Help for a new couple?? Sorry kinda long

[Schweisshund]

You said you didn't know how long that bike had been sitting. My guess is that if it had goop in the petcock, that it had been sitting for a long time. That goop in the petcock was the gas that had turned to varnish. So yes, clean the carburetors and keep in mind - the same goop is in your engine. Get it running nice and hot then use seafoam deep creep (really fabulous stuff) and spray it while your bike is revving at 5,000 rpms through the carbs. Put some seafoam in the gas as well. This stuff really cleans thoroughly and be prepared for a lot of smoke to come pouring out your exhaust.

 

[donkris]

I'll try the seafoam treatment, I saw some at NAPA a little while ago. I ordered the o-rings for the boots when I ordered the ones for the carb. How the hell do those stupid little screws come out? Man those things are tight! I've got some penetrating oil on 'em right now. I'm afraid to strip the darn things. I also ordered the stainless bolts to replace them. I'm just waiting for my goodies to come in so I can get it back together. Thanks again for the tips. I've got a lot to learn but you got to start somewhere right?

 

[twistedwankel]

Money is always wasted on iron no matter what it is called.

Money is always wasted on iron no matter what it is called.

Money is never wasted on old Mustangs, unless they were made from '72-84 or don't have a V8 (although the newer V6's are pretty stout).quote]

My "unrestored but repainted twice by MAACO"- '84 LX convertible with "improved" TBI 5.0 W/AOD is not an embarassment to the automotive world. Grown men and women love to hear the exhaust note even at idle. It might be the ONLY one in central FL from the sound of the locals? 164,000mi but only 44k on the rebuild. It is more practical to use than the topless GS with an old partner or in the rain or hot sun. Of course the same "locals" haven't seen an "authentic" - '81 GS750E in along time either. The only questionable Mustang is the Mustang2. My $750 ebay (sold in '05) '82 mustang had no problem running 13's on pump gas either - with a passenger. It was ugly Black Betty GT with the original 4speed and diff. The exhaust note made grown men NASCAR smile with those side pipes at rpm on the race track or on the street. On second thought even the MustangII had a following. So there are no bad Mustangs. Unless "bad" means "good":-D

 

[txironhead]

Touche. I was mainly thinking of the ugly body styles of the 70's (I think '71 was the last decent body of that era) and the Mustang II's. I remember a friend of mine had a Mustang II that you couldn't even chirp the tires on. And the '80's did have the lowest HP ratings of any of the 'Stangs, even the V8's. They started getting a little better towards the mid-80's and the new GT fastback style saved them. The coupes did have their following. My nephew would love your '84, that's his dream car.

For myself, nothing beats a '69 or '70 fastback. Doesn't matter what's in it, because I want to slam a fuel-injected 460 in it with a beefed-up C6 or E4OD (unless it comes with a CobraJet, then it's getting restored).

Okay, enough hijacking.

The best way to get those screws out is with a hand impact driver. Having the correct size bit is the most important thing. Lightly tighten the screw before loosening it, this lessens the tendency to break. Can't really heat them up due to the close proximity of the rubber boots, but giving them a good rap with a hammer before trying to remove them will probably help. Make sure to treat the stainless bolts with anti-seize before installing them or they will chemically bond and be very difficult to remove.

 

[txironhead]

BTW, I learned to work on bikes with my first bike, too. It was just a little more difficult than yours. It was a 1985 Honda Shadow VT700C that had been sitting under a tree for seven years. A Clymer manual, several Ebay purchases, a LOT of elbow grease and some paint and people were telling me what an awesome looking Sportster it was. Idiots. Sure, a Sportster with a shaft drive, pipes on each side and a radiator. Okay.

Anyway, several bikes, skinned knuckles and way too much money spent on tools and here I am helping you learn about bikes. I didn't even have the benefit of being a member on this forum then, although I'm really glad to be a member now. There is no better place to learn about GS's than right here.

 

[donkris]

Hey it's nice to hear about the humble beginnings of others. I'm slowly learning how this thing is put together. Kinda like a car only smaller I guess. I'm doing a lot of reading while waiting for my parts to get here. Maybe before too long I'll be able to help out the next new guy.

I managed to get the screws out of the intake boots after soaking them with penetrating oil. Somebody had stripped most of the phillips heads so after staring at it and scratching my head for a while I decided to use my dremmel to cut a flat slot in the screw heads. Worked like a charm. And there are no o-rings behind them. Someone used permatex on 'em! The boots look good and they're not stiff or cracked. They just weren't sealed. I really hate undoing other peoples crappy work. Thanks for the tip on the anti-seize, I'll be sure to get some before I put her back together. I can't wait to see how/if she'll run with the new stuff. Got my fingers crossed! Can you guys think of anything else I should be doing while it torn apart??

 

[bradleymaynar]

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned. Manometer. Once you get the carbs back on you'll need to synch them. The best tool is the Morgan Carbtune (I think). But you can pick up a Motion-Pro mercury manometer for around $50.

Brad bt

 

[txironhead]

They're also called Carburetor Synchronizers. Some places figure no-one will know what the heck a Manometer is.

 

[bradleymaynar]

They're also called Carburetor Synchronizers. Some places figure no-one will know what the heck a Manometer is.

Ain't that the truth. "Manometer" sounds like something a woman would use on a blind date. :lol:

Brad bt

 

[donkris]

Update: Now it won't start at all!! Not even if I blow in the vent tubes.

Ok, I got my new o-ring kit installed and got the carbs as clean as I could. They were completely disassembled and dipped. I soaked all the parts and the carb body for about an hour and followed that with some of the spray stuff and compressed air through the passages. I also used a small wire to clean the jets and passages as per the carb cleanup series. Floats were set to 22.4MM. Only one was a little off. Got it all back together, turned the petcock to "prime" and got good flow. I hooked the fuel line up to the carbs and tried to start. It turns over but won't start. I pulled the bowl drains and there is fuel in the carbs. What did I miss??

Prior to installing the carbs I did the bench sync method found on this site. The air/mix screws are backed out two full turns. I know the plugs need to be changed(new ones on the way) but the bike started with them prior to the carb work. Any suggestions?? The only thing different that I noticed is now the brake light isn't working but it worked before. All the others work to include the turn signals. When I apply the brake the guage lights come on even when the light switch is turned off. I'll check wiring tomorrow. What do you guys think about the no start issue?

 

[txironhead]

Sounds like something screwy happened to the wiring while you were installing everything. Have you verified that you have spark? Your ignition could have been affected, too.

 

[Schweisshund]

It sounds like loose wiring. You might need to disconnect each wire and clean with electrical parts cleaner, not only will this familiarize yourself with the harness, you might end up resolving your electrical issue. Check your battery too:-D

I went through this last week with my bike - listen to these senior members, they will guide you through this.

 

[GS750]

Is there enough charge in the battery?

I find that my ole GS750 doesnt like starting on the starter on a cold morning after it has sat for 2 or 3 days, yet I give it one single kick on the kicker and it goes first pop.

I have a new battery and it is all good, (had it tested twice to verify)

My charging system is all good (twice tested too)

I just put it down to the electric draw from the startermotor being too much draw and the electronic ignition doesnt get enough power (current/amps?? or whatever electrical "things")

 

[donkris]

Seems like there's no spark. I pulled the #1 plug and used a spark tester and got nothing. I checked the rest of them and found the same thing. None of the plugs are firing. Guess I'll start digging through wiring. Crap!

 

[Schweisshund]

I had the same thing happening to my bike (or at least very similar) take your stator cover off and see if the circuits on the plate are soldered together causing a short.

Use an electric multitester - or even a circuit tester to see if they are getting anything electrical at all before you rule out the coils.

 

[Steve]

They were completely disassembled and dipped. I soaked all the parts and the carb body for about an hour ...

Everything else you mentioned sounded good, but this part was about 23 hours too short. :shock:

I know the can says "15 to 30 minutes", but I have had much better success using "15 to 30 hours". 8-[


.

 

[donkris]

It's running!!! Thanks to all I've been reading in this forum. But not so fast, all isn't well yet. Here's the problem. When the bike finally started it idled at about 1100 RPM, but after about three or four minutes it started to increase on it's own. It went to about 3500 RPM. I turned it off because I didn't want it to run for long at that speed. I turned the idle screw out a bit and restarted. It idles at about 1200 RPM. Good enough for right now. The problem is after idling for a few minutes it dies and won't restart. If I leave it alone for a few minutes it starts and idles fine, but then the same thing happens again. I have to wait about ten minutes for it to start again. It acts like it running out of fuel. It doesn't matter which position the petcock is in. I tried all three positions and got the same result. On the first start I noticed that the exhaust on #1 stayed cold while the other three got hot. It heated up after a while but not as quick as the other three. The mixture screws are all backed out two turns. I haven't tried adjusting them yet. The exhaust smells rich, it burns the eyes. What could be causing it to die after running so smooth?

 

[GS750]

Hi Donkris, is it possible that your valves are riding? If you are not getting compression, your exhaust wont get too hot.

I still think that you are having a problem with the petcock, maybe the vacume supply, it sounds like the problem I had where it just isnt getting enough fuel through.

 

[txironhead]

In the "Tips and Tricks" section there's a post on how to completely test a vacuum petcock. Give that a try.

Normally, wandering idle is a sure sign of a vacuum leak. Possible culprits can be intake o-rings, cracked/worn intake boots, carb o-rings and a bad seal on the airbox. I know you've replaced some of these things, just can't remember which.

The next time you get it started, spray some WD-40 around the intake boots. If the idle changes, you've got a vacuum leak.

Can't remember, have you adjusted the valves?

 

[donkris]

No I haven't adjusted the valves yet. The intake o-rings are new and so are all of the o-rings in the carb. I've done the petcock testing and it works normally. The only thing I noticed about it is that it's really hard to turn. I think I'll just get a new one, Pingle is it? I'll try setting the mixture using the highest RPM method that I read about here. I'll post later with the results. Thanks guys.