1984 gs550es sarts cold, runs well, then won't start

[tackwest]

Airbox is on and tight, tried with throttle and without. seems to catch if I don't touch the throttle. Cranks fast, battery is new 3 days ago. I pulled it out of the box, filled it and left it on a smart charger for a full day. My daughter rode it earlier today. it started great cold. we warmed it up and went for a 1/2 hour ride. Got it home, shut it off and wouldn't start 20 minutes later. Turned over and tried to run, but didn't catch. This is what is throwing me, is that it runs great when it runs, but then it won't restart when warm. To me this seems like an electrical problem. I really don't know much about this system, but I hear horror stories about the ignitor. could this be the problem? Is it worth getting one ?

[tackwest]

Update. pulled the Ignitor and followed the suzuki manual for testing. My cheap POS multimeter showed no resistance in any of the tests. I will try with my good shop one tomorrow. i did test my multimeter on ohms and it does work, just not as accurate or sensitive as my snap on one. Even with my cheap one it should show some resistance, but isn't. Maybe a light at the end of the tunnell? Hopefully not a train coming!

[gustovh]

Check your valves as well.

V

[tackwest]

I'm going to check them tomorrow. I thought about it some more and if they are too tight when warm, it could cause a lack of compression as well as not drawing fuel into the cylinder. I got to thinking, I don't remember if I checked them. Boy will I feel dumb if that's it. Thanks to all for the help. it is greatly appreciated. Chris

[Cipher]

Update. pulled the Ignitor and followed the suzuki manual for testing. My cheap POS multimeter showed no resistance in any of the tests. I will try with my good shop one tomorrow. i did test my multimeter on ohms and it does work, just not as accurate or sensitive as my snap on one. Even with my cheap one it should show some resistance, but isn't. Maybe a light at the end of the tunnell? Hopefully not a train coming!

I have run the tests on several good working igniters
all were sliglthy different
none of my readings made sense
parts worked fine though

[tackwest]

got it! Ended up being valves too tight. Talk about dumb, just reinforces checking the basics first. Thanks to all who helped.

[tackwest]

well, I didn't get it. my daughter rode it a few miles, shut it off and it wouldn't restart. Waited a few hours and started and ran great. Let it cool and rechecked the valve clearance. All were good, so I increased them to .008". We rode today for a few miles and shut it off at home. Won't start. any other ideas?

[jsandidge]

Let it cool and rechecked the valve clearance. All were good, so I increased them to .008".

If you went to .008", you went too far. Did you increase them to .08mm, or .008 inches? Your post states .008" (inches). Max clearance is .13mm or .005 inches. Minimum clearance is .08mm or .003 inches.

[tackwest]

I was trying to see if the valves were too tight and tried .008" (inches) to eliminate them as a hot start culprit. I did test the pulse coils at the ignitor, they were at 420 ohms resistance hot, which is in spec. I do have spark as well. It tries to catch and feels the same as when the valves were too tight. I did set the fuel screws at 3 turns out and no change. It did idle better at 1.5 turns, but afraid its not enough fuel at that setting.

[tackwest]

so, went for a ride today. Bike died a few miles from home. Got it home and checked her over. I have spark, but plugs are dryer than I'd like to see. it seems like i'm not getting enough fuel. I hooked an auxiliary tank feeding the carbs to get it to start, but no go. I'm currently pulling the carbs to triple check it over. What am I missing?

[Roger P.]

Try riding it with the petcock in the prime position to rule out a vacuum problem with the fuel tap. My 1100 would die at random times. Found out the connections at the ignitor had slacked off enough to become intermittent. I cleaned and crimped them and the problem went away. Drain the tank and pull the petcock to see if the filter is plugged up. It might pass enough gas to fill the bowls after it sits awhile, but does not pass enough to keep up with a running motor. You might try running it for awhile with the gas cap off and a low fuel level to see if it is a tank venting issue.

[tackwest]

Great advice. I had my daughter ride for a few miles with the petcock on prime this evening, but same result. I will look into the bad connection possibility on the ignitor. i stripped the carbs and am soaking them in the solution we use at the shop and ordered new jets and intake orings as mine were hard and flat. thanks for the reply

[tackwest]

carbs stripped, soaked in industrial cleaner, new orings and new jets, new intake boot orings and carbs tight. Same issue. tried to run it today and had same issue. I'm at a loss. Everything seems to check out. I think I'm going to send it down the road unless I can figure this out soon.

[Roger P.]

Did you pull the petcock to see if there is any plugging of the screens or valve?

[BigD_83]

The progression of the symptoms as described just screams an ignitor problem. Know anyone near you with a good running 550 to swap around to see if the problem goes with the ignitor?