gs 750 problem!!! carbs? battery? confused

[Guest]

I have a 1982 gs 750 with 6000 miles. I bought the bike last summer it ran perfectly. Then winter came. The bike will not start without starter fluid. After I get the bike started and warmed up it will run and start back up perfect for that day. If I let the bike sit for a couple of days it will not start on its own. The battery will not hold a charge longer then one week. The previous owner said he put a new battery and did a carb rebuild on it. What should I do? Buy a new battery? Clean the carbs? Do any of you gs guys have any advice on what I should do?

[tkent02]

Spend a week reading this and get to work:

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

Welcome to the forum.

[GateKeeper]

Sounds like you have not received your Mega Welcome package....

it will help you a whole lot....

Greetings and Salutations,

Every once in a while I will miss a new member or two and they may not receive their proper greeting. If you are here you probably have a 30 year old motorcycle that needs about 20 years worth of maintenance. In the links below you'll find maintenance lists, documentation, wiring diagrams, "how to" guides, vendor links, tips, tricks, and a whole lot of GS goodness. This is your "mega-welcome". Let's get started.

Let me dump a TON of information on you and share some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



Please Click Here For Your Mega-Welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

More links to helpful threads in the forum:
Help! Your Bike Won't Start
DON'T DO THESE THINGS
Help! Your Bike Won't Run Well
Oh God! Pods!


Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Steve]

I have a 1982 gs 750 with 6000 miles. I bought the bike last summer it ran perfectly. Then winter came. The bike will not start without starter fluid. After I get the bike started and warmed up it will run and start back up perfect for that day. If I let the bike sit for a couple of days it will not start on its own. The battery will not hold a charge longer then one week. The previous owner said he put a new battery and did a carb rebuild on it. What should I do? Buy a new battery? Clean the carbs? Do any of you gs guys have any advice on what I should do?

Sounds like it's time for "the big three".
First of all, get rid of the starter fluid. Adjust the valves, instead.
Might need a new battery, but definitely check the charging system.
Don't trust ANYTHING a previous owner claimed. Yes, he might have installed a new battery, but a bad charging system might have wiped it out. Yes, he might have "rebuilt" the carbs, but it's possible he put in some cheap (quality, not price) carb kits and did not CLEAN the carbs properly.

.

[Master077]

Thanks everyone for the quick replys!! What are some good websites to buy carb rebuild kits, valve shims?

[Steve]

Thanks everyone for the quick replys!! What are some good websites to buy carb rebuild kits, valve shims?

You haven't read your Mega-Welcome yet, have you?

You DON'T buy rebuild kits for the carbs, and your bike doesn't have valve shims.

Put your keyboard away, step back a few steps, read your Mega-Welcome. We will still be here next week, when you come up for air.

.

[Big T]

Thanks everyone for the quick replys!! What are some good websites to buy carb rebuild kits, valve shims?

You don't need kits or shims

Download the factory service manual, read the tutorials

[Master077]

I am sorry I will read up thanks

[tom203]

While your reading, understand how the "choke" works on these bikes - your no-start-when-cold condition is influenced by many things as others have pointed out.

[Steve]

While your reading, understand how the "choke" works on these bikes - your no-start-when-cold condition is influenced by many things as others have pointed out.

What he is doing there is hinting at the proper starting procedure.

1. Apply the "choke". Somewhere between half and full will probably work.
2. Ensure "kill" switch is in RUN position.
3. Turn key to ON.
4. Pull clutch (unless you have already disabled that "safety" feature).
5. Push starter button.
6. Modulate engine speed with the "choke" control.

Did you notice that NOWHERE did I say "twist the throttle"?
That is because you DON'T.

Your carbs don't have any kind of mechanism that closes off (chokes) the intake to richen the mixture for cold starting. Instead, there is another set of passages inside the carbs that provide a richer mixture when the "choke" control is activated. Those passages rely on a fully-CLOSED throttle to operate. If you twist the throttle open AT ALL, you will defeat those circuits, making it much harder to start.

.

[Master077]

Thanks for the info on the choke. I am in the process of tearing apart my carbs. I plan on soaking them in carb dip and replacing all the orings. I also plan on doing a valve adjustment. And checking the charging system. Is there anything you guys can recommend on doing while I have the bike apart?

[Griffyn]

Might not be a bad idea to run through the wiring harness with a multimeter, looking for voltage drops. Sometimes it just takes cleaning a bunch of contacts, but depending on the condition of your electrical system, you might need to do the coil relay mod. It is entirely possible that you're getting weak spark until the more combustible fluid kicks her over and gets the charging system into the party.

Now that my clutch is installed, my next item on the to-do list for my bike is to clean up the insides of the hand controls. The ignition circuit passes through the right hand switches and corrosion in there can cause poor voltage to the coils.

[Master077]

Do you know of a form that shows coil relay mod step by step. And what's a good coil upgrade? Dyna?

[JTGS850GL]

Here you go:

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/coil_relay_mod.html

[koolaid_kid]

Dyna coils are an excellent upgrade.
There are as many variations of the coil relay mod as there are fish in the sea.
For example, the output of my relay went to a fuse block, which powered my coils, aftermarket horn, grip heaters and accessory power outlet.
Some just go to the coil and that is it.
What do you want to power with it?

In essence, you obtain a quality 4 or 5 pole relay. You connect the terminals this way:
85 - Ground
86 - switched 12V power, such as the coil 12V wire, or even something in your fuse block.
87 - 12V out.
30 - Fused 12V straight to the battery. Size of the fuse should be 10A or 15A.