Ok, so I had some issues with the carbs not running right. I cleaned them out, replaced the small little O ring, gave the edge of the diaphragm a bit of oil, a touch on the o ring, cleaned all the jets, put a little oil on the sides (I had one stick) and put new screws on the carb bowls, oh and one new float ring. Now it runs great but here is the problem it idles at 3k. I adjusted the idle screw with no avail, its at the lowest point.


When I start up the bike, it starts up fine, runs at 1.5k and if I give it some gas it responds promtly. If I add choke, it bogs, to where if I add too much I can kill the engine.

Conversely, when its warmed up, it idles at 3k, but if I add some choke, it will go as high as 5k at its maximum choke.

Whats going on? I cant figure this out???

I thought it was the throttle cable being set too high, but I adjusted it to the lowest setting as well. I'm not sure whats going on, some one help!

adjust the throttle cable at the carbs?

check the carb boots to make sure they are on there flush. top and make 100% sure on the bottom.
air box side likes to be a pain on the bottom.

also.
adjust your idle screw after riding the bike a bit when its properly warmed up awhile, not when its cold.

Air leaks around the intake boots/airbox or filter/ exhaust manifolds?  Idle mixture screws turned for your appropriate system?  Valve clearances?  Vacuum caps all in place?  Float height correct?

Could be any of those.  Check one at a time until it runs correctly.

adjust the throttle cable at the carbs?
Did that
check the carb boots to make sure they are on there flush. top and make 100% sure on the bottom.
air box side likes to be a pain on the bottom.
Pretty sure, everything is flush, but I will check
also.
adjust your idle screw after riding the bike a bit when its properly warmed up awhile, not when its cold.
Did that

 Valve clearances?  Vacuum caps all in place?  Has 4k miles on it, should be fine

Float height correct?
I will check this, but I don't think this problem will manifest because of this. Flooding maybe?
Could be any of those.  Check one at a time until it runs correctly.

Try disconnecting the throttle cable completely and starting it, see where it idles then. They can get hitches in them easy and you won't even notice unless you disconnect it completely.

Quote from: stafebak on July 27, 2011, 07:51:46 PM
Try disconnecting the throttle cable completely and starting it, see where it idles then. They can get hitches in them easy and you won't even notice unless you disconnect it completely.

I did this when I was adjusting the cable, seemed like it ran fine and choked as usual, but this was when it was cold. I wouldn't see why it wouldn't do the same thing when it was cold or warm.

Float can cause it to idle high, if it is low.
Throttle stuck open or lean.
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: dsmgs500 on July 27, 2011, 07:23:31 PM

  Valve clearances?  Vacuum caps all in place?  Has 4k miles on it, should be fine

Float height correct?
I will check this, but I don't think this problem will manifest because of this. Flooding maybe?
Could be any of those.  Check one at a time until it runs correctly.

4000 miles, it is past due for a valve adjustment.They should be checked and adjusted every 3000 miles.The valves will tighten up and cause problems that appear to be carb problems.

wouldn't all these problems manifest all the time if it was a float bowl isssue or a valve issue? It seems like it acts differently at different points in time.

Carbs synchronized?

Is the choke cable out of its housing on the right carb ('89-00 models)?

Valve adjustments and oil changes and carb vacuum synchronization should be done every 4000 miles, per the manual.

Can some one explain what a high idle is caused by? Is it too much fuel? Or too much opening in the throttle plates?"


Also does the choke, allow more fuel or more air in?

Quote from: ben2go on July 28, 2011, 08:10:42 AM

Quote from: dsmgs500 on July 27, 2011, 07:23:31 PM

 Valve clearances?  Vacuum caps all in place?  Has 4k miles on it, should be fine

Float height correct?
I will check this, but I don't think this problem will manifest because of this. Flooding maybe?
Could be any of those.  Check one at a time until it runs correctly.

4000 miles, it is past due for a valve adjustment.They should be checked and adjusted every 3000 miles.The valves will tighten up and cause problems that appear to be carb problems.

Oh the reason I dont think its valves, is because before I cleaned it and replaced a bunch of stuff, it choked and ran find before my slide got stuck

You cleaned the carbs, good, now they are sensitive enough to point out that you need a valve adjustment.

Every time you touch the carbs, you should re-synch them.

Every time you do a valve adjustment, you need to synch the carbs.

Quote from: dsmgs500 on July 28, 2011, 11:35:49 AM
Can some one explain what a high idle is caused by? Is it too much fuel? Or too much opening in the throttle plates?"


Also does the choke, allow more fuel or more air in?

All of the above can cause high idle.Also a lean condition can cause the engine to fail to return to idle.Are you sure your pilot jets are clean and flowing properly?The orifice in the pilot jet is so small that a little varnish in there will cause running problems.

Quote from: scratch on July 28, 2011, 01:34:02 PM
You cleaned the carbs, good, now they are sensitive enough to point out that you need a valve adjustment.

Every time you touch the carbs, you should re-synch them.

Every time you do a valve adjustment, you need to synch the carbs.

I back this 100%.

My guess is a tight exhaust valve. The valves on my GS gets tight every 3000-5000 km.

Quote from: ben2go on July 28, 2011, 05:48:46 PM

Quote from: dsmgs500 on July 28, 2011, 11:35:49 AM
Can some one explain what a high idle is caused by? Is it too much fuel? Or too much opening in the throttle plates?"


Also does the choke, allow more fuel or more air in?

All of the above can cause high idle.Also a lean condition can cause the engine to fail to return to idle.Are you sure your pilot jets are clean and flowing properly?The orifice in the pilot jet is so small that a little varnish in there will cause running problems.

I cleaned it twice acctually, first time I did a bad job, second time I dissasemabled everything, and also got a wire brush and stuck it into the holes

Quote from: bombjack on July 29, 2011, 03:55:32 AM
My guess is a tight exhaust valve. The valves on my GS gets tight every 3000-5000 km.

are exhaust valves hard to do?

Quote from: dsmgs500 on July 29, 2011, 07:23:14 AM

Quote from: bombjack on July 29, 2011, 03:55:32 AM
My guess is a tight exhaust valve. The valves on my GS gets tight every 3000-5000 km.

are exhaust valves hard to do?

They are very easy to check (30 minutes top), but can be a bit tricky to adjust.
If they need adjustment then buy the valve adjustment tool. It saves you a lot of frustration when getting the shims out.