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1983 Suzuki GS1100ED --- "Big Boy"

  • Thread starter Thread starter Flaming Chainsaws
  • Start date Start date
My ground cable got here today.

DSCN4858.jpg


Sanded off the paint here on the left airbox mount.
DSCN4859.jpg


Neg battery to frame and R/R.
DSCN4861.jpg


Starter solenoid, frame, and neg battery to engine ground.
DSCN4862.jpg
 
The more you broadcast your desires, FC, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.


By that I mean body work.
 
hmm, pre-cocaine Carrie Fisher...yum.

Whats your problem again? You're having tail light and dash light issues, plus some starting issues now?
 
OK.... So we'll slide the light issue to the side for now. Let's figure out why the bike won't run.

Here's somethings I've looked at it.

  • valves are within spec
  • cam timing is good
  • carbs cleaned and rebuilt by chef
  • gas tank is SUPER clean so there is no way that the carbs are dirty
  • dyna coils, wires, and caps are good
  • spark is very good
  • Coils are correctly wired in and sparkplug wires are in the correct places
  • compression is good
  • good battery, fully charged
  • lots of gas in fuel tank that I just added (Chevron octane 89)

Now, one thing that has me confused. My petcock does not work. I set it on prime and it does not flow. Pulled the petcock and the filter is clean and the diaphragm are good. Put the petcock back on. I tried sucking on the vacuum line and it barely flowed.

I stuck a funnel into my gas line and filled it up with gas. Plugged the vacuum hole the tried to start the bike but no go.

So..... What do you guys think? If you followed my GS450 thread, then you will know about my sparking issues. One of my GS450 igniters was sparking just fine but it turns out that it was sparking at the wrong times. I bought another igniter and it fired right up with no problems.

With that said, I believe my igniter is going bad. The solution??? Dyna S DS3-2. :cool: This will eliminate my stock igniter and from what I've heard, it is worth every penny.
http://www.z1enterprises.com/DynaS-...32--Suzuki-GS-fours-with-ND-ignition-439.aspx

I will also need a petcock.....

If anyone disagrees or has another thought of why the bike won't start, please say so. :)
 
I say hold it at WOT and spray a quick shot of starter fluid in. This would make me more comfortable in blaming the spark, because in my experience unless I crossed the wires going to the coils or plug wires, spark has always been good. Except for the time I tried to use the tach signal to power my oil light, which caused it to run on 2 cylinders.

Here's another fun test: unscrew ALL spark plugs and ground them. The easiest way I found to do this was stripping 2" off the end of a piece of wire, and wrapping it around the threads of the plug, then clamp all four under the head of a random nearby bolt.

Crank the engine and they should spark in pairs.

This PLUS a successful starter fluid test would be enough for me to ignore the spark circuit and concentrate and your petcock.

Mine, btw, doesn't work on prime either. It does flow if I suck on vacuum tube though. "barely flowed" is too subjective. Who knows how much you suck and whether or not that's enough to feed the bowls. I like to installed clear fuel line for this, and then replace it when finished with something that's not going to break down.
Also make sure your vacuum tube isn't pinched. Took me a while to figure out a decent way to route mine. I use a plumber's tubing bender to keep mine from kinking.
 
PS you can do the starter fluid test without the airbox, it doesn't need to keep running, just for a couple rpms.
 
Last edited:
Never thought about looking to see if the sparkplugs fire in pairs. Good stuff!

I actually have pod filters and not an airbox. :rolleyes: But I guess I'll try starting fluid. Do I spray it in all 4 carbs or what?
 
I would, might as well. Have you rejetted? Take all the pods off and hold a folded rag over the carb openings, completely, while cranking. Do this for a few seconds On each carb, see what happens. Pods can work great, but that initial start can be iffy. I use this method all the time if I don't get it started on the first try or if my bowls are empty for whatever reason.

It creates a large vacuum, sucking a lot of gas from the petcock.
 
Do all 4cyl GS's fire in pairs like that? Didn't know that! Would think would be smoother to fire one at a time....not relying on the flywheel as much to keep the crank turning!
 
It's called a wasted spark setup. They're not both on the combustion cycle at the same time. One's on combustion, ones on exhaust. Helps burn off any unburnt fuel, and saves money and space by only needing two coils.
 
Curly said:
It's called a wasted spark setup. They're not both on the combustion cycle at the same time. One's on combustion, ones on exhaust. Helps burn off any unburnt fuel, and saves money and space by only needing two coils.
Click to expand...
IC. Neat. Probably gets around the need for a catalyst too.
 
Bikes weren't required to have cats back then. A lot of cars use this feature as well.
 
Curly said:
Bikes weren't required to have cats back then. A lot of cars use this feature as well.
Click to expand...
Oh I know...just sayin....Now that you mention it, I think I have heard of this before for cars....
 
I seriously do not know why my threads are getting rated down. My build thread now has 3 stars. :( Am I doing something wrong? The lack of updates? What is it? Please tell me. I know it's the internet and all but it makes me feel like ****. I put A LOT of time and love into this bike.

sschering was over at my place real quick. Got myself 2 gas tanks, a tail piece, airbox (missing filter), a near complete set of electrics from an '82 GS1100E, and a 1978 Suzuki GS750 engine.

The GS750 engine will be for a go kart/dune buggy/quad (haven't decided which one yet). It has a kickstart!!! Not sure if I'll post progress here either. :-k

So anyways, he was pulling out my fuses. Right when he pulled the main power fuse, all of the lights started working again. :confused: How are the lights working without a main power fuse??? Plugged the fuse back in and the lights still work. OK... Something isn't right there. Or maybe the fuse blades are dirty or the inside of the fuse block is dirty.
 
THe inside of the fuse box is probably melted

Take the back cover off and look
 
Big T said:
THe inside of the fuse box is probably melted

Take the back cover off and look
Click to expand...
Could be! I'll take a look later today. And if it is melted, I have another fuse box to replace it. :)
 
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