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GS 550E Underpowered!!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter roadrunner
  • Start date Start date
Take the bike out and run it to where it has problems (make it begin to "die out") and apply the choke. Let me know if it pulls better or worse when you do this.
 
Hi there Jethro,

I tried to start the old girl up but she just doesn't want to play today. She will turn over ok, plenty of spark and fuel getting through but just won't fire up. She ran ok a couple o days ago but not now. There has been nothing different today than from a couple o days. I have run doon the battery now so i will have to put it on charge first, so it will be tomorrow now before i can do anything about it, i will then do what you suggest once and if i get her started up again.
Has the the automatic timming have something to do with her not starting?
I'm coming to my wits end now.
 
is the airbox on the bike? You must have the complete airbox on or else pods and a rejet is needed.

Oil the filter by putting it ina plastic bag with about 1 ounce ( about 30 ml) of oil. Work the filter in the bag until the oil is throught the foam. them use a paper towel or rag to sponge off the excess oil.
 
Hi there Duaneage,

Yes the air filter is on the bike under the seat, and it is clean so i wll do as you have suggested.
My bike is a 1980 V reg GS550ET. Since i put in the new 'O' rings in the carbs, i have been having difficulty in starting her up, i am suspecting a fuel starvation for some reason or other. Already flattened one battery, which is on charge now ready for another day.
Do you think that the air screws need tweeked because of the new 'O' rings?
When the old girl did start the other day i checked the spark plugs and 3 out of 4 were a nice tanish colour, which according to the manuals they are ok, but the fourth plug #1 was quite sooty so i have turned the air screw clockwise approx half a turn hoping this will cure the soot!

Cheers
:?
 
Things to check:

Are you sending gas through the vacuum line that operates the fuel valve (petcock)? sometimes the diaphram breaks and floods a single cylinder. It also stops fuel from getting into the engine. Run the bike on the PRI setting instead of ON and see if it runs better.

If you are getting liquid fuel through the vacuum line you'll need to replace the diaphram in the petcock.

you did remember to reconnect the vacuum line for the petcock, didn't you?

Run a fuel line from the petcock to a container and turn the valve to PRI. Make sure you have a real good stream of fuel coming out. Do this outside and don't smoke around it!

If a slow stream comes out check the screen inside the tank on top of the petcock.
 
Hi there,

Everything has been put back together correctly and there is plenty of fuel flowing from the tank. Once i have a good charged battery i will give her a try again.
Is it ok to jump start the bike from a car battery still hooked up so this will give a good jump until the old girl starts?

I will get back to you asap once i finally get her running again.

Because i changed the 'O' rings in the carbs, do you think i will have to put them through a vacuum check just to see if the carbs are balanced ok?

I will keep you all informed of the progress.

Regards
 
You can jump from a car as long as the car isn't running. Yes, you will need to vacuum synch. I hope she runs good for you!
 
My opinion is, that it is not a good idea to jump start these bikes, for two reasons. First, if you have a stone dead battery and when running, you are loading the charging system to it's limits, and we all know the weak point of Suzukis. Secondly, if you get some sparks out of the cables (witch is usual), that again means, that there will be some currency peaks through your R/R, and I think we all know what will happen.
 
GS550ET Underpowered

GS550ET Underpowered

H there all,

Ok lets talk here, I got hold of a vacumm gauge and the carbs are all syncronised but the readings are as follows, 7 vacumm inches or 175mm vacumm! The dials also have the following reading which is in the RED zone. "Late valve timing or leak at intake manifold or heat riser".

1, Late valve timing!!!
How do you adjust this to correct it?
2, There is no leak at the intake manafold as this has been checked with sparaying WD40 at the manifold boots.
3, What is the Heat Riser?

As the old girl stutters at 5-6000 revs this suggests to me a fuel issue, Q, what would happen if i were to raise the 4 needles up by 1 notch so as to let in more fuel as this seams to be the upper range mark?
The exhaust is not stock but a 4 in 1 without any carb modifications being done.

Any good sugestions would be apprecated

Cheers
 
Before you raise the needles make sure your sliders are operating properly and evenly. Gently raise them with your finger and see if you can feel any hangups on the way up. They should come down evenly and smoothly. I like to blow a little compressed air on the airbox side and watch them go up and down a few times.

Does you bike have an in-line fuel filter? Any bends in the fuel line to the carbs? Have you checked the floats to make sure they are at the correct heights after you replaced the float valve o-rings?
 
roadrunner said:
H there all,

Ok lets talk here, I got hold of a vacumm gauge and the carbs are all syncronised but the readings are as follows, 7 vacumm inches or 175mm vacumm! The dials also have the following reading which is in the RED zone. "Late valve timing or leak at intake manifold or heat riser".

1, Late valve timing!!!
How do you adjust this to correct it?
2, There is no leak at the intake manafold as this has been checked with sparaying WD40 at the manifold boots.
3, What is the Heat Riser?

As the old girl stutters at 5-6000 revs this suggests to me a fuel issue, Q, what would happen if i were to raise the 4 needles up by 1 notch so as to let in more fuel as this seams to be the upper range mark?
The exhaust is not stock but a 4 in 1 without any carb modifications being done.

Any good sugestions would be apprecated

Cheers
Click to expand...

Heat risers are on car engines, they provide heated air to the carbuerator to atomize fuel better and turn of the choke when the engine warms up. You don't have one of those.

when dealing with engine issues it is best to change exactly one thing and retest.

BTW what is the spark plug gap? I've fixed a lot of carb problems by replacing or regapping the plugs.
 
Hi there,

The sliders are moving freely so no problems there, there are no kinks or inline filters fitted at all. The air srcews are about 1 1/2 turns out, so maybe if i try turning them out about a 1/4 of a turn and see how she runs!.

The weather over here is hitting the high 80s at the moment so hence trying to get the old girl running quickly before i miss out on the good sunshine...

Will keep you all informed of my progress.
 
Hello,this is my 1`st post but this sight has a ton of info,It helped me alot with the 81 750e I picked up,that bike had a 4into1 header with a kirker exhaust with a burned out baffle and I also put pods on the carbs(that carb cleaning section rocks!!).Well here is the problem I had Itwould idle but under power you couldn`t rev passed 3-4k,it would bog,come to find out by reading and searching,Icame to the conclusion that it needed a rejet.I have a dremel that converts to a drill press and put a bit(#113 engraving cutter) and drilled out my main jets.Put it back together and o`boy hang on:shock: !!!!It seemed to fix my problem and I didn`t sink a ton of money for a rejet kit...your problem does sound like it is starving..
 
The bike pulls for a wee second then bogs down again. Seems to burn the fuel then doesn't want to know...
 
i would guess that you have to rejet your carbs. do you have individual air filters and aftermarket exhaust? if so and you have never rejetted you will probobly be running to lean at 3/4 to full throttle. mabey try to pull the plugs out after you run it where it boggs the most for like 1-2 minutes and see what color they are....
 
Hi guy's. This guys problem reads like a made for TV movie!

I'll be the first to admit I havent seen alot of drivability problems on bikes. But I have seen them ALL on Cars.
Semi -the same Ive found working on my bikes.

Your vacuum gauge is telling you something. I didnt see milage anywere but inches of vacuum is not a symptom of fuel delivery. Low vacuum can make the problem worse by not operating the petcock properly but I think The problem is timing/ignition. Id step out on a limb and throw up that if it was a car, Id check to see if one cam is one tooth off.
 
Also, come to think of it, maybe with the vacuum guages attached, try moving the point/pickup plate to see if it will advance until vacuum goes up to 12-14 at idle, if so.........

Does this have points? high dwell / point float will cause no high rpm capability also.

Timing also makes sense when you say that it sometimes wont even start when you know its getting gas and spark.
 
I chased this problem on my '80 550E for a solid two weeks. You have a simple Airbox leak.
 
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i just had the same issue with the same bike that you have, 1980 gs550e. i didn't have time to work on it and took it to a bike mech in town. they 'tuned it up'. they told me that included adjusting the advance on the timing. they also cleaned the carbs and put new plugs on. although my clymer's manual specifically states non-adjustable timing on the 1980 model, these guys assured me that it's still adjustable (not in the points-kind of way i guess).

my bike would lose power ~ 70 - 80mph and drop down to 50, go back up, drop down. i tried the whole petcock thing and it didn't work. amazing how great this bike runs now. only question is for how long :(
 
ra5467 said:
they told me that included adjusting the advance on the timing.
Click to expand...

I would ask them to describe exactly what this involved. The electronic ignition doesn't have a timing adjustment (other than the wiggle in the timing plate). Maybe they cleaned out or replaced the springs in the mechanical advance.
 
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