• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Burned up on LSD

  • Thread starter Thread starter smagnusen
  • Start date Start date
S

smagnusen

Guest
Had the bike running and took it for a ride on Lake Shore Drive here in Chicago - beautiful ride, that is until I smelled something electrical burning. The bike continued to run seemingly fine until I parked it. The next morning, however, I got no electrical sign of life. The battery (which is new) had water but there was a bit of yellow sulfery stuff near two of the filling plugs. Two questions here.

Can I try to push start it and ride it home? - should I disconnect the battery (or something else) if I do to prevent further damage?

What's the likely culprit?

Planning on going through the stator papers.
 
You might be able to push start it, but you might also cause other problems. The regulator relies on a voltage from the battery to regulate properly. Without that input, no telling what might happen. This could happen if your battery is just plain shot or if it is removed from the bike.

I know it's a bit of a disgrace, but your best bet is to put it on a trailer and take it home. If you have an enclosed trailer available, nobody will see your GS going for a ride.
 
I think we can assume its not charging. You may have a baked stator. Could be an electrical connector going into meltdown. Check the connector on the R/R.
 
When I first parked it I did a once over on the connections and the rr. The rr was warm but not egg-frying temp and all my connections seemed okay.

I was generating power at the time I turned it off (headlight on, plugs firing) correct? Absolutely no juice when I went to turn it back on. Doesn't this point to the r/r not the stator. Not too much point in speculating, though I'm hoping it's just the r/r so I can swap it out and keep riding.
 
it points to neither. if the bike kept running, the stator and r/r are fine. It sounds like your battery shorted or something.
 
Around here, LSD means Lower Slower Delaware...

W/ apologies to Albert Hoffman (if you don't know who he is, there's always google).

It sounds like some wire is shorting to ground. It's okay for the bike to go home in the back of a pickup truck - dogs love it and Harleys do it all the time!
 
Last edited:
"Stop taking LSD :grin:
__________________
Think for yourself, question authority - Timothy Leary

Timothy Leary would never have said "Stop taking LSD" Lol
 
smagnusen said:
Can I try to push start it and ride it home? .
Click to expand...

I don't see why not. It might require a good healthy push & an assistant packmule to help. Whatever the problem was, it didn't prevent you from continuing your ride (from the initial failure point on Lake Shore Drive). If it bump-starts, that pretty much rules out charging system problems anyway.
 
I'd have to disagree with "if it bump starts that rules out a charging system problem"

My stator on my 1150 decided to quit on a 200 mile round trip. It decided to expire at 145 miles and I managed to ride it 45 miles by stopping every 6-10 miles and letting it cool off for 5 minutes then bump starting it until it died again.

I did this about 7 times and got about 10 miles from home when my battery said no more.

I called my wife and she brought me a battery I had sitting on the bench and I managed to get home.
 
Carter Turk said:
I'd have to disagree with "if it bump starts that rules out a charging system problem"

.
Click to expand...

If the battery was shot (2 dead cells as described) and it ran anyway, what else could be (could have been) powering the ignition, headlight & other misc. loads?
 
Update: I took my Murray's cheapo multi-meter and a print-out of the stator papers troubleshooting flow-chart over to my bike and measured what I could with the bike not running. Here's what I found:

The stator resistance readings checked out. I had about 1.5 ohms between any two points and no connectivity to ground. I was not able to test output but I'm thinking that if the resistance is okay then chances are it'll generate juice.

The R/R on the other hand failed two out of three of the diode tests. I got different voltage results from different leads. Toasted.

I brought the battery home to charge, it was at 4 volts and I'm hoping it takes a charge. Ideally, I'll grab a honda R/R and a my charged battery, slap 'em in, and ride away. I called a local junk yard here in chicago and the guy wanted $75 for a honda R/R. Crumb. I'll have to order one and watch this beautiful chicago labor-day riding weather from the sidelines. :(
 
Mr. Barr

I missed the part about the two cells in the battery. Just sharing my bump starting adventures, which there have been many.
 
Lemmie do some digging. I may have a spare r/r laying around the house. (I live in aurora..)

While you're searching on ebay. Look for Honda CX500, or CB500 parts. GSXR r/r's are good too. You want one off a WRECKED bike, not just a bike that's getting parted out. "parted out" bikes tend to be dead for some reason... typically electrical failure leading to carbs guming up and then the owner giving up.
 
Nerobro said:
Lemmie do some digging. I may have a spare r/r laying around the house. (I live in aurora..)

While you're searching on ebay. Look for Honda CX500, or CB500 parts. GSXR r/r's are good too. You want one off a WRECKED bike, not just a bike that's getting parted out. "parted out" bikes tend to be dead for some reason... typically electrical failure leading to carbs guming up and then the owner giving up.
Click to expand...

I bought a R/R from a 2004 CRB600 for $28 shipped off ebay. Has three yellow wires plus red and black. Can't get much easier than this to hook up. I'm going to hook it up with a fuse in line with the + to the battery.
 
Anyone around chicago know where I can get a quick, reasonably priced r/r asap? I ordered one from ebay over a week ago but the guy hasn't gotten back to me (5 info requests) -so I think I'm getting the screws there. I've had a long-planned ride on the docket for this weekend and I'd love to make it. I'll probably get one from Duanage if I can't scrounge up any luck.
 
until next weekend or so Nerobro still lives with me. I'll take a look and see if I can find one floating about. I thought he bought an extra one and had it on his desk but I've been wrong before.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top