I just threw in the (shop) towel! Aaargh!

[pnaberhaus]

First let me say that I sorta know my way around a toolbox. Been riding twins (305, 450, 500, 650) Hondas and Triumphs for 39 years. Pulled gas tanks, r&r forks, changed out f&r tires, replaced chains, swapped out r. shocks, fabricated/mounted rr seats and have fitted so many sets of bars, I've lost count. But Carbs?  :x I've NEVER encountered such a finicky and (fuel) intolerant set as those that "pretend" to provide the correct air/fuel mixture as required on my (stock) '89 GS. Yesterday, I took the poor,sad,foresaken twin to the Suzuki shop to have "them" get it running right! I've noticed, lurking on this Forum this past week, that I'm not alone in my carb difficulties. Jeesh, every page has a post, or two, or three with somebody needing help with these infernal devices. (BTW, my settings are stock and I don't ever fiddle with them). I ran 10 and 20 year old Hondas and Triumphs and never had this kind of gasoline intolerance with their carbs. Poor carb design? Poor gasoline? I suspect a combination of the two. My 20+ year old Honda that I owned for that long never needed an additive dumped in the fuel tank. Never once did the carbs need attention. This GS 500 is light years better than that old Honda, but this is the third time in seven years that the carbs have befuddled me! :dunno:

[poormanracing]

sorry about your difficulties...that's why i just sent my carbs to srinath :mrgreen:

...70 bucks lighter but now enjoying riding the GS







psst srinath...now do i get a $10 discount on your products  :lol:

[scratch]

Actually, it's because bikes imported to the U.S. are required to meet certain EPA emission standards (California is worse with C.A.R.B.).

I wonder if a set of Amal carburetors off an old '78 or '79 Triumph would work?

Dig your sig and Welcome!

[cernunos]

Scratch, I was wondering the same thing. The only carbs I know of that are simpler than Amals are Linkerts. Love the Baby GS, New Zealand (bound to be cold there), and this forum.

C.......

[sprint_9]

Rejet and your bike will run like 8 million times better.

[vfrocket]

actually, I have NEVER before this year fixed a carb. But I did it. and when I did have a problem, it was totally my fault, I did not pay attention to the diagram and put a plastic washer on the bottom of the needle under the washer instead of on top....

I found it to be real simple..but I do admit I was getting frustrated till I took a moment to pause and relize what I had done.

[Faxxxy]

I had a 1981 Honda Goldwing..
4 carbs.. They all sucked!!

After spending about $150 each having them rebuilt and synced 3 or 4 times I finally went out and bought brand new..

Don't even ask me how much *THAT* cost me..

Purred like a kitten after that.. I rode it for 2 seasons and sold it..
I miss the old road couch..  

[allmtrslut]

arnt you suppose to get ur carbs fixed like every 6k miles?? (or adjusted?)

[scratch]

Vacuum sychronized every 4000miles, which happens to coincide with your valve adjustments that should be done first. Change your sparkplugs and oil then, too.

[pnaberhaus]

Uh, are you all trying to tell me that a 1989 GS needs the carbs fiddled with & synched every couple years? My last bike, a Honda 450, that I turned into a cafe racer (THERE'S a '70s "term") back in 1972 and kept for 20, yeah TWENTY years, NEVER needed the carbs tweaked, fiddled  with or synched the whole time I had it. Never needed to add fuel stabilizers or additives either. I'd would think that carb technology would improve from 1970 to 1989!  Anyway, the bike shop has it now, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit "carb" defeat and chagrined that I could not fix it myself :dunno: Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!

[scratch]

Was your 450 the four cylinder? If so (actually even if not), it probably did not have the vibration that our '70's based engine does.

[pnaberhaus]

Scratch,
The 450 was a twin. Back in the early '70s, we had to "roll your own" if you wanted a "cafe racer" (another '70s term). No factory sport bikes unless you had the deep pockets for a JP Norton. Anyhow, the  Honda had a  disc on the front, Dunlop K81s f&r (hot tires in those days),  a (flat) CB250 bar, revised (hard) fork springs, Koni shocks, Rickman f. fender, Yamaha TZ rr seat, custom paint and a "weight loss" program (lose the heavy f&r  fenders, seat, fork covers, turn signals, etc.) I left the engine & carbs box-stock, probably gave up a little HP, but it was bulletproof!

But back to our bikes today. The thing I really enjoy about the GS500 is that it looks, feels and reponds like a friggen motorcylce. When I ride a modern "4", be it a CBR, GSX or ZX, there's no sensation of "mechanicalness". It's TOO smooth. It almost feels like I'm riding an oversize electric blender. Gawd they're fast, stick well and the binders stop you like you've hit the #3 wire on the USS CARL VINSON. But today's sport bikes are so good that the most they demand from a rider is to be careful(of all that power, stiction and braking ability).  If you have to compensate for being a few HP short, a disc shy, or some rubber width less, I believe you become a better, more savy rider.

But getting back to your question, Scratch, that old Honda 450 vibrated a WHOLE lot more than my GS does.

[scratch]

Well then I'll just say that it was, after all, a Honda, the best made motorcycles in the world, and you had a synch screw that didn't move because of that superior engineering.

Is that the same motor used in the 450 Rebel?

[pnaberhaus]

Scratch,
 The Honda 450 twin of the '60s/'70s had a displacement of 444cc. Comparing those bikes with the later "Rebel" series (chopper/cruiser bike) leads me to believe that there was NO commonality of parts. Those early Honda 450s had  unique valve actuation. No springs!, and they weren't gear-driven like a desmo Ducati. (Bike trivia)...... Do you know how the valves were opened/closed?

[scratch]

I thought Honda had used the same motor (444cc's), but when you mentioned 'no springs' that really threw me. I know they were SOHC, but apart from that I'd have to see if I still have a Clymer's manual for one. I also thought the Rebels had chain-driven cams because I vaguely remember a camchain tunnel, but I could be wrong.

[pnaberhaus]

Scratch,
We're really getting off topic here, but the original Honda 450 (aka "black bomber") and its derivitives were DOHC engines with (drum roll please).......torsion(bar) valve actuation! How's that for some obscure engineering design and execution?

But to bring this all back to our GS mounts, after a mile on an '89 GS500, there was no way I could justify trying to keep upgrading a 20 year old bike in an effort to be performance current AND comfortable. I ended up selling it to a "collector" who said it was one of the nicest 450s he'd ever seen.

The whole point of my thread revolved around the fact that a 20+ year old bike didn't need its carbs fussed with, and  yet my GS needs "carb care" every 3-4 years! I guess I can blame it on the gas we now use and the fact that the carbs are so unforgiving(emission standards requiring  precise metering), and the carbs just can't pass this current fuel for long without choking on it! Anyway, thanks for listening and I'm really enjoying this Site and Forum.