I'm sick of this bike!!

[BassCliff]

What is this coil relay mod you speak of?

Hi Mr. cloudbreakmd,

I have gathered a good bit of information about this mod... CLICK HERE. And check out the other goodies on my little BikeCliff website. It's even listed in The Garage Section. \\/


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[MelodicMetalGod]

I love a story with a happy ending and it always seems that this community works together to create just such a conclusion. Congrats on the running GS!!!

And hats off to all the other GS-ers that helped get it done!


\\/\\/

[bwringer]

Good news!

I just love a happy ending *snif*.


I already have a relay set up to power my heated grips, and I think I might just hook in my coils to that...

[kvgarrison]

nice to hear you re on the road again :-D

i am a bit confused though on how you would have a weak spark with the new coils/leads/caps if the above is correct - unless you have a broken/burnt wire somewhere and/or your battery wasnt fully charged at the time

keep us posted

As I said I did the coil relay mod outlined in this site which gave me better spark and off we go\\/

[billstearns]

might be cold blooded

I have a 79' gs850 and it is cold blooded pig. If it is cold outside it does not start easy. It will often crack for ever until it sputters to life. Once it warms up it is fine. I often will kick start it, because it has points it has a kickstart, and it will start better because I can kick it faster than the starter turns it over. If your starter is worn out it might not turn the engine over fast enough. My bike runs great and I still have to do this from time to time. If your bike is out of tune, carbs, timing, whatever, it only makes the situation worse. Also I have been told by a mechanic who's been doing this so long he actually sold the bike when it was new, that if you modify the air box or exhaust it changes the airflow and backpressure of the engine and it will never run the same. If you modified the airbox or use k/n filters this may cause some of this issue.

[BassCliff]

I have a 79' gs850 and it is cold blooded pig. If it is cold outside it does not start easy. It will often crack for ever until it sputters to life. Once it warms up it is fine. I often will kick start it, because it has points it has a kickstart, and it will start better because I can kick it faster than the starter turns it over. If your starter is worn out it might not turn the engine over fast enough. My bike runs great and I still have to do this from time to time. If your bike is out of tune, carbs, timing, whatever, it only makes the situation worse. Also I have been told by a mechanic who's been doing this so long he actually sold the bike when it was new, that if you modify the air box or exhaust it changes the airflow and backpressure of the engine and it will never run the same. If you modified the airbox or use k/n filters this may cause some of this issue.

Hi Mr. billstearns,

When was the last time you checked your valve clearances? Hard starting when cold is symptomatic of valve clearances that are too tight. Please visit my little BikeCliff website for useful bits of information that I've been collecting.

And please introduce yourself in the "GS Owners" section so that I can give you a proper welcome. :-D

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[psyguy]

I have a 79' gs850 and it is cold blooded pig. If it is cold outside it does not start easy. It will often crack for ever until it sputters to life.

mate, this is a great reason for you to join the site
with some work on your part and the support on this site you'll have your bike start first time every time, regardless of the outside temperature, just as mr suzuki intended 30yrs ago :-D

[billstearns]

Thanks for the advice. I have never checked the valve clearance. I always figured if it doesn't tick it's fine. I had no idea this could affect the cold starting. I think I will leave that part to the pros. I will tinker with little things like carbs and points but the bike to me is worth more to me than any new bike. I will properly introduce myself in the "gs owners" and explain that pert. I don't like to mess with things I can't easilly fix.

[kvgarrison]

Thanks for the advice. I have never checked the valve clearance. I always figured if it doesn't tick it's fine. I had no idea this could affect the cold starting. I think I will leave that part to the pros. I will tinker with little things like carbs and points but the bike to me is worth more to me than any new bike. I will properly introduce myself in the "gs owners" and explain that pert. I don't like to mess with things I can't easilly fix.

Iahve never built on a bike before and I have done a ton of work on my bike with this site for the very same problems you are having, read my posts and see for yourself, they're a little painful at times but they had a happy ending! Check BassCliff's site BikeCLiff, or just post yor questions in the technical info forum and you will have more info than you will need to fix it yourself and save money! Good luck and Welcome to the GS Resources:-D

[Steve]

I have never checked the valve clearance. I always figured if it doesn't tick it's fine.

Unfortunately, the valves on these engines don't loosen up to the point that you hear them ticking. In fact, they tighten up with age and miles. There is precious little clearance to start with (0.001-0.003"), so as they tighten up, they can quickly get to the point that they don't spend enough time seated on the head. This can allow some of the compression to leak back into the carb, causing problems with the mixture, and will eventually lead to burnt valves if you do get the bike running.

I think I will leave that part to the pros. I will tinker with little things like carbs and points ...

What makes you think the "pros" are any better at it than you are?
The definition of "pro" does not mean that they are good at it, just that they get paid for it. Besides, many shops have a 10-year rule nowadays. If a bike is more than 10 years old, they won't work on it. The reason is that bolts may break, requiring more time to finish the job than the flat-rate manual will allow, and most owners don't want to pay the extra time at $hop rate$.

I don't like to mess with things I can't easilly fix.

With a few relatively inexpensive tools, you would be surprised to find how easy it is to adjust your valves.

Oh, and the reason you can kick-start the bike and not crank it to life is not because you can kick it faster. The reason is that the starter draws so much power from the battery, there is not quite enough power left for the coils. When you kick it, you have full power available at the coils.

.

[Billyboy]

Good post Steve! All true to fact!

[psyguy]

Good post Steve! All true to fact!

thats the greatness of this site ... as soon you say you have a gs you get a ton of advice and encouragement on how to make it perfect :-D

[cloudbreakmd]

Hi Mr. cloudbreakmd,

I have gathered a good bit of information about this mod... CLICK HERE. And check out the other goodies on my little BikeCliff website. It's even listed in The Garage Section. \\/



BassCliff

Thank you Mr. BassCliff