1150GS idle issues

If one plug is wet, doesn't that suggest there may be a spark (non-spark) issue?

Maybe swap coils and see if the dry plug becomes wet ?
 
I'll test both sides for spark first, before I swap the coils out. Thanks for the suggestion

Before doing anything else I’d check the throttle cables are properly seated on the splitter box under the battery/ABS unit. I had EXACTLY the same symptoms as you and that was the cause. I got the cable to re-seat itself by pulling on the outer while turning the throttle then allowing the outer to slide back into place, which it did with an audible click.
 
Hello Chaps,

The good news is that the GS is purring like a kitten and idle's very nicely at around 1100rpm or so. It starts on the first swing of the starter.

So what was the cause? Well, I cant be specific as I cant believe it was a a matter of cleaning the ccarbs and injectors only...
So here's what I did:

I removed the tank only to get a surpise of the ABS unit being in the way of things. This scared me a bit as it looked like a big/complicated job to remove it so I opted to not do this. I checked the cables and their seating arrangements as best I could without pulling the whole bike apart. I also adjusted the slack on the right side carb and main cable coming off the twist grip. The left side was fine according to the page of the manual that was supplied to me earlier in the thread.
I removed both injectors and cleaned them both with a carb cleaner spray, replaced as per normal. I knew the right side was giving me hassles prior to the work, so I kept this one out to test later
I cleaned the air box/filter out - nothing major here
I removed the air inlet pipes to the front of the carbs, and sprayed carb cleaner inside the inlet to the carbs, opened the butterfly valves and did the same with the spray again
I then turned the motor over with no plugs in, this allowed the crud to be spat out the cylinders which I cleared from the carbs. (All this time the tank was still off so there was no fuel running into the system)
I checked that the BBS were out at 3/4 of a turn, so I removed them both and cleaned with the carb spray as well. They were blackened from old fuel and were a nice brass colour again once cleaned
I also sprayed the cleaner into the place where the BBS goes, then swung the motor again to clear out any last crud. Replaced the BBS again and set them at 1 full turn
I then put the tank back on, making sure the cables were still seated etc.
I then turned the motor over with the plugs still out (didnt want it to fire on the left cylinder only), and the right injector out to check for multiple pulses of fuel. This was successful after the clean that it got
Replaced plugs into the leads and checked for a spark when turning the motor over.
Fuel - check
Spark - check
Air - well, the filter was clean so it didnt have an issue to breath
Replaced the right injector and plugs

I cranked the motor and it fired right up after half a swing. It idled a little high so I readjusted the BBS screws to 3/4 of a turn. I noticed that I over tightened the right throttle cable so I slackened this a tad so that the butterfly back stop would only just seat on the bolt. (I had about 1mm gap here)

The Mrs had the pleasure of taking the bike for an outride and came back with a big smile on her face, like we've just met :). She's an ex track racing lady so she understands a bike and how responsive a motor should be. She reported no issues other than being a dork on the clutch when pulling away

I did not replace the fuel filter as the darn tank was about 90% full when I started on the weekend, and I had no means to remove/dump the fuel to pull out the whole pump/filter system and change the filter. I'll do this in the next week or so once the tank is almost dry.

Once again chaps, thank you very much for your kind help and pointers to get the bike to run nicely again.

I'll post a picture later of the GS, makes one have a sense of clousure once the picture is posted :)
 
Nice! I think you're only supposed to adjust the right side BBS though and the left one is set. There is far more knowledgeable people on here than me so I might be wrong about that. Just remember from balancing my throttle bodies.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk
 
Nice! I think you're only supposed to adjust the right side BBS though and the left one is set. There is far more knowledgeable people on here than me so I might be wrong about that. Just remember from balancing my throttle bodies.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

Who told you that ? You are not restricted to adjusting one side. You adjust any side, both sides, to get it running how you want. It’s why both sides are adjustable :D…… and to the OP, they’re throttle bodies, not carbs :D
 
Martin if you feel like doing more work the necessary you can also put a petrol filter outside the tank.
Have a wee look around the site to see how to do it.
I did it on my early R1150GS without ABS and used a common RYCO Z578 (Holden Commodore) where the ABS unit would be and replaced it in the tank with a bit of metal fuel line I bent up.
Good luck with the bike they are great fun.

Adrian
 


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