Fast Idle Issue

[Rudi]

Ahh...back to Panicking

Ahh...back to Panicking

First off...in response to the great Mike of Blacksburg, I misnamed the what's-it. I should have called it the other what's-it.
However, I have new problems. I took a few weeks off to work on a rather unpleasant dissertation project and just got back to the bike. In what may well be a new record, I managed to mangle everything within about 30 minutes. I got in touch with Robert Barr O-ring guru - dude's got to be some sort of saint or something. Anyway, I figured it was time to replace all the O-rings. I started by popping off the tank and cleaned 'er out a bit just to build confidence. As it turns out...building confidence on an easy task is a terrible idea - as it turned out my lack of confidence was based on a real lack skill. I got a bit rash and started unscrewing (or perhaps more accurately screwing) everything in sight. The end result is a lot of loose hose clamps, a loose airbox, and a egg carton full of little bolts. Unfortunately, the carbs feel like they're still locked in there pretty tight.
This leads to the wonderfully embarrassing question. I've got the guide for cleaning out carbs from the site here, how in the ruffle-fire do I get the blessed things off my bike to begin with? Is it just a deal where you loosen up the hose clamps and give'r a good yank?
I realize this should be obvious, but...well, I was the guy who called the what's-it the other what's-it...
Simple advice using tiny little words would be most appreciated.

Warm Regards,

 

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. Rudi,

I don't think I've had the pleasure of giving you my soon-to-be-patented "mega-welcome". In it you will find a couple of maintenance lists with tasks that are, for the most part, mandatory in order to get your classic GS restored to its original, reliable, safe, bullet-proof condition. Let's get started.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Rudi]

Fine man...

Fine man...

Monsieur Basscliff,
Spectacular! A quick glance looks like I'll have some good reading for breaks over the next few days. Many thanks.

 

[cowboyup3371]

I've got the guide for cleaning out carbs from the site here, how in the ruffle-fire do I get the blessed things off my bike to begin with? Is it just a deal where you loosen up the hose clamps and give'r a good yank?

Rudi,
I just had to take mine back off this weekend and yes, just loosen up the clamps, move the airbox out of the way if necessary, and work it out. They'll slide out after a few minutes of decent tugging/wiggling.

 

[Rudi]

Poorer, and none the better

Poorer, and none the better

Well my friends, I borrowed a local expert and have managed to understand (though perhaps not fix) most of the bike from the air intake through the o-rings where the fuel-air mixture enters the cylinders. The carbs are clean and the "expert" got the full set of o-rings installed. So now, the bike just plain doesn't want to run.
It runs rough as everything and spits gas out of the air box vent hose. it won't settle into an idle and, after running for a bit, it doesn't want to start at all.
I'm a bit concerned because the jet for the carb on the 2nd cylinder appears to be frozen up about three-turns too far out...its seized up pretty tight and I'm not sure how to proceed with it. (Right now, everything is reassembled and I doubt everything stems from this single problem, but I could certainly be wrong.) Notably, the bike was spitting gas out of the air box vent prior to any work on the carbs.
Also of note, the expert charged $200 so I'm going to be making a mess of this by myself from here on out - $200 more for a bike that runs worse than it did before does not impress my extremely tolerant wife. Any advice or guidance would be spectacular.
Regards,

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Just go through the maintenance lists in your "mega-welcome", starting with The Carb Cleanup Series. That's how it should be done.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Nessism]

Also of note, the expert charged $200 so I'm going to be making a mess of this by myself from here on out - $200 more for a bike that runs worse than it did before does not impress my extremely tolerant wife. Any advice or guidance would be spectacular.
Regards,

You are learning the hard way why people here strongly recommend performing your own maintenance. Only advice I can offer is to learn to work on the bike yourself before you wind up broke and divorced.

 

[Rudi]

Nessism - After ten years of colossal stupidity, I'm quite confident that a few more dumb ideas won't threaten the marriage. My bigger concern is trying to keep up a rough impression that I am not quite as incompetent as I actually am...one can dream.

BassCliff - I am a beggar and not a particularly swift one at that, so I have no business being choosy. At the same time, I'm quite interested in some sort of diagnostics. I believe that the problem may eventually get fixed if I piece by piece replace the entire bike; however, if a motor guru happens to know that a petcock, excessive vacuum, jet problems, etc. are the general cause of my motorcycle spitting gas out its air box vent hose it would be immensely helpful. I certainly like the idea of working my way through, but I am wondering a bit if I might sink months and dollars into a disaster bike that has some fatal flaw. (As an example, the grand welcome suggests that brakes and brakelines be changed, but I'd like to ensure that there is hope for the bike before I do this.)

Whatever the case, thanks for the responses...barring some clear, cheap fix suggested by you motorcycle gods, the bikes going away for a few months and we'll see what happens in the spring. Sincerest thanks for all the help...I'll spend awhile browsing the forum and see if I can learn anything.

 

[Nessism]

When the airbox fills up with fuel it's because the floats are not stopping the gas and the carbs overflow. This typically happens because the carbs are not clean and/or rust in the gas tank is holding the float needle open. One other possibility is because the petcock is leaking fuel down the vacuum line and into the carbs that way. Also, make sure you petcock is set to "run" and not "prime".

Again, it's best to learn to fix the bike yourself instead of paying someone to mess it up for you.

 

[Rudi]

Nessism-
Thanks for the heads up on the possible causes of the gas overflow... I'm afraid it is likely floats, but at least I can take a peek at the petcock. As for ponying up and making mistakes myself - your point is well taken...I'm a bit of a low slearner, but $200 bucks is a son-of-an-incentive to put me back on the straight and narrow. Again, many thanks.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. Rudi,

Please forgive me if I seemed flippant or curt. Of course, the number one issue with these old bikes are the carbs. But as it says in the "mega-welcome":

"Every GS850 [and most other models] has (or had) a set of well-known issues that MUST be addressed before you have a solid baseline for further troubleshooting. It's a vintage bike, and it's quite common (as in, every single GS850 I have had contact with) that there are multiple problems that have crept up and slowly gotten worse over the years. It's not like a newer vehicle, where there's generally one problem at a time."

Once you've finished with the carbs you'll move on to the electrical system, then the valves, then the tires, then the brakes, then the fork seals, etc. Until you've gone through the entire bike it will be an ongoing process. Every system is pretty much interdependent. Failure in any one can cost you life or limb.

You can be prudent and perform just enough repair and maintenance to see if it will be worth your while to do the complete job. I can see the logic in that. Just know that until the job is completely done, and done correctly, you stand the chance of always having problems with your bike. I'm not talking about a factory fresh mint restoration, just fixing your bike so that it is a safe, reliable, functional, fun machine. For example, the carbs may never be right until they are completely disassembled, dipped, cleaned, worn needle valves and seats replaced, and all the O-rings replaced during reassembly. The same goes for the intake boots and O-rings. Your bike may never run right until those are replaced. Then you'll probably need to start on the wiring and the charging system. And on and on.

I'm not trying to discourage you. I'm just letting you know that it is a 30 year old machine and needs a lot of TLC to be safe and reliable. We'll take it one system at a time. Keep us informed.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff