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My 1982 Suzuki GSX250 stalls at freeway speeds.

Discussion in 'Suzuki 250cc Twins' started by Nathan Pearse, Jan 14, 2014.

  1. Nathan Pearse

    Nathan Pearse Active Member

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    Hi all,
    I am a new member and have only been riding for a couple of months. I recently bought a gsx250 from a guy which had been in a shed for the past 10 years for $500 and got it roadworthy for $1500. I was planning to customise it slowely as i get better at riding and understand more what i need to ride rather then just try and make something that looks good but is probably not practical. The problem i have however, is that when i am in 6th gear on the freeway, roughly around 100kmph the bike stalls after about 2-3 minutes of riding. I dont think it is an issue with fuel as i have emptied tbe tank, the mechanic pulled the carbs apart originally to clean them out when I got it roadworthied, and after the first few times of stalling i decided to have a go myself following the manual. I managed to get them out with the airbox, clean them all and replaced the diaphrams as I thought this may have been the problem, none of the lines seemed blocked, the petrol cap vent is not the issue as i have grabbed a cheap plastic one and drilled holes in it to see if the cap vent was blocked. I can ride all day up Nepean Highway as long as I dont go above 90kmph. I now have a suspicion that the problem may be electrical. I am running out of funds and ideas and was wondering if anybody could recommend a good place to go in the Frankston area to find the fault as it is pretty butt clenching going to work waiting for the bike to stall. the bike also seems to idle very high by the time I get to work in Richmond (about an hour away) up around 3000rpm and I am constantly tuning the little carby adjuster up or down, depending how long I have been riding the bike for. Is this common.
    I have spoken to a few people and they seem to think that the CDI on 80's Suzuki's are crap. Can you just get any CDI as the wrecker in Dandenong does not have a '82 Gsx250 one available. I dont even know how to test if this is the problem.
    Please help as I am a neewbie.
    Thanks for reading
    Nathan
     
  2. andrew

    andrew Well-Known Member Premium Member Contributing Member

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    What rpm's are you doing when you stall? Have you tried sitting on that rpm range but at slower speeds (obviously not on the highway).
    I have no idea about CDI's so I cant comment on that
     
  3. Phil

    Phil Senior Member Contributing Member

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    Hey Nathan
    Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your carb issue. Well get back to you tomorrow with some info, I do think your problem is carb related, talk tomorrow.
     
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  4. ruckusman

    ruckusman White Mans Magic Master Premium Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Does the high idle occur after going a decent speed - higher gear & upper rev range for at least a few minutes?

    Does the idle speed come down by itself, without adjusting it after a little while?
     
  5. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

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    :welcome: Nathan

    Its called an igniter unit and even a second hand one probably wont be cheap

    http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Suzuki-Gsx-250-IGNITER-unit-/310723724283

    You need to look at the model number on the one in the bike and the connectors ..... its probably used on a few of the GSXs of that time and maybe other Suzuki machinery of that era.

    When sourcing parts for old bikes the part number is the key ..... with the big 4 Jap makers certain parts are scattered thru a range of bike models and other machinery like ATVs and jet skis etc.

    The fact that you are having idle problems and the carbs were done by a mechanic , I would say its a fuel/carby issue ..... but anything is possible as can be seen by the other threads here on bike 'problems'

    Have a look at Chapter 3 of the manual .... theres tests for the igniter etc on page 119
    Our resources section is down at present but heres a link to it on my google drive if u need a digital copy

    https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0ByHbiu0yM2SGd3BqU3BqSnMzeE0&usp=sharing
     
  6. Phil

    Phil Senior Member Contributing Member

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    Hey Nathan
    Sorry I haven't gotten back to you with some info, the person I was wanting to contact is away. Soon as I have something will get back to you.
     
  7. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

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    Any progress here ? :cool:
     
  8. Willrcr15

    Willrcr15 Well-Known Member

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    Wonder if she's getting hot & something electrical is overheating then cooling down, but at 100 ???
    Is it just the wind blowing something loose up inside the engine bay or on the handlebars
    Check that the plugs are the recommended ones for that model. ie the right heat range.
     
  9. Nathan Pearse

    Nathan Pearse Active Member

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    I have been speaking to a couple of people andone guy said that the mufflers on the bike dont look like the original ones and maybe the jets are the wrong size. Is this an easy thing to check?
     
  10. kiffsta

    kiffsta Senior Member

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    hey Nathan, can you post a picture of your bike ?
     
  11. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

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  12. Nathan Pearse

    Nathan Pearse Active Member

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    here is a picture of my bike.

    BIKE.jpg
     
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  13. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

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    Your muffler looks a little 'smaller' than stock ? ..... mine is 85 but should be the same as 82


    muffler 1.jpg muffler 2.jpg muffler 3.jpg muffler 4.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2014
  14. Nathan Pearse

    Nathan Pearse Active Member

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    would that mean i need smaller jets or bigger, (if it is the jets that are the problem)?
     
  15. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

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    Last edited: Jan 30, 2014
  16. Nathan Pearse

    Nathan Pearse Active Member

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    No, i didn't even thing to check the manifold rubbers, Iwilldo that first thing on the weekend. Thanks
     
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  17. Tristan morris

    Tristan morris Member

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    Hey i had the same problem with my bike then i replaced the cdi and both the coils and it was perfect
     
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  18. Johnny

    Johnny Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Does the bike cut totally out or you lose one cylinder first?
     
  19. Cuda

    Cuda Guest

    GSX250 electrics were never any good finding the issue is probably going to be thrugha process of elimination could be knackered coils over heating and breaking down when hot or the CDI Ignitor at fault, can I just ask have you noticed losing battery power at all / having to charge up more. I ask because the GSX suffers from chronically bad regulator rectifiers which play up then let go completely because of this your generator windings 'can burn out and eventually it kills your battery as well. I have had more than my fair share of GSX Suzuki's over the years so it wasn't long before I had issues and learned what it was that was causing them. For a time if you don't go over a certain rev range it will kinda run ok to an extent but when you start giving it beans for any length of time it can drain the power and cut the engine but it could also be mechanical such as drawing in large amounts of air from something like a cracked open inlet rubber as has been mentioned or badly leaking top end gaskets etc.

    If it 'is, electrical and it's doing what I think it 'might be, you would usually have to start charging up the battery more frequently I'm not saying it 'is this for definite I'm just letting you know they 'are known for it. If this turned out to be it it could just be the regulator that is going and not charging the system properly the workaround for this is to find a voltage regulator from a Honda CB250N Superdream and wire it in thus ....

    1. Black wire from regulator to switched live from the ignition ( I usually connect to the orange feed for the coils)
    2. Red wire from regulator to battery live.
    3. Green wire from regulator to frame earth.
    4. 3 Yellows from regulator to 3 yellows from the generator.

    When it gets 'really bad you usually have to get a recon generator to replace your existing one and usually a new battery AND in some instances if there has been extra load put on the system due to a faulty regulator it 'can, in some instances melt and fuse harness wiring together so this would also need to be checked for that said ... I hope it turns out to be something and nothing for you.
     
  20. MarcusG

    MarcusG Meds

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    Hi mate,

    My GSX did what you are describing when I first bought it and started getting it on freeways. Once I completed a complete rebuild and clean on the carby + reset my jet settings (new jets) in the carbs I never had the issue again.. Note my exhaust setup is different to yours (single exhaust). Definitely get new exhaust gasket rings when you go to clamp the exhaust back on.

    I can't be sure sure whether it's your igniter unit, my electrics are all stock and haven't had any issues at high speeds, though I do have a new battery and always charge it between rides (I only ride it twice a month or so).
     

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