VERY BUMMED and need some help/advice

[gggGary]

to go ahead and replace the entire wiring system. to clean up the look but more importantly to ellimanate any further problems. also has i go i will be adding those little mods mention in here. (coil/horn relay mod etc.)

Nothing wrong with that, hint; get the bugs isolated BEFORE you take the plunge into a whole new wiring system. One problem at a time so's to speak. Nothing worse than trying to fix two or three or...... issues all at the same time. Always nice to get a bike running put a season on it sorting it out then do big mods the next winter.

[DanTheMan]

Another spot to look for the completely dead issue is your fuse box. Your bike should have the glass fuses in a box under the left side cover I think. Pull all your fuses, clean them, maybe wouldn't hurt to replace all of them (I had a couple that looked good, the main fuse/engine fuse bing one of them), I had no lights, nothing. It was just a bad fuse that looked good. I tore mine all apart, replaced all the bad connectors in the wiring, took a couple of days before I was done, and it was just a fuse. Oh well, the rest of the wiring needed the attention anyway.

[exbellicus]

Sitting for a year isn't too bad, especially since mine has been sitting for SEVENTEEN!

[Steve]

From a newbie, again.
... Bikes use both AC and DC power. This mechanism converts your DC battery power into AC (like a power supply on a computer does, just backwards). If your r/r is bad, it could be frying wires, fuses, or worse. Again, stator papers! A new r/r will be in the range of $80-$100, you may be able to find cheaper online. ...

Sorry, gonna have to call you on that one.

Bikes do NOT "use AC ... power", they generate it. The only place that AC exists on the bike is between the stator and the r/r. The combination of magnets and stator windings generates AC current that is then rectified (that's the r/ in r/r) to DC (direct current) and regulated (that's the /r) to about 14 volts and sent to the rest of the bike.

Actually, a NEW r/r will be in the range of $130-160, but you can get a used, tested unit from member "duaneage". Do a search for his name, you will see his information on how to order one from him for $40.

.

[exbellicus]

Steve you caught me too fast, I had already gone back and corrected it. Learn something new every day!

[Coady]

This is all good advice.

Essentially if the bike is not lighting up anything when you turn the key, the problems between battery ground and ignition switch. Pull tank, side covers, headlight bucket and check all the connections. It may even be corrosion on the underside of the ignition barrel. Systematically work through it til you get power and then test the charging system as mentioned.

Start with battery ground, as already suggested. This has caused complete failure for me on two cars and one bike.

Don't freak out about the oil yet, just make sure it doesn't drop below minimum (obviously).

[smokienutz]

I got my girl back i am stoked. she had to spent the night in a different town in back of a pick-up.(i may post the story later on her how i gt her and all of "this" lol). got her out bought new fuses replaced them all. and she cranked up. i am so relieved that all it is . now to the oil issue lol. when i got her back i checked and all the looked like it was gone. i checked the air pods liked mentioned before but no oil. there's gas. not sure if that's a problem. so i added almost a quart. drove down the block and back. oil still looks full and clean. let her sit for about 30 mins. did the same thing. now the oil window is full and black lol. i really don't know but, maybe, the oil had to work thru everything? and i didn't add enuff? i did notice once she was full oil again she sounded way better.

again ty all for the input. i would have never guessed to replace a "good" fuse lol. <--- hope you ccaught the sarcasm

[rphillips]

Ya'll are nuts, The way you explain it, my bike doesn't run on gasoline, it runs on the power, that comes from the gasoline. The bike doesn't run on AC current, It runs on DC current that comes from the AC current. If my bike didn't have AC current to convert to DC current, the bike would only run till the battery went down. Maybe yours doesn't, but my bike uses both gasoline & AC current. Even us Tennessee Hillbillys can figure that out.

[waterman]

I got my girl back i am stoked. she had to spent the night in a different town in back of a pick-up.(i may post the story later on her how i gt her and all of "this" lol). got her out bought new fuses replaced them all. and she cranked up. i am so relieved that all it is . now to the oil issue lol. when i got her back i checked and all the looked like it was gone. i checked the air pods liked mentioned before but no oil. there's gas. not sure if that's a problem. so i added almost a quart. drove down the block and back. oil still looks full and clean. let her sit for about 30 mins. did the same thing. now the oil window is full and black lol. i really don't know but, maybe, the oil had to work thru everything? and i didn't add enuff? i did notice once she was full oil again she sounded way better.

again ty all for the input. i would have never guessed to replace a "good" fuse lol. <--- hope you ccaught the sarcasm

Does your bike smoke when running? If you are losing oil it is either leaking from somewhere and should be visible or burning and again visible as smoke from the exhaust, generally a blue color smoke that smells of burnt oil. As for checking the level, you will need to wait a little while after shutting off engine for it to drain from head back to crankcase.

Dark oil just means that it is picking up carbon from combustion, very much a normal condition. Diesels will blacken oil in a hurry, it doesn't mean anything is wrong with engine or oil, it just what happens.

I have had bad fuses that looked good, I think they break from vibration instead of blowing from overloads. When in doubt, just replace with new and pitch old. Glad to hear bike is back to running.

[smokienutz]

since i added new spark plugs i do get some blue smoke for a bit, but after it warms up it goes away. but yesterday and today she had a burt oil smell but i thought it was something like i spilled oil on the muffler or engine. i have smelled it going down the hiway but again i passed it off like a different car or something else. i will take her out tomorrow and see what happens and tell y'all.

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. smokienutz,

I just wanted to remind you that I've got a lot of basic maintenance information on my website, with pictures!

Oil change, electrical system, tire change, valve adjustment, etc. Please help yourself. Have you adjusted the valves recently? Be sure to go over the checklist in the READ ME file on my website. It will keep your GS happy.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Steve]

Maybe yours doesn't, but my bike uses both gasoline & AC current.

Nobody said it didn't use it.

I only called exbellicus on his statement (that he has since edited) that the bike converted DC to AC so it could use the AC.

.

[exbellicus]

Yea all I said was the r/r converts DC->AC and different parts of the bike run off different types of electricity. I have since learned how it really works! Hence the "Coming from a newbie" at the beginning of my posts...

[chef1366]

AC/DC
Rock on

[Spyderman]

the oil problem of it disappearing on him might be that his carbs are leaking into the motor and diluting the oil making it thinner and being blown out the exhaust maybe
perhaps it's time to take the carbs off and do a deep cleaning and rebuild o-rings and all