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So I've owned my GS for about a year now. It is my first bike and I love it.
The paint never looked that great. I think it was a victim of some over-spray as it sat on the back side of a fence being painted by the PO. I figured the thanksgiving break was the perfect opportunity for me to personalize the bike a little with a new paint job. I painted the tank, plastics, and battery box. While the battery was out, I decided to replace it with a new one since the old one was OLD and didn't seem to be that great.
Now comes the problem. After putting everything back together, I've had nothing but problems.
First, after buying the new battery and filling it with acid, I noticed that the (+) and (-) terminals were switched from the previous battery and on the opposite side from the wires on the bike. I figured I could put the battery in backwards, bolt the starter relay solenoid(I think?) on backwards and have no problem hooking everything up. So I went that route.........after putting everything back together, the real problems began.
Sometimes when I turned the key, nothing happened....no lights, nothing. After making sure that everything was tight and what not, I noticed that wiggling the black (-) wire going to the battery would make the lights come back on. Once the lights were on I would pull in the clutch and push the start button, only to hear a small click followed immediately by the lights going out. After wiggling the (-) wire several more times and trying the start button after the lights came back on, it started! I let it run for a few minutes, shut it off, and it started right back up, so I figured it was karma and that everything was better. I rode it a mile to school and then an hour later rode it a mile back home. 45 minutes after that, it wouldn't start again. Several hours later, still wouldn't start. Had a buddy push me to try to pop start it. It started popping it in first, but ran really crappy for a few minutes and died. Ignition turned on, no lights, nothing. Wiggle (-) wire till lights turn on, push start button, bike starts....runs like crap and dies in a few minutes. Let it sit for an hour. Turn ignition, lights come on, push start button...."click", lights out. Wiggle (-) till lights come on, push start.....eventually it starts, runs crappy but stays running as long as I keep the choke out. Since there's no cover on my air box I think to myself, maybe it's getting too much air? I cover the box with a plastic bag. Bike starts right up and seems to run a little better for a few minutes then dies randomly and hasn't started again for the past few hours. The lights are staying on consistently though, haven't heard the "click" followed by lights out for a while. The motor tries to turn over and gets pretty close to starting, but can't quite make it. It doesn't appear that there are any leaks from airbox to carbs or carbs to head, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the o-rings are original and letting air out. Anyhow, I'm up a creek....and feel like someone stole my paddle and beat me with it.
I know this was a lengthy post.....but I wanted to explain the problem as thoroughly as I could. I don't know a lot about any of this stuff, but I'm trying to learn. PLEASE HELP!!!!
The paint never looked that great. I think it was a victim of some over-spray as it sat on the back side of a fence being painted by the PO. I figured the thanksgiving break was the perfect opportunity for me to personalize the bike a little with a new paint job. I painted the tank, plastics, and battery box. While the battery was out, I decided to replace it with a new one since the old one was OLD and didn't seem to be that great.
Now comes the problem. After putting everything back together, I've had nothing but problems.
First, after buying the new battery and filling it with acid, I noticed that the (+) and (-) terminals were switched from the previous battery and on the opposite side from the wires on the bike. I figured I could put the battery in backwards, bolt the starter relay solenoid(I think?) on backwards and have no problem hooking everything up. So I went that route.........after putting everything back together, the real problems began.
Sometimes when I turned the key, nothing happened....no lights, nothing. After making sure that everything was tight and what not, I noticed that wiggling the black (-) wire going to the battery would make the lights come back on. Once the lights were on I would pull in the clutch and push the start button, only to hear a small click followed immediately by the lights going out. After wiggling the (-) wire several more times and trying the start button after the lights came back on, it started! I let it run for a few minutes, shut it off, and it started right back up, so I figured it was karma and that everything was better. I rode it a mile to school and then an hour later rode it a mile back home. 45 minutes after that, it wouldn't start again. Several hours later, still wouldn't start. Had a buddy push me to try to pop start it. It started popping it in first, but ran really crappy for a few minutes and died. Ignition turned on, no lights, nothing. Wiggle (-) wire till lights turn on, push start button, bike starts....runs like crap and dies in a few minutes. Let it sit for an hour. Turn ignition, lights come on, push start button...."click", lights out. Wiggle (-) till lights come on, push start.....eventually it starts, runs crappy but stays running as long as I keep the choke out. Since there's no cover on my air box I think to myself, maybe it's getting too much air? I cover the box with a plastic bag. Bike starts right up and seems to run a little better for a few minutes then dies randomly and hasn't started again for the past few hours. The lights are staying on consistently though, haven't heard the "click" followed by lights out for a while. The motor tries to turn over and gets pretty close to starting, but can't quite make it. It doesn't appear that there are any leaks from airbox to carbs or carbs to head, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the o-rings are original and letting air out. Anyhow, I'm up a creek....and feel like someone stole my paddle and beat me with it.
I know this was a lengthy post.....but I wanted to explain the problem as thoroughly as I could. I don't know a lot about any of this stuff, but I'm trying to learn. PLEASE HELP!!!!
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