Hi New guy couple of questions.

[Big Jake]

Hey, Just joined and was wondering if any one could help. My father in law just gave me his first bike. 1980 GS450L. The bike has been sitting in his garage since 1986. First thing I did was clean tank and carbs. I worked as an auto mechanic for 8 years and have experience rebuilding carbs etc. Just wondering about any other things I should do?

Second , put in a new battery and everything lights up but when I hit the start nothing check the conections and battery voltage is good . Not sure if there is something I am forgetting. Afraid the engine may have set up!!! Could be a starter issue. Any help appreciated thanks.

[Guest]

I'm not sure on your model, but on some you need to have the clutch pulled in to start it. Did you try that?

[txironhead]

Even with the clutch pulled, that switch may be faulty. I happened on my Shadow, which is why I eliminate that switch immediately.

When you hit the start button, is there an audible click? Does the headlight dim? You may have a stuck relay. Tap on it with the butt of a screwdriver while you're hitting the button (a wire around the clutch handle or three arms will help here). The starter itself may have frozen up, I've heard of it happening.

And I'm not insinuating anything, because I've done it myself, but is the switch on the right handlebar set to "run"?

If all else fails, it's probably a bad switch. If you're careful and make notes or take pictures while you take it apart, you can probably rebuild and clean it. It's a simple contact switch but it does get corroded and those little springs can be a lot of fun (insert large amount of sarcasm here).

Also, you can put the bike in gear and rock it back and forth to see if the motor is frozen up. After sitting for that long, it's a distinct possibility.

[ron bayless]

ANOTHER THING,CHANGE ALL THE FUSES.oNE OF THEM IS FOR THE IGNITION.tHEY CAN LOOK PERFECT AND BE BAD ESPECIALLY AS LONG AS THAT ONE HAS BEEN SITTING.i forgot to unlock the caps again.My bike will do absolutely nothing if the fuse gets corroded.Just an idea.

[jeddininja]

Welcome to the wonderful world of gs

I've got an old 850 and the thing won't crank over unless i really pull in the clutch. Thought it had issues at first. Got ****ed and really yanked the clutch in. bingo. I'll have to add that switch to the list of things to look at.

If that's not it. check for corrosion (any and all switches / wires involved). I'm sure you'll find after reading up a bit on this forum that these bikes really like clean connections / grounds / contacts...

worth a shot anyway.
*edit- wow, language filter got me. the '****ed' word startes with a p and generally means angry. could be funny if you tried a few other words in there... *
k

[Guest]

Afraid the engine may have set up!!! Could be a starter issue. Any help appreciated thanks.

If you haven't already, take the plugs out and squirt some wd-40 or engine oil down there. Let it sit at least overnight. Try and crank the engine by hand to make sure you have free movement.

[emjay]

A silly thing I forgot when I got my first GS was the kill switch. It's a red rocker switch on the right hand control. Run position is when the half nearer you is down. Some models/years have em, some don't. Also, check the fuse connectors on the block. They often get corroded and things don't work. It happened to me this past weekend.

If your bike is really OK other than a fuse or something like that, then you want to consider new shocks. Rebuild the front with progressively wound springs and new oil, in the back the whole shock needs to go.

I would expect you'd need new tires as well. The tread may be good, but the sidewalls won't hold up very long.

[Big Jake]

Thanks for the info I plan on ripping into the wiring this wknd. Just waiting for that service manual. Should have went with overnight shipping.
Worse case I get to get real hands on should be fun, or notttttt!!!!
Thanks

[Guest]

Clean the kill switch and starter button. Maybe Charlette moved in.