1980 GS450L not starting

[thecreature8]

First thing for me would be to solve the starter solenoid issue, so the bike will at least crank.
One issue at a time ...

There should be a green/yellow wire on the solenoid, with a bullet connector.
Disconnect that.
Press the bullet connector to the solenoid terminal that has the connection to the battery.
Contact does not need to be on for this.
Does that make the bike crank ?

Also, switch on contact and kill switch : green/yellow wire still disconnected.
Now press the start button and measure what voltage is arriving at the female/loom side connector of that green/yellow wire.
If that is around 10V or lower, you may see ignition issues in my experience.



correct, but ...



If there were a short, the bike would be cranking all the time.
Maybe you are using a beeper to measure this ?

Little update now that I've had a chance to look at this. When I touch the male end of the bullet connector to the battery connected terminal on the solenoid, it does crank. And hitting the starter does not appear to deliver any significant voltage on the female side. Could be a wiring issue somewhere between the button and the solenoid?

I also took the carbs off and cleaned them out a little bit and am now able to get the bike to start and idle if I jump the terminals on the solenoid so...progress!

[rphillips]

Just thinking, I don't remember the clutch switch being mentioned in this thread, These Suzuki clutch switches are known for not being too good, if your clutch switch fails or your clutch lever isn't completely pulled in, your starter button will not send current to the solenoid... Sometimes I got to wiggle the clutch lever, on my "99" Bandit 12, to get it to crank. I guess I should fix it before it fails completely.

[thecreature8]

Just thinking, I don't remember the clutch switch being mentioned in this thread, These Suzuki clutch switches are known for not being too good, if your clutch switch fails or your clutch lever isn't completely pulled in, your starter button will not send current to the solenoid... Sometimes I got to wiggle the clutch lever, on my "99" Bandit 12, to get it to crank. I guess I should fix it before it fails completely.

Holy cow, you've done it! I temporarily bypassed the clutch switch and she starts up every time without hesitation. I've had some trouble with the brake switch on the other side and I should have thought to check that but it didn't even cross my mind. Now I can start the bike without a screwdriver and will be ordering a new switch right away (and a new brake switch while I'm at it). Thank you!!

Thank you to everyone else for you assistance as well. I learned quite a bit in trying to troubleshoot this and appreciate everyone's patience with a newbie.

[rphillips]

The GSR can be handy can't it? Congrats... I just love cheeep easy fixes.