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85 GS550e starting problems

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
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Anonymous

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Hi!

Just recently bought an 85 GS550E. The two times I looked at it it started right up from cold and ran well. It was delivered to me on a cold, rainy day about 40-45 degrees F. Since then it's only started once, and that was on a battery charger. Whenever I try to start it it just doesn't fire. It turns over good, but with the charger on it drains the battery reading way down after trying to start it. Do I just have a bad battery, does it have to do with the moisture on delivery day, or is it a possible other problem? Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Mike
 
Be sure the choke is totally, all the way, on, & don't touch the throttle.
 
moisture really shouldn't affect anything...i am suspecting a bad battery. if you have jumper cables, try hooking your car batt. up the bike's batt. and see if it starts okay. if it does, then you know you have something wrong with the bike's batt.

~Adam
 
If it hasn't fired at all since it stopped for you, and I mean not even a sputter, then I would check electrical. My GS has never done this to me but my Kawasaki has. In my case it turned out to be a pinched wire in the wiring harness right where it passes through the tripple tree assembly into the frame. I imagine it could be a fuse too? Just a guess on the last one.
 
I know the choke has been on all the way. Was told by the prior owner that the battery was new, but it turns out it isn't brand new, it's rebuilt. So I might go get a battery today and try that out tonight. Also, will be sure to not touch the throttle. Any other thoughts, or should this be my first thing to check? Thanks again!
 
If your going that route I would start with what AOD said, try jumping it with your car, if it starts you can feel pretty sure you got your answer, if still nothing I would start checking electrical.
 
I have owned a 1985 GS550EF (small fairing), since it was 3 months old. I have a bit of experience starting these beasts from long storage, cold mornings, etc.

1) The choke is not a choke per se, it is actually an enricher system that pulls fuel straight from the bottom of the carb and feeds it into the airstream at the far engine side of the trottle bore.

2) If the carbs are dry, it is almost impossible to get them to fill up without the bike running. I luck out most of the time and switch to reserve on the freeway, but it takes a couple of hundred feet for it to catch again.

3) the Gas guage sucks! You can run out of the main tank at 1/2 full or when it is almost empty. It is not consistant. Where do you have the switch set when you are trying to start...prime? If not, switch it to prime and hopefully you will be getting some fuel in there.

4) take off the right sidecover. next to the fuse box is a small humped cover. Two tabs need to be depressed (left side) and the cover swivels off. You will see a screw on the right side of the opening, remove it, and the air cleaner will come out. Now, use either carb cleaner or starting fluid, spray a bit in there (the the far and near side in order to hit both carbs), then start cranking. Spray some more in while you are cranking, it should fire up if the electrical is OK. Keep spraying spurts until is catches on then you should be fine. This is the method I have to use every spring, unless I want to kill the battery.

5) I have had tons of charging problems, but the rest of the electical system has been bullet proof. the ignition has always worked, and so has all the sub systems.

6) once it is running, move the selector to reserve then go fill up the bike, these hate to run out of fuel, and if you totally run it out (reserve), get out the starting fluid and start the process over.

It is a pretty good bike, handles well, good power, buzzes a bit at speed, but all in all you should be happy.

You need a really good battery for the bike, it seems to eat the cheap ones within a year. It is not the charging but the cranking runs them down quickly. Also, see what your charging at (voltage at the battery when running). Between friends we had 4 of these (all 85's) and all of them overcharged and boiled the battery dry. Once you do this, chuck it and start over. Refill them with acid when they are low, and they will last the longest.

Kenny
 
Is it ok to jump it from a car? Isn't the car 12v and the bike 6v? Thanks.
 
Your going to be hard pressed to find an anything that is 6v anymore. Your bike is 12v. Go for it :)
 
Hooked it to my car and it fired right up!!! I let it run for a while and then turned it off, started it up again off the battery. Did that a couple times. Parked it in the garage for about 30 minutes, went out to start it, it wouldn't start, so looks like a bad battery. Thanks for the help!
 
Incidentally, when you boost a bike off a car battery, you shouldn't run the car's engine like you do when boosting another car. Just use the juice straight off the car battery. It won't run down the car battery, if your bike starts right away.
 
Do you mean don't rev the car's engine, or just don't start the car?
 
Got home tonight and started it without a jump! Must have just needed to work out some kinks. Hopefully this will be the end of starting problems for a while!
 
OK, got it started and took it for a ride. Rode for a few minutes. It sputtered a little, but was ok overall. Then killed it pulling away from a stop. Fortunately just a 1/4 mile from home in my neighborhood. Well, it wouldn't even turn after that. Got a jump but then it died a minute later while working on the choke. Dead again. Decided just to push it home. Bad battery? Thanks again.
 
If you want, you can at least check/clean/tighten the battery connections and add distilled water if the battery level is low. Start it up and take it for a long enough ride to charge the battery. If it keeps losing a charge, then hopefully it's just an old battery.
 
I'm thinking I might just get a new battery. The person I bought the bike from said the battery in it is a few months old, but was re-conditioned. He thinks it might just be a weak battery.
 
If you buy a new one at a M/C shop, ask the parts man to check/verify what's the correct battery part #. You never know, you may have the wrong battery on it and that could be why it did'nt last long. Whenever you replace a part on a previously owned bike, always check for the part being correct. Don't just automatically buy what's on the bike.
 
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