Valves can tighten as they seat into the valve seat more. I shoot for the middle of the spec when I adjust. Awesome work and great attention to detail! Keep it up!
Thanks, Eric. A good friend and another commenter also corrected my assumption on the valves. I have long since re-shimmed and did as you suggested - set it in the middle. I'm still learning and it's a really fun journey. I really should post another update video. The bike is so much further along now. It's mostly reassembled and running at this point!
@@MikeMitchum please do! I’m getting ready to start a GS 550 project bike for the winter. I picked up an 81 for $100 and was looking for some ideas. Thanks again!
Denis, there's a spot that I messed up in the video right before I unwrapped the powder coated parts. I was talking and forgot to turn the music down. I was thanking you for doing a good job on them!
Welcome back to the bike life, David! I'm glad that the videos are helpful to you. Take this stuff as a general guideline though and with a grain of salt. I'm really learning as I go along and sort of reporting back my own findings based on similar research and trial and error. That said, I try not to put out any bad information, so it should be at least 89% reliable! Rubber side down and 100 smiles per hour!
A commenter suggested 2.5 turns out, I believe. I have it set there and the bike seems to run pretty good so far. I'll have to tune it further after the first ride to be sure.
How do you know how much bigger you need to go on the jets? I have a 79 gs 850 and I put a K&N airfilter on it and ill be removing one of the baffles in the exhaust
I found a guide a while back on a Honda forum with some general, rule of thumb kind of changes. It's only a starting point though and you'll likely need to do some additional tuning and testing after making any initial changes. Good luck!
Those screws that look like Phillips are actually japanesse industrial standard (jis) I recommend getting a set they work alongside better than Phillips
Hey! I am building a GS550E 77', searching around youtube to find videos to help me build this bike and give me tips and tricks. Your videos are great, and im looking forward to see more of what you are doing! I have original carbs and the fuel screw (the one you dont remember) is 2,5 turns out! What kind of pods are you using? Does the jetting depends on that? Cheers!
Hey, Jacob. Thanks for the info about the air screw! Obviously, I'm not great at responding to people right away! I'm not sure if the type of pods matters in terms of the rejetting, but I do know that moving from the stock airbox to pods definitely matters. Here's a good starting point and this is what I based my jets on: forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=58112.0
Enjoyed watching this video. I plan on cleaning / rebuilding the carbs on my '79 GS550 this winter. Since this is the first time you tackled a project like this, what manual or guide did you use to learn about details like the proper float height setting?
@@MikeMitchum That's so funny because a Clymer came with the bike I just bought. It's pretty old, but information is information, right? The details don't change. I truly appreciate the response!
Hi there. I'm pretty Sure I got the kits from eBay, but only for the gaskets and to scavenge to o-rings from the other parts. If you need jets, I'd suggest going to jetsrus.com and getting OEM parts.
Hey Nice carb build! I've just done the same set. I have no idea what the purpose of those factory set screws are used for. What is there purpose? Have you learned what they do? I too removed them!
@@MikeMitchum Thanks for posting and thanks for the reply! Yes indeed...with your note I went deep and along with your other subscriber there are forums that say the same. In fact they are spring loaded Idle Air-Mixture screws that indeed are set to 2.5 turns out. One can adjust to suit from there. Thanks again Mike!
These videos are great man! I look forward to using these videos to help with my bike!
Valves can tighten as they seat into the valve seat more. I shoot for the middle of the spec when I adjust. Awesome work and great attention to detail! Keep it up!
Thanks, Eric. A good friend and another commenter also corrected my assumption on the valves. I have long since re-shimmed and did as you suggested - set it in the middle. I'm still learning and it's a really fun journey. I really should post another update video. The bike is so much further along now. It's mostly reassembled and running at this point!
@@MikeMitchum please do! I’m getting ready to start a GS 550 project bike for the winter. I picked up an 81 for $100 and was looking for some ideas. Thanks again!
Looking at this is so much easier than actually doing it :) Good job Mike! Nice choice of music
Denis, there's a spot that I messed up in the video right before I unwrapped the powder coated parts. I was talking and forgot to turn the music down. I was thanking you for doing a good job on them!
@@MikeMitchum i know, i figured that, so thats what i heard in my head
Great stuff. Just got the same bike (after 30 years of no riding (damn kids)) so following your work is super helpful. Thanks man.
Welcome back to the bike life, David! I'm glad that the videos are helpful to you. Take this stuff as a general guideline though and with a grain of salt. I'm really learning as I go along and sort of reporting back my own findings based on similar research and trial and error. That said, I try not to put out any bad information, so it should be at least 89% reliable!
Rubber side down and 100 smiles per hour!
Great video. Keep doing your thing.
Thanks! Hopefully I can get back to it this spring and summer.
Wonderful! Got bike yesterday. This video will be very helpful in the future! Thanks!
Top job 🤘
Did you ever figure out the setting for the pilot air screw that we aren't supposed to adjust haha. I did the same thing!
A commenter suggested 2.5 turns out, I believe. I have it set there and the bike seems to run pretty good so far. I'll have to tune it further after the first ride to be sure.
@@MikeMitchum I appreciate that. Sounds like a good starting point. Thanks!
How do you know how much bigger you need to go on the jets? I have a 79 gs 850 and I put a K&N airfilter on it and ill be removing one of the baffles in the exhaust
I found a guide a while back on a Honda forum with some general, rule of thumb kind of changes. It's only a starting point though and you'll likely need to do some additional tuning and testing after making any initial changes. Good luck!
Those screws that look like Phillips are actually japanesse industrial standard (jis) I recommend getting a set they work alongside better than Phillips
Yup - picked up a set of JIS drivers long ago.
Hey! I am building a GS550E 77', searching around youtube to find videos to help me build this bike and give me tips and tricks. Your videos are great, and im looking forward to see more of what you are doing! I have original carbs and the fuel screw (the one you dont remember) is 2,5 turns out! What kind of pods are you using? Does the jetting depends on that? Cheers!
Hey, Jacob. Thanks for the info about the air screw! Obviously, I'm not great at responding to people right away! I'm not sure if the type of pods matters in terms of the rejetting, but I do know that moving from the stock airbox to pods definitely matters. Here's a good starting point and this is what I based my jets on: forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=58112.0
Check out urban monk
Enjoyed watching this video. I plan on cleaning / rebuilding the carbs on my '79 GS550 this winter. Since this is the first time you tackled a project like this, what manual or guide did you use to learn about details like the proper float height setting?
Thanks, Ken. I bought a Clymer manual. It's not perfect, but it's well worth the money. Good luck with your project!
@@MikeMitchum That's so funny because a Clymer came with the bike I just bought. It's pretty old, but information is information, right? The details don't change. I truly appreciate the response!
Hey mike, nice work and super helpful. Where did you get the rebuild kit ? And for that matter where do you find the best place to purchase parts ?
Hi there. I'm pretty Sure I got the kits from eBay, but only for the gaskets and to scavenge to o-rings from the other parts. If you need jets, I'd suggest going to jetsrus.com and getting OEM parts.
Hey Nice carb build! I've just done the same set. I have no idea what the purpose of those factory set screws are used for. What is there purpose? Have you learned what they do? I too removed them!
Thanks! I'm guessing they're air/fuel mixture screws. There's a guy in the comments who has done a set and says to set them 2 1/2 turns out - I think.
@@MikeMitchum Thanks for posting and thanks for the reply! Yes indeed...with your note I went deep and along with your other subscriber there are forums that say the same. In fact they are spring loaded Idle Air-Mixture screws that indeed are set to 2.5 turns out. One can adjust to suit from there. Thanks again Mike!
Fuel metering screws ! Did the carbs sync OK after rebuild ?