Higher RPM problems.

[tkent02]

Something else I noticed today was on the right side if the engine there is a cap for something right by where is says DOHC and down where the clear hole is that says f F and L it has no fluid in it whatsoever. would that cause problems? And what is that fluid?

Oil ?
Oh, oh.
Is it too low to see or is it so high you can't see the top of it?

 

[Larry D]

Something else I noticed today was on the right side if the engine there is a cap for something right by where is says DOHC and down where the clear hole is that says f F and L it has no fluid in it whatsoever. would that cause problems? And what is that fluid?

Okay, let's fix this first. The little clear window with F and L on it is the oil level window, it's on the clutch cover. It will indicate if you're low on oil. This must be checked with the bike on the centerstand or at least while someone is holding the bike upright. NOT on the sidestand.

Could you post some pictures of your difficulties ? It would help alot, especially the ignition setup.

 

[SuzukiGS]

It's so low that there is nothing there. It is on the center stand and I even had someone rocking the bike to see if I could see some oil but there was no movement at all.

 

[Larry D]

Okay........put some oil in there until it's somewhere between the F and L. Just fill it in small amounts until you reach the desired level. After putting a little in, let it settle for minute, overfilling is bad too.

Now, when you had the carbs apart did you check to make sure the correct jets were in there ?

 

[SuzukiGS]

Now, when you had the carbs apart did you check to make sure the correct jets were in there ?

I never took the carbs apart. I'm too afraid to try and do that

 

[Larry D]

AWwwww....c'mon, it ain't that bad. Check out Cliff's site and study up in your carbs. You've been to Cliff's site, right ?
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

To be honest, cleaning the carbs MUST be done. It's a time consuming process that requires being organized. After the first one, the rest are a snap. Your high rpm problem could lie within those nasty, dirty carbs.

The point being, without the carbs cleaned, valves adjusted and no air leaks anywhere, you really don't know what the problem is. A solid baseline must be established before any real trouble shooting can begin.

 

[SuzukiGS]

Okay, so I took a look at the ignition and this is what it looks like. It says DYNAS IGNITION on it.

 

[doctorgonzo]

Okay, so I took a look at the ignition and this is what it looks like. It says DYNAS IGNITION on it.

This is good. It does NOT have points on it. Some previous owner (hereafter referred to as a PO) bought a kit to convert it to an electronic ignition.

Keep an eye on that oil level. It's standard procedure EVERY TIME for me when I haven't ridden that day to take a look at that window.

As for the carbs. Find a workspace. Where you can leave stuff for a few days if needed, and clean. If you don't have a garage, the kitchen table, something. Get something like egg cartons, or zip lock bags and a sharpie. Download the guide to work on them. As you take them apart, take digital camera, a cell phone will do, and take a picture of everything as you take it apart (guide should be enough, but we are being extra cautious). Put eveything into containers where you can't lose it and label it, keeping each carb separate. GO SLOW, don't force anything... when you get frustrated take deep breathes and walk away, if you can't figure something out, take a picture and post it here, we'll do our best to help.

 

[82Shafty]

First do yourself a favor and add some diesel oil to her... rotella 15-40, motorcraft 15-40 one of those two will do you just fine. Go to your local Walmart and buy a 5 quart jug...much cheaper that way.

Run genuine GS filters from Suzi, much better than the Fram.

Here is what I would do after you do the above. Go out warm the bike up; make a pass on a safe road and see if it still breaks up over 4G.

Now, pull your air filter out of the air filter housing. Go make another pass.

1) Does it run worse...if so you are running lean.

2) Does it run better...if so you are running to rich.

I chased what I thought to be an ignition problem on my 1100L for three weeks until I finally did what I have asked of you above. Turns out I had her tuned a bit rich and anything over 6G under power she would pop and sputter like an ignition problem. I pulled the air filter out and had the tire come off of the ground during the first three shifts under WOT and 9500 shift points...bike screamed and came alive.

Do you have a paper filter or a K&N filter?

 

[SuzukiGS]

Do you have a paper filter or a K&N filter?

It has neither. It has a foam filter...

 

[tkent02]

First do yourself a favor and add some diesel oil to her...

Do NOT add Diesel Oil, add motor oil for Diesel engines. Huge difference. Rotella from Walmart is great.
Don't ever use oil with the fuel conserving symbol on the label, it will ruin the clutch.
The oil issue is much bigger than how the bike runs, don't run it all until you take care of this.
Pay attention to how much oil it takes to bring the oil up to the correct level in the window. If it's more than a quart or two that may be important later.
Do you have an oil pressure light on your bike?
It's the red one between the gauges, it could be faded white.
This light should be on when the ignition switch first comes on, the light should go out when the engine is started.
If not, don't do ANYTHING else yet.

 

[rustybronco]

No, in neutral it has the same issue. I've cleaned the airbox and filter as well.

It has neither. It has a foam filter...

Did you clean and properly oil the foam element? (i.e. oil the element and squeeze out the excess oil)

 

[rkubik]

carb problem = main jets too big.

For some reason of they way they formulate gasoline today, it will run richer than you think with old-time jets. It's really not hard or costly to fix. Go to dealer, buy 4 of one jet size down and two jet sizes down.

When you have the carbs apart for cleaning and O-ring replacement (both very good ideas) you will see a large main jet screwed into the carb, usually right under the float bowl level lever. Unscrew, replace, and yer done.

I went down 2 jet sizes, and the very same problem just went away. I had 110 size main jets in my bike. Very same problem. After trying a whole bunch of other fixes, I went down one size to 105 - better - then down to 102.5 - great. Lots of snap and power, all the way to top revs.

Sounds ridiculous, but really it worked.

 

[SuzukiGS]

Do NOT add Diesel Oil, add motor oil for Diesel engines. Huge difference. Rotella from Walmart is great.
Don't ever use oil with the fuel conserving symbol on the label, it will ruin the clutch.
The oil issue is much bigger than how the bike runs, don't run it all until you take care of this.
Pay attention to how much oil it takes to bring the oil up to the correct level in the window. If it's more than a quart or two that may be important later.
Do you have an oil pressure light on your bike?
It's the red one between the gauges, it could be faded white.
This light should be on when the ignition switch first comes on, the light should go out when the engine is started.
If not, don't do ANYTHING else yet.

The light is red when the engine isn't running and turns off when it is running. Thats how it's suppose to work right?

And the filter was properly cleaned and re oiled.

And with the Jets, how hard is it to get to everything and how complicated is it? And how much did it change the sound of the bike? I want mine to be louder.

 

[tkent02]

The light is red when the engine isn't running and turns off when it is running. Thats how it's suppose to work right?

Good, you PROBABLY have not done any damage by running without the proper amount of oil.

And the filter was properly cleaned and re oiled.

Good.

And with the Jets, how hard is it to get to everything and how complicated is it? And how much did it change the sound of the bike?

Jets won't change the sound at all, except if jetted correctly it will sound like it's running correctly.
Why is the jetting off in the first place? Modifications? Carb problems? Carbs off a different size engine?
First you need to determine what jets if any you need. There are several jets in each carb, each do a different thing. What main jet is in there now? Pilot jet? Where are the needles set?

 

[Steve]

For some reason of they way they formulate gasoline today, it will run richer than you think with old-time jets. It's really not hard or costly to fix. Go to dealer, buy 4 of one jet size down and two jet sizes down. ... I went down 2 jet sizes, and the very same problem just went away. I had 110 size main jets in my bike. Very same problem. After trying a whole bunch of other fixes, I went down one size to 105 - better - then down to 102.5 - great. Lots of snap and power, all the way to top revs.

Sounds ridiculous, but really it worked.

Kinda scary in my book.

Most of our bikes are already borderline lean to meet the EPA regs. Leaning it out even further scares me. Also, "the way they formulate gasoline today", they add ethanol, but no more than 10%. You need MORE gas/ethanol to do the same job, so you would need larger jets to richen the mixture, not smaller ones to lean it. With the elevation in your area ranging from 3-5000 feet, you should be just about right with stock jets and ethanol fuel. I have not looked up what the stock jets are for your bike, but it's possible that a previous owner might have installed richer jets and you are just bringing it back to stock.

One thing you should DEFINITELY avoid, if it's available in your area, is E85 fuel, which is 85% ethanol. They leave just enough gas in the mix to light off the ethanol, but the jetting requirements are so different, our bikes could not handle it, even if we had the components that would stand up to the effects of the ethanol.

For those of us that are still running basically stock engines (as far as air filters and exhaust), maybe going up one size on the main jets and shimming the needle about the equivalent of one notch would bring it into a good mixture, so I am surprised at the suggestion to lean it down for better running.

82Shafty had a decent suggestion, here is another along the same idea: do whatever it takes to make it run "bad", then move your "choke". If it gets better, it's running lean, the "choke" is adding fuel to richen the mixture. Removing the filter as 82Shafty suggests will lean it out if it's running rich, so now you know how to check both sides of the mixture.

.

 

[Guest]

Don't just start putting smaller jets in your carbs. Pull the spark plugs and take a good macro pic of them.

 

[SuzukiGS]

Okay guys, thanks for the tips. I'll try and look into that possibly within the next couple days. I bought some oil too! So I'll fill that up while i'm at it.

So you just want a pic of the piston head through the spark plug hole correct?

 

[Larry D]

Okay guys, thanks for the tips. I'll try and look into that possibly within the next couple days. I bought some oil too! So I'll fill that up while i'm at it.

So you just want a pic of the piston head through the spark plug hole correct?

No, take the spark plugs out. Line them up 1-4 and snap some macro photos.....of the spark plugs.

 

[Steve]

Here is what we want to see, but make it all four of YOUR plugs.

.