Another newbie with ?

[Ray]

Hi all,

I just joined and hoping to get some information.

I have a 1982 GS550L. About 2 weeks ago it just died while I was riding it. Something must of grounded out cause I could smell wires and it blew some fuses. At that point I had nothing, no lights, nothing.

I took it home and replaced fuses. I have lights now and it turns over but I'm not getting spark to the plugs. I changes 1 of the coils and still no spark. I'm thinking there may be more to this than a coil.

Any ideas on what I could check?

Thanks
Ray

[doctorgonzo]

"Spectacular electrical system failure"
It's the hallmark of the universal Japanese motorcycle. Where to start....
It's possible (I think) that something grounded out, but more likely is the Regulator/Rectifier unit failed because of old connections and poor ground. You could have fried your coils I think, but first I'd visit the stator papers on the main GS Resources page, do the fault finding chart, and if all is well in the charging system move on to checking every bit of wiring on the bike replacing all corroded, burned connectors and wires. You could well be getting no spark because the wires that takes juice to the coils, or multiple other wires fried when you broke down.

[TheCafeKid]

Ignitor? I would look there before going any further with the coils. If the ignitor is bad, the coils will appear bad. If the ignitor is bad, you will likely find it in your best interest to start looking at the possibility of using an Dyna S system, as its generally as cheap as a USED ignitor.

[doctorgonzo]

Ignitor? I would look there before going any further with the coils. If the ignitor is bad, the coils will appear bad. If the ignitor is bad, you will likely find it in your best interest to start looking at the possibility of using an Dyna S system, as its generally as cheap as a USED ignitor.

Good one, and if not the igniter itself, burned, corroded wire between igniter and coil. Something caused the initial electrical failure though. I wouldn't fix much else until that bug was found. You might just fry your new part.

[Dogma]

Good one, and if not the igniter itself, burned, corroded wire between igniter and coil. Something caused the initial electrical failure though. I wouldn't fix much else until that bug was found. You might just fry your new part.

He needs to get it running before doing the stator papers, right? Maybe disconnect the stator and regulator, and get it running on a car battery before connecting the regulator to everything again.

[BassCliff]

Hee Haw Howdy!

Hi Mr. Ray,

Here, with lots of general information, is your mega-welcome!

Dear fellow GS rider,

Let it be known that on this day you are cordially and formally welcomed to the GSR Forum as a Junior Member in good standing with all the rights and privileges thereof. Further let it be known that your good standing can be improved with pictures (not you, your bike)!

Perhaps you've already seen these, but I like to remind all the new members. In addition to the carb rebuild series, I recommend visiting the In The Garage section via the GSR Homepage and check out the Stator Papers. There's also a lot of great information in the Old Q&A section. I have some documentation on my little BikeCliff website to help get you familiar with doing routine maintenance tasks (note that it is 850G-specific but many tasks are common to all GS bikes). Other "user contributed" informational sites include those of Mr. bwringer, Mr. tfb and Mr. robertbarr. And if your bike uses shims for valve adjustments, send an email to Mr. Steve requesting a copy of his Excel spreadsheet that helps you keep track of clearances, shim sizes and other service work.

These are some edited quotes from one of our dear beloved gurus, Mr. bwringer, with ideas on basic needs (depending on initial condition), parts, and accessories.
***********Quoted from Mr. bwringer************
Every GS850 (and most other models) has (or had) a set of well-known issues that MUST be addressed before you have a solid baseline for further troubleshooting. It's a vintage bike, and it's quite common (as in, every single GS850 I have had contact with) that there are multiple problems that have crept up and slowly gotten worse over the years. It's not like a newer vehicle, where there's generally one problem at a time.

These common issues are:

1. Intake O-rings (install NEW OEM or Viton only - common nitrile O-rings will quickly deteriorate from heat)
2. Intake Boots (install NEW -- these cannot be repaired)
3. Valve clearances (more important than most people think)
4. Carb/airbox boots
5. Airbox sealing
6. Air filter sealing
7. Petcock (install a NEW one)
8. On '79 models, install new points or Dyna electronic ignition (or at least verify that the old points are working correctly)
9. On all models, it's fairly common to have problems with the spark plug caps. These are $3 or $4 each, and often worth replacing if you're keeping the stock coils/wires.
10. Stock exhaust with NO leaks or holes -- good seals at the head and at the junctions underneath.
***********************************
Carburetor maintenance:

Replace the intake boot o-rings, and possibly the intake boots. Here's the procedure:

http://bwringer.com/gs/intakeorings.html

Here's an overview of what happens with this particular problem:

http://cycleorings.com/intake.html

You'll also want to examine the boots between the carbs and the airbox. There's a good chance these are OK, but check them over.
And finally, if things still aren't exactly right, you'll want to order a set of o-rings for BS carbs from the GS owner's best friend, Robert Barr:
http://cycleorings.com
Once you receive these rare rings of delight, then you'll want to thoroughly clean and rebuild your carburetors. Here are step-by-step instructions that make this simple:

http://thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

***************************************
OEM Parts/Online Fiches:

I would definitely double and triple the recommendations to use Cycle Recycle II and Z1 Enterprises as much as possible. These guys are priceless resources. Z1 tends to have slightly better prices, CRC2 has a wider range of goodies available. If you're near Indy and can bring in an old part to match, CRC2 has a vast inventory of used parts.
http://denniskirk.com - Put in your bike model and see what they have.
http://oldbikebarn.com - seems to be slowly regaining a decent reputation, but it's still caveat emptor. They don't have anything you can't get elsewhere at a better price anyway.
http://www.babbittsonline.com/ - Decent parts prices. Spendy shipping. Don't give you part numbers at all. Useful cross-reference if you obtain a part number elsewhere. Efficient service.
http://bikebandit.com - Fastest. Middlin' prices. Uses their own parts numbering system to obfuscate price comparisons -- can be very confusing for large orders. Cheapest shipping, so total cost usually isn't too bad.
http://flatoutmotorcycles.com - Slow. Cheapest parts prices, crazy shipping costs. Don't expect progress updates or much communication. Real Suzuki part numbers.
http://alpha-sports.com - Exorbitant parts prices. Different type of fiche interface that's quite useful at times, especially with superceded part numbers. Real parts numbers. Shipping cost and speed unknown due to insane, unholy pricing.

Stainless Bolts, Viton o-rings, metric taps, dies, assorted hard-to-find supplies and materials, etc:

http://mcmaster.com - Fast, cheap shipping, good prices. No order minimum, but many items like bolts come in packs of 25 or 50. Excellent resource.
http://motorcycleseatcovers.com - Great quality, perfect fit (on original seat foam), and available for pretty much every bike ever made. Avoid the textured vinyl -- it's perforated.
http://newenough.com - You DO have riding gear, don't you? Great clearances, always outstanding prices and impeccable service.
***************End Quote**********************
Additional parts/info links:

GSR Forum member Mr. duaneage has great used upgraded Honda regulator/rectifiers for our bikes. Send him a PM.
New electrical parts:
http://stores.ebay.com/RMSTATOR or http://www.rmstator.com/

http://www.ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/index.php

http://www.electrosport.com/

For valve cover and breather cover gaskets, I recommend Real Gaskets (reusable silicon):

http://www.realgaskets.com

Carolina Cycle

http://www.carolinacycle.com

Ron Ayers Motorsports

http://www.ronayers.com

MR Cycles

http://www.mrcycles.com

Moto Grid

http://www.motogrid.com

Salvage/Used

http://www.ricepaddymotorcycles.com

http://www.ozpowersports.com/

If all else fails, try this:

http://www.used-motorcycle-parts.org/

Used bike buying checklists:

http://www.amadirectlink.com/roadride/Riderresc/checklist.asp

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html

Lots of good info/pictures here:

http://www.suzukicycles.org

http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Motorcycle_Wiki

http://www.bikepics.com
Basic motorcycle maintenance/repair:
http://www.dansmc.com/mc_repaircourse.htm
Online Clymer manuals:
http://search.ebscohost.com/ Click on "Small Engine Repair" then "Motorcycles". User=library, password=library. Note: This link may not work if you are on a school campus.

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed of your progress. There's lots of good folk with good experience here.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
(The unofficial GSR greeter)

[buster]

My bike did something similiar. I could hear it though so I track it down to the connector for the R/R.

I would check the connectors in the main system first since that where I found most of my wire corrosion.

[doctorgonzo]

He needs to get it running before doing the stator papers, right? Maybe disconnect the stator and regulator, and get it running on a car battery before connecting the regulator to everything again.

You can do the R/R test (which I bet it will fail) and test for the stator shorted out without the bike running. Step one I think is find the probably now burned (or the multiple now burned) connectors and get them straight before anything.