Suzuki Impulse GSX 400

[byte77]

Hey byte! How's the restoration going?

 

so far that's all, focus on functional and preventive measures first.

today's heavy rain upset the 2nd plug and lost power.

managed to keep it moving in the rain by revving high rpm at lower gear.

removed the tank and found the top of the new caps got slight gaps which need to be sealed.

the plug was wet like prawn taken out from water, fortunately i always got spare plugs (battery n airpump also) . temporarily used black tape to wrap the caps, later on will get auto grade silicone to seal them

after that power restored n happy that i saved $60.

Edited July 7, 2014 by byte77

[JJM15]

Wow that bad huh? So while riding you had a loss of power? Or was it while the bike was sitting in heavy rain?

 

And I'm amazed that you have an air pump on you. That's for a flat tyre right? You used it to displace water I assume?

 

And please do contact me (91826244) if and when you do DIY all these things. Am always keen on learning.

[w7_lee]

I have a question with Impulse....

 

anyone actually seen the radiator cooling fan spinning? I've never seen my working before, so I am not sure if it is actually working.

Any experience to share?

[JJM15]

Hey, mine has been re-routed such that it is on all the time.

 

But has your temperature light ever come on?

[w7_lee]

Nope, my temperature light has not come on. The light indicator is working since it will light up when I turn on the key switch.

The engine has not fail on me so far.

 

My office is about 20minutes ride from home. The engine would be hot and the fan should be turning.

But I recently observe that the fan is not running even if I just came home and let the bike continue to idle.

[w7_lee]

Did you re-route it yourself or it was already re-routed when you bought the bike?

[JJM15]

It was re-routed by Chris... I'm sure most shops can get it done.

 

Hmm. But was the heat too much to bear? I barely notice heat coming off my bike.

[w7_lee]

20 minutes to & from office is OK.

 

But I learnt recently that if the radiator fan is not working, the radiator builds up more heat & pressure.

The higher pressure could cause the radiator to crack....

[S750WP]

Hey, mine has been re-routed such that it is on all the time.

 

But has your temperature light ever come on?

 

It should not be on all the time, your fan motor life span will be shorten, there is a on/off switch which I help Chris to install, turn on when stuck in heavy traffic and turn off when the bike has cool down. Your bike valve clearance, carburetor was service by me since byte77 to Chris hence I know this bike inside out. I was previously riding Impulse for a year plus before changing to my current ride.

Edited July 22, 2014 by S750WP

[byte77]

Yes S750WP did that for 868 when it was in my hand.

My current impulse also got fan button installed

impulse engine is very tahan even when planet motor's ah chong found that why the water hose was empty due to crack.

[w7_lee]

I recalled that in the first few months when I took over the bike, I had notice that the radiator fan never seems to be spinning. There was once I rode from East to Ayer Rajah area to let a customer sign some documents, it was probably 10 minutes and then I rode back to the office. In the return leg, I had thought the engine respond felt kind of weird (not so responsive). I guess it slipped my mind to follow-up on this.

 

Considering that I've been using it the past 1.5 years in this condition, I do think the engine is robust. But then again, I don't use it for very long distance most days.

Maybe this long weekend, will try to find time to connect the fan directly to battery and check if it will spin. If not, I guess the fan motor is 'kaput'.

If the fan spins, maybe the thermo switch is 'kaput'.

 

And Selamat Hari Raya to the muslim brothers.

[JJM15]

It should not be on all the time, your fan motor life span will be shorten, there is a on/off switch which I help Chris to install, turn on when stuck in heavy traffic and turn off when the bike has cool down. Your bike valve clearance, carburetor was service by me since byte77 to Chris hence I know this bike inside out. I was previously riding Impulse for a year plus before changing to my current ride.

 

Hey man! Good to hear from you again!

 

I was wondering, if I could do another valve clearance with you soon? Any number I could msg to discuss more details?

[w7_lee]

I went to the bike shop that replace my spark plug on Sat PM and told the guy my concern. I had rode for 15 minutes from my home to Ubi. He use a contactless temp sensor to check my radiator temperature and it was about 75deg C. He comment that the Impulse is like the S4, the radiator fan rarely comes on be'cos the radiator temp rarely exceed the cut-in temp. Not sure if I believe him totally.

 

Went home and connected it directly to the battery and the fan does spin. It makes a loud noise and I'm quite sure I should have hear it if it spins when I'm riding (at least if I stop at traffic light).

 

Since I took off the tank, I also check if the water pump is working. The water in the radiator is flowing when the engine is idling. So the water pump is fine.

 

So maybe the temp sensors are not working. I notice there are 2 of them.

Or maybe the mechanic is correct; i.e. the fan rarely comes on as the cooling is good!

[battlefairy]

Hi guys.

 

I have 1996 gsx400 impulse(gk79a).

 

have anyone can tell me how much the valve clearence or send me the workshop manual,please?

 

[email protected]

 

Thanks.

[JJM15]

I went to the bike shop that replace my spark plug on Sat PM and told the guy my concern. I had rode for 15 minutes from my home to Ubi. He use a contactless temp sensor to check my radiator temperature and it was about 75deg C. He comment that the Impulse is like the S4, the radiator fan rarely comes on be'cos the radiator temp rarely exceed the cut-in temp. Not sure if I believe him totally.

 

Went home and connected it directly to the battery and the fan does spin. It makes a loud noise and I'm quite sure I should have hear it if it spins when I'm riding (at least if I stop at traffic light).

 

Since I took off the tank, I also check if the water pump is working. The water in the radiator is flowing when the engine is idling. So the water pump is fine.

 

So maybe the temp sensors are not working. I notice there are 2 of them.

Or maybe the mechanic is correct; i.e. the fan rarely comes on as the cooling is good!

 

Just to share, having ridden the Impulse for almost a year now as a daily rider, I've never experienced the heat some super 4 spec 3 riders complain about. Never. And I've ridden in the hottest parts of the day sometimes.

 

So even though I was warned when buying te Impulse that it could be prone to overheating issues, I've just never ever experienced it!

 

And old bikes like the Impulse love cold crisp night rides, and normally after such rides, I barely feel any heat coming off the engine.

 

Well? Do keep us updated cos I'd 75deg is the normally running temperature, I'm definitely not feeling it.

 

 

Here's a shot just for the fun of it

[JJM15]

I went to the bike shop that replace my spark plug on Sat PM and told the guy my concern. I had rode for 15 minutes from my home to Ubi. He use a contactless temp sensor to check my radiator temperature and it was about 75deg C. He comment that the Impulse is like the S4, the radiator fan rarely comes on be'cos the radiator temp rarely exceed the cut-in temp. Not sure if I believe him totally.

 

Went home and connected it directly to the battery and the fan does spin. It makes a loud noise and I'm quite sure I should have hear it if it spins when I'm riding (at least if I stop at traffic light).

 

Since I took off the tank, I also check if the water pump is working. The water in the radiator is flowing when the engine is idling. So the water pump is fine.

 

So maybe the temp sensors are not working. I notice there are 2 of them.

Or maybe the mechanic is correct; i.e. the fan rarely comes on as the cooling is good!

 

Just to share, having ridden the Impulse for almost a year now as a daily rider, I've never experienced the heat some super 4 spec 3 riders complain about. Never. And I've ridden in the hottest parts of the day sometimes.

 

So even though I was warned when buying te Impulse that it could be prone to overheating issues, I've just never ever experienced it!

 

And old bikes like the Impulse love cold crisp night rides, and normally after such rides, I barely feel any heat coming off the engine.

 

Well? Do keep us updated cos if 75deg is the normal running temperature, I'm definitely not feeling it.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]309100[/ATTACH]

 

Here's a shot just for the fun of it

Edited July 29, 2014 by JJM15

[w7_lee]

Your headlight is white? Legal ?

[JJM15]

Your headlight is white? Legal ?

 

Hah, it's quite orange-y in real life. Must've been the settings of the picture

[w7_lee]

Why never spray your helmet to match your bike color?

[w7_lee]

Hi guys.

 

I have 1996 gsx400 impulse(gk79a).

 

have anyone can tell me how much the valve clearence or send me the workshop manual,please?

 

[email protected]

 

Thanks.

 

Since your email address is tw, I assume you are in Taiwan.

Try using the Bandit manual, it should be a close match (or I think somewhere in this forum, someone mentioned before).

 

In S'pore, it is also difficult to find the manual for Impulse. This model is also very rare here now.

Mine is also gk79a, 1997

[JJM15]

Why never spray your helmet to match your bike color?

 

I guess it's because I want attention to be focused on the Impulse, not on myself. Either ways, a blue and white helmet would be wayy too flashy for my liking.

[pufferfis]

Hi guys.

 

I have 1996 gsx400 impulse(gk79a).

 

have anyone can tell me how much the valve clearence or send me the workshop manual,please?

 

[email protected]

 

Thanks.

 

perhaps you can downloAD the bandit manuals from these sites....i saw there is gsx400 manual in both websites...but apparently it is the earlier air cooled model gsx400f models from the years 1981 to 1984

 

http://www.manualedereparatie.info/en/categorii/suzuki.html

 

 

http://www.carlsalter.com/suzuki-service-manuals.asp

 

hope these helps...

Edited August 4, 2014 by pufferfis

[battlefairy]

Since your email address is tw, I assume you are in Taiwan.

Try using the Bandit manual, it should be a close match (or I think somewhere in this forum, someone mentioned before).

 

In S'pore, it is also difficult to find the manual for Impulse. This model is also very rare here now.

Mine is also gk79a, 1997

 

Hi.

 

yes, i am Taiwanese.

 

thanks for information.

[w7_lee]

I am still trying to troubleshoot my radiator fan issue.

 

According to the schematic I got below, there are 2 fuse; 1 before the ignition & the other after the ignition.

The left fuse should be OK since my ignition operates fine. So I think there are 3 possibility:

1) the fuse after the ignition is kaput

2) the thermo switch is kaput

3) everything is working fine but the temperature is not high enough to trigger the fan to run

 

Easiest way would be to check the fuse. Anyone knows where is the fuse box?

 

If the fuse is still OK, then maybe I will 'jump' around the thermo switch.

Thanks.

[S750WP]

I am still trying to troubleshoot my radiator fan issue.

 

According to the schematic I got below, there are 2 fuse; 1 before the ignition & the other after the ignition.

The left fuse should be OK since my ignition operates fine. So I think there are 3 possibility:

1) the fuse after the ignition is kaput

2) the thermo switch is kaput

3) everything is working fine but the temperature is not high enough to trigger the fan to run

 

Easiest way would be to check the fuse. Anyone knows where is the fuse box?

 

If the fuse is still OK, then maybe I will 'jump' around the thermo switch.

Thanks.

 

I think the fuse box is behind the side small panel, can't remember if its left or right side.

 

For point 3, you can start and warm the bike for 10-15mins (mine also took very long), the fan should turn on if the thermo switch is working fine.

 

If your thermal switch is not working you can tap a switch in parallel with the thermo switch, which is how I do the fan switch mod, for manual control to turn on the fan.