1983 GS550L problems!!!! plz help

[AKC75]

An honestly not that great when it comes to electrical things.. jus couldnt pass the bike up for 450 bucks.. thought would be great starter bike but dont want to take to shop&dump bunch of money in it.. an im not that well mechanically inclined.. lol

You have to realize even though the bike has low miles. Everything on it is 30+ years old. Stuff is going to break, go out of spec and need replacing. The wiring is old and with only 8k miles in 30+ years the bike has sat more than its been ridden. This is good and bad from what I have read.

These bikes are relatively simple and it should not be that hard to locate the problem with a little research and effort.


You have any pictures of the bike?

[Ryan734]

Well thats what im asking if bike would still run as it should once started even if battery is junk or dead??

[Ryan734]

Yea an so i thought it should be relatively easy too.. even tho when i bought bike night before it ran fine.. then found ouy petcock was bad thats why gas was on ground next day so put new one on an no leak now.. but now this electrical or ignition problem.. smh

[JEEPRUSTY]

again refer to the manual in the link I posted.
If you dont you will start chasing your tail

[Ryan734]

Here is pic

[JEEPRUSTY]

lovely bike really nice and the probs are likely minor
I wonder how the diaphraghm died in the arb at such a low mileage.
As someone said always suspect what a PO says they may be pillar of the community and saintly in all things but when it come to offloading an old bike people are pure bastards.

[Ryan734]

Thx an appreciate it an thats what i thought as well.. thats why i couldnt look past it for 450bucks especially when he started it rt up with no problems an road home so nice!! Smh!! An service manual aint helpin me none.. im like dumb founded when it comes to electrical **** an mechanical stuff.. would love to be riding this thing already.. an ur rt the guy i got it from could of jus been tryin to off it when tellin me about diaphragms which was prolly from sitting so long if they was bad..

[Grimly]

Nice condition. That will be a great bike once you sort this minor thing out.

As someone said always suspect what a PO says they may be pillar of the community and saintly in all things but when it come to offloading an old bike people are pure bastards.

I like that. :0

[AKC75]

Nice condition. That will be a great bike once you sort this minor thing out.


I like that. :0

Yup....that is clean!

[Ryan734]

So charged battery again an tried to fire still nothing.. but decided to change oil an filter&when took cap off oil case an smelled it had horrible smell of gas.. smh!! Dropped all oil oit an was gonna pull filter!! could this be Part of my problem?? An their seemed to be more oil in their then shoulda been... maybe cause gas was mixing with it cus of my bad petcock?? Jus hope thjs didnt ruin my bike.. what steps should i take from here

[eil]

Your crankcase is full of gas. Don't try to run it like this.

First, change the oil. Then run it for a little while (say, 5 minutes max), and then change it again with a new filter. Around here, we like Shell Rotella 15W-40. Works great in motorcycles and (assuming you're in the U.S.) can be had for cheap at almost any Walmart.

Then get a new petcock and install it. In a pinch, people have gotten away with a on/off valve inline with the petcock and carbs but I don't recommend this as a permanent solution.

[Ryan734]

Unfortunately i think guy before me ran it like that.. not sure on how long an if this has anything to do with me not being able to get started then stay runnin?? An i have already bought an replaced petcock before discovering gas in oil..

[Ryan734]

Also if i cant get running again how am i gonna let the new oil run threw for lil bit then change filter an oil?? But none the less if this dont help me then im still stuck tryin to figure out if my problem is electrical or what??

[AKC75]

Also if i cant get running again how am i gonna let the new oil run threw for lil bit then change filter an oil?? But none the less if this dont help me then im still stuck tryin to figure out if my problem is electrical or what??

What color is your spark. Orange or blue? Orange is weak spark, blue is good spark. If are getting good spark every time then your problem is not electrical It's a fuel problem. Which will be a petcock/carb issue.

If you are getting weak spark then you aren't getting enough voltage to the coils. This is electrical.

Fuel in your oil will not make the bike not run from what I understand. It thins out the oil and is just bad to run it like that.