starter really slow

[appollo]

against all my reasonable senses, wife's nagging and garage space, I have a new project. I picked up a 1981 GS1100E, been sitting 2-3 years not running. I've been looking for 1 of these for years. This one is very clean, owner had it for 20 years. According to him, it ran fine before he parked it.

It's got me stumped though, having problems getting it to turn over properly. It turns over slow, but not normal slow like a weak battery, it almost cycles fast through 1-2 revolutions than slows right down.

Here's what I have tried:

I'm using a good car battery, charger etc. (definitely not a battery issue)

I have run power direct to the starter to bypass the solenoid, and potential bad grounds.

I thought it could be timing, so I drained the fuel, pulled the leads, no different so it should not be a timing issue as it cannot fire.

I've pulled the starter and bench tested it, it test pretty fast outside of the bike and has lots of torque.

Engine maybe seized? I've pulled the plugs and ran the starter, it turns over nicely. Which should mean the motor is not seized or have bottom end problems.

My compression tester broke this morning, so i have to go find a replacement. Not sure what that will tell me though, with the motor turning over slow, the compression reading will probably be inaccurate.

Can a bad starter clutch cause this problem?

[Big T]

This one is very clean, owner had it for 20 years. According to him, it ran fine before he parked it.



Can a bad starter clutch cause this problem?

1. This is the biggest joke in buying a used bike. If it ran fine, why did it sit for years? You now need to undo all that sitting

Cliff will be along shortly with the full list

2. it's not the starter clutch, it's electrical. Get out your VOM and test the battery voltage static and with the starter button pushed. Bad Battery, bad connections,bad grounds, gummed up starter -could be any of these

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. appollo,

Yep, "ran when parked" is the punchline to many a joke around here.

Was the starter clean? Does it need new brushes? I suppose the starter clutch could be dragging. What is the voltage at the coils when the starter button is pushed? It should be as close to 12v as possible. If not, a lot of wiring and connection clean up may be in order. The "coil relay mod" is a popular procedure to bypass old wiring and deliver full battery voltage to the coils. Make sure the starter is well-connected to the solenoid and both the solenoid and starter are well grounded. Now let me dump a TON of information on you and share some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[tom203]

Well, since you said you ran power direct to starter and it still dragged, I'd suspect a worn out starter,maybe brushes or chewed up commutator. My bike ran well when parked according to PO, then sat out two seasons with no problems- it was just waiting for me! It's great to finally get a bike you wanted.

[chuck hahn]

+1 on bad starter. It will spin the motor to all be damned without any plugs because theres no compression resistance for the starter to overcome..replace it and youll most likely be fine.

[Adler]

Id try servicing it before replacing it.

[matt1100]

Mine has sat for a while before i got it. When I disassembled the starter when first trying to get it running, I found that the armature and brushes had a greasy mess on them. Cleaned it up, stuck it back in, never had another problem with it...just my experience....

[Big T]

Mine has sat for a while before i got it. When I disassembled the starter when first trying to get it running, I found that the armature and brushes had a greasy mess on them. Cleaned it up, stuck it back in, never had another problem with it...just my experience....

Matt

That's really common. to the OP, use some penetrating oil and an impact driver on those long bolts, pull out the armature, spray everything with electrical cleaner. Check the brushes, commutator surface and make sure all the magnets are tight to the body of the starter (another common problem)

[appollo]

I have opened the starter, took it to a starter company and it was very clean inside, brushes and magnets are good according to the starter guy. He benched it as well and says it got lots of power, should be ok.

I'm running direct power to the starter, bypassing the starter button, solenoids and bad grounds.

I am wondering about stuck valves, would stuck valves cause this problem.

[appollo]

This is my 3rd GS over the years, previous ones were GS850L and GS750T, great bikes aside from leaky heads, they ran perfect for years. I'm hopeful this one will run too.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Take all the spark plugs out. Does the engine spin freely when you put a wrench on the ignition side?




Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[appollo]

yes, it turns over by hand.

[appollo]

got it guys, magnets in the starter housing unglued, making starter weak. thanks for the inputs, taking her for a ride today! woohoo

[cableguy]

Glad to hear you got it going. That was likely the issue when it was parked. Another win for the GSR!

[fivestring]

I know this thread is old. I just wanted to share my experience in this case.
My starter turned over slowly all the time ever since I have owned this bike. It has always been difficult to get going. After reading this thread I took a chance and pulled my starter. I was planning on buying a rebuild kit and fix it up before springing for a new one. What I found was a bunch of black dirt inside. I cleaned the entire inside with electrical cleaner, reassembled and installed.
What a difference it made! I went from slowly cranking the motor for 10-15 seconds for a cold start to instantaneous starts every time! I believe the starter was pulling all the battery juice,not allowing the coils to have a strong spark.