Help me fix my problem!

[johndias831]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and I am here to ask a few questions about my bike. My dad owns a junkyard and I pulled out this awesome 81 GS650GL from storage last week. I have been tending to the bike for the last week doing routine maintenance to get this thing on the road. I have been working on the engine for some time now and I am at a point where I need to ask for some help. The engine is not running like how it should and I have created a youtube video describing the problem.

https://youtu.be/st3_WnfPJBU​

It is a 10 minute video so I suggest skipping through it. At 2:30 I start demonstrating the engines odd behavior. Basically the engine dies when I give it full throttle or when I try and slowly raise the RPM's. At 8:30 I am filming the tach and showing how this motor behaves. Please check out the video link and offer some advice if you have an idea for why I cant get this thing dialed! Bike runs great and strong when you shoot starting fluid into the cylinders, I cant seem to get it running perfectly on the fuel system though. In the video you can see how the engine is cutting out under certain conditions. The link also has a good description of what I have observed about the engine. Thank you!

- John

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Welcome to the forum. It's great to see young people take an interest in vintage Suzuki, or any motorcycles. Your first stop should be this thread
Top 10 newbie mistakes

But essentially, I'd be looking at, in this order:
get manuals for your bike at BikeCliff's website (link in my sig)
Valve adjustment. Because you probably don't know if they're in spec, and they need to be. (Ignore if already done).
Thoroughly clean the carburetors. Because they're certainly not clean. Get tutorial on BikeCliff's website.
Install the stock airbox(es) with a new airfilter.
Assure no air leaks from either side of carbs and exhaust.
You probably installed a new battery already, but you'll want to test the health of the charging system (posts ad nauseam on this site)
Change the oil and filter.

Create a signature with your bike year and model (then you'll never have to answer this question)
post pics, we like pics (see link in my sig for using imgur to host pictures)

 

[Steve]

Welcome.

First of all, that is NOT a 650GL, it is a 650G. And it's an '82.

Before you kill the engine, stop torturing it and CLEAN the carbs. It is not running on all four cylinders.

Because it starts very easily, I am guessing that the valve adjustment is not dangerously tight, but you should still check them, as the specified clearance is pitifully small.

It sounds like it's running on two cylinders at idle (which should be closer to 1100 RPM). As you try to rev it up, it fails as you get past half throttle. That leads me to believe that your main jets are not clean. It would not surprise me at all to learn that a couple of pilot jets are clogged, too, which might be the source of poor running at idle.

Do NOT buy "carb rebuild kits" to fix your carbs. Get a can of Berryman's carb cleaner dip and a set of o-rings from cycleorings.com. Download, read and FOLLOW this tutorial. It is the definitive guide to rebuild your carbs. Along the way, please remember that ANY shortcuts taken are merely opportunities to do it over and do it RIGHT.

By the way, I did not see an airbox installed. THAT will account for not being able to rev the engine. :-\\\

.

 

[Rob S.]

So it's probably starving for fuel or got an over abundance of air, correct?

 

[posplayr]

Looks like you don't have an airbox on it; at least I see daylight behind the carbs. It will not run right without something over the mount of the carbs.

If the jetting is stock you need an airbox. If you go pods, you will need to richen up the mixture. But with nothing there you can put a rang over the mounts of the carbs and get it toi run better. Too much air flow with nothing.

 

[chuck hahn]

back light the diaprams with a flashlight to look for pinholes. And note if they are nice and pliable or showing signs of starting to stiffen up. If diaprams are old and start getting hard the slides cant work well because they wont invert easily so slides can rise and fall correctly.

 

[posplayr]

Welcome to the forum. It's great to see young people take an interest in vintage Suzuki, or any motorcycles. Your first stop should be this thread
Top 10 newbie mistakes

But essentially, I'd be looking at, in this order:
get manuals for your bike at BikeCliff's website (link in my sig)
Valve adjustment. Because you probably don't know if they're in spec, and they need to be. (Ignore if already done).
Thoroughly clean the carburetors. Because they're certainly not clean. Get tutorial on BikeCliff's website.
Install the stock airbox(es) with a new airfilter.
Assure no air leaks from either side of carbs and exhaust.
You probably installed a new battery already, but you'll want to test the health of the charging system (posts ad nauseam on this site)
Change the oil and filter.

Create a signature with your bike year and model (then you'll never have to answer this question)
post pics, we like pics (see link in my sig for using imgur to host pictures)

Yea I think it is missing

 

[Steve]

Looks like you don't have an airbox on it; at least I see daylight behind the carbs. It will not run right without something over the mount of the carbs.

As posplayr mentioned, there has to be <something> ahead of the carbs. Yes, it takes a lot to mount the airbox (assuming you have one), but it's easy enough to prove the concept.

Have one of your buddies take a shop rag, fold it in half and hold it over the carb intakes. Stretch it tight enough that it won't get sucked in. Start the bike and repeat your throttle exercises. It should rev better, but will still run like crap until you get the other two cylinders firing.

.

 

[Redman]

<<delete duplicate>>

 

[Redman]

If tht is a 650, which it looks like;
Is 82 650G (I had one for 20+ years).
With the rear fender gone, and not seeing the front end its is harder to tell from a GL, but the tank and seat and bars do look like a G.
Listed in parts catalog as GS650GX , G for shaft drive, X for 1982 model year.

//////////QUOTE
Basically the engine dies when I give it full throttle or when I try and slowly raise the RPM's. . . . . . .
.... . . . . .. . . . . . Bike runs great and strong when you shoot starting fluid into the cylinders,
///////////ENDQUOTE
that right there is classic symptoms of needing to do a good carb cleaning. And bye that I dont mean spray some carb cleaner here and there, I mean complete tear down, pull out all the jets and soak body and jets in carb cleaning dip for 20 - 24 hours each carb. Will take 4 - 5 days total if you have one carb dip bucket.

And... everything Steve said.

Get carb oring kit from Cycle ORing,and probably intake boot orings, ..... and probably a set of new bolts (allen head) because you will probably destroy most of the existing ones getting them out.

 

[Redman]

GS 650 GL 1982
Overall Length: 2 180 mm (85.8 in)
Overall Width: 870 mm (34.3 in)
Overall Height: 1 160 mm (45.7 in)
Seat Height: 740 mm (29.1 in)
Wheelbase: 1 450 mm (57.1 in)
Ground Clearance: 150 mm (5.9 in)
Dry Weight: 212 kg (466 lbs)
Engine type: Air-cooled 673 cc inline-4, SOHC, 8 valves. 73 hp (54 kW)/ 9.400 rpm, 57,2 Nm (5,88 kg-m)/ 8,000 rpm. Shaft drive.

Click on the image for larger format.
Here's more Suzuki GS650GL info.







​GS 650 GT 1981
Overall Length: 2 170 mm (85.4 in)
Overall Width: 830 mm (32.7 in)
Overall Height: 1 170 mm (46.1 in)
Seat Height: 780 mm (30.7 in)
Wheelbase: 1 440 mm (56.7 in)
Ground Clearance: 160 mm (6.3 in)
Dry Weight: 213 kg (468 lbs)
Engine type: Air-cooled 673 cc inline-4, SOHC, 8 valves. 73 hp (54 kW)/ 9.400 rpm, 57,2 Nm (5,88 kg-m)/ 8.000 rpm. Shaft drive.

Click on the image for larger format.
Here's even larger picture.

 

[Redman]

Note: That is a britsh site, so shows color scemes of eurpoean models.
I was surprized to see 81 listed for 650G, since I think was 82-83-84 (in US anyway).

Yah, 650G/GL was pnly 3 years, and has some things unique to the 650. Where all the other models had most everything the same, the 650 had a few things particular to it only.

 

[Guest]

It's actually a Swedish site, run by a Finn, but the pictures are taken from brochures for Suzuki's various worldwide markets, and from owner submissions, and probably other sources as well. So the colour schemes could be from any market, but are predominately European.

 

[Rob S.]

X for 1982 model year.

I believe X means 1981. 1982 is Z.

 

[johndias831]

Thanks guys for all the info. I have an order in for a new O ring kit and I will do a thorough job cleaning the carbs. I have removed the air intake boots and purchased new hardware for them. Do you guys have any advice for how to restore this rubber so I can have an easier time putting the carbs on? Also, can I soak the carbs in gasoline? Thank you I will let you all know how the bike is running next week.

 

[Steve]

The best "restoration" for the rubber bits is "replacement". Some have reported modest levels of success by soaking in Wintergreen oil, but I have not heard if it lasts or not. New items will last another 20 years or so.

It might seem to make sense to use gasoline as a solvent to remove all the crud that was placed there by gasoline, but I don't think it would be a wise move. Your state leaders might have legislated the preferred chemicals off the shelf, but see if you have Berryman's Carb Cleaner Dip or Gunk Carb Cleaner Dip. Both come in a one-gallon can, both have about 3 quarts of liquid inside. Don't follow the directions. They likely say to immerse the parts for 15-30 minutes. Most of us feel that those directions were probably written MANY years ago, when the chemicals in the can could actually do the job in that amountn ot time. We now recommend immersing the parts for 15-30 HOURS. Yep, basically a whole day.

There is a basket in the can to hold the parts and makes it easier to lift them out. If you ignore the basket, you can stack two carb bodies on their sides. Two bodies on the first day, the other two bodies the second day, then all the jets and float bowls on the third day. Float bowls??? Yes. They have the passages that feed the "choke" system and might be clogged.

.

 

[Gorminrider]

Do you guys have any advice for how to restore this rubber so I can have an easier time putting the carbs on?

Warm them. "heat guns" are invaluable for this. Hair dryers are generally pretty weak ... wrap them in a hot rag can do if you have no heat gun.

Naturally, you don't want to get them so hot as to melt them! so be judicious...

The wintergreen soak is sort of experimental...I'd just warm them

Also, can I soak the carbs in gasoline?

sure but it won't of itself do much for tiny passages and teeny holes in the jets. and as mentioned, the other stuff-filters, diaphragms, orings, float needle and seat... Disassembly is required.

Once the bike is running properly, good fresh gasoline running through will keep them clean.

 

[Redman]

I believe X means 1981. 1982 is Z.

Yes. My brain thought Z but finger typed X.
You may notice that people that call it it "typing" have that difficulty from time to time.

 

[chris]

View attachment 59909
Thanks guys for all the info. I have an order in for a new O ring kit and I will do a thorough job cleaning the carbs. I have removed the air intake boots and purchased new hardware for them. Do you guys have any advice for how to restore this rubber so I can have an easier time putting the carbs on? Also, can I soak the carbs in gasoline? Thank you I will let you all know how the bike is running next week.

HI, I agree with Steve about replacing rubber parts but I have had success soaking them in armour all. This will make them less stiff. I never use gasoline to clean carbs, just carb cleaner. i hope this helps