bike running like crap after sitting!

[mattress]

started with a dead battery.   tried to push start it to no avail (boy am i tired!), so i jump started it from a running vehicle

it took a while for it to finally crank up.  it's really running like crap.

when I first start out in first gear, it bogs waaaay down, like it wants to stall, or like i let the clutch out too fast, etc.

I can't really run it in the higher gears, it won't accellerate, and will actually begin to de-accel...

so last night, i brought it home after school. 

I disconnected the right spark plug, and the engine died.
I reconnected the plug, started it back up, and disconnected the left plug, and it continued running like it was.

So the left side isn't firing, i'm assuming.  it gets spark from the wire (i got shocked lol). so I replaced the spark plugs.

no difference.

I have an inline fuel filter, so I didn't think any kind of sediment or whatever from the bottom of the tank could have got gunked up in the carbs..

Do you guys have any ideas?

[qwertydude]

It's not necessarily that the left side isn't firing, it's that the left side isn't working. It may be sparking just fine just that your carbs are varnished from sitting. A good carb cleaning should get things going again.

[DoD#i]

You have a lot to learn about gasoline and gunking up carbs.

You have spark - you got shocked, and you put in new plugs. Has to be spark. You can take the plug out and hold it against the engine and look at the spark, if you don't believe me or want to check to make sure. While doing that, smell for gas at the spark plug hole - bet you don't smell any.

Your left carb is gunked. "But I have a FILTER!"

The stuff that gunked up your left carb was nice and liquid when it passed through the filter, lo these many moons ago. Then it hardened like drying paint, in your carb. Filter makes no difference to it.

Run the bike at least once a month, or get the gas out of it when storing.

You need to clean your carbs.

[mattress]

is there a carb cleaner I can pour in the tank.. or spray somewhere..... or does it involve actually pulling the tank, and pulling the carbs, and scrubbing with carb cleaner?


thanks for the quick replies guys!

I pulled the plug and stuck my finger over the hole to test for compression, and yeah, it blew my finger off the whole.. 

yeah, it definitally gets spark, I did as you suggested and put the plug next to the engine fin, and saw sparking..

again, thanks for the quick info!

[DoD#i]

You'll likely have to pull them, but you can TRY putting seafoam or gumout in the tank, turning the switch to prime, and opening the drain  on the left carb bowl (with something under it to catch the gunk/gas that comes out.) If you don't drain enough to get the cleaner into the carb, it can't do any good if no gas is flowing when it runs. Pull about half a cup each time. The first batch is likely to be very gross - the rest can go to the snowblower/lawnmower/car.

Switch from prime back to on.

Let that sit overnight, then start up the bike and run it for a while. Do that every day for a week, draining the left carb with prime on daily (switch back to on when done) and it'll either work, or not, at some point in there. If it doesn't work in a week, you need to remove the carbs for a full cleaning.

[5thAve]

No. There's not one that will clean your carbs the way you need them cleaned.

Take 'em apart. Don't lose the o-rings (they're tiny). Clean all metal parts with solvent. Clean all rubber and plastic parts with soapy water. Reassemble. Ride.

Since you're going to have them apart, it's easy to replace the jets with ones that will give you a better mixture (check the wiki for the best sizes -- http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Main/General). It's cheap and makes your bike run better than it ever did.

[Pigeonroost]

You did not say how long you let it sit (how old is the fuel).  Along with age, other things that make gas "funky" quicker is gas with ethel, gas with water (sitting a long time with lots of unfilled space in tank or sitting outside too much).  Funky fuel has a funky odor to it as it turns to varnish.  If the fuel is bad, you need to remove and clean the tank and lines.  You need to pull the carbs and clean them too or get them cleaned by someone who knows their business so you don't screw-up your ride.

Get that battery charged and then load tested.  Then keep it or its replacement on a tender.  It could still be an ignition problem due to a damaged battery or other component.

prs

[mattress]

i'd have to guess no more than 2-3 months.. with almost full tank of gas.. don't know (or don't think there was ethel..)

I've already been inside the carbs, and I've rejetted and everything.. I just think it's a huge hassle and I don't have a lot of time on my hands to tear the bike down right now..  i was just hoping for an easy way out lol..

I've learned my lesson, so I won't let this happen again..

[qwertydude]

Since it's only 2-3 months the varnish shouldn't be bad at all. The lazy way to clean carbs is to attach a piece of hose to the carb drain and spray carb cleaner into the hose to force pure carb cleaner into the carb, you can tell if it's full by raising the hose and checking it like float heights. Let it soak then drain and repeat a couple more times. This usually can clear up varnish but if it's rust in the carbs forget about it you'll need to take the carbs apart.

[daliumong]

actually i think its best to take it apart and not be lazy here. if you start shoving carb cleaner into your bowls and stuff, it'll get all over the sensitive plastic and rubber parts inside the carb, like the float needle, the float assemble, the diaphragm, etc etc, which honestly is not worth the pain. all that stuff is expensive or a really big hassle to replace if it gets damaged, and you'll never get a really good clean from doing it that way. take the carbs apart and clean it the right way.

on another note, if you're going to store your bike in the future for more than like 2 or 3 weeks, add fuel stabilizer to the gas and drain the carbs, so you wont have to go through the headache of tearing down the carbs again. if you do that, you can just prime the bike with the stabilized fuel, jump start if your battery is dead, and ride off as if nothing had ever happened

[mattress]

ok this is going to be today's project.

are there specific parts I should pay more attention to while I got the carb out?

or just pretty much the same areas that are opened up when rejetting?

[mattress]

ok, me not being so mechanically inclined ran myself into a few problems..


prob #1: took the gas tank off, and fuel spilled out of the filler down the side of the tank... 
solution: easy way to take the tank decals off

prob #2: bike wouldn't start.
solution: tank petcock has 2 positions, it's not like a screw you tighten and loosen.

prob #3: fuel spilling out everywhere.
solution: the little needle thing in the float bowl didn't go into the tube properly. I bent the metal tab that holds it up a little bit, and put it back together.

prob #4: I'm able to start and run the bike now, but only with the choke on.
maxed out the idle screw one direction, started bike, and lowered it down to where the idle should be.

prob #5: the revs seem to hang for quite a while before coming back down to idle..
solution: let bike warm up for 10min, adjust idle screw