gs550 won't start... I am very sad... and need help!

[supergrafx]

Hi, a couple weeks ago I posted pics of my bike I purchased. Here is the link:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=129471

Well, the bike won't start now. The starter will click, but it refuses to fire up. The previous owner wasn't able to start the bike immediately the first time I saw it but after applying the choke was able to start it 30 minutes later. Supposedly, the battery is fairly new, the carbs are refurbished; however, it is running without an air filter. This is my first bike and I have no idea where to start and what precautions to take. I have a service manual but with the little experience I have with automobile/bike repairs, it really isn't that helpful. I'm wondering if this could be a wiring issue and what I should be checking for specifically. I really would hate to have it towed to a motorcycle repair shop only to get ripped off. I'm taking off an hour or two from work to pick up my tags and new title tomorrow, with the realization that I will not be riding for even longer than I had expected. I just got my insurance coverage this weekend and now this..... The bike was starting fine for nearly 3-4 weeks.

[SqDancerLynn1]

IT needs an air filter to run properly, usually to start --Turn petcock to prime for 2-3 seconds, turn back to on position, Full choke, do not touch throttle. push start button... If it just clickes ? make sure the battery is fully charged..

[Nessism]

’77 550 means you have a kick start so try that. Clicking at the starter solenoid means either the battery is flat or the solenoid/starter has resistance issues. First thing to check is your battery charge. GS bikes are famous for charging issues so maybe the battery has been running down and you didn’t know it. If you can get the bike started either using the kick start or by push starting, put a volt meter across the battery terminals and rev up the engine; you should be getting in the range of 15 volts at 4000 rpm. Failing that, check the Stator Papers on the GSR homepage for more info on what to do next.

[Baatfam]

OK...don't panic...And definatly don't have it towed to a shop.

First thing I would do is to get a meter...(borrow one if you don't have one), and check your batter voltage...

And then come back here. If you don't have at least 12.3-4 volts, your battery or charging circuit is most likely the problem.

Let us know what you find...

[dcver]

What year is your GS ??

You say the starter is 'clicking' - but should be more specific. is it just clicking, or is it actually turning the engine over but not starting ?

If your bike was starting and running fine, and the starter is turning the engine over but not starting, and decided to quit one day on it's own (ie-without any 'fiddling') then you might want to check out your regulator/rectifier.

[supergrafx]

SqDancerLynn1: I did the described method and still it doesn't start up, just clicks... with the choke at full. I also tried half-way, and 3/4, not like I knew what I was doing...

Nessism: I previously tried kickstarting the bike, but to no avail. Previously, while I was starting the bike, I had tried the kickstart for fun since I never had done this before with a bike and no problem. Now, it is a problem. Both the kickstart and start button do not bring the engine to turn over.

BTW, the battery does seem low, I think, although I don't have a volt meter. I thought the headlights were shining bright when I first tried to start it up this evening, but the more I kept at it at trying to start it with only the clicking sounds, it seemed like the output of the headlight lamp has begun to dim...

Nessism, Baatfam and dcver: If I can't get the engine to turn over, what should I do? Is there a way to check the voltage on a battery without starting the bike up? And should I recharge the battery somehow or replace it?

I really am thankful to all of your quick replies and help in this matter!

[Baatfam]

Is there a way to check the voltage on a battery without starting the bike up? And should I recharge the battery somehow or replace it?

I really am thankful to all of your quick replies and help in this matter!

Yes...but you need a meter...A $10 Harbor Frieght meter will work for this...
Or borrow one....the headlight can still be fairly bright even if the battery is to low to turn the bike over.

[supergrafx]

Yes...but you need a meter...A $10 Harbor Frieght meter will work for this...
Or borrow one....the headlight can still be fairly bright even if the battery is to low to turn the bike over.

Well, I just looked in my tool box and I do own a multimeter I got from radio shack a long time ago when I was checking just for current beeps on copper tracings on some arcade video game stick I was building. I see there is a setting for voltage on this thing. Could I use a multimeter to check the voltage? There is a red rod and a black rod to check connections. If I can use this do I just use the red rod and not perhaps ground the black one to something when testing for the voltage. There is a warning on the multimeter that says: improper use of this device can result in injury or death, so I want to make sure I do it right. It's hard to believe that this multimeter could kill me.

BTW, it is still daylight, but the headlight even on high beems, seems not bright at all anymore and very dim. So I'm thinking the battery is drained or maybe I helped drained the battery further by all my unsuccessful start ups?

[Baatfam]

Perfect...Turn the meter on and set it on 20 in the V-- range, (V with a straight line behind it, DC), not V~ range, (V with a squiggle behind it, that's AC)....
Red on the positive (+) of the battery, black lead on the negative (-) post of the battery.
You'll get a number...let us know what it is.

Now...if you can't figure out what I'm saying about your meter...get some help. Your meter may be different than most.

Or post a picture of it and we can tell you how to set it.

[lucabond]

The warning is mostly if you use it on AC althought DC can hurt you too but I wouldn't worry about it mostly legal talk. Put the black lead on the - side of the battery the red lead on the + side make sure it is set for Dc volts and read the voltage of your battery. If its less than 12.4 or so it needs a charge. If you have an automotive battery charger and it won't charge at 2 amps or less it could damage the battery. You could use jumpers from your car to start it up red to red black to black just dont have the car running or that could hurt the bike. If it starts recheck the voltage at the bike battery and see what you have. Good luck..

[supergrafx]

The warning is mostly if you use it on AC althought DC can hurt you too but I wouldn't worry about it mostly legal talk. Put the black lead on the - side of the battery the red lead on the + side make sure it is set for Dc volts and read the voltage of your battery. If its less than 12.4 or so it needs a charge. If you have an automotive battery charger and it won't charge at 2 amps or less it could damage the battery. You could use jumpers from your car to start it up red to red black to black just dont have the car running or that could hurt the bike. If it starts recheck the voltage at the bike battery and see what you have. Good luck..

Thanks lucabond

[supergrafx]

’77 550 means you have a kick start so try that. Clicking at the starter solenoid means either the battery is flat or the solenoid/starter has resistance issues. First thing to check is your battery charge. GS bikes are famous for charging issues so maybe the battery has been running down and you didn’t know it. If you can get the bike started either using the kick start or by push starting, put a volt meter across the battery terminals and rev up the engine; you should be getting in the range of 15 volts at 4000 rpm. Failing that, check the Stator Papers on the GSR homepage for more info on what to do next.

Nessism, 5-6 hours later I went outside and tried giving her a kickstart again. On the 6 or seventh attempt, I heard a grada, gratta, grada sound and wondered if this was the sound of the engine trying to turn over. I did it again, to no avail. Then again, heard the sound, this time let the kick go back to its resting place after the force was initiated and whala, she started up. I was not able to check her battery's voltage due to it becoming night-time, but I let her run for 5-10 minutes. I then tried to start her up with the throttle's start button and she fired up like there was never any problem. BTW, she started up while the valve was turned to the on position. I had previously thought since there is a prime, reserve, and on, that the valve should be turned to the prime or reserve indicating the section of gas flow to be used in the tank. I thought the on, is to be switched after shutting the bike off, turning off the ignition. Is this not true? Sorry for the newbee questions concerning my own bike.

Everyone: I have since looked at the stator pages as well as downloaded a 770 and some page service manual of the gs550 someone linked to on another thread. It all made me love my bike even more. Thank you all so much!

[Nessism]

ON is for general usage - allows you to use all but 1 gallon of gas in the tank. RES is for reserve - the last gallon. The stock petcock has a vacuum port so gas will not flow unless the engine is started and vacuum is pulling the valve open. Leave the lever in the ON position unless you are into that last gallon in which case you need to switch to RES. PRI if for prime - allows gas to flow even when there is no vacuum. If the bike has sat for a week or so the gas in the carbs may evaporate out thus you need to turn the petcock to PRI for a short while to fill the carbs with fuel. Turn back to ON or RES after that.

BTW, good job on getting the beast to start. Dollars to donuts the battery is low. Charge at 1 amp for about 12 hours and check the voltage output per the service manual.

Good luck.

[supergrafx]

Perfect...Turn the meter on and set it on 20 in the V-- range, (V with a straight line behind it, DC), not V~ range, (V with a squiggle behind it, that's AC)....
Red on the positive (+) of the battery, black lead on the negative (-) post of the battery.
You'll get a number...let us know what it is.

Now...if you can't figure out what I'm saying about your meter...get some help. Your meter may be different than most.

Or post a picture of it and we can tell you how to set it.

Ok, I set the multimeter to V-- range, took the reading (engine was cut off) and it read 11.40 V. Also, thanks for telling me the difference between the symbols for the DC and AC. It was too dark to check last night while she was running, so I just did this after getting home today. To make matters worse , I rolled her out from under my porch, just to rev her back under, and when I applied the throttle, she immediately stalled. I then started her up again and she kept stalling almost immediately after the start. I then could only get her started with the choke all the way up and using the kickstart. The choke gave the rpms alot more flair, but when I revved the engine, I noticed the rpms staying where they were mostly at 2. Not until I applied the throttle at a much huger scale then the rpms went where they should have escalated to from the beginning. The muffler seemed to spudder sporadic levels of exhaust when i did this, seemingly untimely... I don't know what to make of this... The battery, even if low, should have no problem accelerating the bike once the bike has luckily started, am I wrong? I thought the battery was only to juice the electric starter, lights, speedometer, tachometer and turn signals. Can a low battery cause the rpms to stagger and stall a bike once it is started? I am unable to make the bike move at all, as it just stalls. Even worse, even with the kickstart, I'm getting nothing now, also even with the choke all the way up. I can't get the bike back under the porch due to the huge incline since it is hard for me just to push her alone, so I have temporarily parked it under my back door canopy to slighty shelter her from a possible rain storm...

[gs scott]

These old GS's are cold-blooded, which means they need usually full choke to start, which will cause the engine to race to about 4,000 rpm or higher as soon as it starts.

So, quickly back down the choke to about half way, more or less, whatever it takes, to keep the engine running at 2,000 - 2,500 rpms. Lower is better, but it might stall and you don't want to go back there again...

Then, it needs to stay on that choke setting until as the engine warms up some, you back down the choke little by little, again trying to keep the rpms around 2,000. 550's are a little colder than their larger brothers and will need a good minute or two before you can even THINK of driving off (with the choke still on).

If you can get this far, engine running for 2 minutes straight with choke, and start to drive successfully, you can usually completely shut off the choke after a mile or two.

You're getting a lot of good advice from the other folks with more experience than me, so I'll stop here and let the experts take over.

Congrats on the bike!