Possibly Need New Coils?

[Guest]

Hello again, I fixed my last problem and a new one occurred.

I have a 1978 Gs750E that I've been working on for the past few months, and I believe it's running on stock coils, and it's battery is bad, but I have been trying to wait till spring until buying a new battery.

Anyways the problem with the bike is that it's not firing in cylinder #1 anymore, at least I don't think it is. The bike was running (very poorly), and 3 of the four headers were getting hot/warm (this was today, 3/13/17), but this one cylinder. A few months back that wire broke and I thought I repaired it (it worked after i fixed it). Now it's a problem.

Would you fellas recommend that I buy a battery and coils, or just one at a time to diagnose. Either way I need to buy a battery, and coils now. Or do you think it could be another problem.

It used to run awesome a couple months ago, then it sat. Now it cannot reach high rpm's etc.

Lastly, what would you recommend I use for the coils and battery. I don't know anything about the coils, besides dyna S (it had an electronic ignition put in before I bought it, so no points)... I also was thinking about getting a bikemaster Trugel battery, or any ol' bikemaster 12v lead acid battery.

Thanks and I apologize if I'm all over the place and confusing

[shadley]

Okay I'm a doofus and I guess I was wrong with the broken wire problem. I think I may have had a connection issue between the spark plug and the wire on c #1, because it's getting power. I'm going to replace the battery, and see what happens from there. I know I should probably do the coils anyways, but it'll be next on the list. Any tips will still be appreciated.

[G-3]

Did you do, and follow the carb rebuild correctly? I know before I did I thought I was having electrical problems too!

[G-3]

Also I got a battery tender lithium ion battery off Amazon two years ago and I love it! A little more pricey but last four times as long with no maintenance. And save you 10 pounds.

[shadley]

I did follow the guide, but it's possible that I missed something. I'll take another look once I throw a fresh battery on the bike, and I'll also verify my charging system.

[G-3]

I do highly recommend the battery tender lithium ion battery, they're a little pricey but well worth it

[tom203]

Get a new battery . Get new plug caps ($5 each) remove old plug caps,cut back plug wire about 1/4 inch (to expose new copper) before you put on new caps.

have you checked your valve clearances?
did you notice this stuff about common mistakes?

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/GSR_Greeting.html

[shadley]

New battery is on the way, and I'll definitely try the caps before buying the whole thing. I have done the valve clearance. This website has been a huge help, and I found my problem too. For some reason I gapped my spark plugs WAY too much. I may have misread something. I regapped them and boom, it sounds amazing, no lag or anything. I have not been able to ride this bike yet and I'm definitely going to finally get it registered and insured within the week.

It rains a lot in Oregon so I have a bit of time lol

Thanks!

[steve murdoch]

Glad you got it sorted and posted the solution.
Too many times we forget to do the follow-ups.