Suzuki gs dying

[Gs850l]

Hey new here, hope you can help me out. I have a 1982 Suzuki gs850L. I have recently acquired it and it was running great when it recently had trouble with it dying. Every time I rode it for a while them let it sit for an hour or so it would die and need a jump start. I bought a new stator and changed it out and charged the battery to full. It started fine but still has the same issue. What could this be, it's really annoying and just want this back reliably on the road. Please help. Thanks!

[tkent02]

I would guess a serious lack of routine maintenance. Have you looked at Cliff's little helpful website yet?
Everything you need to know to maintain any GS in perfect orking order.

[OldVet66]

The stator is only part of the electrical system. I would imagine your regulator is bad, so it's back to business as usual, not charging or overcharging. As tkent02 said, a serious lack of maintenance. Added together this lack of maintenance can start bringing systems down. The resources are here to learn all about it and start correcting the problems but it going to take a commitment on your part to learn and do it or the bike will continue to go down hill. Most shops don't even want to see a bike over 10 years old. Welcome to the forum.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. Gs850l,

You'll find lots of GS850 lovin' in the links below. These old bikes LOVE maintenance. Follow the instructions below, to the letter, and your bike will love you a good long time.

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

[koolaid_kid]

Actually, the stator is only part of the charging system. You have three basic parts to your electrical system:
Charging
General electrical
Ignition

The wiring is especially suspect on these bikes, and all three parts really need to be checked out. Since you are already working on your charging system, I suggest you continue down that path until you finish it. Once that is done, I suggest you move on to the general electrical system, which includes checking out and cleaning/replacing all connections and/or faulty wires. Finish up with the ignition system and you will end up with a good electrical system once again. You will find all the guides you need on BassCliff's web site.

[Gs850l]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I decided to start with the quick test and my results were as follows.

1) key off -12.35
2) key on- 11.8
3) idle- 12.0
4) 2500 rpm - 12.48
5) 5000 rpm - 12.8

With this info should it be assumed that I likely have a bad battery?

[koolaid_kid]

Nope. It means there is something amiss with your charging system. Go to BassCliff's web site and run the stator papers.