BigT

You also need a bigger front sprocket

No direct bolt ons Late 80/90s Tokikos are the go to, with an adapter plate https://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?222549-Twinpot-Brake-Upgrade-on-GS1100E-GS750E-GS750ES-GS1000G-GS1000E-GS850G

It's a 79 Kickstart and VM carbs are only on the 79

Is it OEM? Was it cheap?

Yeah, the state I live in, Oregon, is about twice the size of England, and larger than the UK. So, a lot of chapters would be needed

go here http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/ and look around for the cam chain tensioner rebuild. A seal, O ring and some cleaning and you're good My automatic is still good at 84,000 miles My opinion on your barrel wear is that someone took the tensioner off and never released the plunger when reinstalling.

Follow this guide for your carbs http://zeus.mtsac.edu/~cliff/storage/gs/Mikuni_BS-CV_Carburetor_Rebuild_Tutorial.pdf There's an O ring under the float valve seat that fails and fills the carbs I see you're just up the road from me

If you want to get one that fits, works and has the vacuum tap, you need a 1980 GS 1000 E or S petcock. Just check the parts fiche for that part

It's only $4.48 on my local dealers web site. See if that dealer has a web site, order online and, when the parts come in, take your woman to lunch in an exotic location (and pick up your parts)

OHC motors don't get clacky They get quiet and run like crap 3 years is waay too long to not maintain your motor. Do you expect to do nothing and it will run?

When did you last adjust the valve clearances?

Failure to start and falling idle points to a valve clearance adjustment But, not discounting your carbs need cleaning and items need replacing on your 40 year old bike Go here https://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?171846-Top-10-Newbie-Mistakes&highlight=top newbie mistakes and here - http://zeus.mtsac.edu/~cliff/storage/gs/Mikuni_BS-CV_Carburetor_Rebuild_Tutorial.pdf Once you've completed all of that, report back. Don't do things the hard way, by cutting corners And, yes, those are your idle mixture screws on top at the front of your carbs

Buy OEM parts for your brakes The after market parts, especially K&L, are crap The single disc model has a different master cylinder, it easily noted in the parts fiche Replace the brake lines with steel braided ones. Order from Babbits or Partshark or Parts Outlaw. Avoid Bike Bandit

They're not Phillips screws, they're JIS Get the proper screwdriver and, yes, it takes some work to remove them Replace with a Shindegen SH-775 R/R

DaveD, what do you mean, the carbs are worn out? What symptoms do they have that makes you believe this? My VMs are 42 years old with 84,000 miles and still work perfectly The only thing that wears out is the O rings deteriorate over time

Mouse - start with unscrewing the spark plug caps from the wires, trimming 5-6 mm from the wire end and reinstalling the cap. Known corrosion/resistance area Are you running resistor plugs?

There is no master carb on VM carbs. Vacuum sync is required, but a bench sync ( what you're trying to do) is helpful You can either do the setting to the bottom as above, or pull the return spring and set them to the top of the carb throat On the choke issue, are all the fingers set with the notch down? On the set screw side, there is a notch below the screw. Because the fingers are curved, one or more could be upside down

Yeah, you should be able to operate the throttle with just thumb and finger Check the throttle tube also, might be coming apart

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/ Factory service manual and carb cleaning tutorial here

Online sellers have little knowledge of what they're selling, generally. You often see "fits GS 750, all years" when there's 3 generations of 750, with little crossover in parts

You're confusing the model (E) designation with the year (B,C,N) designation B= 77 C=78 N=79

As to your carbs, did you ever follow the link I sent you? What are your settings? Main jet Pilot jet Fuel screw air screw Needle clip position What pods are you running? Do they block the pilot air holes?

Pull the vacuum line from the fuel tap and plug it with a 6 mm bolt, or similar Run the fuel tap on prime See if the cylinder starts firing

Just to clarify for VM carbs - this is a set of 1000 VM26s- vacuum port, vents and vent connectors to #1 and #3 noted Where do hoses go VM by n, on Flickr