I rode my bike to work last night because it was super nice outside during the early evening. Well, when I got out around 1 am, it had cooled down considerably (I dunno if this is relevant to my problem, but I just thought I'd add it).

So I hop on the bike and turn the petcock lever from ON to PRI (I've been having to turn the lever to PRI in order to ride the bike because I seem to be having some sort of vacuum issue or something). I flip the kill switch to run, turn the key, pull the clutch in, hit the ignition and I got little more than a twitch out of the bike. I tried starting it with the choke on halfway, but that didn't seem to make a difference. After a few attempts, I found that if I held in the ignition button that the bike would continue to try to turn over, but it wouldn't respond to the throttle at all. Soon after letting go of the ignition button, the bike died. I tried it again, but this time I just put the bike into 1st gear and hoped that getting it going would work out the kinks. I had let the clutch out almost all the way and was slowly rolling on the throttle, although it was not being responsive at all, and the bike was lurching forward, but I kept hearing muted *pops* and sputters and then the bike died after going a few feet. All the while the tach wasn't moving at all. I attempted this again (getting it into 1st gear) and this time it started responding a lot better and I could actually get the bike going, but the tach wasn't going up at all. I putted around in 1st gear most of the way home, and when I was almost there I began to realize that the bike was running like normal, but the tach just wasn't going up. I kicked it into 2nd gear for the rest of the way and it went smoothly. I parked it in the driveway for a couple minutes in neutral and it kept running smoothly. Finally, I pulled it into the garage and shut it off.

Thanks to anyone that took the time to read that!

So, does anybody have even the slightest clue as to what could've gone wrong with the bike from the time I parked it at work to the time I got off and tried to start it back up?

weird.


for one, check your tach cable at the tach and where it goes into the engine.  That's unrelated to why you weren't getting spark/fuel.


Fix the tach then see if it happens again

bump

Quote from: Tyrant171although it was not being responsive at all, and the bike was lurching forward, but I kept hearing muted *pops* and sputters and then the bike died after going a few feet.

Be sure that the valves are not way tight.  To quote Srinath:

Quote from: seshadri_srinathTight valves give you startup trouble, and it will start missing while warm up ... usually it will run great once hot ...

If not valves, check for vacuum leaks.  Needing to run in PRIme is a warning that something else is wrong, which could affect air/fuel mixture.

Tight valves? What valves are you talking about and how would I adjust them?

Also.....anyone else have any ideas?

Check your plugs for proper spark. Bad connections in the wire harness to the coils will do this.

bumpity bump

http://www.gstwin.com/adjust_valves.htm
You don't have to remove the airbox or carburetors to check the valves.

But....what valves am I checking?

Also, I just tried to start the bike and it started right up. It seems to start up and idle fine.....but the tach still doesn't move at all. I know you'd say "check the tach cable", but what about the problem I had before, in the first place with the sputters and such? How could those be related to my tach going out?

Thanks!

Quote from: Tyrant171Tight valves? What valves are you talking about and how would I adjust them?

I'm not saying that you're experiencing a valve problem right now, but if you want to know more about the valves and why/how you adjust them, check out this old post and follow all of the links.

Hard to say if the tach problem and running are related. It almost sounds like you could have picked up some water or something in the gas, maybe as it cooled down outside? Water vapor could condense in the tank, settle to the bottom, then get picked up in prime setting. But usually when water in the gas is a problem, it's after sitting for a long time outside (like days or weeks). Did it rain while you worked?

Maybe the tach cable snapped? You didn't say how old the bike, if it's never been lubed maybe it snapped or broke loose on one end. After checking cable tightness, try disconnecting it at the gauge and spin the little receptacle in the gauge with a small screwdriver and watch for the needle to move. If it moves, start the engine up and check to see if the end of the cable is spinning inside the cable end.

How do you do 83 posts and not know what valves are?  This is regular maintenance you have to do every 4000 miles.  Go to the link at the top of the webpage that says "Buy a repair manual."  When you get it, look at the section on "valve adjustment."  Or get on the wait list for Kerry's video and one of the tool kits (or you'll need to buy the tools).  You should also change the spark plugs.  Heck, do that first and see if it helps.
When you've got your bike apart, it would be a good time to check your air filter, carb jets, and the cam chain tensioner (all of which you'll probably have to take off anyway).  After you have done this, your bike will be better than, well, not new, but when you first got it used.

I have regularly maintained that the scheduled regular maintenance is important to maintain your bike... and it should be done regularly.

After riding my GS for awhile my tach stopped working also. I happened to look at the back of the tach gauge and saw the cable hanging loose and you could see the little stub sticking out the end spinning away as the engine was running. I shut it down, hooked the cable to the gauge, started it back up and it worked fine. It came loose again after that and the 2nd time I tightened it with pliers. It did fine after that.
Running problem...  :dunno:
Troubleshoot it!

I just fooled around with it now and the problem seems to be pretty consistent. It starts up fine, but the tach doesn't move at all and it doesn't respond to throttle the way it should. It feels like there's something wrong with the throttle cable or something. If I give it throttle, it usually revs a little bit (not as much as it should), but then when I give it more, it dies. It doesn't matter how far I open up the throttle because it only revs to a certain point and it does so very spuratically and strangely.

Do you think it's something with the cable?

So after reading my last post, what should I do?

Sorry if it seems like I'm not taking advice that's being given to me, it's just that this problem seems really weird to me and I keep feeling like I'm not explaining it well at all.

If its dying on throttle, firstly check your plugs to see if they are black and sooted up.  If they are your mixture is too rich, also check to see if the choke is sticking on by physically pushing the choke slider back in on the carbs.  This happened to a friend's, very similar to what is happening to you.  She was unknowingly constantly running on part choke. But if you are having to prime all the time there is something wrong with the fuel not getting to the carbs, or the floats not lined up.  I would check your mixture though, as it can be too much air or too much fuel.  Check plugs first to see how bad they are.

You could have a couple of problems i.e float levels and fuel mixture.  Also you could spray some carb cleaner around the area of the carbs when it's running to see if it sucks any in.  You will know this as the revs will rise; this will mean you have an air leak somewhere.

You really have to try just about everything that relates to this type of problem, but having to prime all the time would lead to floats.

Alright, I'll definitely give all that a try. Thanks!

I just tried riding it around and it barely responds to throttle at all. I got up to 3rd gear, and I barely felt any difference in the way the throttle was responding....I could only get the engine up to about like 4k rpm's (I'm estimating because my tach doesn't go up at all). I'm not a veteran rider so I'm not the authority on performance, but I swear there was only a marginal difference between how the bike pulled in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

I hope there's not something MAJORLY wrong with it.

Quote from: Tyrant171Alright, I'll definitely give all that a try. Thanks!

I just tried riding it around and it barely responds to throttle at all. I got up to 3rd gear, and I barely felt any difference in the way the throttle was responding....I could only get the engine up to about like 4k rpm's (I'm estimating because my tach doesn't go up at all). I'm not a veteran rider so I'm not the authority on performance, but I swear there was only a marginal difference between how the bike pulled in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

I hope there's not something MAJORLY wrong with it.

if it can be built, it can be fixed