Progress update....or not.....

[Smallkat]

Mansion? It's quite a big house, but I wouldn't say mansion!

A ride out to Thornton when the sun is out would be great. JohnR might like to join too. I'll get a loan and I can get fish and chips too.

The dial stays on by friction with the wave washer (part 20 on the diagram). The original cable is discontinued, but I have an old one if you want to get it copied. I've never found a routing that I am happy with, but it seems to work.

Will do a photo later.

gsx400ss.docx

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[johnD]

Thanks Smallkat. Aha, no wave wsher in mine. Unfortunately, at some time in the past, the cable run unit has been plastic welded to the outer dial, so no way to fit that washer. It's no big deal to hold the choke for starting, as they say, least of my worries.
The replacement transistors arrived yesterday, fitted and the voltage drain has gone, so I got something right!

Now, a serious heads up. I have a bag of spark plugs, mostly from Bandits, GSX1400's I've worked on. But to eliminate any problems, I bought a new set through Ebay. Thought no more about fitting them. Running her up, I could hear a miss / hesitation at tickover. It revved, but not sweatly, if you know what I mean. Given that I had a bit of a struggle getting it going again, I presumed a fouled plug.
Replacing the colder exhaust pipe cylinder plug with one from my bag, back to normal service. Taking a closer look at the plug, the NGK logo and type numbers / letters were a faded blue, unlike the gen NGK's where the logo is a bright blue. Those plugs are now in my gallery of shame.... Watch out for counterfiets, these bikes need all the ignition help they can get!

[pookie]

Fitted iridium plugs in my 250, eight years later and no problems, as you say the years aren't very kind to the ignition systems on these small kats, maybe Suzuki invented built in obsolesence before the people at apple

[Smallkat]

Now, a serious heads up. I have a bag of spark plugs, mostly from Bandits, GSX1400's I've worked on. But to eliminate any problems, I bought a new set through Ebay. Thought no more about fitting them. Running her up, I could hear a miss / hesitation at tickover. It revved, but not sweatly, if you know what I mean. Given that I had a bit of a struggle getting it going again, I presumed a fouled plug.
Replacing the colder exhaust pipe cylinder plug with one from my bag, back to normal service. Taking a closer look at the plug, the NGK logo and type numbers / letters were a faded blue, unlike the gen NGK's where the logo is a bright blue. Those plugs are now in my gallery of shame.... Watch out for counterfiets, these bikes need all the ignition help they can get!

I often wondered how people could ebay NGK plugs including post for about 50p more than I could buy them at trade! Fake explains it.

I have iridiums (hopefully not fake) in mine.

[johnD]

Spot the fake. 10 mins in the sonic cleaner......
Not just the rust, the type markings have been washed off!

[johnD]

Decent weather at last over the weekend and today. Put 100 miles up since fitting the GS550 carbs (Type BS32). Mixed motorway and fast A roads plus traffic clogged inner city.
Bit of judicious engineering required, noting drastic. Have to report that these have cured all the glitches, starting easy and rock solid, as is tickover (!) and no more random flooding for no good reason.
I will do a write up once I am 100 % sure of their reliability, but confidence is high.

[fossie]

Veterans garage Barton airstrip I see. You know what this was a conversion I thought about, but never got round to and proves the fickle nature of the originals probably .
Good call sir!

[johnD]

Yes fossie, meant to give them a mention, good little night out, Mondays from 6 00pm for anyone in the north lancs area.
Entirely fortuitous that these carbs were liing arond my mates garage. He builds trikes and cals me in for electrical stuff so gifted them to me more to suck it and see. Offered them up, same spacing which is three quarters the battle. As I say, once I am totally sure that I'm not leading anyone up the garden path I'll do a write up. But, for the price of the gaskets for the BDST's these seem to be the answer.
Cheers.

[fossie]

I only live down the road from Barton airport and every Monday evening after the clock spring forward the Cadishead by pass sounds like the Mulsanne straight!
I ride past ( normally) about 2030 on my way home .
As for carbs I had a set of 650 carbs in a box much like you looked the spacing , mmmmummmed and ahhhed abit but found a set of 400 carbs for not much and went down that route ....but it was decade or so ago and stripped for parts 400's came from running ones '

Look forward to the write up .cheers

[Smallkat]

Wow! JohnD, you may have made the biggest leap forward in 400 Kat development in the last 30 years!

Looking forward to the write up too. And if you spot a spare set, you know where I am!

What fuel are you using?