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Bike quit today.

4K views 30 replies 13 participants last post by  Heartbroken 
#1 ·
Got some sun and the snow melted so got Bike out. Started up just fine, let him idle and warm up a bit and hit the road. Had a little trouble with leaving the stop at the end of my road, ever since the carbs got adjusted I've had a problem with stalling when pulling away from an uphill stop, which I never did before. After a few minutes, started running rough, hesitating as if running out of gas. Stopped at the station, only took a gallon to fill up so no, not that. Started back up but didn't sound right. Almost stalled again pulling out into the road, had to goose it to keep it running. Headed straight back home. Kept getting worse, acting like it couldn't get enough fuel, popping from the exhaust, other strange sounds I couldn't quite make out over the wind and road noise; changing the choke didn't seem to make a difference. Got to the last stop before my house and it stalled out. Trying to restart it, noticed that sometimes the lights were off, then back on again. Got it started for a moment, it made a terrible noise and quit. Had to get off and roll it the rest of the way home. Got it in the driveway, got back on and tried to start it. Lights were there, hit the starter switch and it just said "clank", the lights went off and that was that. It's totally dead. Rolled it back into the shop and shut the door. No idea what happened or what to do now, aside from borrowing a trailer and taking it back to the mechanic. But I've already got about $200 more into it than what it bluebooks for, so not sure if I want to keep spending on it. This is Not Good. :(
 
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#2 ·
Could be just a bad battery. How old is the battery?
Could also be a dead short somewhere. Maybe check battery condition first, and report back.

S F
 
#4 ·
With the issues with the lights going out I think you have an electrical problem.
Do you have a voltmeter? A real cheap one would do the job, might be worth buying one.
You need to check the voltage right at your battery , check it with the key off, with the key on and when trying to crank and report back these readings. If the battery is dead then you either have a bad battery or a problem with the charging system.
If the battery isn't dead but your still having electrical problems then it's a wiring issue, either a short or a loose connection, this could be as simple as a loose battery connection.

I wish you were nearby, I could probably diagnose this in 20 minutes hands on.
 
#7 ·
Time for a little troubleshooting, which includes tools - got the space and aptitude for that? The 'clank' has me thinking you should take the generator cover off the left side of the engine so you can try turning the engine over by hand.
 
#9 ·
It would seem to me, there are a couple of things we need to know before making rash decisions about new bikes, scrapping bikes and other silly things.
What is the bike currently owned by the OP? A bit of time checking, inspecting does not cost much. The issue may be and likely is minor. Get the facts first. UK
 
#10 ·
It's a 2001 Suzuki VS800GL. Has 5,000 miles on it. New battery (reportedly) just before I bought it. Put new tires on it, had the carbs done (cleaned and new parts like gaskets, needles and so on, installed) a few weeks ago, and a battery tender installed. Ran alright all summer, aside from bogging down at slow speeds. Had one really good ride after getting the carb work done before the snow.
I only bought Bike in April after 30 years of not riding. Had hoped to get a couple of years out of him as I relearned the old skills and then move up to a slightly bigger bike. I do know I don't want a Harley, but beyond that I'm not sure what sort of bike to move up to; I want to comfortably cruise long distances but also want to be able to take back roads and go places like the long, poorly maintained drive into a local state park.
I can do very basic wrench stuff, have the shop building (though no heat) and lots and lots of tools. But my Husband was the brainy/talented half so aside from knowing how to jump start a vehicle I'm hopeless on electrical stuff. My brother is a lot more capable, so I've asked him to help me look it over and maybe test the battery. He's here watching the game with me, maybe if the Lions win he'll feel like getting off the sofa and taking a look.
I've been having moments of hope that it's just that the battery connections are loose after the tender was installed, and moments of despair that if I pull the side over off I'll just see carnage and metal shavings.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Someone said above, get a volt meter. Find the battery. Turn on the volt meter to a number that is higher than the battery volts. Usually 20. Put the red lead on the positive terminal. Put the black lead on the negative terminal. Pos has a + sign. Neg has a - sign. Should read about 12.7 volts. If the engine starts, check again at around 2500 revs. Should get about 14 volts. Please check and report back. Wintr above has asked about the clank noise. That is another subject. Might need brother to remove cover and look for bits. Prolly a good idea to do all this before the game. On that subject, I have my Larry Csonka shirt ready to wear for the Super Bowl.
BUT, on another note. Youtube has the full game, ladies rugby world cup final. About two weeks ago. Worth a look. UK
 
#12 ·
Any engine can throw a rod, and V-twins with a lot of torque (this is one) seem more likely. That said, many of the Intruder lines have gone more than 100k miles without incident, but there's always that one.
Let's hope there is no internal damage, and it is a connection between the battery and starter motor, ground included.
 
#14 ·
Maybe the clank was caused by nothing more that a little kickback when the thing died. A V-Twin like your Suzy could make a clank if some kind of carburetor or electrical problem stopped it from running. Heck, those V-Twins can sometimes give a kickback if the bike doesn't happen to start on the first try.
I'm thinking it's unlikely you broke the motor. Could be but I'd look for a bad connection somewhere after I verify battery condition.
And yeah, get yourself a volt / ohm meter if you don't already have one.

The carburetors on that machine are not the simplest type to deal with for a person that doesn't do that kind of work full time. If the bike is running too rich your spark plugs may be fouled. After verifying a good battery, connections too, what the spark plugs look like could tell us something.
You should get a look at the spark plugs and let us know what you find there.



S F
 
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#17 ·
Some of those models (yours?) locate the battery under the machine in a metal box making it hard to deal with battery wiring. I don't think I've ever seen an older one that still had all of the battery box parts in place. LOTS of opportunities for bad connections and stuff.

S F
 
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#19 ·
Well the Lions lost but that isn't surprising. Brother had his meter and did a quick check of the battery through the end of the battery tender. First read 0.2 then went to 0 and stayed there, no change with key on or off, no lights. I plugged the tender in, and it did the amber flash that said battery wasn't properly connected for a bit, then flashed green then went back to amber. Unplugged it. Tomorrow I'll undo the connections and remove the battery from the bike and check fluid levels and put the charger on it and see what it says. Brother's best guess was perhaps a connection vibrated loose after the guy put the tender on and the battery shorted out to the frame or something, so I'm going to do my best to examine those conenctions as I take it apart.
I was very confused since the original symptoms seemed to me to be fuel related, but he explained that poor spark could also cause those symptoms.
So that's the update. Not going to mess with the carbs since I just had them professionally done; mechanic did tell me he put them back to spec. I'll start with the battery tomorrow (it is in the metal box under the bike but I think I can get it loose) and see where it goes from there.
Random note, I met Larry Csonka once when he visited our 5th grade class, many, many moons ago. He seemed so huge!
LOL, Mike, with your Iron Butt rides I'm thinking a run to the middle of Michigan would just be a morning jaunt for you!
 
#20 ·
If it's battery connections are suspect, then get some start washers (inside or outside teeth). Many of these bikes came with terminal screws that are about 1 thread too long, and don't really tighten the cables to the blocks before hitting bottom. The washers take up that slack while improving contact and keeping the connections tight.
Don't know if you've run across this yet, but get a 2-by board to roll the rear wheel onto, and a similar, somewhat thinner one for the side stand. Gives a lot better access to the battery box bottom. Just be sure to remove the negative cable first.

Service manual: VS700_VS750_VS800_1986-2008.pdf
 
#21 ·
Happy dance, got Bike to come to life yesterday! Charged up the dead battery and put it back in. Tried starting and just got the click/go dead thing, but noticed if I wiggled the bike around the lights would come back on. Brother has better hearing than me and was able to hear shorting sounds and traced the sound to under the rear seat. Removed the seats; I didn't see it but he was on the other side and said when I pulled up the rear seat he saw a pinched wire. Tried again and Bike fired right up and purred happily away. So now I have to figure out if there is a short, if it was just a pinched wire, and how in blazes to get the seats back on without recreating the problem.
Also thinking whatever happened may have affected the battery. Took all day to charge up to 75% per the hydrometer; Brother tested it and it dropped from 12.8 to 12.2 fairly quickly while it was sitting on the workbench before I put it back in the bike. So not sure if it would be safe to go out for a ride unless I replace it.
Removing/reinstalling the battery is a right royal pain. Ended up loosening the rectifier so I could get a socket in on the positive side bolt, the phillips part of it was rounded out. Going to replace the bolts. Not sure if I'm going to reinstall the leads for the battery tender or not.
 
#26 ·
I would never yell at a dog. My old dog was the sweetest soul I've ever known. Dogs are better than most people.
Anyways, thanks for the ideas, SF. I was wondering about how to better stabilize the battery and hadn't thought of the inner tube, that would be perfect. I do have a pot of grease I use when I repack the bearings on my little trailer, so I'll put some of that on the battery posts when I put it all back together. Fabrication is beyond me; the best I've ever managed is using gutter screen as a matrix for rebuilding the rockers on my truck.
I have no idea how to go into the bewildering array of wires in the wire harnesses that go up under the back seat. One thing I noticed is that when I had the seats off last summer to install my saddle bags, nothing was attached to either seat. But when I took the passenger seat off yesterday, a set of wires in a harness came with it, as some sort of wiring fitting was hooked onto a small molded bracket sort of thing on the underside of the seat. So the mechanic guy must have tucked it up in there like that.
I'm thinking I'll just leave the key on and start moving those wire harnesses about and see if the lights click off and on again? And if they do, open that harness and try to find a broken or crusty wire? Or maybe if I just straighten everything out and make sure nothing is pinched, and the lights don't blink, it'll be ok? I don't know, just floundering along here....
 
#28 ·
Bike is alive!! I never did find the short; spent hours gently pulling on wires, wiggling harnesses, uninstalled the new battery tender, everything I could think of but nothing ever popped. Charged up the battery and finally got it back together today, reinstalled the battery tender, the only leftover parts I have are the two bolts where the plastic bits of the seat go under the gas tank, just couldn't get it to line up properly and eventually gave up. With me on it that seat's not going anywhere anyways. I was so happy to have it back together I just threw on helmet and gloves and hit the road. Only went six miles, it was getting dark and very damp and I was afraid of the moisture freezing on the road.
Everything seemed to be fine, though I was hyper-aware of every little burble and wheeze and very concerned about being stranded, I didn't even put on my jacket or grab my phone so it would have been a lonely, cold walk. It felt like I needed to keep extra throttle on when I did the U-turn to come back, but when I slowed to come into the driveway it didn't hesitate or stall. I'm wondering if I just need to adjust the idle a little now that it's cold out.
Anyways, I'm very relieved that I didn't kill it and it's running again. If the weather cooperates, I may take it out tomorrow on my lunch break and just run to the post office and back. My brother will be around so I'll have help if something goes wrong again, but I'm really hoping it was just a pinched wire and it's all better now. I was very careful and double checked all the wires under the back seat as I reinstalled it so praying the problem is sorted.
I'm still shivering, so I've decided that 37 is too cold for riding with just the two sweatshirts I had on for doing chores!
 
#31 ·
LOL, as a well-upholstered woman of northern European descent I've always handled the cold weather well. Though as I age I'm finding my hands get cold more quickly.
It's the summer that kills me. Then sun feels like a hammer beating me down and I have to be careful not to get heatstroke.
No ride today, had some rain and snow. But they're still talking 40s the rest of the week, so maybe I'll get another chance.
 
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