Power loss

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drum4fun76
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Power loss

#1

Post by drum4fun76 »

Hey guys,
I haven't been an "active" member for awhile (I'll blame the kids), but I know that this is the best GL knowledge forum and I've been having my share of problems with my '78.
Last summer I noticed coolant was getting in the heads. Didn't touch it 'till spring when a friend and I replaced the head gaskets with thinking the others (aftermarket) were defective. Got her started up again after that but she wasn't the same. Tonight I took her for a proper drive and here's what happened:
Had no power on take off. Had to basically hold full throttle just to get her moving.
Then when I got to third gear, she kicked in (actually jerked me).
Then holding constant throttle, bogged again, then kicked in... And so forth.
When I finally got home, I let her idle a bit and then gave her gas to see if she would kick in again. As I had her in the high rpms, she died on me. :(
Now she won't start (doesn't even turn).
Is she full of coolant?
Could it be bad gas or tank residue?
Clogged carb passages?
I haven't touched anything yet.
I'm not a mechanic and need help. I'm at the point where I'm thinking of selling her for parts. I invested so much time and money on this bike, it would be a shame.
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RB
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Re: Power loss

#2

Post by RB »

Hydro lock 1st thing to check pull the plugs and see if she'll turn over..gas off..and plugs not attached to avoid an explore if gas shoots out of a cylinder or two..if it does hydro lock probable..gas leaking from carbs into cylinder(s).

Not turning over nothing to do with carbs unless above is true..but bad solenoid do you here a click by the battery back end??? If you short across the two big posts with the key on, does it turn over?? =bad solenoid most likely.

Check oil for gas and/or water..milky and tan/white you have water issues if just thin and smells of gas..gas issues.

Check that stuff and respond with results.
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drum4fun76
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Re: Power loss

#3

Post by drum4fun76 »

Thanks RB.
I'll get on that tomorrow and post my findings.
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gregforesi
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Re: Power loss

#4

Post by gregforesi »

From the electrical side it sounds like a coil might be dropping out.
Does the bike have a dyna ignition?
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robin1731
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Re: Power loss

#5

Post by robin1731 »

Don't use the starter. Turn the engine over by hand. With the plugs out. You may have gotten the timing belts on wrong. And bent some valves.
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drum4fun76
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Re: Power loss

#6

Post by drum4fun76 »

Hey guys,
To answer greforesi, I do have a dyna ignition installed.
I didn't have time to check the bike today.
Before I went for my drive (first of the season), I had changed the plugs, the fuel filter, oil and filter and coolant was stable. I'm thinking bad coil... It did hear a sort of weird ticking sound come from the battery side come to think of it. Could also be valves ( wich I didn't adjust after putting heads back on). I can tell you that the belts were installed by a licenced mechanic, but not a GL expert. I had never seen her behave like that before: hard to hold idle and random rpm bursts when throttle was wide open...
I'll post as soon as this developpes and I thank everyone who shared their knowledge with me. anim-cheers1
I hope I can save the ol gale because the wife would rather see her at the end of my drive way with a sign on it if you catch my drift.
Cheers
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Re: Power loss

#7

Post by Cakey »

I think most people would recommend to take the pressure off the vlaves when removing the heads by backing the valve adjustment nuts right off. So I would definatley be checking the valve clearances after reinstalling the heads as a priority just in case.
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Re: Power loss

#8

Post by Paola Zago »

a friend of mine with the gl 1000 of 78, in 2016 he mounted the dyna ignition. seeing that it worked well, me and three other friends with the GL then did the same thing. mine had a life of 8 months, then a pickup burned out and went back to point and capacitor ignition, two other guys also had a burnt pickup and reassembled the old system. Paradoxically, my friend who rode it first and the one who rode it last have the perfect motorcycles. boh, mysteries of technology or bad luck ???
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Re: Power loss

#9

Post by rcmatt007 »

I would say bad luck
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Sidecar Bob
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Re: Power loss

#10

Post by Sidecar Bob »

One side of my Dyna failed just after the warranty ran out but they replaced it anyway. The replacement is still good 7 years later.

When the Dyna started to go bad it would cut out and then suddenly cut back in. I imagine it might be possible for one to not work when cold and start working when the engine is warm so it probably wouldn't hurt to check for spark.
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Re: Power loss

#11

Post by CYBORG »

My first one ran good on startup, and until the engine warmed up. Then it would drop one side. O.K. when cooled off, but cut out when warmed up.
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Re: Power loss

#12

Post by pidjones »

So far my Dyna (was on one of the bikes I purchased) is performing well. I learned with the TFI experiment that electronics really don't like it when the voltage regulator lets system voltage go to 17.5 Volts. I keep a close eye on the voltage of the Hunley (with the Dyna), which is why I mounted a DVM in place of the Honda bimetallic slow as mud VM.
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