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Hey all,
I bought my '81 GS 750EX in fall 2008. I've put about 10,000 miles on it (just over 28000 on the bike altogether) mostly commuting around town (Seattle). Aside from regular oil changes, spark plugs, chain maintenance, tires and brakes, I haven't done any work on it. It's been pretty reliable, and though I mostly stay off the road in the winter, I keep it garaged and manage to get out at least a dozen or so days during the rainy season.
Last October I dislocated my shoulder (non-bike related injury) and didn't ride again until late spring. I had started it up a few times while I was rehabing the shoulder, but never got out and rode.
When I took it out for the first time this spring, I got about 10 minutes from home, came to a stop sign and the bike died. It wouldn't start back up. I had a physical therapy appointment for the shoulder to get to, so I left it on the side of the road and came back an hour and a half later. It fired up and barely made it home before dying in the drive way. I drained the gas and put new gas in and checked the fuel filter, which appeared fine. The new gas seemed to do the trick. I rode every day for about two weeks. The idle seemed a little high but I wasn't too worried about it.
And then about a week ago on a 90-degree day I went to start it up and it didn't want to start. When it did finally start, it sounded really rough - blatty, uneven. I started it yesterday and at first it didn't sound bad. I took it around the block and it started running rougher and rougher. It wanted to die when I came to a stop and to prevent it from doing so I had to give it a fair amount of gas. I was maybe 5 minutes away from home coming up a hill when it started sounding really terrible (blatty, again) and lost compression. No response from the throttle or choke. It died part way up the hill, and then wouldn't start again. It is still a few blocks over, and I'll be picking it up when my buddy shows up with the trailer in a few.
Called a mechanic I've not dealt with before (Dan @ http://budgetcycleservice.com/) because my regular guy (Mike Lee of Maple Leaf Scooter) is MIA. (Anyone know Mike? Or heard from him? His phone is disconnected...). When I told Dan what was going on he said he wanted no part of it; said I was likely to end up owing much more than the bike's likely worth. Air leaks; float valve needles; carb cleaning; rust in the gas tank etc. etc. Last I checked the tank was clean, and the gas I drained back in May came out particle-free.
I'm hoping that its just fouled spark plugs. I'm a ****-poor mechanic but I've done my own regular maintenance and I've got the Suzuki shop manual that came with the bike. I'm wondering how deep in the **** I might be. Any advice is welcome, and any second opinions that might confirm or contradict Dan's suggestion to move on to a new bike.
I bought my '81 GS 750EX in fall 2008. I've put about 10,000 miles on it (just over 28000 on the bike altogether) mostly commuting around town (Seattle). Aside from regular oil changes, spark plugs, chain maintenance, tires and brakes, I haven't done any work on it. It's been pretty reliable, and though I mostly stay off the road in the winter, I keep it garaged and manage to get out at least a dozen or so days during the rainy season.
Last October I dislocated my shoulder (non-bike related injury) and didn't ride again until late spring. I had started it up a few times while I was rehabing the shoulder, but never got out and rode.
When I took it out for the first time this spring, I got about 10 minutes from home, came to a stop sign and the bike died. It wouldn't start back up. I had a physical therapy appointment for the shoulder to get to, so I left it on the side of the road and came back an hour and a half later. It fired up and barely made it home before dying in the drive way. I drained the gas and put new gas in and checked the fuel filter, which appeared fine. The new gas seemed to do the trick. I rode every day for about two weeks. The idle seemed a little high but I wasn't too worried about it.
And then about a week ago on a 90-degree day I went to start it up and it didn't want to start. When it did finally start, it sounded really rough - blatty, uneven. I started it yesterday and at first it didn't sound bad. I took it around the block and it started running rougher and rougher. It wanted to die when I came to a stop and to prevent it from doing so I had to give it a fair amount of gas. I was maybe 5 minutes away from home coming up a hill when it started sounding really terrible (blatty, again) and lost compression. No response from the throttle or choke. It died part way up the hill, and then wouldn't start again. It is still a few blocks over, and I'll be picking it up when my buddy shows up with the trailer in a few.
Called a mechanic I've not dealt with before (Dan @ http://budgetcycleservice.com/) because my regular guy (Mike Lee of Maple Leaf Scooter) is MIA. (Anyone know Mike? Or heard from him? His phone is disconnected...). When I told Dan what was going on he said he wanted no part of it; said I was likely to end up owing much more than the bike's likely worth. Air leaks; float valve needles; carb cleaning; rust in the gas tank etc. etc. Last I checked the tank was clean, and the gas I drained back in May came out particle-free.
I'm hoping that its just fouled spark plugs. I'm a ****-poor mechanic but I've done my own regular maintenance and I've got the Suzuki shop manual that came with the bike. I'm wondering how deep in the **** I might be. Any advice is welcome, and any second opinions that might confirm or contradict Dan's suggestion to move on to a new bike.
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