GL1100 won't idle

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Arnold

Arnold

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 26, 2010
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Location
Boise Idaho
I'm Arnold from Idaho and I recently acquired a 1981 Interstate that runs fine on the freeway, but won't idle. I've been researching how to adjust pilot screws and sync carbs. The former owner had it in his garage a long while. I added a few ounces of sea foam to the gas tank 100 miles ago and filled the tank with real gasoline (is 87 octane good enough?) I'm open to suggestions on shortcuts to mechanical success.
Arnold
 
Welcome to the forums.

The idle jets in these carbs will clog after sitting for a few months.
Running the Seafoam may help or you could try a concentrated dose by draining the gas out of the bowls then hook a line to the pump directly to the Seafoam can then crank to fill the bowls then let sit a couple days.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
Hi Arnold ,
Welcome to the forum from Colorful Colorado. :yahoo: :party: :yahoo:

When I got my 83 last year it had some issues with the carbs and I used "BG 44" and it made a tremendous difference in one tank full.. It is quite expensive, $25.00 but I got through the riding season with out having the bike down for carb cleaning. This winter I will still do the Randakk kits and a thorough cleaning now that I have proven the bike has no other major problems.
 
thewhiterhino":lcumutsp said:
Hi Arnold ,
Welcome to the forum from Colorful Colorado. :yahoo: :party: :yahoo:

When I got my 83 last year it had some issues with the carbs and I used "BG 44" and it made a tremendous difference in one tank full.. It is quite expensive, $25.00 but I got through the riding season with out having the bike down for carb cleaning. This winter I will still do the Randakk kits and a thorough cleaning now that I have proven the bike has no other major problems.
Click to expand...

What is BG 44, I've never heard of it.
 
dan filipi":2r8wrq6p said:
thewhiterhino":2r8wrq6p said:
Hi Arnold ,
Welcome to the forum from Colorful Colorado. :yahoo: :party: :yahoo:

When I got my 83 last year it had some issues with the carbs and I used "BG 44" and it made a tremendous difference in one tank full.. It is quite expensive, $25.00 but I got through the riding season with out having the bike down for carb cleaning. This winter I will still do the Randakk kits and a thorough cleaning now that I have proven the bike has no other major problems.
Click to expand...

What is BG 44, I've never heard of it.
Click to expand...

Because of the cost its mostly used by professionals. Ofter a fuel injector cleaning is nothing more than adding BG44K. I buy it at Advance auto parts or NAPA. It does the most thorough cleanup I've found.
Here is a link to the BG Website. https://www.bgprod.com/products/fuelair.html
As long as its been around its interesting that more folks haven't heard of it. They must have a marketing deficite.
 
Thanks for the tips. Since I have another can of seafoam, I will try your suggestion to suck it into the carbs via the fuel pump and let it sit a couple days. I also ordered from Motocycle Superstore a set of Emgo carb sync gauges and a 90-degree pilot screw adjuster. A guy can never have too many tools.
Arnold
 
My tools from Motorcycle Superstore arrived already! When I hooked up the carb synchronizer vacuum gauges, I got five inches across the board. Healthy vacuum is 18-20 inches. Should I assume it is additive and add the four fives and be content that collectively they reached 20? I assume it should be 18 inches all around, and I'm getting less because my bike's not idling right, some other circuit is keeping it at idle speed and the vacuum won't rise until my idle jets are clean.
 
Arnold":3ieip1tq said:
My tools from Motorcycle Superstore arrived already! When I hooked up the carb synchronizer vacuum gauges, I got five inches across the board. Healthy vacuum is 18-20 inches. Should I assume it is additive and add the four fives and be content that collectively they reached 20? I assume it should be 18 inches all around, and I'm getting less because my bike's not idling right, some other circuit is keeping it at idle speed and the vacuum won't rise until my idle jets are clean.
Click to expand...

Well I think mine is running pretty good.
The last time I synced it I got 9 inches vacuum on all 4.
Yours showing 5 inches tells me the throttle plates are open too far to maintain an idle, the throttle screw opened to compensate for clogged idle jets will cause that low vacuum.
I've found this problem will improve with miles as the jets get cleaned but you may ultimately have to pull the carbs and clean them to ever get it running right.
 
I've had some success in forcing cleaner through the low speed jets. I add a liberal amount of cleaner in the fuel then run the bike up close to redline (about 2k less) in a gear that keeps me within the speed limit. Then chop throttle and coast down. I do this several times until I can get a good idle. My reasoning for this exercise is that motors have the highest vacuum at idle. It seems to force the motor to maintain it's highest vacuum for an extended amount of time.
 
Thanks for the advice. After filling the float chambers with Sea Foam over the weekend, it was one smoky event getting her to start on Monday, but I got her running eventually (the float drain screws are too tight to remove). I rode her to work this morning and in the parking lot she was kind of idling. So, I'm sensing some improvement.
At the gas station, I found I had used 4.75 gallons to go 164 miles. Should I be getting better mileage than 35 mpg? Also, is 87 octane good enough for the GL1100?
 
Arnold":1gvwiab4 said:
Thanks for the advice. After filling the float chambers with Sea Foam over the weekend, it was one smoky event getting her to start on Monday, but I got her running eventually (the float drain screws are too tight to remove). I rode her to work this morning and in the parking lot she was kind of idling. So, I'm sensing some improvement.
At the gas station, I found I had used 4.75 gallons to go 164 miles. Should I be getting better mileage than 35 mpg? Also, is 87 octane good enough for the GL1100?
Click to expand...
As you work through your carb issues, your mileage will be down. These bikes (I'll speak for mine) average 42-45 MPG on the highway and 38-42 MPG around town. 35 MPG with the condition of your carbs is about right until they are clean and working correctly. If it is not idling correctly, your carbs will use more gas to keep it going.
 
35 mpg isn't too bad, should be closer to 40 unless your really on it all the time over 70 mph and quick accelerations.
That's a good sign so far because it tells me the main jets and sliders are in decent condition, just sounds like the idle jets are clogged some.
The lower rpms rely on the idle jets to pull in some fuel along with the main jets. If the idle jets aren't supplying the right amount then the throttle has to be cracked open a bit further to maintain power. Once the idle jets are clear I'd bet your mpg would be closer to 40.
 
:music2: I'm happy now because my Goldwing is idling right. All the tricks suggested came together without having to tear the carbs down. I've been able to back the throttle stop screw to a lower idle (it looks like about 900 rpm on the tach). I have a little hesitation when I attempt to rev it to get rolling, but once rolling it revs very nicely. 87 Octane gas is working fine for me. I still have a few ounces of Sea Foam in the tank to continue cleaning.
 
Add 8oz of ATF to each tank of gas? Are you talking automatic transmission fluid? Wouldn't that make it smoke like a two-stroke?
Despite idling better, my Goldwing still had troubling making the transition from idle to higher speeds, clunking and such. So, I decided to take apart the carbs. I found the #4 carb had a blocked idle jet. I discovered that by sticking a guitar string E .010 gauge through it. All four float bowls had mud in the bottom and all four drain valves were totally clogged. I used a spray can of gum out carburetor cleaner on the parts, plus blew compressed air through all the jets afterwards.
I'll put it back together another day. I'm learning a lot about my 81 GL1100. The manual showed an easy way to remove the carburetors from the left side of the bike, but in my case, it wouldn't squeeze out until I had removed the tops of carbs 1 & 3. If I were a paid mechanic, I would have earned $320 today for labor (plus another $320 for the shop).
 

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