81' GS 450t starting and idling issues.

[Guest]

Ok they're all a bit lower than they should be and you have a 1 volt voltage loss through your wiring somewhere.

While it's not ideal, it's not the end of the world either.

If it's the solenoid, it wouldn't crank at all, and the same should be said for the clutch safety switch and kill and ignition switches.

I've never tested for voltage in the spark plug cover so not sure on that one.

The next thing would be to use a 1.5v penlight battery to test the ignitor as described in the Clymer manual, and also testing to ensure the spark plug caps and spark plugs are good.

One test for the spark plugs is to disconnector the ignitor and get a piece of wire to flick the negative side of the coil to ground momentarily to see if a spark fires. You must disconnect the ignitor for this!

Left coil I think is the white wire, right is the black/yellow... same connector as the orange/white wires, but don't ground them of course

 

[cowboyup3371]

If the battery is that low I'd get it recharged and then load tested first. You can't get good answers to your questions with a bad battery.

 

[Mr Rogers]

Ok i've got the bike started, the battery is running fine and i can get the bike started about every time. but here is a list of new problems that i'm noticing.
Let me know if anything rings a bell:

first: there is popping when i decelerate. (misfires?)
second: the idle continues to stay high around( 3000 RPM) even when the throttle is completely forward and the throttle rocker below is all the way down as well.
third: spark plugs look clean and like their working well.(coil issues? spark plug covers?)

 

[cowboyup3371]

Have you adjusted the idle screw? If you have, then it sounds like a hanging idle = change your intake boot orings or even the boots themselves.

 

[Mr Rogers]

I did try the idle screw. it actually seemed to have little effect on the idle for some reason... I just bought the o ring set from cycle o rings so i'll try to get those on asap and see how it changes things.

if you've got any other idea's i'll try those too!

Thanks a lot!

 

[Cdnpt1]

Welcome! BassCliff's site is amazing, you can't go wrong following the advice about the top issues to address and the top ten rookie mistakes.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/GSR_Greeting.html

Take the advice and start at number one on the issues list and work your way through and don't kill yourself trying to chase down symptoms til you have a good base to work from.

I am sure if he hasn't yet BassCliff will be around to give you the official big welcome. Did you post in the new members forum and intro yourself yet?

 

[Cdnpt1]

Reading back through it looks like all the active 450 guys and gals have already made contact, we are all in the same mode too, that is actively getting our bikes redone, rehab'd, or just cleaned up.

 

[Mr Rogers]

Yeah i really appreciate everyone who has jumped in to help me out!
I got really excited that i had the bike running last night and now i can't wait to work on it more!

I've been working my way through that check list that bass has.

does anyone know where i can get the carb/airbox boots? i haven't pulled mine off but if they're hard or cracked i'm going to get new ones.

also while i was starting the bike lastnight the battery started dying again so i'm wondering what your recommendations are for trickle chargers on these 12v batteries?

Thanks

 

[Cdnpt1]

Yeah i really appreciate everyone who has jumped in to help me out!
I got really excited that i had the bike running last night and now i can't wait to work on it more!

I've been working my way through that check list that bass has.

does anyone know where i can get the carb/airbox boots? i haven't pulled mine off but if they're hard or cracked i'm going to get new ones.

Thanks

You can get both the intake manifolds and the carb/airbox boots at Boulevard: number 5 in the airbox fiche picture. The intake boots are under cylinder head in the fiche lookup, part 27.

http://www.boulevardsuzuki.com/fich...y=Motorcycles&make=SUZUKI&year=1980&fveh=2093

They don't have a fiche for the 450t so I am assuming the mechanicals are the same as the e/s in those years. Anyone have any insight on possible differences with the 450t?

 

[Mr Rogers]

They don't have a fiche for the 450t so I am assuming the mechanicals are the same as the e/s in those years. Anyone have any insight on possible differences with the 450t?

I just cross reverenced the boots with another website that had the 450T distinction and it had the same part numbers.

I'll keep you updated on the progress!

 

[Guest]

I just cross reverenced the boots with another website that had the 450T distinction and it had the same part numbers.

I'll keep you updated on the progress!

Cool, all the 450's from '80 - '82 are pretty much identical in that regard.

The two big differences I've found so far are the valve cover bolt pattern and the way the oil seal for the clutch pushrod is retained.

The valve cover changed from a 12 bolt to a 15 bolt pattern sometime in 81/82 and the two are not interchangeable at all.

The oil seal for the clutch pushrod never had a retainer as such but one got put in at some stage, and I believe to a certain extent you can retrofit the newer retainer to the older non-retainer models, although I can't say for certain as I haven't seen the older style...

Given your symptoms at the moment (and excellent that it's running ), I would definitely be looking at your intake system to start with.

 

[Mr Rogers]

Yeah i was really having a head ache thinking it was electrical but once i got the new battery it seemed pretty clear that the real issue wasn't that.

I don't have time to do it tonight but i'm going to do it tomorrow afternoon. When those ol' obligations are done with!

Oh does anyone have pointers on a budget good quality (don't know if that's an oxymoron or not) battery tenders?

 

[Cdnpt1]

I have used this one for three years without any hassles

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.co...&DivisionId=4&DepartmentId=60&ItemStyleId=950

 

[Guest]

Cool, keep us up to date

 

[Mr Rogers]

so i thought i would change the oil since i need to wait for the boots and gaskets to come in the mail.

I guess the previous owner thought it was a good idea to have a little more oil in the engine....

I had a gallon jug catching the oil and it quickly over flowed onto the ground, then i filled a gaterade bottle almost to the top. i would guess that there was about a gallon and a half of oil in the bike total. is there anything that could go horribly wrong because of too much oil in there?

I put in the three quarts that are called for in the clymer book and it's right on the money with the dip stick.

have to wait until monday before any more bike stuff is happening.

 

[cowboyup3371]

I would start looking at your petcock because if there was that much I'd be willing to bet you will smell fuel.

 

[apopleptic]

I would start looking at your petcock because if there was that much I'd be willing to bet you will smell fuel.

I think you may have something about the petcock, but I wouldn't assume it is broken. You need to check these things and not just throw money at the bike. Ask questions before you buy stuff and do tests.
I've wasted well over $100 on things that did not need any replacing, but I just didn't know better.

I recommend that you keep an eye on it for the moment since the PO could have done a bunch of things that would have lead to that condition that may not actually be a failure on the bike's systems. Think about that the PO may have left the petcock on prime for a long time. or just kept adding oil. God for all we know the PO used it to put his chaw spit in...
More likely I'm thinking it was from trying to give it more gas when it wouldn't run smoothly.

Mr. Rogers, Did you keep trying to give it gas while trying to start it? Also did you check the oil when you first got the bike?

Just saying, don't be like I was in the beginning. save the money for what really needs the parts.

now to reiterate the OP's question, did the engine get any damage from having this extra oil (oil/gas) in there (oil pump failure, etc.)?
and followup, from me, would this prevent the engine from starting or running properly (I'm guessing yes)

 

[Mr Rogers]

I would start looking at your petcock because if there was that much I'd be willing to bet you will smell fuel.

Is there a reason I would smell gas because there is too much oil? :-k

The petcock seems fine. it flows normally when the bike is running. the only time i smell fuel is when i put it on prime and forget about it on accident (only happened once and i drained a pool of gas into my driveway...).

 

[cowboyup3371]

If it is left on prime for too long or is not functioning correctly, gas can get into the engine past the carbs (floats are not designed to hold back fuel). Quick and easy thing to check since you just drained it.

 

[Mr Rogers]

I think you may have something about the petcock, but I wouldn't assume it is broken. You need to check these things and not just throw money at the bike. Ask questions before you buy stuff and do tests.
I've wasted well over $100 on things that did not need any replacing, but I just didn't know better.

I recommend that you keep an eye on it for the moment since the PO could have done a bunch of things that would have lead to that condition that may not actually be a failure on the bike's systems. Think about that the PO may have left the petcock on prime for a long time. or just kept adding oil. God for all we know the PO used it to put his chaw spit in...
More likely I'm thinking it was from trying to give it more gas when it wouldn't run smoothly.

Mr. Rogers, Did you keep trying to give it gas while trying to start it? Also did you check the oil when you first got the bike?

Just saying, don't be like I was in the beginning. save the money for what really needs the parts.

now to reiterate the OP's question, did the engine get any damage from having this extra oil (oil/gas) in there (oil pump failure, etc.)?
and followup, from me, would this prevent the engine from starting or running properly (I'm guessing yes)

Actually when i went out there this morning I realized that it had been left on prime from when i was working on it two nights ago! I didn't think much of it until you said that...

I did check the oil when i first got the bike and it seemed normal... but i can't really trust my own judgement as of a month ago ( I'm a novice at this for sure).

Couldn't i just pull the fuel lines on the bike and test it to see if it flows freely when it's in the on and res positions?