1989 Suzuki Katana GSX750F PLZ HELP!!

[tarunb]

Hello Folks,

I currently live in the Long Island, NY area, and purchased this motorcycle 2 years ago from a friend of a friend with 29K miles on it. Worked great when I bought it, however, since then it has stopped firing up.

At one point the starter got stuck, and kept clicking, and drained the battery until it stopped clicking. After this point I recharged the battery (trickle charger) and tried to start it back up but it failed to start. The previous owner told me the battery was on its way out, so I went ahead and purchased a new battery.

The new battery was charged and plugged in, however the bike still fails to start.

I'm not very savvy with mechanics, and don't have any previous knowledge on working on Motorcycles. I'm trying to be as cost effective as possible, and am willing to take the time to learn what it takes to diagnose and fix this problem. The bike is also dead in the garage, so bringing it to a shop would be very costly.

Please advise on what to look for with such a problem, if you need more information to help me diagnose it, or if there are any available resources to delve into this topic

Thank you for any help you guys can offer

[arsenic]

The carbs need to be disassembled and cleaned. Read Carbs 101 and print it out.

[tarunb]

I definitely need to get the carbs cleaned, but are you certain this issue is directly because of the carbs?

When I put the key in, it doesn't give juice to the bike anymore. Do you think its more of a electrical problem? Or something to do with the starter?

[arsenic]

Well, if there is no juice, get a battery. Yes, every thing else is 100% because of the carbs. I realize you're asking how to fix your carbs, and Carbs 101 will tell you how to do that. I rebuild carbs, that's what I do. I currently have a set of 89-97 750 carbs for sale.

Let me know if you are interested.

[ZukiFred]

How can the carbs be the problem if it isn't even turning over, Read the whole post first Chris, Dude said he already bought a new battery..

I would start by checking all the fuses.

[arsenic]

I did read the post. He said "it's not firing up", he didn't say "it's not turning over". He said after he charged the batter, he tried to start it and it wouldn't fire up. That says it is, in fact turning over.

[rob845]

Does the bike turn over? did you "unstick" the starter?

[kevin2502000]

If you have no power at all try your fuses first and the connections at the battery. If you have power but it will not turn the engine over when you hit the start button check the clutch safety switch. That prevents the starter from getting power if the clutch isn't pulled in. If it goes bad you have to replace it or bypass it to fix the electrical flow.

[Slofuze]

If you have no power at all try your fuses first and the connections at the battery. If you have power but it will not turn the engine over when you hit the start button check the clutch safety switch. That prevents the starter from getting power if the clutch isn't pulled in. If it goes bad you have to replace it or bypass it to fix the electrical flow.

+1

[tarunb]

I'm sorry about the dispute over my vocabulary choice. Part of the learning curve is using words that identify the problem accurately so please excuse.

@kevin2502000: Exactly, I have no 'power' so when I put the key in to on position, there are no lights that turn on, so it is like the starter button does not get the electrical input to even start the engine

@rob845: Not quite sure if it turns over yet, as I have not gotten past the power issue. Could you please clarify how to unstick a starter? I have not gotten power back into the bike ever since the incident when it got stuck and kept clicking. I'm not quite sure if it is still stuck, but the physical button itself on the handle bar is not stuck.

The battery I have is brand new and charged on a trickle charger.. Although the charger never showed green for completed charge, it was left on for atleast 24 hours.

When I check the fuses, How do I know if one is bad?

Could there be any other issues with the starter, as it being burnt by the constant clicking that went on, could that then cause an electrical problem with the bike?

Thanks for your input so far guys

[arsenic]

Okay, if it's not turning over period, then I have no idea if it's your carbs.

[Slofuze]

A reply on a similar thread.......

Thanks for the help fellas, it was infact the main fuse.
It was a 30a fuse located underneath the left side fairing. The right does not need to be removed to access it.
Just as I suspected. Luckily they included a spare.
Guys I urge you to inspect your tail light harness, mine was very frayed and very torn up and it is what I suspect caused the outage.
That and heavy rain storm.
Thanks again.

[Wild-Bill]

Welcome! As you can see, we've got a variety of personalities here. Don't mind Arsenic. He thinks everything can be solved by buying a rebuilt set of carbs from him.

You can actually see if the fuses are bad. Pull them out and hold them up to the light. you'll see what I mean. The other thing to check for is corroded ground wires and make sure you've got the right wires hooked up to the right terminals. Seems obvious but... The small black wire coming off the battery tends to corrode pretty often from battery fumes. If that goes then so does your entire lighting system.

[rockin6d]

1st check fuses
2nd check for power out of the starte button on handlebar
3rd check for power at the starter
4th check for broke circuits at clutch, kickstand safety switches
5th check for power out of the key switch
that ought to be a good start on findin out where your losing the power at. these can be checked with a simple test light and observation. just for giggles you might check to be sure the batt is good, never know might have got a bad one from the get-go.

[hinow41]

Hey If you don't mind me asking what part of Long Island are you from? It would be nice to ride with another Kat. I only know of one other.