We get calls and emails regularly explaining a problem with starting or running of old cycles.
How do you determine if the bike is starving for fuel or losing spark?
Here are some items to check first...
Does it start or run worse in lower temps? Varnished or partially blocked carburetors act up more as temperatures drop.
Did the problem start just after you did something? You wired up new driving lights, changed a battery, went on a trip and tried some new type of fuel??
Does your engine run better with the choke partially on? This is an indication your engine needs more fuel.
Does your engine run better with starter fluid sprayed into the intake? If engine rpm goes up, you're engine is starving for fuel. If the engine drops in rpm or stalls, you have an ignition failure.
If you determine the carbs are the problem, find a reputable shop or friend who KNOWS what they are doing. If they haven't worked on your particular style of bike, you may want to keep looking. If you determine it is ignition related, try a few things first.
1) clean and tighten your battery cables. No really, it can be that simple.
2) Test for proper battery voltage. It should read above 12 volts with the engine running.
3) Verify voltage at your coil lead (the wire lead that feeds power to the coil...Hondas often use a black wire).
4) Verify that you have voltage at your points set (on GL1000 anyway). If not, you might have a wire harness issue or broken lead. I have seen this twice already.
5) If you have points, make sure they are CLEAN and adjusted.
6) Remove the sparkplug boots and unthread them (i think GL1500's are molded on). If the end of the wire has signs of corrosion, cut off the last 1/4" of wire and thread the cap back on firmly. On GL1000 i have seen many wires that are soft like toothpaste. I've never been able to repair this, and always end up with new coils.
Oddly enough, most sparkplug wires get hard with age and the GL1000 can get soft. Please tell me why if you know the answer!!
We introduced the first Goldwing ignition kit due to the high failure rate of coils on my personal bikes. Between my bikes and friends i knew, we have tested half a dozen coils that failed. Usually the bike ran rough and started hard but just as often the bike just seemed sluggish and didn't sound smooth anymore.
Before ordering a replacement ignition, you should always verify the above items to be sure you really need to replace yours.
With the optical reader and quick connector on our QT coil, installing your new ignition is easy, but nothing is more frustrating than installing one and discovering you really have carburetor problems! Hey, we speak from experience. The only way to learn sometimes is to fail.
To read more about how ignitions work and find solutions go to https://www.c5ignitions.com/technical.html
How do you determine if the bike is starving for fuel or losing spark?
Here are some items to check first...
Does it start or run worse in lower temps? Varnished or partially blocked carburetors act up more as temperatures drop.
Did the problem start just after you did something? You wired up new driving lights, changed a battery, went on a trip and tried some new type of fuel??
Does your engine run better with the choke partially on? This is an indication your engine needs more fuel.
Does your engine run better with starter fluid sprayed into the intake? If engine rpm goes up, you're engine is starving for fuel. If the engine drops in rpm or stalls, you have an ignition failure.
If you determine the carbs are the problem, find a reputable shop or friend who KNOWS what they are doing. If they haven't worked on your particular style of bike, you may want to keep looking. If you determine it is ignition related, try a few things first.
1) clean and tighten your battery cables. No really, it can be that simple.
2) Test for proper battery voltage. It should read above 12 volts with the engine running.
3) Verify voltage at your coil lead (the wire lead that feeds power to the coil...Hondas often use a black wire).
4) Verify that you have voltage at your points set (on GL1000 anyway). If not, you might have a wire harness issue or broken lead. I have seen this twice already.
5) If you have points, make sure they are CLEAN and adjusted.
6) Remove the sparkplug boots and unthread them (i think GL1500's are molded on). If the end of the wire has signs of corrosion, cut off the last 1/4" of wire and thread the cap back on firmly. On GL1000 i have seen many wires that are soft like toothpaste. I've never been able to repair this, and always end up with new coils.
Oddly enough, most sparkplug wires get hard with age and the GL1000 can get soft. Please tell me why if you know the answer!!
We introduced the first Goldwing ignition kit due to the high failure rate of coils on my personal bikes. Between my bikes and friends i knew, we have tested half a dozen coils that failed. Usually the bike ran rough and started hard but just as often the bike just seemed sluggish and didn't sound smooth anymore.
Before ordering a replacement ignition, you should always verify the above items to be sure you really need to replace yours.
With the optical reader and quick connector on our QT coil, installing your new ignition is easy, but nothing is more frustrating than installing one and discovering you really have carburetor problems! Hey, we speak from experience. The only way to learn sometimes is to fail.
To read more about how ignitions work and find solutions go to https://www.c5ignitions.com/technical.html
