well its been a few years now and the old GS is showing its age.
im going to start with the life of the bike.
The bike was givin to me in place of a cash amount owed to me of 1000$. it had 13k on it, just been rejeted and had a nice vance and hines exhuast. it had been layed down once but was ok. the bike had been repainted aswell.
First thing I did was replace the old front turning signals to clear ones with orange bulbs that were much shorter and looked a lot cleaner.
I rode the bike for quite some time, then one day the clutch cable broke, not a big deal, my dad helped me transport the bike to my mini shop I had built in a storage place. I stayed up till about 3am and fixed the clutch cable.
I then decided the bike needed a pick me up, new chain, new front and rear sprockets with a -1T on the front sprocket.
The bike was now "hot Shi*" in my eyes lol.
I always run synthetic race oil in the bike 10/40 the expensive stuff, I keep the K&N filter clean, change the oil when need be, keep the fuel stabalized while extended periods of not riding the bike.
so I went into the airforce and the bike sat for like 6 months, I recharged the battery when I came home and voila the bike ran perfect as usuall. I ran it for a week then went back to the airforce grind. it only sat for a few more months though and it was back to riding it again, I then laid it down and busted the crank case cover and dented a few other things, whatever right, its a streetfighter looking bike so its cool as long as it rides ok. then I went on a deployment to AZ doing the border patrol for 3 months, came back and the bike rand great. I let it sit for about a week then started it up, it started having some issues, it would bog down when you gave it throttle, kinda like a timing issue, but it only did it once and awhile then would correct itself, so I get done riding for the day then I let it sit overnight, the next day I go to ride the bike and its bad , it seems like it wont warm up, it has half the power and is just bogging down, it then starts to sputter then finally die on the road, and i am furrious!!!!!!! so I pull it off the side of the road and check the tank, I have half a tank of fuel so im like ok maybe its just bad gas and the stabalizer didnt work right, so I start it back up hold the throttle at WOT and then it seems like its pops and starts cranking out the power again, so im like hell yes! I get to the gas station and fill her up, she rides to my friends house perfect, it then rides to the motorcycle shop perfect, I buy a new KBC helmate and im feeling great, I get back on the bike and then bam it hits again, the bike is bogging down, well im pretty pissed cause I cant figure out the problem, I get on the highway and its cool again, so I go pick up this chick and she hops on the back, its going great then the bike starts sputtering and bogging down just like its misfiring, this is embarrassing :( . ever since then the bike willl not run at full capacity and it keeps bogging down, it idles fine and seems to run fine untill you actually run it.. also it seems that some how the screws have come loose on the back of the engine where a little temperature sensitive spring sits , the cover has fallin off and I have no idea what this is for, I have combed through the book but could not find what it is. also I decided to replace the spark plugs, clean the filter and recharge it and check the wires and coils . everything seems to be perfect, I gapped the plugs to .30 and got the recomended standard NGK's except for that one missing place on the spring I have no idea wear to turn on this. I know how to rebuild carbs but I would rather not and i dont think that is the issue but could be. I actually have been having the same issue with my 71 ford truck, I just rebuilt the carb on it although i need to replace the points on it. so please any help would be great because I miss my lil GS plus I need to to ride the dragon in may, ive gotten on with a group, but I have a lot of money to drop into the gs untill then, or I might just buy a gsxr750 ive had my eye on, but either way I want the GS tip top...
thanks againn
Josh
Well, I didn't read ALL of it, but I got the gist. Bike sat for a combined total of over 4 months. Did you prep it before it sat? Did it have stabil in it?
In the end, I think it's gonna come down to you cleaning the carbs to remove gelled gas.
Just my $.02
Quote from: NiceGuysFinishLast on December 24, 2006, 09:54:29 PM
Well, I didn't read ALL of it, but I got the gist. Bike sat for a combined total of over 4 months. Did you prep it before it sat? Did it have stabil in it?
In the end, I think it's gonna come down to you cleaning the carbs to remove gelled gas.
Just my $.02
well that would be the easy answer but I know its not a fuel or clogged carb problem, the bike was stored properly and the fuel was stabalized, it has a new lined fuel tank on it and recently jetted carbs.
thanks for the answer though , with a website full of riders you would think other people would comment.
oh well ill fix it sooner or later
TLDR
Cliff's?
Does it begin to sputter after riding for a distance? Go away as soon as you open the tank to check for gas? Sounds to me like the tank vent might be clogged.
As to the "temperature sensitive spring thing", I'm aware of no such thing on a GS. Could you be referring to the cam chain tensioner?
Tempature senstive spring == cam chain tensionor spring
You will want to put the cover back on it, soon, as in dont ride it, the spring pushes on a plastic tensioner/slide that put tension on the cam chain so that the chain does not jump around. If itdoes not have tension put on it, it is more prone to slip a tooth and all hell will break loose. So repair that.
As far as it running, there are two things that come to mind.
1. This intermentant problem to me seems life a fuel issue. And I would put my money on the carbs, I know you dont want to clean them, but I think it would not be a bad idea. Hell, you may have rust in your tank and now thats in your carbs, either way need to do some poking around.
2. It could be the old, left cylinder not firing problem that is associated with a poor ground. THe way to check is to pull of the spark caps while it is running. If you pull of one side and the idle speed doesnt change, that is a bad sign.
You can also check the quality of the spark by placing the cap near the spark plug and watching the arc, if it looks weak or you can not see it, thats also bad. Compare the spark from both cylinders for a good relative difference.
Quote from: coll0412 on December 29, 2006, 11:24:15 AM
1. This intermentant problem to me seems life a fuel issue. And I would put my money on the carbs, I know you dont want to clean them, but I think it would not be a bad idea. Hell, you may have rust in your tank and now thats in your carbs, either way need to do some poking around.
:thumb: this will do wonders. Check your float level and make sure the carbs are synched.
well thanks for the replys I do really hate cleaning carbs haha I rebuilt the one on my 71 ford and its not like its hard just more of a irritation to have to do haha. but whatever no big deal. I just dont see how the damn things get clogged after it was riding fine for a few weeks there and I didnt stop to store it this time then all the sudden they are clogged, the gas tanked was just lines about 3 years ago to. but anyways I have to buy a new tank because this one has a dent in it from the last time I layed it down .
I ran the bike for a little while switching it back and forth between the choke and it finally started running right so I guess it is a fuel issue, I must have gotten bad gas or somthing somewhere or liek you said for some reason could be the tank. I guess I was in denial because i wanted to ride my bike so bad... now the cover for the cam chain tensionor spring I have no earthly Idea HOW that came off , I have never taken that off in my life. it seems things disapear on my bike every so often maybe it came off on the lay down who knows I know a lot of vibration goes through it. well today Im going to start tearing it down and give it a complete make over,got a bunch of new cosmetic parts for it and mechanical things too.
thanks for the help
Glad to hear you're moving closer to answers and fixing. I think a lot of folks have been scarce due to the holidays (myself included). It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the vibration knocked off the cover; both my V-Twins have always been full of surprises when it comes to parts vibrating off... :cry:
But....hope you're able to enjoy a Happy New Year riding!!! :cheers: :thumb:
yup I should enjoy it I ordered a carbon fiber headlight bezel and a diamond clear headlight, same kind they used in the naked SV. had to get rid of the heavy chrome headlight holder, infact im trying to get rid of everything that is chrom on the bike including the silver parts like the frame will be powder coated a semi gloss black. I dont like shiny bikes or cars I like hot rod silky look. I just got a 15 weight oil for the forks and new seals and I am putting some spacers in, I still need to buy a good tank because mine has a dent in it and buy some gsxr front and rear peg mounts with pegs. and I have a buddy fabricating a new carbon fiber tail end cover or covers ad seat for it. its nice trading people business I tig and mig weld for him and he builds me carbon fiber crap haha.
well thanks again for all the help. I was seriously going to buy a new motorcycle, but I decided to have fun with this one for the time being instead. no sense in letting a semi fast bike go to waste :)>