So Frustrated...

[Steve]

... Then suddenly, going up a steep Cincinnati hill, I lost almost all power, and smelled strong gas. ...

Hopefully that wasn't Straight Street.

That is one street in Cincinnati that is actualy mis-named.

It should have been named "Straight-UP Street".

It's not a very long street, just about .6 miles. Only the last 860 feet are relatively flat, rising only about 10 feet.
However, the first 42/100 mile (2250 feet) rises 257 feet, yielding an average of 11.4% grade.

Even a good-running 450 would have fun with that.

.

[Jestercinti]

Hopefully that wasn't Straight Street.

That is one street in Cincinnati that is actualy mis-named.

It should have been named "Straight-UP Street".

It's not a very long street, just about .6 miles. Only the last 860 feet are relatively flat, rising only about 10 feet.
However, the first 42/100 mile (2250 feet) rises 257 feet, yielding an average of 11.4% grade.

Even a good-running 450 would have fun with that.

.

Nope, it was Miami Avenue on the Mariemont/Indian Hill line.

[Steve]

Ah, an 80-foot rise in 900 feet, a mere 8.88% grade.

[mforbes]

I have the stock hose with the OEM "spring" that wraps around it. Pretty sure it is not the fuel hose. If it is, then I have convinced myself that it is not.

Even cold, the right coil does not spark. If I take leads from the left (small alligator clips) and turn the engine over, viola, it sparks.

Not doubting the users on the forum, but I have had this issue for a while. Shortened the fuel hose, lengthened it a bit, and same thing. I think mainly it is a spark issue.

One other thing, on the Signal Generator, I checked the resistance between the green/white wire and the brown wire. It is 120 or so Ohms. One of the tests (Mr. Matchless version) states 250 or so Ohms. This was checked on and off of the bike, with 2 different Signal Generators. I know they work. Does this seem odd, or am I comparing apples/oranges?

Thanks for the replys.

Am I on the right path?

Ok, with the sparking issue, you have checked all the leads down to the signal generator to make sure there are no breaks in the insulation. On another bike, I had a wire ground out on a clip as it wore through the insulation. One other thing, start your bike in the dark, no lights and look for sparking near metal parts. As far as your fuel line, the spring doesn't keep it from collapsing as mine was doing. Sounds like you are on the right track, but I would check for a break in a wire or insulation that maybe grounding out. As I said before, mine grounded near the point cover on the metal clip. I couldn't see it until I unhooked the wire and followed it. 30 sec fix cost me 6 hours on the side of the road. I'm not sure on the output of the signal generator anymore as I did away with mine and switched to the dyna S ignition and dyna coils. Oh much cheaper than a new signal gen. Don't know if they have the system for your bike. I ride a 1982 GS1100G.

[Jestercinti]

Yes, I heard about the DYNA S, Ignition/Coils, but there was an issue with the 450 Rotor not being the same size or something. It fit the older 425 I think, but there was something about the rotor that did not work on the 450. The 425 is breaker point ignition. The 450 is electronic with a mechanical advance...I think that the 425 has a rotor that does not advance. My rotor magnet "moves" with the increase in speed. The 1983 model has this advance built-in to the igniter unit.

Update: I checked the resistance again in the signal generator. There are 4 wires in the harness, and I checked them all. 2 said "OL", one reading was 60, and the other was 120. Both signal gens say this, and Clymer says 60-80 is the magical number, but they say check 2 leads (I assume that the others are ground which is why they are OL).

I'll go to the junkyard this weekend and will let you know what I find.

[Graham]

Sounds like a bad soldier joint in the igniter. Starts and run fine until the igniter heats up and loses an internal connection because of a bad soldier joint. Seen it before on outboards and multi-cylinder motorcycles. The igniter is like having two CDI in one unit. One can quit and the other keep working.

[Jestercinti]

Ok...update. Went to the bone yard and rolled the dice. It now fires the opposite cylinder, but not both at once. Put the old one back on it fires only one cylinder as well. So, here is the verdict if you are just joining:

Original Igniter - Fires LH cyl ONLY.
Bone yard Igniter - Fires RH cyl ONLY.

There is of course no returns on electrical parts from the bone yard (naturally). I am dealing with 30 year old electronics here. Wiring, signal gen, and coils check out, it's the igniter box...I am sure of it. Mr. Flaming Chainsaws just sent me a private message about some igniters, so I will see what kind of a deal I can work out with him.

I'm getting there...

[Graham]

Run duel igniters. Plug one in and jump wires to the other one. I did it once until I got up the money for a new. The setup ran for a month before I replaced it.

[Jestercinti]

That's a thought! I have another bike, so I am not dead in the water as far as riding goes.

Thanks!

[Jestercinti]

Fixed

Thanks to Mr. HJFISK, problem solved with a new (used) igniter from a GS250. Both spark plugs firing, and I am in business. Thanks again to all!!!