JUST BARLEY made it home! LOL!!!

[SuperCell]

So my damn 550 GS isn't charging the battery. The bike's a POS, so for now, I've just been charging the battery every night and riding around local only. So I was out for a ride tonight, and the turn signals stopped working (always the first sign of impending doom). I concentrated on just making it home. I hit my right turn-signal to make the turn into my driveway and the engine died right then and there. LOL!!! Coasted down my driveway into my garage and came to a stop with the engine off. Sure enough, not enough power was left to even bump the engine over a bit.

Damn was I lucky!!! You don't cut it any closer than that.

Make no mistake, GS's are garbage!!!

[Rocky]

Sounds to me like you have a stator problem.

[marvinsc]

Got Ya Home Didn't it!

[airportcop]

If you have not replaced your Regulator Rectifier and possibly your stator from the old stock ones then you may indeed have problems. Once you fix those issues using the Stator papers then you will have a rock solid bike. These engines are really tough. These old bikes require a little maintenance once in a while. Without it it's anybody's guess! Good luck and don't give up on it!

[SuperCell]

lol, on a serious note, I do like the bike. It has low miles and runs very good once started. Unfortunately, I need a gas tank and very well might need a stator and/or regulator. That's $350 right there, even if I do the work myself. Of course, I'd probably be looking at at least $2,500 for a real nice used bike, and I don't see myself affording that any time soon. May just have to sink money into this old bike....

[SuperCell]

Airportcop, thanks.

[speedzter2000]

So my damn 550 GS isn't charging the battery. The bike's a POS, so for now, I've just been charging the battery every night and riding around local only. So I was out for a ride tonight, and the turn signals stopped working (always the first sign of impending doom). I concentrated on just making it home. I hit my right turn-signal to make the turn into my driveway and the engine died right then and there. LOL!!! Coasted down my driveway into my garage and came to a stop with the engine off. Sure enough, not enough power was left to even bump the engine over a bit.

Damn was I lucky!!! You don't cut it any closer than that.

Make no mistake, GS's are garbage!!!

Oh, trust me...I've had the same feeling as yourself many times...I wanted to take the 5 gallons of gas, dump it on the bike, and light an M-80 on top of it!!
Your problem could be the R/R, the Stator...you can diagnose it through the search feature, or on the homepage.
At this point in time, I have already replaced the R/R, the battery (3 times due to a faulty R/R) and will be replacing the starter, stator and coils. I got these parts pretty cheap.
Take this into consideration: These bikes are easy to work on, you can get used parts pretty cheap on e-bay or a motorcycle salvage yard, you're not paying a lot of $$$ for insurance, dont have to worry about it being stolen if you think it's garbage, no m/c payment, and if all else fails...part it out on e-bay. Let me know if you do that, because I want some ..lol
The bike is older...if you had a classic car...I'm sure along the way you'd need to fix things if it wasn't in pristine condition.
Have a beer or three...narrow your problem down...you could be up and running by this weekend...and..no payments for service to some sleazeball who doesnt care about you or your bike...
Just my .02...Been there...trust me!!:-D
hang in there...

[scotschult]

I'm With Speed...

I just got "done" (are we ever really "done"?) refurbishing an '80 GS850G. All told, I spent about 2+ times what it's worth (Kelly Blue Book) on this bike. But, as I was complaining to my girlfriend one night about it, she answered "If you bought a new bike, how much would it be? At what interest rate? For how many years?" That pretty much put me in my place, as I realized she was right. Plus, I have the added incentive of knowing this bike used to belong to my Dad, along with knowing everything that's been done to it, and how. Those two alone make it more than worth it. As we speak (type), it's in the garage with both tires off of it, waiting on new wheel bearings (found out tonight they were *rough*). Am I going to complain about it? Probably. But I won't regret a moment of it. Hang in there. One day you'll realize it's been worth all the "trouble".

Scott

[bradleymaynar]

Dude! Don't touch the Stator, R/R 'til you've done the $35 diagnostic! Buy a new battery. No amount of charging is going to save a dead battery. If you get the new battery and the problem continues, then worry about the more expensive things.:-D

GS's are a Garbage! Blasphemer!!:shock:

Brad tt

[earlfor]

No machine will be any better than the mechanic that maintains it. LOL

Earl

Make no mistake, GS's are garbage!!!

[Captk]

My wifes' Mitsubishi Pajero was like that. Lots of expensive diagnostics.
Guess what? It was the battery.

[MissFabulous]

LMAO...

I'm sorry...

When I read the title of the thread, it says "barley" so I thought you meant... like... beer.

Your g.f. is right - any old bike is going to be a project, and anything new will be a grand fortune, then, eventually, a project!

[jimcor]

Duh, I thought Barley was the name of his bike. 8-[

"Old stuff is old stuff." Peter Egan in an article on classic bikes in Cycle World.

[rustybronco]

Quit whinning and fix it!

[Billyboy]

Quit whinning and fix it!

Then post how you fixed it.:-D