This update is going to be mostly videos, I was going to edit them into one long YouTube video but thought that it would be good to split them up so that I can comment on each part.
In this part I and just running you through what the bike has been doing and some speculation on what could be the cause.
Just a quick one of me attempting to start the bike from cold, had to set the camera down to give it a little gas to get it to start.
Another quick one after seting the camera down to give it a little gas to get it to start it she fired right away, the I realized I forgot to take off the gas cap, which was one of the tests I wanted to try.
I start the bike again after removing the gas cap, I should mention that the ideal idle for the bike is really 1300 RPM so it was idling a little on the low side.
As I was tooling around in second gear I decided to see if I could take some video while riding the bike (bear in mind that this generally is a BAD IDEA and shouldn't be attempted) I did get some footage although it's not the best. I really just wanted to give the followers an idea of how the bike was behaving while riding.
Sorry for the wind noise it's was a horribly windy day.
Just pulling the bike back into the driveway, excuse the couple of camera jostles, I thought I had down shifted into first and had gotten neutral and had to put the phone down to pull in the clutch.
Upon arrival back at my garage the bike was still idling good when it stalled right on camera and didn't want to start again.
When I was putting the bike away threw it on the charger and saw that the battery was pretty much dead, could there be something wrong with the charging system?
In my next post, it looks like I will be doing some testing of the charging system, not sure what exactly yet I will have to consult the clymer manual. I will probably also check the coils too.
Thanks for checking out the videos and the Blog. If you have any suggestions please feel free to post them!
Hey, Thanks for your blog. I find it really hard to find information on this bike. I have the exact same problems with mine... I feel like it will Idle really high sometimes, after a short ride... then I will get it back and make the appropriate adjustment, and it will idle fine, but then after it gets even warmer (from continued riding) it will just drop out... I cant figure it out. But I also still have a broken plastic lead thing where my throttle cable curves into the handle grip mount (which I see you have already glued back together) So i thought that might have been messing with it, but now I am not sure... Sorry I couldnt be of more help but Im having a pal of mine take a look in a couple weeks so if you cant fix it by then I will let you know what happens on my end.
ReplyDeletealso, my bike seems to increase idle speed when I tilt it upright, then slow back down when I lean it on its side stand, which makes me think the vacuum petcock theory might by accurate... is it possible to do away with the vacuum petcock on our style bike?? My friend has a 77 gs 550 and his vacuum petcock doesnt seal properly and he is thinking of replacing it with another... but considering the vacuum is the potential problem to our bikes as well, maybe we should all make the switch...
thoughts?
Thanks,
Winston
Thanks for following my blog Winston! I solved my bike not wanting to idle issue by simply cleaning the plugs with some Brakleen and a wire brush. If you are having issues with adjusting the idle speed I feel your pain, mine seems to vary dependent in air temperature as well as engine temperature. If it's idling low I'll adjust it to 1,300 rpm and the next time I ride it, it will be anywhere from 1,500 to even 2,000 rpm. If I adjust it down again it will idle too low the next time. Talk about frustrating! Either way it still runs and idles but something about it not being at the right specified rpm just bothers me. I have not been having issues with the speed changing at different lean angles.
ReplyDeleteI did just re-build the petcock on my bike (new update forthcoming) because it was the cheapest option ($24) to start out with. The manual petcock can cost $79+ and an in-line shut-offs wouldn't keep gas from back-flowing into the carb and proper fitment is not a guarantee so I was leery of that option. I'll be posting al lot more updates including a follow up on the petcock rebuild so stay tuned, and good luck with your bike and keep me posted if you solve the idle speed issue!