New bike, but has some issues

[shawn]

I bought my GS about a month ago. It's a '96 and has 34k on it. The previous owner told me it needed rear brakes, and he wasn't kidding. I did that, which was soooo easy I also flushed the brake fluid, since it was rather nasty looking. I did an oil/filter change and lubed the chain too (after seeing someone's youtube video of cleaning the chain, I realized mine needs to be cleaned too). Next up is the front brake, but I am going to get an SV650 caliper, etc.

Twice now I have had a very weird issue. I am cruising along and I lose most of my power. When I pulled over, it died. I tried starting it and it turns over nice, almost catches and dies. For the next 30 minutes, I tried repeatedly to start it, sometimes it would start, but the second I touched the throttle, it died. When it did start, adjusting the choke would change the rpm significantly. Eventually it starts and runs rough for a bit, then all of a sudden it's back to normal.

Now I am new to motorcycles, this is my first one, so I am not quite sure what the terminology is, but I am thinking it's either carb related, or the distributor.

Any thoughts?

BTW, I really love my GS, so much that I bought a second one (minus the engine) for parts (turns out it has almost new tires, so that is the next challenge, swapping rims.

Thanks in advance!

shawn

[Fry]

You don't have a Distributor, just a CDI control box (Brain of the bike) a set of coils, and a nasty wiring harness.

To me sounds like a carb issue.

[The Buddha]

That issue sounds like a vacuum lock issue in the tank.
You got a heavy a$$ tank bag on it ? How clean is it, how is the cap ... when it occours open the cap and try it and see what it does.
You also make sure the top T hose from the carb is clean and clear and going to open atmosphere. Not kinked and bent tight.
Cool.
Buddha.

[shawn]

That issue sounds like a vacuum lock issue in the tank.
You got a heavy a$$ tank bag on it ? How clean is it, how is the cap ... when it occours open the cap and try it and see what it does.
You also make sure the top T hose from the carb is clean and clear and going to open atmosphere. Not kinked and bent tight.
Cool.
Buddha.

It's a Cali bike, so it has the canister, I wonder if that is the problem.

No tank bag, and it's pretty clean. I did open the cap, when it first happened, just to make sure I still had gas.

I will poke around tonight and see what I can find.

The parts bike did come with carbs, I wonder if I should get those rebuilt and swap them.

shawn

[adidasguy]

Could be dirty fuel screen inside the tank.
Could be old sludge or water in the tank so maybe empty and rinse it out? Can clean out the petcock and fuel filter screen in the tank, too.
Try running on PRIME
Be sure the air vent on the gas cap isn't clogged up. No air in = no fuel out due to a vacuum developing. Open fuel cap and see. If then is OK, its clogged up air vent in the gas cap.
Could be a vacuum leak to the fuel petcock. There are numerous threads on that issue.

[philgs500F]

As far as the rear brake goes.....you could take mine off of my bike and I'd never know it.  Pretty much only used if sitting at a light on a hill, and I want to keep the bike from rolling while in neutral.

[Big Rich]

As far as the rear brake goes.....you could take mine off of my bike and I'd never know it.  Pretty much only used if sitting at a light on a hill, and I want to keep the bike from rolling while in neutral.

I wouldn't admit to that in public........

[philgs500F]

As far as the rear brake goes.....you could take mine off of my bike and I'd never know it.  Pretty much only used if sitting at a light on a hill, and I want to keep the bike from rolling while in neutral.

I wouldn't admit to that in public........

why?  Lemme guess, you use yours to "settle the suspension" before entering a turn, or "tighten your line" while in a turn?  ha!

Everyone has a different riding style, not everyone is an expert racer or GP rider.  You can ride pretty damn fast and proficiently without even touching the rear brake.     

[Big Rich]

For sure, not using your brake will definitely make you ride faster. It will also develop all sorts of bad habits, especially on sand, water, and gravel.

And the only time you should ever "sit" in neutral is right before flipping the kickstand up or down.

[philgs500F]

For sure, not using your brake will definitely make you ride faster. It will also develop all sorts of bad habits, especially on sand, water, and gravel.

And the only time you should ever "sit" in neutral is right before flipping the kickstand up or down.

Well if you say so...sounds like a typical MSF answer...  

And if you like holding your clutch in while at a long light that's your preference, I don't.  10 bikes over the years, 100k street miles, more trackdays than I can count, endurance races...all without the rear brake.  I guess it is possible.

[Big Rich]

Wow. All these years the tens of thousands of MSF courses have been spewing BS.......and you are the right one. Hmmmmm.......

If you want to disregard safety, that's your business. But it's probably not a good idea to recommend it to random people on a forum that has a tendency to have new riders.

[NickyNumbers]

For sure, not using your brake will definitely make you ride faster. It will also develop all sorts of bad habits, especially on sand, water, and gravel.

And the only time you should ever "sit" in neutral is right before flipping the kickstand up or down.

Well if you say so...sounds like a typical MSF answer...  

And if you like holding your clutch in while at a long light that's your preference, I don't.  10 bikes over the years, 100k street miles, more trackdays than I can count, endurance races...all without the rear brake.  I guess it is possible.

Rather than take the route of trying to change your opinion like Big Rich did, I'll just humbly say you are flat out wrong.


Any new riders reading this,  you should never ever ride like Phil is riding.  Its not smart and it will get you in trouble.  I've been riding bikes since I was a kid and I've never heard anyone say they only use the front brake.


So like I said, please don't respond to my post with an explanation.  You obviously have your opinion and I won't waste my time trying to explain to someone why using the front brake (Honestly, a conversation I'd have with a 13 year old on his first Moped rather than an adult) should be used. 



good luck with your new bike and enjoy the GS!