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Hey everyone,
Looking for some advice on where to start working a problem. I've looked at a lot of posts but haven't found my exact sequence of events or can't try some of the fixes because the bike won't start. If anyone has some suggestions, I'm open.
1--YEAR AND MODEL
1981 GS750E
2--MILES ON ENGINE
Unknown. Odometer cluster hadn't worked for the previous owner.
4-WHAT RECENT WORK WAS DONE TO ENGINE--ETC.
None to my knowledge. The previous owner had it as part of 16 bike collection. He rode each bike occasionally to keep them fresh. I found a trickle charging lead on the battery so I believe him when he said he kept them charged. He said he rode it the day it was picked up.
The Story.
I bought the bike from another state and had it delivered. It ran fine the first night. The next day I rode it to get the title done and to work. I work about 25 miles from home. I noticed it running rough as the RPMs hit 5000 once I got a distance from home. After that started, it seemed to have a varying amount of weakness at different points in the power band. I stopped at a dealer to ask if they work on bikes that old. They said yes. The mechanic wasn't completely sure what the issue was but based on my description, he was thinking carbs. He said step one is to pull the plugs to check their condition.
On the way home, about 14-15 miles from the dealer, the bike shut down. It felt as if I had hit the kill switch or turned off the ignition. Absolutely no reaction when the throttle was opened. I pulled around the corner and it died. No start. Sat there for about 2 min and then it grudgingly fired back up. I got it home.
I left the bike sit for exactly 1 week. It started right up and felt fine initially, enough that I thought about taking it to work the next day. It continued to run well for about 15 miles and then started sputtering and losing power. Eventually it came to a halt as if I had turned off the key. The starter would barely turn over at this point and got no better as it cooled. I trailered it home.
This weekend, with a printed copy of the Stator papers in hand, I started looking at the problem. The battery was only half full of water and under 12 volts. I decided the cost of a Wal-Mart battery was tolerable to ensure I had a good battery. I followed the proper battery init procedure. The sucker cranks like mad now but no fire. The battery checks out at around 12.8V and drops about .5 volt with the ignition on.
I looked through the old Q&A and have some idea of what to do but not sure where to start. Is there something I could have done to screw up the spark by replacing a battery. I only disconnected the battery leads and was vary careful about not touching the tools to any other parts of the bike. I turned the headlight off, I flipped the kill switch, etc... still no fire. I tried the various petcock positions, no change. And yes, it has fuel.
My initial thought is to pull the plugs, check their condition and then do a spark test. What's the best way to do a spark test?
Thanks in advance.
Todd "Woodsie" Woods
1981 GS750E
Looking for some advice on where to start working a problem. I've looked at a lot of posts but haven't found my exact sequence of events or can't try some of the fixes because the bike won't start. If anyone has some suggestions, I'm open.
1--YEAR AND MODEL
1981 GS750E
2--MILES ON ENGINE
Unknown. Odometer cluster hadn't worked for the previous owner.
4-WHAT RECENT WORK WAS DONE TO ENGINE--ETC.
None to my knowledge. The previous owner had it as part of 16 bike collection. He rode each bike occasionally to keep them fresh. I found a trickle charging lead on the battery so I believe him when he said he kept them charged. He said he rode it the day it was picked up.
The Story.
I bought the bike from another state and had it delivered. It ran fine the first night. The next day I rode it to get the title done and to work. I work about 25 miles from home. I noticed it running rough as the RPMs hit 5000 once I got a distance from home. After that started, it seemed to have a varying amount of weakness at different points in the power band. I stopped at a dealer to ask if they work on bikes that old. They said yes. The mechanic wasn't completely sure what the issue was but based on my description, he was thinking carbs. He said step one is to pull the plugs to check their condition.
On the way home, about 14-15 miles from the dealer, the bike shut down. It felt as if I had hit the kill switch or turned off the ignition. Absolutely no reaction when the throttle was opened. I pulled around the corner and it died. No start. Sat there for about 2 min and then it grudgingly fired back up. I got it home.
I left the bike sit for exactly 1 week. It started right up and felt fine initially, enough that I thought about taking it to work the next day. It continued to run well for about 15 miles and then started sputtering and losing power. Eventually it came to a halt as if I had turned off the key. The starter would barely turn over at this point and got no better as it cooled. I trailered it home.
This weekend, with a printed copy of the Stator papers in hand, I started looking at the problem. The battery was only half full of water and under 12 volts. I decided the cost of a Wal-Mart battery was tolerable to ensure I had a good battery. I followed the proper battery init procedure. The sucker cranks like mad now but no fire. The battery checks out at around 12.8V and drops about .5 volt with the ignition on.
I looked through the old Q&A and have some idea of what to do but not sure where to start. Is there something I could have done to screw up the spark by replacing a battery. I only disconnected the battery leads and was vary careful about not touching the tools to any other parts of the bike. I turned the headlight off, I flipped the kill switch, etc... still no fire. I tried the various petcock positions, no change. And yes, it has fuel.
My initial thought is to pull the plugs, check their condition and then do a spark test. What's the best way to do a spark test?
Thanks in advance.
Todd "Woodsie" Woods
1981 GS750E
If the plugs look ok, I'll do a spark test. That test I have figured out. If they don't spark, I will do an ignitor test. This test not so sure on. 
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