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Embarrassing, but we all need to start somewhere: How do I start my GS750?

  • Thread starter Thread starter G.S.Joe
  • Start date Start date
G

G.S.Joe

Guest
Brand new to the motorcycle world. Bought a running 1978 GS750 that had no brakes, no lights, missing a multitude of other little things. I put in new brakes, time to fire her up.

I bought her from a kid who at the time informed me the battery was dead, but only a year old. OK, I'll put it on my charger. As you might have guessed it ended up being too low for the charger to even recognize so that won't work.

When I bought the bike, the owner kickstarted it for me. One-kick pony, though I suppose she was probably warm at the time. For the life of me I can't get it to kick. He had told me sometime you need to roll it to get it to catch...

So I am a total newbie to the world of bikes, and my only experience with things like chokes and primers is lawnmowers and paint. Here's what I've been trying: petcock set on prime, choke all the way open. Bike is in neutral. When I kick it the motor turns but doesn't even sound like it's close to firing. I'm 210lbs so I'm getting some force on it.

I was going to jump it off my car battery (car not running of course) but I want to be sure my petcock, choke, and ignition key are all in the right position so I'm not cranking my bike and then end up with a dead car too. How long can I keep my petcock on prime before it floods? Choke wide open? What are my ignition positions? Looks like I only get power when it's vertical (where it gives me the neutral light).

And for kickstarting, does this rolling sound familiar? What's the objective? Rolling in neutral seems useless.

Thanks!
 
Set petcock on PRIme..all the way to the right..for about 30 seconds. Turn key to ON [position and you should get lights and panel lights. Visually look to see the NUETRAL light is on. Be sure kill switch on right switch box ism in the RUN position. Lift all the way up on the choke lever on the left side of the carbs. Fire her off. RPMS will climb to around 3 grand..thats normal. Soon as she starts slowly roll the choke down till its at about 2G..It will increase in RPMs as it warms up..again monitor and slowly drop off the choke. After a minute or so it should idle on its own. Move petcock to the ON psoition..straight down. Be sure to have at least 1 gallon of fuel in it or it may stall after a few minutes if the fuel is low.


If it does run out of gas due to low fuel..reprime and once it starts move it to REServe..far left.
 
You only will get power to start it in the ON position..if you move the key all the way clockwise to the ACCessory spot, youll see that the rear tail light only will be lit..this is for side of the road safety should you need to pull over at night and shut off the bike..like run to the bushes to take a leak or something..LOL


EDIT...you shouldnt have to roll it to make the kicker engage. Sometimes kinda quicky kick it a bit to get it to grab..but not rolling it to make it catch. Sounds like you need to get her running and take it for a good spin to move the oil around real good and immediately drain it while hot. Crud from not regualrly changing the oil is probably the culprit there.
 
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Definitely sounds like I flooded it then. I had it on prime and was kicking and kicking... I put it away for the night but I'm guessing the best remedy is to open the throttle all the way, no choke and kick and kick and kick?

chuck hahn said:
Set petcock on PRIme..all the way to the right..for about 30 seconds. Turn key to ON [position and you should get lights and panel lights. Visually look to see the NUETRAL light is on. Be sure kill switch on right switch box ism in the RUN position. Lift all the way up on the choke lever on the left side of the carbs. Fire her off. RPMS will climb to around 3 grand..thats normal. Soon as she starts slowly roll the choke down till its at about 2G..It will increase in RPMs as it warms up..again monitor and slowly drop off the choke. After a minute or so it should idle on its own. Move petcock to the ON psoition..straight down. Be sure to have at least 1 gallon of fuel in it or it may stall after a few minutes if the fuel is low.


If it does run out of gas due to low fuel..reprime and once it starts move it to REServe..far left.
Click to expand...
 
chuck hahn said:
You only will get power to start it in the ON position..if you move the key all the way clockwise to the ACCessory spot, youll see that the rear tail light only will be lit...
Click to expand...

This is where I was confused. The electric on this thing is FUBAR. No power to blinkers, tail or headlight. I was feeling 3 positions on the ignition: Nothing, neutral light, nothing. Sounds like it should be off, neutral light (run), Accy.

This clears that up.
 
Not flooded i bet..like you said..the kid probably jumped it off then showed you the kicker worked. Go hook up the jumpers and dont choke it..its already primed so dont worry about that..leave in the ON position..crank her over ( no throttle, just crank her ). If she sputters then quits, then choke it.

OH and a vital step..A GS doesnt EVER EVER require you to twist the throttle..that just stops everything.. always just choke, crank, and regulate the choke enough to keep it at around 2 G for a minute or so till it warms up.
 
chuck hahn said:
OH and a vital step..A GS doesnt EVER EVER require you to twist the throttle..that just stops everything.. always just choke, crank, and regulate the choke enough to keep it at around 2 G for a minute or so till it warms up.
Click to expand...

As Chuck mentioned, an important note.
 
There ARE two positions before ON..Lock is all the way to the left. then unlocked..so you can move the bike without running down power. Third is ON then the acc is the fourth position.
 
*CLICK* Tried to jump it with my car battery. Looks like the battery is completely gone. Makes me wonder how the kid got it started. I'll try to get ahold of him tomorrow I suppose.

chuck hahn said:
Take 10 minutes and go back and fire her up..
Click to expand...
 
Throw the charger on the car for a few..get that started and let it run to recharge the battery for maybe 10 minutes. Shut car off. It wont take squat to crank the bike over. She will most likely fire right off. And dont forget to restart the car or charge it overnight so it will start in the morning. I have a charger with a 75 amp "start up" setting that works well for me.
 
I think I worded my reply poorly. The car starts fine, as in my car battery is 100%. Unless my jumpers are ****e or I'm doing it wrong (+ on bike +, - on bike frame, + on car +, - on car -) it seems my bike battery is ready for the trash. I'll adjust the clutch cable tomorrow and see if I can't pop start it.
 
I was just goona post..remove the ground from the battery an hook the ground directly from the cables to something like a shock bolt. This removes the dead battery..and possible dead short from the mix.
 
Another thing to do is go down to the starter selinoid...follow the hot wire from the battery down. Its under the left side cover. You will see two big studs sticking up with 10MM nuts on them and two battery cables attatched.

Turn on the key and use a screw driver to bypass the selinoid and directly engage the starter. Touch across those two big studs. It will spark when you jump across and that normal. If it start that way, but it just clicks when you push the starter buitton, you have a bad starter selinoid.
 
Another tip...the bike is air cooled, so if you want to run it for more than a few minutes you need to have a few house fans on high blowing air from the front of the engine. Set one on each side of the forks on highest speed so it doesnt over heat.
 
Hi,

An old, neglected bike with an unknown service history requires lots of maintenance. You received your "mega-welcome" in this thread. Have you gone through the maintenance lists and ensured all tasks were completed properly?


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
Nope. I'm East Coast and get up at 5AM. After no luck jumping from a car battery I said good night. But I do appreciate the help and this will be the next try.

chuck hahn said:
Did you get as far as shorting across the selinoid posts yet??
Click to expand...
 
I've done a bit, but there's no way I'm touching anything with relating to the intake/carb/engine without knowing how to start the bike. After my first bit of maintenance I don't want to have to guess whether I did it wrong or if I just don't know how to start my bike.

BassCliff said:
Hi,

An old, neglected bike with an unknown service history requires lots of maintenance. You received your "mega-welcome" in this thread. Have you gone through the maintenance lists and ensured all tasks were completed properly?


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
Click to expand...
 
Where in western Mass are you located? I'm not far away .I Might be able to help you.
 
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