'82 GS650L After Winter Won't Start

[NuitDeVotreMort]

Stored the bike for the winter.
Go to start the bike, of course nothing.

At this point I had changed fuel, and cleaned carbs.

Battery is good and old fouled spark plugs are changed. Fuses are fine. Nothing is disconnected.

It turns over but no coughing. Not even a hint of combustion. I'm not getting any spark and not sure where to go from here. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

1982 GS650L 13k+ miles.

 

[waterman]

First Welcome to the forums. Glad you have stopped by.

Sounds like a typical first start of year situation to me. In my case, the battery that I had charged the previous week was now running flat on power and didn't crank the engine over very quickly. Since I knew my battery was about 3 years old, I purchased a new battery, filled, charged and vroom.

So how do you know your battery is good? Personally, I would try to jump from a non running auto and see how bike runs. If it was tuned last fall, it will likely cough to life.

Start with simple things like fresh gas, and freshly charged batteries, then worry about what isn't quite right with bike.

 

[KitKat]

Set the petcock on prime and leave it there for a minute or two. My guess would be that your float bowls are empty, so you need to prime them

 

[Steve]

Stored the bike for the winter.
Go to start the bike, of course nothing.

At this point I had changed fuel, and cleaned carbs.

It turns over but no coughing. Not even a hint of combustion. I'm not getting any spark and not sure where to go from here. Any help would be appreciated.

When you stored the bike, did you use any stabilizer in the gas? :-k
It appears not, so I have to ask "why not"?

Just what did you do to "cleaned the carbs"? :-k
If you just dropped the float bowls and spritzed some carb cleaner, they are NOT clean yet.
There is a guide on the home page that shows how to properly clean and refurbish your carbs.
Follow that guide step by step, letter by letter, do NOT take any shortcuts.
If you take "shortcuts", you will be pulling the carbs again to go back do do the steps you skipped, so just do them the first time.
Note that a proper carb cleaning and refubishment can easily take four days.

When was the last time the valves were adjusted? :-k
If you don't know or can't remember, it's probably past time to do them. While you are waiting for the carbs in the dip is a good time to check your valves. If you need to order shims, they will be in by the time your carbs are clean.

What part of oHIo? :-k
There are several of us spread around the state, some are willing to drop by and help.

.

 

[NuitDeVotreMort]

Thanks for the responses.

Yes I primed it before trying to start.

I tested the battery under load. It's good. To save the battery from dying I generally do jump it from my car KOEO when trying to start since it won't fire up.



I've cleaned and rebuilt many carbs before this. No doubt in this area. No good reason for not using any fuel stabilizer. Fuel hadn't gone bad though. Tested it as well but changed it anyway.


I've gone through all these basic steps. I'm fairly certain it's an issue with ignition system somehow. Wondering what you all thought? (My multimeter is being borrowed so I haven't been able to test much yet.)

 

[Big T]

Are the plugs getting wet when you try to start it?

Have you checked the spark at the plugs?

Its fuel or spark

 

[Steve]

I did not see an answer to one question: "When was the last time the valves were adjusted? :-k"

.

 

[NuitDeVotreMort]

Yes, checked the spark at the plugs. Nothin.

No, haven't adjusted the valves in the last two years. I'd like to just get the bike running before I do any adjustments on it though. There are several things like that I need to do, but my main goal right now is just to start it.

Logically this would not cause a no start. Certainly not since it's just been in storage since it was last running.

Edit: Storage time has been about 5 months.

 

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!1

Greetings and Salutations!1

Hi Mr. NuitDeVotreMort,

First, a few thoughts. What is your voltage at the coils? If it's not very near 12volts then a thorough cleaning of all the wiring harness connections and grounds, including the fusebox, is in order. Replace all the fuses while you're at it. You may want to install the "coil relay mod". Is the Kill Switch working properly? Does your clutch have to be pulled in order to start the bike? Is that switch working properly? Please read your "mega-welcome" as it will answer many questions.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. Some of these guys are original owners, have been wrenching on them for 30 years, and know them like the back of their hand. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff