Oh my god.. She's dead

[Anonymous]

I was driving to work yesterday morning on my 84 1150es and i stopped for a light and noticed that my idle was acting wierd running smoothly then dropping RPMs for a second then going back to normal, I checked the temp guage and it read almost totally cool (the very bottom of the gauge) then when i started moving again and came to a stop at the next light as soon as i took my hand off the gas the engine just cut off When I tried to restart it the started wouldn't even turn the engine . So i pushed it around the block into the parking lot and walked the rest of the way to work. Later in the day I went to go check it out and The electrics all seem to be working fine for the most part, but when i went to check the oil level I was not happy. There was no oil showing in the viewer window :\. The starter motor does try and turn the engine but it is not startable. So this brings me to now, Have i completely ruined the engine?? where do i start trying to figure out the damage? I managed to push the thing about half a mile to my friends garage so i can at least work on it. Unfortunately I have no experience or tools for rebuilding an engine which is my uneducated guess as to what needs to get done. Maybe it's just something else you guys might know about (God I hope) rather than my worst fears. I've only had this thing for about a month and a half, I was just getting used to it. I'm going to go cry now. But seriously If anyone has any ideas or possible estimated into this sort of thing i would love to start piecing together what i need to do. Also if anyone is in the Seattle area and wants to help a brother out or help me locate someone who can, let me know

[Jethro]

No oil at all is a bad thing, however it does not nessecarly mean the motor is finished. I couldn't tell from your post, does the starter turn the motor at all? You said it tried, but does it actually turn? Put the bike in top gear and try to push the bike (it will be really hard, act like you are push starting it with the clutch pulled in, get it rolling and let the clutch out). Did the rear wheel lock up? if so, you could have a seized engine. I doubt it however, if you ran it dry, the damage was probably done in the head. You should be able to pick up a used head for $100-200. It really sounds like the problem is electric, or maybe fuel related due to it stalling then running then stalling again. When the motor seizes, you will know it. That's it, there is no more moving to be done. These bikes have finiky electrics and the fuel setup is no piece of cake. Give us some more info, and we'll do the same.

[kz]

Re: Oh my god.. She's dead

There was no oil showing in the viewer window :\. The starter motor does try and turn the engine but it is not startable.

Have you checked if where really is no oil in the engine or have you only looked through the viewer window, showing no oil in the viewer window does not necessarily mean that the engine is empty on oil?

If I run my bike and just stopped it, I normally have to wait for a couple of minutes until I can read the oil level correct on my GS 1150 E -84.

Did you hear any strange noise before stopping at the traffic light?

Does the engine sound normal then turning the starter?

[Anonymous]

oil level

Karl is right.
The viewing window is for ideal operating range and when clear does not necessarily mean your engine is out of oil. One should try and maintain the oil level within the ideal operating range.
Be sure that your bike is on its centre stand when viewing . My 79 gs 850
has quite a lean on its side stand and would not give an accurate reflection of the oil level.
Don't despair yet . There is a wealth of help on this site.

[Anonymous]

I'm going to start with the obvious, did you by any chance run out of gas or forget to put it onto reserve?
When checking the oil did you place the bike on level ground, and on it's centre stand? Did you forget to turn the choke lever fully to the off position after the bike warmed up?

There was a time when one of my fuses was bouncing around in the clips that they are place in. My bike started to act funny and then stalled. It took me some time to figure out what was wrong with it.

Let us know how you progress.

[Anonymous]

Had almost the same problem on my 1150, apprx. 6 months ago. I stopped at an intersection, and it was idleing very rough. Pulled to the side to check it out, saw nothing, started to re-start it, and battery was almost dead. I took the headlight fuse out, push started it and rode it home. I recharged the battery, started it up, and everything worked fine, except the charging system wasn't charging. Checked the stator and found a bad circuit. Installed an old stator from a "80" GS 1100, now everything is working properly. Wouldn't worry about oil "yet", You would have surely noticed the oil pressure light, when you realized it wasn't idleing right. These warning lights could fail, but what's the odds of that? Good luck, and be sure to keep a watch on that oil level. Let us know the outcome

[Anonymous]

Mookie,

Have you actually tried to put oil in to make the oil show in the window? If it takes 4 quarts to do this, well you were dry, but if it takes only a half quart, then we'll be looking elsewhere.

I happen to live in the Seattle and might be able to offer some opinion (I don't know if I'm very good at that... oh wait a minute, it is "me" we're talking about here :roll: )

It may have been that the battery was on its last legs and the charging system had stopped working too, but if the headlights work and the engine doesn't turn over it may be locked up solid. One thing you can do, so you're not working against compression, remove the spark plugs and put it into gear and try to rotate the rear wheel while on the center stand. If the engine turns over then, it's not likely to be frozen solid.

Let me know if you need a hand. I'll see if I can work it out to help you.

Roger Moore

[earlfor]

The first thing you need to determine is what the oil level in the engine actually is. When my 750 is topped up full, if the bike is sitting on the side stand, no oil shows in the sight window. You have to check oil level with the bike level and on the centerstand.

My impression is you rode the bike for a month and a half and never checked/verified the oil level in the engine? The first time you ride the bike every day, you should check the oil, chain, tire pressures, lights, brakes, battery and look around for anything that is loose or doesnt look right.

Earl

[saaz]

As a roller crank motor low oil level is not necessarily fatal. As per all the above advice check the oil level a minute ot so after stopping on level ground...a bit of an angle can make quite a difference. Once you are used to the bike you will know where the level is when cold (to check before going out). If the starter motor is struggling can idicate a battery problem, which then means ignition problem possible etc etc. My fuse box played up not too long ago - fuses were not tight enough and holder was a bit discoloured...blew fuses for a while and charging problem until i cleaned it up and tightened up the holder.

Time not to worry yet, just look at a few basic....they are tough old things

[Anonymous]

OK, 1st, Thanks for all your responses I mean I don't know where to begin but at least i know someone will be able to answer at least a few questions for me.

--The starter, It will turn the engine, but just barely, gets about 1/2 a turn or so before it quits trying. Now i know everyone is going to say AH HA!! but would just a slightly dead battery cause the bike to just shut off? i mean, there is still enough juice to run the lights and whatnot so would it really need that much power just to keep the engine running?
--The Oil, the level seemed really low, but i put about a half a quart in and i could see the oil then, but it's always seemed to read really low, i don't have a center stand (well actually i do) thanks to my "high performance" V&H 4 into 1, so normally i try to get down and lean the bike over until i can see oil (god i miss the dipstick on my 73 cb750), but that can be quite awkward so i probably don't do it as often as i should. I changed the oil about a month ago and put in about 4 quarts, there don't seem to be any (serious) oil leaks and i know it doesn't burn much so i doubt it would have been completely dry but low is a definite possibility.
-When i bought the bike i asked them about the stator/regulator and he said they were still the originals (just put it over 41k) but he said if they had made it this far they were sure not to fail *insert flying grains of salt*
-I've found a mechanic- the one the people i bought the bike from recomended, said he'd work for half price and would let me help out so that i might actaully learn a thing or 2
-There were no stange/mechanical noises before it shut down, besides that it had developed a slight hesitation while idling a few blocks before, BTW once it st\alled the 1st time i never got it started again, not even close
OK thanks everyone, when the mechanic guy comes to check it out on thursday (he's making a house call!!) i'll be able to clue eveyone in on what's happening

[Anonymous]

1980 Gs850l

I have experienced this same problem within the last 3 weeks. Sputter, sputter..went and bought new plugs but haven't even been able to put them in yet. She's dead. My charging system has apparently gone out again. I happen to have a spare GS850 for parts so eveythings not lost.

My bike went out on a Friday heading back to work. I too pulled the headlight fuse and made it home on the battery, but it stopped before I could get it parked.

The same symptoms described here have been experienced. Thanks for all the answers...I can use these when I put "SUZY" back on the road.

After this happened on Friday, I went and bought me a 1999 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 the following Tuesday, but I'm going to tell you something. This new bike doesn't handle like my "SUZY". My GS actually handles better in the curves when riding the tallest peak here in Alabama...Mt. Cheaha.

[Anonymous]

Relax, if 1/2 qt. of oil got oil to the sight glass, you don't need to worry about any internal engine problems from low oil levels. How old is the battery, motorcycle batteries aren't known for longivity.

[kz]

Two weeks ago my starter didn?t turn any more like yours, I first thought of the battery and tried a lot of things including jump-start from a car.

The funny thing was that the starter sometimes just worked fine for one our or so.

After that I checked the starter relay with part success.

Three days later and dismantling the starter itself I realized that it was an intermittent short circuit to ground in the starter armature.

If you suspect a short in the starter armature the easiest way to find out is to dismount and smell on the armature, the armature smell like typical "coil burn" if so.

So, it could be many different things DONT GIVE UP!!!

[Anonymous]

Hi Mookie, I think I may be in the same boat as you. Can you crash (bump) start it easily? I have removed the whole wiring loom from my bike and intend to make a replica of it and replace any suspicious components. You might not be keen to do this. Instead you should check out The Stator Papers located on this site, they have some simple tests you can do to check out your charging system. Good Luck

[Anonymous]

From all you've said, I think your problem is electrical, not mechanical. Dying at the lights sounds like a failing battery or a charging fault. The bike will start running rough as the battery voltage drops until it dies at low revs when there just isn't enough to keep everything running. You may have lights on the dash but the battery can't do the heaviest job - turn the engine on the starter and fire it up.

Assuming it's something this simple, charge the battery overnight, (trickle chargers designed for bikes are cheap and every GS owner should have one!) top up the oil and try the starter again.