Need some basic info on 81gs450l electronics and wiring

[Guest]

I just bought a 81 gs450l for 50$ guy swore it ran great just need some electrical attention... i figured it wouldnt be a loss for 50$ with a clear title... so what i did was completely gut the old harness unplugging everything up front to the controls etc... the only wires i have left are whats coming out of the left side case... "stator wiring im assuming" so what i did was got on ebay ordered a used harness from the same year bike looks to be in great shape 24$ and ordered a used cdi box, rectifier and ignition coils with boots, no cut wires anywhere and all said to work.. so heres the thing i just wanna see if this thing runs before i continue on the project... what major things need to be hooked up in order to get this thing to fire electrical wise?

[Big Rich]

Check the valve clearances, and compression numbers. If those are good, then look at the carbs. You'll need a battery too.

Basically, there's no reason it WON'T run after some maintenance. Assuming nobody did physical damage internally.

[eil]

what major things need to be hooked up in order to get this thing to fire electrical wise?

Mostly just the starter, ignitor, and right handle bar switches. But if you have a good wiring harness, it's really not that much extra effort to just hook everything up and see what works and what' doesn't.

If the bike has been sitting a while, it would be a good idea to clean the carbs, change the oil, and assess the status of the air box before trying to fire it up. After that, there's a ton of other maintenance to be done before you can even think of rolling it down the driveway. Get your mega-welcome here: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...ers-CLICK-HERE!! You are very likely to find a service manual for your bike here: http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

Welcome!

[OldVet66]

Unless the old harness was melted, you like doing a lot of unnecessary work it seems. The most common electrical problems with the old GS series is connections, R/R and fried stators none of which would make it a game changer even if you paid a lot more for the bike. You may have gotten some good spares though. A thorough cleaning of all electrical connections including grounds and switches (in a clear plastic bag so small springs don't get lost) and testing of the system is necessary. Clean connections with a good contact cleaner and coat all connections with dielectric grease. You will find a lot of information about checking the charging system on this site.