Loss of Power

[Anonymous]

Hi all,
I seem to have lost a lot of HorsePower on my 82' GS1100E. We changed the plugs last week and all seemed well. Then a few days ago it started to sort of stutter when I gave it gas. Now it just sort of chugs along. I can get up to speed but it takes awhile and there is a lot of vibration. The engine produces a much more "loose" tone. I should mention the the clutch is rattling pretty bad but I don't know if there is a connection.

any thoughts?

[redliner1973]

Did you by chance replace the plugs with a colder or hotter set than what was in there? same brand? I have seen where you put a colder plug in (or mis-match by brand) and the plug fouls, therefore causing the symptoms you describe. this is, of course, assuming your clutch is just 'noisy' and NOT slipping. I would recommend pulling a plug or two and see what they look like, and checking other obvious things like, are the wires tight, and things like that. hope that helps, please reply back and let us know what you found.....

[Jethro]

When is the last time you went through the carbs? I had some pretty serious power loss myself, and when I went through the carbs, they were caked up and clogged! Now the old girl breathes freely and pulls like she used to. I had a bad clutch too, but I can assure you that the carbs are more likely. Does the clutch rattle when you first take off? I found that to be a sure sign that it is slipping constantly.

[crag antler]

You might want to look into the regulator/rectifier.
When I bought my 83 GS1100E,with 22k, in July, it gave me the same trouble. After leaving it at my mechanics( still there ) I found out that the reg/rect. was shot. This in turn, with a dead battery, gave me a great loss of power. Just as described. I was told that this will also give me firing problems with my plugs.
I also discovered that I had 6 out of 8 exhaust bolts loose, and 2 missing
I hope some of this was helpful, at least at another way of looking at the problem.
If I get mine back home soon, :roll: I will let you know if this fixes my problem. Please let us know the fix on yours. :P
Doug
__________________________________________________ ___________
83 GS1100E(yes,still in the shop),76 GT250A(keeping my sanity)

[Anonymous]

Hi jethro~

The clutch rattles all the time now, even pulling in the lever no longer makes a difference. I have plans to work on the carbs next week so I'll know more then..

I think I found a local shop as well.. but again I'll know more next week.

[Anonymous]

I had a similar problem with my 80 GS1100E I bought last month. It would occasionally lose power, then it would suddenly come back. I found this site, and went through the various tests of the electrical system. I found that the plastic connectors on my 2 and 3 cylinder coil were not making contact. I cleaned them up and tightened them with needlenose pliers, and it fixed the problem. Since I had the tank off, I went through and checked every connector I could find. It appears to have been caused by vibration.

[1100ED]

fOR A SECOND THE SYMPTOMS SOUNDED LIKE THE PETCOCK WAS LEAKING EXTRA GAS INTO THE #2 CYLINDER THROUGH THE VACUME LINE AND THE RATTLING NOISE WAS JUST FROM THE ENGINE RUNNING SO POORLY