gs550 wont start

[posplayr]

One of the other members might have some magic dust.

[tkent02]

Why do so many people who don't know how to fix or maintain anything start with 35 year old motorcycles?

New ones are so easy.

[Grimly]

Why do so many people who don't know how to fix or maintain anything start with 35 year old motorcycles?

New ones are so easy.

Don't know about you, but in my youthful days, the piles of crap that needed lots of work (and had dire electrical systems) were only ten years old. Otoh, they could be picked up for the price of a night in the pub, or less.
It was a learning process - this guy is learning, just like all of us did.
It says a lot for the build quality of many '70s Japanese bikes that it's taken an extra couple of decades for them to turn into mouldering piles of crap, and learning projects.

[tom203]

Don't know about you, but in my youthful days, the piles of crap that needed lots of work (and had dire electrical systems) were only ten years old. Otoh, they could be picked up for the price of a night in the pub, or less.
It was a learning process - this guy is learning, just like all of us did.
It says a lot for the build quality of many '70s Japanese bikes that it's taken an extra couple of decades for them to turn into mouldering piles of crap, and learning projects.

This is a good observation- my first was a ten year old BSA Bantam (?)- I learned plenty from her problems.

[detorn]

to me it just sounds like there is a short somewhere or the R/R is going, but there is no way to confirm without testing.

I can tell you as someone who didn't know anything about fixing bikes till I got my first GS you are going to need;
1. a set of metric allen wrenches
2. a metric socket set
3. a phillips screw driver
4. a multimeter.

these are not optional. you can't own the bike without them. you will eventually get more stuff like a torque wrench and others, but you have to start with those 4. find a local harbor freight and get the cheapest ones you can, you'll eventually replace them with good tools, but its a great place to start.

for the problem you are describing you need a multimeter to see what the standing voltage of the battery and the voltage at 2000 RPM. then you'll need to do continuity tests on the wires.

All that being said, if it has the original R/R on it you're going to have to replace it at some point so you might as well do it now to eliminate it as a possibility. It's what solved my random cut out problem.

[850 Combat]

I never said I expected it to run forever i'm just looking for help to get it running again. Thanks you for the link but something so broad doesnt really help me is there any way you can point in a more specific direction?

After something broad, like "Won't Start" and "cuts out sudden;y"

It needs spark, fuel, and compression.

What is the status of each of these. You and we need to know

Does the engine turn over well when you push the button?
If it doesn't crank when you hit the button, that is something. like a dead battery. You didn't say what happens when you hit the button. Of course a dead battery. A dead battery is generally caused by a bad charging system, which is a common problem on unmaintained bikes. You do not need any charging system for a bike to run perfectly. The ignition does not care where the electrical power comes from. You can remove all the charging system, and a good running bike will run fine until the battery gets low. You haven't said if you have a dead battery or not, so we don't know.


YOU need to provide specific information in order to receive specific answers.

IF it starts well from cold but dies when warmed up, I would suspect a problem in one of two areas:

The fuel tank vent is clogged, and after you use fuel, a vacuum develops which causes the fuel to stop flowing. This has never happened to me, but it happens. Try opening the gas cap when it quits to see if this is the problem.

More likely, IF it cranks right up and starts right up from cold, and quits only after it has run for a while, there is an intermittent failure in the ignition.

Does it start up well when cold and only give trouble when its warmed up? Again, you have not provided information, only complaints about good advice, so we don't know. An intermittent short would be in the coils, which can fail when warm. Its unlikely that both sides would short at once though, so one would only expect two cylinders to quit if it is the coil, not all four. You haven't described what it does when it quits, precisely how, or when. So one would look upstream to the components providing power to the coils. This would be the ignition module and pickups, more than likely. Your bike, as I recall, is a 1981, which would have come with an electronic ignition.

Refusing to do research isn't what most people consider trying to learn.

You need to describe the problem and especially symptoms in much greater detail. You need to run some tests. You need to tell us if the battery goes dead. You need to tell us if it won't crank on the starter button, even if it doesn't start. You need to tell us what else, doesn't work when it runs, and when it doesn't. Things like horn and lights.

Again, you have complained about the good advice you have received, after providing little to no information.

These are simple mechanical devices. Its easier to determine why they don;t run at all, then why it doesn't run perfectly, so you are in luck there.

[Quest]

After something broad, like "Won't Start" and "cuts out sudden;y"

It needs spark, fuel, and compression.

What is the status of each of these. You and we need to know

Does the engine turn over well when you push the button?
If it doesn't crank when you hit the button, that is something. like a dead battery. You didn't say what happens when you hit the button. Of course a dead battery. A dead battery is generally caused by a bad charging system, which is a common problem on unmaintained bikes. You do not need any charging system for a bike to run perfectly. The ignition does not care where the electrical power comes from. You can remove all the charging system, and a good running bike will run fine until the battery gets low. You haven't said if you have a dead battery or not, so we don't know.


YOU need to provide specific information in order to receive specific answers.

IF it starts well from cold but dies when warmed up, I would suspect a problem in one of two areas:

The fuel tank vent is clogged, and after you use fuel, a vacuum develops which causes the fuel to stop flowing. This has never happened to me, but it happens. Try opening the gas cap when it quits to see if this is the problem.

More likely, IF it cranks right up and starts right up from cold, and quits only after it has run for a while, there is an intermittent failure in the ignition.

Does it start up well when cold and only give trouble when its warmed up? Again, you have not provided information, only complaints about good advice, so we don't know. An intermittent short would be in the coils, which can fail when warm. Its unlikely that both sides would short at once though, so one would only expect two cylinders to quit if it is the coil, not all four. You haven't described what it does when it quits, precisely how, or when. So one would look upstream to the components providing power to the coils. This would be the ignition module and pickups, more than likely. Your bike, as I recall, is a 1981, which would have come with an electronic ignition.

Refusing to do research isn't what most people consider trying to learn.

You need to describe the problem and especially symptoms in much greater detail. You need to run some tests. You need to tell us if the battery goes dead. You need to tell us if it won't crank on the starter button, even if it doesn't start. You need to tell us what else, doesn't work when it runs, and when it doesn't. Things like horn and lights.

Again, you have complained about the good advice you have received, after providing little to no information.

These are simple mechanical devices. Its easier to determine why they don;t run at all, then why it doesn't run perfectly, so you are in luck there.

I dont mean to complain or upset anyone here I guess I not used to the passive aggressive attitude people use on the Internet.

You gave me a very detailed post of what it could be and what I should be looking for so I can give better details of the problem that is the exact type of help I was looking for so again thank you.

[Quest]

to me it just sounds like there is a short somewhere or the R/R is going, but there is no way to confirm without testing.

I can tell you as someone who didn't know anything about fixing bikes till I got my first GS you are going to need;
1. a set of metric allen wrenches
2. a metric socket set
3. a phillips screw driver
4. a multimeter.

these are not optional. you can't own the bike without them. you will eventually get more stuff like a torque wrench and others, but you have to start with those 4. find a local harbor freight and get the cheapest ones you can, you'll eventually replace them with good tools, but its a great place to start.

for the problem you are describing you need a multimeter to see what the standing voltage of the battery and the voltage at 2000 RPM. then you'll need to do continuity tests on the wires.

All that being said, if it has the original R/R on it you're going to have to replace it at some point so you might as well do it now to eliminate it as a possibility. It's what solved my random cut out problem.

what is a R/R?

[detorn]

regulator/rectifier. it's listed in the link that was posted earlier.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/storagecliff/images/r-r_replacement.pdf

without the proper tools and tests this is just a guess, but like I said it's something you'll be replacing in time anyway.

[Killer2600]

Why do so many people who don't know how to fix or maintain anything start with 35 year old motorcycles?

New ones are so easy.

The new ones cost alot more money...there is the whole maintenance, repair, and parts kill the savings in buying an old bike but someone who's never had an old bike knows nothing of this. The same even goes for new bikes, for someone that's never had a bike and thinks they'll be cheaper than a small car it's rude awakening when maintenance, repairs, customizing, insurance, or other crap needs to be purchased.

[tkent02]

The new ones cost alot more money...there is the whole maintenance, repair, and parts kill the savings in buying an old bike but someone who's never had an old bike knows nothing of this. The same even goes for new bikes, for someone that's never had a bike and thinks they'll be cheaper than a small car it's rude awakening when maintenance, repairs, customizing, insurance, or other crap needs to be purchased.

I should have said newer, not new. Getting one ten or so years old can be fairly economical, especially a smaller bike. They don't cost much if any more than a thirty year old one, most things don't need much routine maintenance, anything that does can be done by a shop if it's over your head.

Not as cheap as an econobox car, but a lot cheaper than an old beat up bike or a brand new one.

[Killer2600]

What you really need is a mechanic or a crash course in mechanics. You can't begin to repair something when you don't know how it works.

That said, when the bike isn't running/dies pull the spark plugs and see it they're soaked/wet with fuel and check for spark - if you don't know how to check for spark it's basic mechanics and why it's important to know general mechanics rather than just get "how to fix" instructions. In repair, first comes diagnostics, then comes the repair.