1980 GS1000S resto

[Guest]

Hi gang... I am trying to help my son out who just picked up a Wes Cooley replica and we are doing a restoration to as much as we can afford. Mechanically things are going together well, however I am stumped by the electrical stuff. The wiring does not seem to be altered much by the previous owner... I did have some signs of over heating at the connectors coming from the stator to the reg rectifier, so I changed out the rectifier and also the connectors. This problem I have is when I turn on the ignition switch... the only light that illuminates is the green neutral light on the dash... no other lights come one... no horn, no starter. As you might know, this model came with a clock. When the ignition is turned off... the clock runs. With the ignition on... the clock is off. I tried changing out the ignition switch and I get the same results. Can anyone out there please help
Thanks in advance,

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. phantom5280,

You might find a wiring diagram and a factory manual in the links below, along with a lot of other maintenance procedures your bike probably needs. This is your "mega-welcome".

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

[phantom5280]

Thanks for the mega welcome.. I will be spending much time going over the material. Hopefully I will come across a solution. Any one else out there... suggestions welcome.

[Nessism]

I've restored two 1000S's, including completely rebuilding the harness on one of them. Electrical work is actually quite easy, it's just a little tedious.

I recommend removing the harness from the bike and working on a table. Remove all the factory tape from the harness and look for breaks in the wires. Suzuki's charging system wiring is hugely problematic and should be redone if you want the bike to be properly reliable. One leg of the stator power feeds up to the LH hand control, then back down to the R/R, and this leg often overheats and damages the harness. It's strongly advised to bypass this mess and wire the stator directly into the R/R, keeping the wires as short as possible. I also strongly advise you to remove the small brass terminals from the plastic harness shells and clean them properly. You can buy small terminal tools to assist. Takes some careful work but it's easy enough once you get the hang of it. Soaking the brass terminals in vinegar or diluted HCl acid, and scrubbing them down with a stainless steel wire brush will remove the corrosion. This is particularly important on the power feed wires going to the coils and the wires feeding power from the R/R into the fuse box. Before reinserting the terminals into the plastic shells, pinch the female terminals closed to tighten them up.

Yes, tedious, but not hard work. Well worth the effort too.

Good luck.

[phantom5280]

Thanks Ed... your idea sounds like the best way to go... that way I know the system will be as reliable as possible.
Steve