Idling and battery level

[Counter]

I purchased my '81 850G a couple of weeks ago and have been trying to figure what needs fixing and what doesn't. It has 34K miles. I was riding it on a 40 mile trip and everything seemed OK. I get home and find the battery is totally shot. It did work well previously, although the prior owner did ask if I had a trickle charger...

Anyway, while riding the bike the next day, I noticed that it wouldn't hold an idle under 3K rpm's. It had been idling OK up until then. It does backfire under deceleration, but even that is getting better with new gas.

My question is whether the idling issue can be related to a "dead" battery. Will the charging system at idle (1K) generate sufficient electrical juice to power the motorcycle if the battery is insufficient? Or is this just some crazy coincidence?

I am trickle charging the battery to try and resurrect it.

Thanks all.

[chuckycheese]

Battery

It sounds like there's a good chance your battery is shot. A lousy battery can definitely affect how the bike will run and what you're describing sounds like a battery problem. Luckily, it's really easy to find out.

You could also have R/R and or stator problems that could cause the battery to 'seem' bad...but I'd start with the battery and go from there.

[Larry D]

Welcome !!
Get a multimeter and go through the Stator Papers--step-by-step. Take your time, you'll have it diagnosed in no time.
Good Luck !!

http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_garage.htm

[Steve]

The high idle is also common, it's typical of a leak in the intake system. The o-rings between the intake tubes and the head are prime suspects.

I see that you are new, .

I also see that you got BassCliff's official greeting with your first post last week. Have you had time to read through any of that? I can't expect you to read it all in the first week, but he has a "top ten" or so items that need to be checked. Since you have already found out that the previous owner was not quite truthful, there is no reason to believe anything else he might have said. All the more reason to check it out for yourself.

Among the 'top ten' items that would interest you right now would be a valve adjustment, carb cleaning, o-ring replacement and charging system check. BassCliff's site has links to information on all that stuff.

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