Bike suddenly won't turn over

[ashtonn27]

I have only had it for a month, but it hasn't given me any problems til the past few days. It is a 78 GS 550. The started does not work so I have been having to us the kick start for it. It has always started within three kicks for me so I haven't bothereed with buying a starter (til this all happened).

I let a friend borrow it for the weekend since I was gone away on vacation. He said he was driving it and the lights started going dim and then it died on him. He thought it was possibly the battery. So he pushed it to his sister's house and it sat in their garage for a few days til I got home.

I put it on a battery charger when I got home and after an hour it started right up (first kick). I drove it around for about an hour and it seemed fine. I let it sit at home for a few more hours before starting it up and driving it to a graduation party. It ended up storming out pretty bad so I ended up keeping it in their garage overnight.

The next day I went to pick it up and it wouldn't start. The lights all worked on it, but I decided to let it charge for a few hours. I came back and it still won't start. It will give out a nasty sounding backfire once in a while but that is it. I tried jumpstarting it to no avail too, and as I stated, the lights seem to be on and working fine. Is it possible for something in the kickstart mechanism to go out? My friend didn't even know how to kick start it so I had to explain it to him over the phone and I know it took him a bit to get it started. If he kept the kickstart pushed down after each kick could he have stripped something, or could it be something else? Any help is greatly appreciated.

This is my second GS that I have owned so I know a little bit about them, but obviously not enough to troubleshoot the problem.

[Calvin Blackmore]

I have only had it for a month, but it hasn't given me any problems til the past few days. It is a 78 GS 550. The started does not work so I have been having to us the kick start for it. It has always started within three kicks for me so I haven't bothereed with buying a starter (til this all happened).

I let a friend borrow it for the weekend since I was gone away on vacation. He said he was driving it and the lights started going dim and then it died on him. He thought it was possibly the battery. So he pushed it to his sister's house and it sat in their garage for a few days til I got home.

I put it on a battery charger when I got home and after an hour it started right up (first kick). I drove it around for about an hour and it seemed fine. I let it sit at home for a few more hours before starting it up and driving it to a graduation party. It ended up storming out pretty bad so I ended up keeping it in their garage overnight.

The next day I went to pick it up and it wouldn't start. The lights all worked on it, but I decided to let it charge for a few hours. I came back and it still won't start. It will give out a nasty sounding backfire once in a while but that is it. I tried jumpstarting it to no avail too, and as I stated, the lights seem to be on and working fine. Is it possible for something in the kickstart mechanism to go out? My friend didn't even know how to kick start it so I had to explain it to him over the phone and I know it took him a bit to get it started. If he kept the kickstart pushed down after each kick could he have stripped something, or could it be something else? Any help is greatly appreciated.

This is my second GS that I have owned so I know a little bit about them, but obviously not enough to troubleshoot the problem.

Ahh grad parties................

sounds like a dying rectifier followed by a severely drained and possibly no longer chargeable battery.

I cabn believe anyone could use a kick starter at all
I would try bump starting it only after fully charging the battery

oh befreo charging check the eloctrolyte level

I was always told not to leave the kick starter lever depressed as it made a god awful noise which was presumably bad for the mechanism

but if you can spin the thing as fast as ever witht he kick start i doubt that is a problem area

Basscliff will be along shortly with a Welcome and some really good links.

[SqDancerLynn1]

Get the battery checked. You may need to replace the spark plugs. And then check the charging system. It may have a separate reg, rectifier. Conversion to combo unit advised.. Don't try kick starting with the clutch pulled in.. The kicker drives thru the clutch.

[ashtonn27]

Get the battery checked. You may need to replace the spark plugs. And then check the charging system. It may have a separate reg, rectifier. Conversion to combo unit advised.. Don't try kick starting with the clutch pulled in.. The kicker drives thru the clutch.

Hopefully it is something that isn't too expensive to fix. I was only going to keep this bike til fall and then buy a bigger GS again over the winter. The iridium spark plugs in it are less than a year old and I don't try to kick start with the clutch pulled in since it won't start with the clutch pulled in. Once I get the starter put on I may take it to a place that used to do work for me on my old GS 1000L. They weren't a regular bike shop but loved working on my old bike and really appreciated it unlike a lot of places that have no respect for older bikes unless they are Harleys. Man I hate these Harley elitists that I occasionally run into. Thanks for the comments and suggestions so far.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. ashtonn27,

You describe symptoms of classic charging system distress. Start with a known good, fully charged battery and go through The Stator Papers. Check, clean, repair every electrical connection and ground on the entire bike including the fuse box, the ignition switch, everything from headlight bucket to tail light. Depending on what the troubleshooting chart tells you, you may need a stator, regulator/rectifier, battery, or even all three. Run the ground wire from your regulator/rectifier directly to the negative terminal of the battery. It's all in your "mega-welcome". Let's get started.

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", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. 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!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[ashtonn27]

I read the Stator Papers as soon as I signed up. I am going to start with replacing my battery and slowly working through everything to see if it is the stator. Thanks for all your help!

[Calvin Blackmore]

I read the Stator Papers as soon as I signed up. I am going to start with replacing my battery and slowly working through everything to see if it is the stator. Thanks for all your help!

my god man do not replace simply confirm if it is within spec or not

so much money can be saved by that process

[ashtonn27]

Well, I got around to checking it over today and the spark plugs were nasty and smelled really bad of gas. My wife and a friend hid it on me last weekend and I believe she had the throttle cranked the whole time she was pushing it behind the house to hide it. I don't know if that is what caused my problem though.
I cleaned them really good and also installed a new starter. It fired right up after that and is running great now except that the idle sits just under 2k when I start it and then after a minute or two it drops down to below 1k and kills sometimes. I messed with the idle, but when I raise the idle a bit around 2.5k-3k it still does the same thing (drops to below 1k after a minute or so and sometime kills). Perhaps just a carb cleaning?

[tkent02]

Perhaps just a carb cleaning?

Quit guessing, do all the required maintenance that has been neglected for twenty some years. Only then will you have a solid, safe, efficient and reliable motorcycle.

[ashtonn27]

Quit guessing, do all the required maintenance that has been neglected for twenty some years. Only then will you have a solid, safe, efficient and reliable motorcycle.

This is the first time that I have tore into a bike. I have always just taken my past bikes to a shop to get worked on. If I knew what I was doing I would have cleaned the carbs right away when I first bought it. This is all a slow learning process for me, but I am enjoying doing the work myself.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Yes, the maintenance lists in your "mega-welcome" spell it out for you, all the necessary tasks. These are pretty reliable and robust bikes when they are given a modicum of care and ridden often. When they have been abused or neglected they will require the full treatment to get them back into shape. Keep us informed.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff