GS500E won't turn over

[b50]

I bought a 1989 GS500E locally with a seized motor.  Found a new motor on ebay cheap with about 7,500 miles on it with the general wiring.  I got it all together and it fired right up and ran great.  I continued driving it around for about 2 weeks without a single problem then one day it started to miss and i drifted up to a stop sign and it shut off.  I thought, okay the battery died, so i jump started it and it fired up and sat there and idled great without a miss.  Then a few days later i backed out of the garage and tried to start it and it won't even turn over.  I charged the battery and it is fine and only about 3 weeks old.  I then jumped across the starter solenoid and it fired right up but wouldn't idle real well.  I put a new one on and it does the same darn thing.  Now i'm at my wits end with it and i cannot figure out what's wrong with it.  The strange part is the neutral and oil lights come on when you turn the key on but the horn, turnsignals, headlights, and starter won't work.  Any help would be greatly appreciated! :x

[scottpA_GS]

where in PA ?

[Kerry]

See if the lights, starting, etc. act any differently when you jumper the battery to a car battery.

[pnaberhaus]

b50,
It sounds as if you've got an electrical drain somewhere, a "short" so to speak. When the battery is fully charged, it is offsetting the drain in the system. However, as the battery is weakening, there would be a point at which the battery could no longer provide the energy to run accessories (turn signals, lights, etc.) or start the bike AND keep it running. I'd troubleshoot the wiring, looking for something like a bare wire occasionally touching the frame, or other metal component. I bought a new Honda years ago and shortly after taking delivery, the bike would "die" everytime I came to a FULL stop (red light, stop sign, etc). I could start it again, and everything would be fine, even as I slowed down , using the brakes. But when I came to a complete stop....it would die. Turns out there was a wire that had rubbed itself against a nut/bolt assembly on the frame, wore through rubber/vinyl/plastic exposing the bare wire, and began "shorting" out the electrical system when I stopped. I guess at idle, a bike's charging system can't keep the bike running AND supply current through an open drain such as you are experiencing. Good luck tracking it down!

[knowlsey]

As pnaberhaus says, it sounds more like electrical, check inside the headlamp to make sure all the conections are clean, and do a general clean up of the electrics, earth, starter solenoid etc and pull the connections to check inside the blocks, at the same time it wouldnt hurt to drain the carbs via the float bowls and see what the color of the gas looks like (obviously if its a browny shity color the carbs could do with a clean out, there may be a couple of things wrong, but sounds definitely electrical.

A friends kept dying on her, so we checked the usual voltages, and they were fine, so we just cleaned all the connections up and its never missed a beat.