Starting woes...

[vivalast]

Well my bike died shortly after setting off yesterday. I had reached a stop and the engine simply died. Upon attempting to start it again the battery didn't have enough juice. Since I've had electrical glitches in past I put it off as that. After a 10 minute limp home I threw the battery on charge and made a note to buy a new battery.

Last night after I replaced the battery it started right up and it seemed perfectly normal. However I go out to start it today and it simply won't stay running. It only starts when given liberal amounts of throttle and even with the choke on full it simply dies.

The choke seems to do nothing at all. When given gas to above 2500 it stays running albeit off slightly with some backfiring. However once I drop the throttle down to 1500 it runs very weakly and sometimes lightly backfires. The exhaust smells 'rich' if that's the term??

One possible cause is was the fact I left my choke on full the yesterday? When I used to leave the choke on full the bike stayed running at a low RPM and didn't suddenly rev up. However since I'm a noob at this it likely has nothing to do with it.

I'm suspecting a carb problem?? It just seems odd how it suddenly happened. Any input is greatly appreciated. Sadly this is another Friday the 13th thwarted by gremlins. Last year it was electrical variety.

[chuckycheese]

Charging

It sounds like your system isn't charging. You need a fairly well charged battery in order for your bike to run right. You may have carb problems but you've got to first figure out why you battery is going dead.

You need to get the bike going and check to see what the voltage is between the battery posts at various RPM's. A fully charged battery is around 12.6 volts. With increasing RPM's, the voltage should increase to around 13.5 or 14, or so, at around 5000 RPM. (Someone will, invariably, come along and give you different numbers, but it really doesn't matter.) It can vary, somewhat, but if it's not increasing, you'll need to take a look at your connections. If they look just right, check out the 'stator papers'. Good luck...you'll figure it out!:grin:

[doctorgonzo]

I agree, most likely battery is not charging. It runs fine on a full charge and then as the battery drains the spark gets weak, causing the other symptoms until it's so weak it won't even run.

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. vivalast,

You won't hurt your bike by running it with the choke on. The choke (actually enricher) becomes ineffective as soon as you start giving it throttle anyway.

Carburetors (properly cleaned and adjusted), valve clearances (properly set), intake system (no air leaks), and charging system (good components, clean connections and grounds) are the "usual suspects" with these bikes. Get them all in good working order and you'll have a sweet running machine. I've gathered a lot of information on my little BikeCliff website (link in sig) and in my mega-welcome. <<Clicky

You might want to add your bike model to your sig so that we won't have to keep asking you what you're riding. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[jbs80106]

Hi Mr. vivalast,

You won't hurt your bike by running it with the choke on. The choke (actually enricher) becomes ineffective as soon as you start giving it throttle anyway.


BassCliff

Is that right? I always thought it would tend to run rich throughout all revs with the choke in any position besides full closed/off?

Cool.

[vivalast]

I guess the gremlins caught wind of what I had in store for them. They've seemed to have vanished.

I'm fairly certain the charging systems not at fault since I had it redone two seasons ago. I had the new regulator die and had it replaced last year. I simply think it's the battery at this point. As before when the system itself was fried my bike would last only a day or two. Now it lasts for a week or two at a time. All the lights get brighter when revving up as well.

Started the bike up as it ran poorly by keeping the throttle on until it warmed up. Got it to the gas station and filled up. Runs fine now. I did some searching and found bad gas may be the cause. I remembered once it died I had put some premium gas from a can in.

When it was malfunctioning the choke simply did not function and the bike died no matter where it was placed. I have no idea what went wrong...

Haha my MSF instructor told me the same thing Cliff. Is it normal that bike doesn't over rev when the choke's full?? Usually I have to keep an eye on it so that it doesn't rev over 2000 as it warms up. However on full it always seems to stay around 1200 and never stall. As soon as I move it over it revs up.

Thank you very much for all the replies! I'll be sure to snap shots of any GS'es I come across tomorrow!

[BassCliff]

With my choke full out, my bike will eventually rev up to around 4000 if I let it. I keep pushing the choke in as it warms so as to keep the revs about 2000. It's not good to let it rev so high when cold.

How old is your battery Mr. vivalast? Sometimes they will last only 2 or 3 seasons, depending on how they were initialized. You also might want to dump a can of Sea Foam in a tank of gas and see if that helps clean out any gunk that might be in your carbs. Even though I ride almost every day, all year long, I do that 2 or 3 times a year just for maintenance.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[chef1366]

I think you fouled your plugs with the choke thing and they cleaned themselves up while running.

[vivalast]

Thanks for the seafoam tidbit. I'll be sure to pick some up on my next day off.

In other news;upon getting home and trying to restart the bike the battery was dead once again. :/ I don't have a multimeter handy but using the following could anyone give some insight as to what it could potentially be?
-I ride nearly everyday but the battery lasts a week or two before dying(compared to the day or two when my old charging system went)
-When revved up all the lights brighten(a sign of a working charging system?)
-The bike only 'dies' when I turn it off and attempt to start it again. When my original charging system croaked the bike would die even when idling.

I'm suspecting and hoping it's the battery. I've got another battery that I'm going to try.

And finally;I've got a few GS pictures I collected on a meet I went to last week. Best forum for a thread would be?