550 airbox....), so I'd check as much as possible when I have her apart. Any hints?