Been having alot of problems with the bike. Any touch of the throttle will kill the engine from idle. HELP!

So far I have-
Emptied the tank completely and cleaned through with fresh petrol. Cleaned the lower part of the carbs properly with carb cleaner - full of rust bits. Cleaned fuel lines. Flushed through everything repeatedly. Managed to get it running nicely twice, but left for an hour the problem comes straight back.


Whats left to check? Just had new spark plugs. I'm at a complete loss.

Is this after the bike is warmed up?

Maybe fuel is not the problem, may the problem is air! too much, or too little air can choke out a bike. check your airfilter. You can also loosely fit your tank atop the nike, and add and remove the air filter to see if there is a difference. you can also try putting your hand over the airbox mouth.

I'm fairly sure its not the air, I mean the filter isnt clean but its not bad, had the spark plugs out while its running as well and there seems to be plenty of air coming out.

It happens at any engine temperature, if I let it warm up it still does the same.

Quote from: Black Sunshine on June 27, 2007, 08:13:04 AM
I'm fairly sure its not the air, I mean the filter isnt clean but its not bad, had the spark plugs out while its running as well and there seems to be plenty of air coming out.

That fact that your engine is dying when you flick the throttle means you are not taking in enough gas, or air.
If you believe your bike is getting enough air, we are back to gas.
Has it been sitting for awhile?
Once you get past idle, your carbs are using the main jet(item 31) ( i would pull the main jets, and poke a sewing needle into the oriface.)
I would also check the emulsion tubes.(item 30)
Also check to make sure your air/fuel mixture screw ( item 23) is adjusted to 1.5 turns out ( for starters)
If your bike was running ok before, then something is dirty or broke. It is less likely that something is out of adjustment.
If you feel confident enough, pull the carbs apart, as far as you can, and clean everything.

Now. It is a bit of an afterthought, but did you pull the plugs, ( leave them plugged into the coil wire), and see if you have any spark?

If you got the rust crap from the bowls, that's the big stuff. The tiny stuff is probably packed into the various jets and orifaces.

You need to clean the entire carb according to the service manual. They recommend air pressure to blow out the tiny holes in the direction opposite the flow, while the item has solvent in it.

Good luck. The GS, and any bike left outside, is subject to rust/crap accumulation in the tank due to condensation.

Yes, that is the classic symptom of completely clogged pilot jets.  It'll get enough gas to idle, but it won't produce any power.  Ask me how I know.

You must get all (all!) of the rust out of the carburetor, or you will have problems.  You must also prevent it from getting into the carburetor.  It's coming from your rusty gas tank.

Immediately you need a cellulose fuel filter (not a screen filter like what's in the tank).  It must be designed for carbureted engines, not fuel injection.  Anybody in a parts store that knows anything will be able to get you one.  Purolator makes one (don't have the number, sorry) that I have on mine, but it's very big. 

Once you have that, you can ride, but you still need to coat your tank with POR or Kreem.  There are many threads on this. 

If it's too rusted for that, you'll have to replace your tank.