i know this is lazy, but i just want to ride my 850!

[stinkyMD]

hi, pretty new here(already saw the whole GSR greeting thing on another thread(bookmarked it), taking it to heart so no need to include here again).

Disclaimer! Im good at wrenching and know tools but as a vehicle mechanic i am beyond novice! I've done alot of perusing around here, but i really just need someone to steer me in the right direction.

My 79 gs850G that i bought a few weeks ago was running great for about 50 miles when it quite suddenly lost power and started backfiring like mad. had to keep on the throttle to keep at running at a stop and even then killed it several times, but it would restart. figured it was starving for gas and was already thinking about rebuilding the carbs and replacing the petcock and flushing the tank and all that stuff as i gingerly nursed it home.

the next morning i went to the garage to start it just for kicks to see if it had possibly been an overheating issue. pressed the starter button. nothing. checked battery voltage. 11.4. ok, randomly tried turn signals. light up but don't blink. noticed headlight was very unsteady going from bright to dim in spasms. horns click but that's it. brake lights seem fine.
Oh and i kick started it and it started and idled, but really low and sounded like crap. shut it off, didn't throttle it up at all for fear of killing something.

i honestly don't know where to start, and it's hard to understand how all these things could be related but it all went to hell at the same time, so im assuming they are.

sorry this went so long, any ideas? or just a check list for me to work my way through?

[dorkburger]

There are people here far more knowledgable then me, but it sounds like the charging system needs a look. 11.4 is low on the battery. weak charging = weak ignition, hence the running problems. Your symptoms are exactly how my bike acted before the stator and r/r cooked 200 miles from home. There are numerous threads here on electrical gremlins. Check the stator papers after inspecting all electrical connections. Its a start.. Hope it helps.

[stinkyMD]

aha! i keep seeing stuff about said stator papers but only just now figured out what they are. this will give me some good bedtime reading.....and probably some electrical nightmares.

[earlfor]

11.4 volts is FLAT out DED as in DEAD!!! battery. Anything below about 12.4 is ready for the trash can. Fully charged, it should be around 12.7 or .8.

[stinkyMD]

oh......well there you have it. told you i was a novice.

figured 12v battery meant that anywhere in that ballpark was ok. thought starter would at least try to turn. starter relay clicks.

thank you, ill letyou know what happens with a new battery.


oh and yes ive had a tender on it, so 11.4 was in it's charged state.

[eil]

12.8V is typical for a good lead-acid battery. However, keep in mind that it can still read 12ish with a multimeter but still not have enough current available to crank the engine. 11.4V is right out. If you don't know how old the battery is, I'd recommend buying a new one.

The fact that it died while going down the road indicates that the charging system probably isn't up to snuff. But you can't accurately test that without a known-good battery.

What kind of battery charger do you have, by the way? A good one should never report a charged battery at 11.4V.

[tkent02]

You really have a lot of work to do before riding it.
Short cuts are long cuts.

[Roostabunny]

it quite suddenly lost power and started backfiring like mad. had to keep on the throttle to keep at running at a stop and even then killed it several times, but it would restart.

These are similar symptoms I had leading up to the discovery that my battery was not being charged, and I'm still in the process of fixing it over at this thread here.

At the risk of jumping the gun on him, fully charging your battery on a bench or trickle charger and then running Posplayr's Quick Test is probably a good place to start. Once I read it I was surprised how simple and informative it was.

Good luck!