1981 GL1100 Carburetor and Starter issues

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56michael

Well-known member
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2021
Messages
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Location
Bloomington, Mn
My Bike Models
1981 GL1100 Vetter Package
1982 GL 1100 Interstate
2016 Harley Davidson Fat Boy S
Hello everyone, this is my first post. I’ve been riding and working on motorcycles for a long time and now I have my first Goldwing. My sons father in law gave it to him. Been sitting in a garage for 6 years only 19,000 miles. Pulled the carbs, drained the gas, new gas lines, fuel filter, spark plugs, took carbs apart cleaned and new kits, set pilot screws at 1 1/2 turns out and new battery. Fired up after a few cranks, being careful not to fry the starter. Let it warm up took it for a ride a mile or so came back home. At idle it slowly slows down and quits even with the throttle stop screw all the way in. A Haynes manual came with the bike that has been very helpful. Tried to open the pilot screws and quickly figured out that I need to get a 90 degree tool to turn them. It ran good at higher rpm just slows down and dies at idle. Any suggestions while I wait for my tool to arrive?
 
Welcome to the site! IT sounds like your idle jets are clogged. did you pull the jets? On the '81 carbs, they are pressed in jets. I use a sheet rock screw to get a bite. They do not come out easy. I had to soak a carb in Carb Chem to loosen it a bit and then work the jet side to side while pulling to get them out.

Carb Cleaning 019.jpg
 
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Welcome to the site! IT sounds like your idle jets are clogged. did you pull the jets? On the '81 carbs, they are pressed in jets. I use a sheet rock screw to get a bite. They do not come out easy. I had to soak a carb in Carb Chem to loosen it a bit and then work the jet side to side while pulling to get them out.

View attachment 47811
I didn’t remove them for that reason pressed in. I did clean them with cleaner small brush and air. I was wondering if the pilot screws needed to be turned out more? What kind of tool to you use to adjust them?
 
For the pilot air screws, first, the covers have to be removed. I was able to remove them by heating up slightly with a heat gun to loosen the glue. My initial adjustments were 1 1/4 turns while off the bike. After performing the idle drop procedures, ultimately, they ended up at 2 1/4 turns out. I had a small, 90 degree screw driver that could reach the screws while on the bike (real pain!).
 
For the pilot air screws, first, the covers have to be removed. I was able to remove them by heating up slightly with a heat gun to loosen the glue. My initial adjustments were 1 1/4 turns while off the bike. After performing the idle drop procedures, ultimately, they ended up at 2 1/4 turns out. I had a small, 90 degree screw driver that could reach the screws while on the bike (real pain!).
Thanks, I think I’ll try the idle drop procedure before taking the carbs back out. By opening the pilot screws more shouldn’t it make idle faster?
 
The idle drop procedure will not make any difference if the idle jets are even remotely clogged. I know it is a pain, but you should pull those jets and clean them before attempting changing the pilot air screws and get disappointed. Also, there is a tiny hole in the carb barrel for the accelerator. It is worth check that it is also clean.


ACC Jet 003.jpg
 
The idle drop procedure will not make any difference if the idle jets are even remotely clogged. I know it is a pain, but you should pull those jets and clean them before attempting changing the pilot air screws and get disappointed. Also, there is a tiny hole in the carb barrel for the accelerator. It is worth check that it is also clean.


View attachment 47812
What’s the procedure for reinstalling those jets after cleaning?
 
The ones on my latest 84 were not completely blocked.
After putting A T F in the fuel, after using several tanks of gas.
Had to keep slowing the idle, as they were opening back up.
 
Welcome to the site! IT sounds like your idle jets are clogged. did you pull the jets? On the '81 carbs, they are pressed in jets. I use a sheet rock screw to get a bite. They do not come out easy. I had to soak a carb in Carb Chem to loosen it a bit and then work the jet side to side while pulling to get them out.

View attachment 47811
I turned the pilot screws out a half turn and it made no difference in the idle just slows down and quits. So I’m taking your advice, this morning I pulled the carbs and carefully pulled the idle jets with the drywall screw technique that you describe, it was easier than I expected. The small holes in the side of the jet are not blocked but I cannot see any daylight through the jet. what’s the best way to clean these or can you buy new ones?
 
I turned the pilot screws out a half turn and it made no difference in the idle just slows down and quits. So I’m taking your advice, this morning I pulled the carbs and carefully pulled the idle jets with the drywall screw technique that you describe, it was easier than I expected. The small holes in the side of the jet are not blocked but I cannot see any daylight through the jet. what’s the best way to clean these or can you buy new ones?
Soaked the jets in carb cleaner for a couple hours then took the smallest guitar string in a set (high E .012 inch) worked it for a bit and got it through the jet. Now I can see daylight through the jets. I compared the hole size with one of the screw in jets that came with the carb kits and it’s the same Size, pretty small. It was a good day!! I didn’t break anything!!
 
Before you put the carbs on the bike and hopefully before you put the jets back in, the passage needs to be cleared. I spray carb cleaner in the passage and make sure it comes out the other end.
 
I had a curious issue with my 81 GL1100 back in 2016, when I was 1st restoring and riding it that summer.

1) I had already done a full carb overhaul, but sometimes the LH carbs would flood the LH cylinders after sitting with the motor off. This means draining the oil after purging the LH cylinders, and a fresh oil changed when this happens, which is very annoying, at the very least. The GL1100 carbs don't have bowl overflow pipes, so if float level isn't perfect, it can do this even without the fuel pump running, if the fuel in the tank is higher than the carbs. Since I am in the habit of keeping my bikes topped off, this is virtually a given for me unless I am moving down the road, lol! I did pull the carbs a 3rd time to get my floats as near-perfect as possible, but I still don't trust the lack-of-overflow-pipe design.
Soultion: I keep the Petcock OFF until I get the motor started, and I always shut the petcock OFF before killing the motor. Sometimes I even let the bike run another 30-60 seconds after petcock shutoff, just to use some of the fuel still in between the petcock and the carbs.

2) Even though my petcock did not leak fuel in any position, and did stop flow in the "off" position, I discovered it DID have an AIR leak where is mounts to the tank surface. I was having fuel flow issues while riding, and though I heard a tiny "whistle sound" somewhere, when my fuel level was 3/4 or less. Well, it turned out that 3/4 tank height is roughly where the petcock mounts on the outside, hmmmm. Sure enough, the petcock base was a teensy bit warped, and the new seal there still had an air leak issue. I planed the petcock face true-flat & cleaned the tank surface there to smoothe bare metal, then re-installed the new petcock seals, and the air leak, fuel supply issue, & whistle sound, were all gone!

Maybe these 2 items will be helpful, but even the most experienced people I talked to had never heard of the #2 issue, so that I had to figure out on my own.
 
Before you put the carbs on the bike and hopefully before you put the jets back in, the passage needs to be cleared. I spray carb cleaner in the passage and make sure it comes out the other end.
I had a curious issue with my 81 GL1100 back in 2016, when I was 1st restoring and riding it that summer.

1) I had already done a full carb overhaul, but sometimes the LH carbs would flood the LH cylinders after sitting with the motor off. This means draining the oil after purging the LH cylinders, and a fresh oil changed when this happens, which is very annoying, at the very least. The GL1100 carbs don't have bowl overflow pipes, so if float level isn't perfect, it can do this even without the fuel pump running, if the fuel in the tank is higher than the carbs. Since I am in the habit of keeping my bikes topped off, this is virtually a given for me unless I am moving down the road, lol! I did pull the carbs a 3rd time to get my floats as near-perfect as possible, but I still don't trust the lack-of-overflow-pipe design.
Soultion: I keep the Petcock OFF until I get the motor started, and I always shut the petcock OFF before killing the motor. Sometimes I even let the bike run another 30-60 seconds after petcock shutoff, just to use some of the fuel still in between the petcock and the carbs.

2) Even though my petcock did not leak fuel in any position, and did stop flow in the "off" position, I discovered it DID have an AIR leak where is mounts to the tank surface. I was having fuel flow issues while riding, and though I heard a tiny "whistle sound" somewhere, when my fuel level was 3/4 or less. Well, it turned out that 3/4 tank height is roughly where the petcock mounts on the outside, hmmmm. Sure enough, the petcock base was a teensy bit warped, and the new seal there still had an air leak issue. I planed the petcock face true-flat & cleaned the tank surface there to smoothe bare metal, then re-installed the new petcock seals, and the air leak, fuel supply issue, & whistle sound, were all gone!

Maybe these 2 items will be helpful, but even the most experienced people I talked to had never heard of the #2 issue, so that I had to figure out on my own.
 
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