1996 GSX Build

[Jetjon24]

Alright. Iv'e done a whole crapload of stuff since I last posted. I tried the coat-it stuff and it was transparent and not at all what i was looking for. It did seal the gouges in the bottom, so that was nice. I then rolled on some blue rustoleum enamel i had laying around to cover up the ugly copper/transparent/poop brown color the coat it left. I re-did the seat cover with vinyl from www.marinevinylfabric.com for 23$ shipped and it looks pretty good. for Then I touched up the top side with more grey (still not perfect but it looks good). I Restored the plastics with a heat gun (works phenomenally). and then I re-installed everything. Holy Crap this engine is a pain. To get all of the exhaust parts to line up and then to run all the cooling lines and stuff after that is just so much of a pain. I cleaned (not-rebuilt) the carbs a while back, yes they had a genuine kit that was in ok condition, and so I went ahead and tried to run it. When I first went to fire it up it would run for a few seconds or less and stop hard. Then there was an extremely loud explosion and my water box blew off of my exhaust pipe. after playing around with it for a while i realized it was simply a backfire. After checking timing and getting new sparkplugs, I still had the same issue so I used a volt meter and figured out my ignition coil was out of spec. I used a different coil I had lying around and she ran like a champ. I then tried to run it on the hose for a while and the plugs would get soaked and die after like 10 seconds. I set low speeds to 1 1/4 and it stayed running on the trailer (it was flooding at 1 turn). I took it to the lake and it had trouble starting and staying running without a choke. Once started, it would run good, but it would just load up and not take off at half-full throttle, so if i tap the choke, it would kick in and blast off. I am now getting a new battery and I just ordered a new genuine kit so she should be ripping without any further issues here soon.

Ignoring the fact that I'm getting a new kit, I want to make sure I have this right... If it is flooding at idle and starving to get up and the choke delivers the necessary fuel to get it on plane, then I probably need to turn my low speeds in because that will give me more fuel to air at lower (planing up) throttle ranges right?

Anyways... Shes looking pretty good and running 1/2 descent. I would recommend rustoleum protective enamel if your looking for a cheap easy paint job, but definately roll it on unless you really know what you're doing with a spray gun. so far its pretty hardy and all the oil stain wipe right off. And if I mess up the paint, I can just paint right back over it. I would not recommend coat-it as paint, but if you need something to seal cracks and scrapes in your fiberglass i think it would be great for that. Here's a picture of what she looks like now. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Major Woody]

It should run fine at the factory settings for the low speed screws. Might need a tiny tweak but what you are describing sounds like blocked orifices not something that an adjustment screw would address.

 

[mikidymac]

Cleant the carb correctly, use genuine parts including new needle and seat and set the settings to the correct stock specs.

Turning the screws in reduces the amount of fuel, you have it backwards.

Backfiring is typically caused by a leaking needle and seat flooding the engine and allowing raw fuel into the exhaust.

 

[Jetjon24]

I think what caused the backfire is that the bad coils would only fire as soon as I pressed the button or when I let off the button, so if I held start for 5 seconds and then let off, the coils would spark and light all the fuel that built up. But yes, I know i need to do the carbs the right way, the genuine mikunis are on their way now.

Stock 787 carb settings are Low: 1 and High: 1/4 mag and 0 PTO right? I've done some digging on this site and that seems to be what people were saying.

 

[mikidymac]

I think what caused the backfire is that the bad coils would only fire as soon as I pressed the button or when I let off the button, so if I held start for 5 seconds and then let off, the coils would spark and light all the fuel that built up. But yes, I know i need to do the carbs the right way, the genuine mikunis are on their way now.

Stock 787 carb settings are Low: 1 and High: 1/4 mag and 0 PTO right? I've done some digging on this site and that seems to be what people were saying.

On your 1996 GSX it's....
1.5 Needle and seat
Black 80 gram springs
142.5 Main Jet
70 Pilot jet
23-43psi pop off
Low Screw 1 turn out
High Screw 0 and/or closed.

 

[GGuillot]

Stock 787 carb settings are Low: 1 and High: 1/4 mag and 0 PTO right? I've done some digging on this site and that seems to be what people were saying.

The HS needles settings are not causing your run issue, you'll tweak those later on the top end once you get it running better. I tend to run the HS needles at 1/8 to 1/4 out on my skis, others go to 0. LS needles set at 1 turn.

As advised above, new genuine kits with new needles/seats, ck pop off, etc, Be attention to detail with the carbs..

Idle is unrelated to LS needle settings, set the idle by turning the idle screw, approx 3000 rpm on the trailer and 1500 rpm in the water.

 

[Major Woody]

The carb settings are in the manual, which mikidymac was kind enough to retrieve for you. That's where one should go to get information on factory settings. They are not the same for every 787.

 

[Jetjon24]

Thanks so much! I know the SM has most everything i'll need, but I also wanted to see what everyone else was running especially knowing GGuillot has the same exact ski. When I get the new kit all put in I'll update how it goes. Considering she's already running pretty solid, I can't imagine a new genuine kit won't make her run like a champ.