battery and speedo problems on new bike

[Anonymous]

Hey all,

I just bought a 1980 GS850 shafty last weekend. I rode it around for a couple hours Friday and Saturday. There were some definite problems with starting.

First off, the battery. It doesn't have quite enough juice to turn over the starter fast enough. After 2 or 3 tries, the battery is completely out - the starter won't turn at all. If I put jumper cables to my marine battery in the garage, she fires up like no tomorrow. But the battery that came with it just won't dish out enough juice. I bought a new battery from Wal-Mart and plan to put that in. I just hope (1) that the new battery will have enough juice, (2) that the charging system isn't kaput. The 5 times I've gone to start it, I end up just jumping it. And, btw, I'm following all the steps that the seller told me regarding the choke and what not. The second I put the jumpers on it, she revs right up, first try. I remember putting in a really large cycle battery in my '76 Honda 750 that I used to have. That really helped with starting. I was planning to get a bigger battery for my new GS850, but there's no room in there. I was a bit disappointed...

The other problem is that the speedo doesn't work. That's when he quit riding it last season. According to a local bike shop, its one gear or another in the speedo. One is $60 and one is $80. Not really life shattering. I'm wondering if it might just be the cable or perhaps it needs to be re-packed with some grease. I did some searching this week on the speedo's but didn't find anything that really helped me out other than what I've just mentioned. The speedo needle doesn't move at all. The mileage doesn't turn either. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

Also, the light for the gas gauge and the speedo doesn't work. Very hard to see at night Is this just a standard bulb that needs replacing? Or could that somehow be linked to the problems with the speedo not working?

Thanks all for your time!

[chuckycheese]

Problems

As long as you purchased the recommended battery type for your bike, my guess is that you'll have no more problems with that. (Seems like every time I've bought a used bike, the battery was no good.)

As for the speedo, it might just be the cable (most likely) which is easily replaced. Unscrew it from the speedo and spin the front tire to see if the cable is turning...you'll notice it very easily. I've had them break before and I think that's far more likely than the speedo going bad...especially since you said the odometer doesn't work either. If the speedo is the problem, find another one on Ebay...they are often advertised and go for very reasonable prices.

The light problem is probably just burned out bulbs. You can take it apart (carefully ) and replace them. That's, by far, most likely the problem with that.

All things considered, I bet you'll take care of these things pretty easily and end up with a great bike.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply Charlie!

I'll be hooking up the battery ASAP and I'll check on the speedo cable right away too. I had an inclination it might be that as well. Thanks again for your help!

[Anonymous]

I'm at work right now, so forgive me...

Does the gauge come apart with screws? Why do you mention to do it "carefully " ?? Obviously, I don't want to ruin anything... but is there something I should know about when taking them apart?

Thanks,

[chuckycheese]

Not too hard

You're welcome, Scott! I think when you remove the chrome back cover from your speedo, you'll see where the light plugs into it..it will an easy fix.

In order to fix the light on the gas guage, you'll need to remove the screws in back and dissasemble it. There's a bunch of wires in there (for oil, neutral, turn signal,etc.)...at least there is on mine and I imagine yours is the same. The only reason I mentioned to be careful is because if something in there slips out of place, it can be kind of hard to figure out how it all fits together (which can be frustrating). I imagine once you get started, it will go just fine. Good luck!!

[Anonymous]

Cool beans, thanks again!

[SqDancerLynn1]

If you remove the 4 acorn nuts on the back panel of the speedo you will see the wiring for the gauges. The scokets plug into the speedo and tach (push in) so they will need a little twisting and pulling to get them out. The bulbs are 3w and you will have to get them at MC shop, the glass bulb on auto type are too big to fit in the hole. Un screw the speedo cable and see if the cable turns when you turn the wheel. If you determine that the speedo itself is bad you will have to find a good used one, the speedo is a sealed unit and is not repairable. A new battery is a must make sure to clean all of the battery connections. CHeck and make sure the battery is being charged, The wires from the stator should be soldered direct to the reg/rect eliminating the plug in connectors. One lead of the stator goes to the headlight switchand back down to the regulator. It make the system work better running the third leg of the stator direct to the reg/rect. Also make sure that the reg has a good ground by adding a ground wire from the mounting bolt of the reg/rect direct to the battery (-) post

[SqDancerLynn1]

DON"T forget to charge that new battery over night with a 1 amp charger

[Anonymous]

Good call on the battery Lynn, I was wondering if someone was going to mention that. I'll throw in my two cents. If you unscrew the cable at the speedo, and find it doesn't turn when spinning the wheel, it doesn't mean it's broken. Unscrew it from the wheel end and spin the tire to see if the speedo drive is working.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info on the bulb!

you determine that the speedo itself is bad you will have to find a good used one, the speedo is a sealed unit and is not repairable.

Hmm... darn. Ok, well, I guess the guy was wrong then. I'm really hoping its just the darn cable! Any leads (other than ebay) on a used speedo? Are new ones available at all?

CHeck and make sure the battery is being charged, The wires from the stator should be soldered direct to the reg/rect eliminating the plug in connectors. One lead of the stator goes to the headlight switchand back down to the regulator. It make the system work better running the third leg of the stator direct to the reg/rect. Also make sure that the reg has a good ground by adding a ground wire from the mounting bolt of the reg/rect direct to the battery (-) post

Some VERY good tips here - thanks! Where is the regulator/rectifier located? Is it accessable without pulling off the case that accesses the stator? Is the regulator by the battery? I was thinking of running some new main battery wires anyway, as they appear very coroded... this could be part of the problem w/r/t passing enough current for the starter.

DON"T forget to charge that new battery over night with a 1 amp charger

That's the first thing on my list to do when I walk in the door tonight. I'm going to replace it and the wiring tomorrow.

If you unscrew the cable at the speedo, and find it doesn't turn when spinning the wheel, it doesn't mean it's broken. Unscrew it from the wheel end and spin the tire to see if the speedo drive is working.

Good call!! Also, being that a new cable is only $10, I think I may as well if I have to replace the speedo anyway.

Thank you SOOOOOOOOO MUCH for your help guys!

[chuckycheese]

Expensive

Hey Scott, speedometers are quite expensive. I'm pretty sure you could buy one but I imagine it would cost well over $100 (sad, but true! ). If you do happen to need one, Ebay is a great source. They are available often (maybe every week or so) and you can probably expect to pay between $10 and $40...partly depending upon whether you need to buy just the speedo or the entire dash unit. (I still am guessing the problem is the cable or the cable drive and not the speedo)

If the bike were new, I'd get a new one but....under the circumstances, I'd use Ebay. 8)

[Anonymous]

cool beans, thanks !

[SqDancerLynn1]

You won't find a new one at the dealer. Ebay is your best bet, NOS speedos show up every once in awhile, used ones show up every week, get one from a 78-79 You get the 140mph speedo and get rid of the 85mph one

[Anonymous]

First off, thanks for the help and suggestions. I replaced the battery and ran a new positive battery line (old one was corroded and too short). The ground was good continuity - I checked the connection to the engine block too. I ran the bike about two hours on Saturday afterward... took my cousin and friend for rides - they were pretty impressed \/ I cut it and started it back up several times over those two+ hours and it started up without a hickup.

Due to a meeting in the evening, and the need to clean my car, I didn't get to the speedo problem... Please don't stone me, I just wanted to have some fun 8)

New Problem:
I just noticed when putting in my new battery this weekend that the one of the hoses betweent the air filter housing and the left carb was coming off. The clamp was still on, but the hose wasn't quite on the inlet of the carb. I attempted as best I could to wedge it back on, but it appears that its been this way for quite some time. The hose is really hard and won't flex any more to go over the inlet. I gave up as I didn't want to risk puncturing the hose or putting a really bad crack in it. I like the way your filters/housings look... but I don't want to risk messing up the carb mixtures by changing the flow rate with a different air filter. Any suggestions? I noticed on some pictures of bikes that have separate little cone filters for each carb. These work as well as the stock? I know very little about this, and I don't want to have to mess with the carb tuning if I don't have to. I really appreciate any advice!

Thanks!

[chuckycheese]

Gotta' do it

Hey Scott, you've got to get that connection into the proper place. When I rebuilt my carbs, getting all 4 on was a miserable job and I must have cussed for 20 minutes. You can make the rubber a little more maluable by heating it up with a hair dryer and you'll also find it easier if you spray the area with a liberal amount of WD-40.

If you switch to the 4 individual pods, making the connections is a "snap" but you'll encounter new problems because you'll have less restricted airflow....I wouldn't do it