89 Gs 500 Wont Start???

[Fast Jetta 97]

Hey,

So my 1989 Gs 500 will not start...

Well i should clerify that, it will run and drive just fine, but will not start on its own, i have to push start it.  The right thumb operated start button will not start the bike.  It started acting finicky a while back, would have to push it a bunch of times and finally one of the times it would turn over. Now it just doesn't work at all.

What im trying to get help with is,

-Did the starter go out (if so, where can i get a new one and it looks like a HUGE PAIN to replace)
-Is it just somthing stupid (relay, fuse, starter silanoid)

Anyways, thats about all i can think, so if anyone has anything to help me out, THAT WOULD BE AWSOME... im so sick of push starting it everytime i want to ride !

Here is an old picture of what it looks like... (its a darker blue now, with no stripes.

[starwalt]

A recent thread on starting failure is...  Electrical Short?

In the topic is a very nice, easy to follow, simplified starter circuit schematic made by John Bates.

After you look it over let me know if you need more help.

[dgyver]

First.... Sounds like the contacts in the starter button have crapped out and no longer make contact. An easy way to check is make a jumper wire to bypass the thumb switch. If it turns then the switch is bad.

Next... Check the starter by putting power directly to it or at least after the starter relay. If it turns then the starter relay is bad.

There is only 1 fuse on the GS so it is not that.

[Fast Jetta 97]

Ok, good thinking... haha, thanks, yeah i pulled the right handle apart and took the start switch completly out and clean off the contacts really good and checked it all out and put it back together and still nothing.

So when i get outta this stupid class i will try jumpin the starter directly just to see if the starter works...
Where would i hook the wire from and to?

[dgyver]

Just bypass the starter relay. It is on the right side. The 89 looks a little different than other years that I am familiar with.... it is cylindrical (about 1-1/4" dia) and a wire goes from the battery to the relay then to the starter. You can either bridge the relay connection with another wire or something similar (I use a screwdriver on my lawnmower) or disconnect the wire from the output wire of the relay and touch it to the input wire of the relay. All you need to do is to bump the starter to see if it will turn.

[Fast Jetta 97]

Yes sir, you are right on the money. just went outside and tested it, and jumped the starte relay (also a start silonoid?) and the starter kicked over first time...

SO i already ordered a new one off ebay for like 30 bucks shipped. so if you happen to have any great cheap places to buy gs parts... (oops to late) but i would still like em if you got em, im sure i have plenty of stuff left to buy. haha.

[dgyver]

Cool.

ebay is about the best (other than here) for cheap used parts. For new, I use RonAyers.com and BikeBandit.com

[DLW]

I ordered a couple small parts from BikeBandit.com recently and mistakenly ordered one part wrong.  The part was less than $1(US) but shipping was $4.  I chatted with an online customer service person and they had me reorder the correct part and they waived the shipping charges for the correct part since the part was so cheap.  I call that awesome service!!

DLW

[Fast Jetta 97]

Yeah seems cool. i was just looking through all there stuff for my bike. Seems pretty pricy though.

the party i bought off ebay was 30 shipped, through them it was 50 plus shipping.

but i will say they seem to have every little rando part that would be hard to find somewhere else, so thats nice.

[Fast Jetta 97]

So that starter relay was worthless to me, i put it on the bike and still nothing... so i finally pulled apart both handles and cleaned off all the contacts i could find.  It was the clutch switch.  So as far as the bike was concered the clutch wasent in so it wasent even bothering to start.... So its all good now.   Cept now i gotta get my jet kit figured out...