Newbie question: En gine dies after I put her in gear & release clutch

[wirelessguy]

So I'm well aware that this could be user error but I'm not exactly sure what to do about this issue.

Bought an 82' GS1100E recently, needed battery so I trailer-ed her home.
She starts right up nicely and idles pretty high when choked. I bring the choke down to about 2,500 RPMs or so and leave her there before trying to start off. (Not sure if I'm supposed to try and pull the choke all the way right, but I think the engine would cut out if I did.)

So long as the bike is in neutral, at 2,500 RPMs I can give her some throttle and everything sounds nice.

However, when I try to put her into 1st gear and release the clutch the engine just dies out. Am I doing something wrong or is there an issue I should be attending to? (I'm assuming could be anything drive train related.) I'm hoping that I'm not suppose to give her lots of throttle while holding that brake in until I find the right rpm. I could try leaving the choke on all the way up while putting her in gear and watching how far she dips but I thought I'd ask here first.

Being that I can idle the bike at length I'm assuming that there no issue on the fuel or carb front but I'm no expert.

Thoughts/suggestions?

 

[Baatfam]

If it won't idle with the choke off after a bit...start there...

Carbs probably need the usual cleaning...

 

[tom203]

So I'm well aware that this could be user error but I'm not exactly sure what to do about this issue.

Bought an 82' GS1100E recently, needed battery so I trailer-ed her home.
She starts right up nicely and idles pretty high when choked. I bring the choke down to about 2,500 RPMs or so and leave her there before trying to start off. (Not sure if I'm supposed to try and pull the choke all the way right, but I think the engine would cut out if I did.)

So long as the bike is in neutral, at 2,500 RPMs I can give her some throttle and everything sounds nice.

However, when I try to put her into 1st gear and release the clutch the engine just dies

Being that I can idle the bike at length I'm assuming that there no issue on the fuel or carb front but

In neutral, there's little load on engine- engine can fake it with bad carb mixture ( especially if you're idling high); but, let out clutch, and those mixtures have to be fairly good- neither too rich or too lean- or bike will die cuz it has to go to work! A 4-1 pipe - does it look new? was bike rejetted for it? Does this bike have factory airbox or pods?

 

[RipRoaringFun]

The 2500 rpm at idle is more than double what it should be. On my '81 GS1100E there is a round knob between the #2 and #3 carb's float bowls -- you can sit on the seat, reach under the bank of carbs, and find the round knob. It angles downward to the rear, hanging down just between carb float bowls #2 and #3.

In the Owner's Manual on page 39 is the method for idle adjustment with a photo of the idle knob adjuster screw location -- it says to run it for 10 minutes to fully warm it up, then adjust the idling knob (aka 'throttle stop screw') to get 1050 +/- RPM.

After you do that, you can 'warm up the clutch' a bit by pulling it in a few times prior to putting it in gear. Sometimes on older bikes, 'warming up the clutch' by pulling it in for a time prior to launch can help.

If you can't get it to idle, as the other folks here pointed out, carbs. If if sat for a long time, spending a couple hours cleaning them can't hurt. Good luck with it, they are monster fun bikes when they're in top shape.

 

[jbs80106]

Do you have a center stand? Could try (carefully of course) putting it on center stand. Starting her up, put her in gear and release the clutch. Rear tire should spin pretty freely with out any throttle required.

Could be you're gas/clutch/brake release timing is off? if you engage the motor without enough throttle it can die, just like a car will if you're stopped, pop the clutch without giving it any gas to overcome the weight of the vehicle.

What the others said too, the idle is too high. If you can't shut the choke off once she's warm without dying something's not quite right.

 

[wirelessguy]

Do you have a center stand? Could try (carefully of course) putting it on center stand. Starting her up, put her in gear and release the clutch. Rear tire should spin pretty freely with out any throttle required.

I like the way you think.

I thought of the same hting and took a trip out to Harbor Freight this morning to get that rear wheel stand. Carfeully propped up the bike and got it to pretty much stay on without the choke running.

I was able to get it into first gear and spin the rear wheel a bit but I need to continually give it a bit of throttle or she'll turn off completely.

I tried looking through the repair manual but I don't quite understand where I'd be able to adjust the air/fuel mix. Optimally, I'd want to find a way to do that over the entire carb 'set' rather than play with individual set screws. I assume that there is some way of doing that for the CV carbs but unless anyone can explain that well in text here it might take me a few re-reads of the manual to figure out what I'm looking for.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Your bike is 25 years old. It needs some tender loving care.

Read through the "mega-welcome" you received in this thread: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=166907

Click the links in your "mega-welcome". You'll find a couple of maintenance lists of items that must be repaired, replaced, checked, cleaned, adjusted, etc, in order to get your bike running like it should. These tasks include, but are not limited to, properly cleaned carbs and valve clearance adjustments. After those have been accomplished, then we can talk about adjusting and vacuum syncing your carbs. Following that are the charging system, brakes, suspension, tires, and all kinds of other fun stuff. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff