think I finally got it after 6 month

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karl pa
To the on ramp
Posts: 499
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2015 3:14 pm
Country: us
Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT
Location: southeast pa

think I finally got it after 6 month

Post by karl pa »

Last summer I was riding my 73 GT750 when it started backfiring and popping through the carbs. Thinking it was ignition I replaced the points, condensers and plugs. After this it worked fine for about 50 miles when it happened again, this time it was so bad I had to pull the left plug wire to get it home. Thinking I may have holed a piston, I did a compression test and found all cylinders around the same. Then I made a vacuum tester to check crank seals, I used a pvc pipe cap and threaded a hose adapter through it connected to a vacuum gauge, removed the carbs and placed the pipe cap in carb boot and cranked over, all three were the same. At this point I was drawing a blank so I pulled off the entire points plate and wire harness to change with a spare, when I noticed a small rub mark where the harness went through a clamp under the motor, apparently firing the plug at the wrong time. Since repairing this it hasn't acted up, but I wont take it far from home till I am sure.
76 GT185
77 GT250
77 GT380
76 GT500
73 GT550
73 GT750
74 GT750
71 T250 scrambler
75 T500 cafe
Craig380
Expert racer
Posts: 1250
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2008 2:52 am
Location: Manchester, UK

Re: think I finally got it after 6 month

Post by Craig380 »

That could do it - if one of the wires to the points had rubbed through the insulation, it could be grounding intermittently. And every time it grounds, it will fire the spark plug ... or the point wire could be broken internally, causing an intermittent connection.

Hope you've got it sorted ready for the good weather :up:
1976 GT380 - wounded by me, and sold on
2006 SV650S - killed by a patch of diesel and a kerb in Feb 2019
2017 SV650 AL7 - naked and unashamed
karl pa
To the on ramp
Posts: 499
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2015 3:14 pm
Country: us
Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT
Location: southeast pa

Re: think I finally got it after 6 month

Post by karl pa »

Craig380 wrote:.. or the point wire could be broken internally, causing an intermittent connection.
I never thought of it that way, if the wire is broke internally, and loses connection when points are closed it will fire the plug.
Since I had everything apart and put back together, it may be making contact now but show up again. Thanks for the input
76 GT185
77 GT250
77 GT380
76 GT500
73 GT550
73 GT750
74 GT750
71 T250 scrambler
75 T500 cafe
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