I picked up a '79 GL1000 earlier this week. Decent cosmetic shape, ran 11 months ago. When the previous owner rolled it out for this season, it turned over but two of the cylinders weren't firing (maybe, the report of this was vague). He suspected a bad head gasket on the mystery side, but didn't have the desire to fix it. I picked it up for very little money and I love a project, so here we are.
After taking possession of it last night, I tried to get it to start up to take the temp of the exhaust manifold/observe the smell, color and density of any diagnostically relevant smokes and vapors coming out of the exhaust. I didn't have much time to pour over it last night, but here are my thoughts on trying to get it to start:
CURRENT STATUS:
Petcock set to ON, full choke. Battery is charged. Engine cranks and makes some promising noises, but doesn't turn over. Smells like old, stale gas with some slightly sweet notes. Carbs were rebuilt two years ago. Oil, filter, spark plugs, 12251-371-306 gaskets are en route.
THINGS TO DO:
Drain the tank and carb bowls, replace with fresh gas. Test spark plug wires for continuity, inspect condition of spark plugs, confirm that they're all firing. Check compression. Change oil, inspect old oil for anything that isn't oil where oil ought to be. Replace head gaskets with shiny, new OEM gaskets.
What else should I probe? Are there any common issues I should be looking into?
Thanks!
After taking possession of it last night, I tried to get it to start up to take the temp of the exhaust manifold/observe the smell, color and density of any diagnostically relevant smokes and vapors coming out of the exhaust. I didn't have much time to pour over it last night, but here are my thoughts on trying to get it to start:
CURRENT STATUS:
Petcock set to ON, full choke. Battery is charged. Engine cranks and makes some promising noises, but doesn't turn over. Smells like old, stale gas with some slightly sweet notes. Carbs were rebuilt two years ago. Oil, filter, spark plugs, 12251-371-306 gaskets are en route.
THINGS TO DO:
Drain the tank and carb bowls, replace with fresh gas. Test spark plug wires for continuity, inspect condition of spark plugs, confirm that they're all firing. Check compression. Change oil, inspect old oil for anything that isn't oil where oil ought to be. Replace head gaskets with shiny, new OEM gaskets.
What else should I probe? Are there any common issues I should be looking into?
Thanks!