Suzuki Impulse GSX 400

[w7_lee]

Ah... OK no worries.

Will give it thought & decide if I should check/fix it (if extending) or ignore it (if scrapping).

[fietty]

Hey guys I just recently bought an Impulse. Is there anyone here still riding this fella? Thought it'd be nice to meet you guys!

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3010 using Tapatalk

[w7_lee]

I'm still riding it but COE is due in 6 weeks time.

Planning to extend it but have not decide if for 5 or 10.

[fietty]

I'm still riding it but COE is due in 6 weeks time.

Planning to extend it but have not decide if for 5 or 10.

 

Ah alright. It's sad if you're scrapping it. I just recently did major work on the engine plus other wear/tear and cosmetic parts. They are still in production and lead time from Japan is usually 2-3weeks thereabouts.

 

PQP has dipped a lil in the recent months. Perhaps it might be a good consideration for renewal.

[w7_lee]

Mind if I ask :

- who's doing up your bike?

- what are the work you are doing to it?

- how much it cost?

 

Yeah, PQP is dipping but my budget is 3K (4K max), so at this amount, I can only renew for 5 years.

Will be waiting for the result this Thursday, then I will have to renew before end of Oct.

[jtabuyan]

hi,

 

please... anyone does know the link to download a MANUAL for Suzuki gsx 400 impulse gk79a ?

 

or email me please: jtab18@yahoo.com

 

I did checked into this link but - gsx 400 impulse gk79a is not on the list.

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

 

 

thanks a lot!

Edited October 19, 2017 by jtabuyan

[w7_lee]

Google for Bandit manual, it is about the same.

[w7_lee]

Rode to CCK last night from Bedok using PIE, BKE and KJE. Was on the expressway most of the time.

At CCK, had to stop at traffic junction and realize both my Temp & Oil light was on. But they go off when the bike is moving.

 

Was there for 2.5hrs and before starting, felt the engine block and it was still warm. Engine starts fine and all was OK as I stop at the junctions in CCK. Use the same route back to Bedok. Again, after exiting the expressway, the Temp & Oil light are on whenever I stop at junctions and goes off when the bike is moving.

 

I left the engine idling after I park, Temp & Oil light comes on. In neutral, I rev the engine lightly and they goes off. Did a quick check and I believe the radiator fan was not spinning.

 

Anyone had similar experience?

[jtabuyan]

Google for Bandit manual, it is about the same.

 

@w7_lee Thanks...

 

I am about to compare the gsX 400 impulse gk79a and GSF 400 bandit Starter Motor.

I will replace my defective impulse starter motor with the gsf 400 bandit parts. Thanks again

Edited October 23, 2017 by jtabuyan

[w7_lee]

I check my bike yesterday and found that my radiator was low on water/coolant. Check the reserve reservoir but cannot see the water level. Since the radiator is low on water, I assume the reservoir is empty too. Top up the radiator and hope the Temp & Oil light coming ON will not appear again. Will have to monitor further.

 

Also check my radiator fan (connect directly to battery) and it is working.

 

I had posted before to ask if anyone knows what is the actual capacity of the Impulse's petrol tank. The last few years that I been riding, I had to switch to reserve whenever I travel 150km (from full tank). I have no idea how much is in reserve, I normally top up asap (usually within the next 10km). And when I top up the petrol, I only fill-up between 7 & 8 litres. Since my mileage was at 150km now, if I were to top it up, it would be 7 to 8 liters.

As I was removing the tank yesterday, I decided to find out the mystery. I drain the petrol tank and and it fill up a 3 liter container. There was still petrol in the tank but I think it is less than 1 liter.

 

So there's about 3 liters of petrol left after switching to reserve.

[w7_lee]

Updating my above post....

 

Finally took my Impulse for a run last night and went straight to top-up petrol. Fill up about 8.5 liters to full tank, so with the 3+ liters that I collected on Wed, the tank capacity looks to be 12 liters (include reserve).

 

Rode for more than 30 minutes and the Temp & Oil light did not come on last night, so it looks like they appeared last week due to low radiator water. Will have to check it more often.

 

But my radiator fan did not come on. Could be the weather was cooling last night. Will have to monitor this.

Edited October 29, 2017 by w7_lee

[fietty]

Mind if I ask :

- who's doing up your bike?

- what are the work you are doing to it?

- how much it cost?

 

Yeah, PQP is dipping but my budget is 3K (4K max), so at this amount, I can only renew for 5 years.

Will be waiting for the result this Thursday, then I will have to renew before end of Oct.

 

Hey man. Sorry for the late reply.

 

The bike is done with HKL bukit merah.

Major works done or replaced were camshaft, rocker arms, pistons, water pumps, carb floats and manifold, wiring harness, reboring, etc. Nothing done below the block. Cost about north of 2k.

 

Btw. Full tank on the impulse is about 15l. I usually hit reserve at 220km

[w7_lee]

No worries. I extend by COE for another 5 years, so I can use it till Oct 2022.

 

Strange you have a 15 liter tank, I guess maybe the tank design have variation.

[w7_lee]

New entry for me, just to keep a log for whoever still riding this model

 

Jan 2018 - replace my spark plugs cos one (at least) had 'kaput'. Symptom is when I give more throttle in second gear, power is not there. Had the replacement done at Ubi and change to Iridium. Mechanic confirm that 1 of the plugs was dead and he did comment that such an old bike, maybe the carburetor could kill the spark plugs prematurely. I accept this reason.

 

Power was restore with the new plugs.

[w7_lee]

26 Mar 2018 - rode from east to NUS. For some reason, it was 35 deg C at the east and was raining like crazy at the west. Was caught in the rain along west coast flyover. Put on the raincoat and continue riding. Had a lot of side splash during the ride in the rain. It was still raining on the way back (to east) and again, along west coast flyover, it was sunny again. At Bedok, realize the bike lacks power and exhaust sound different. But was still able to make it back.

 

30 Mar 2018 - Tried to start the bike, it start but will die off when idling. Suspecting my plugs are wet, I took of the tank off and check. True enough, one of the rubber cover of the plug still has traces of water (after 5 days). Remove all the plugs and clean them with WD40. Tested the plugs individually and all are firing. Re-assembly and did a short test ride in the carpark. All's good.

 

31 Mar 2018 - was planning to bring it for inspection but it won't start. Tried with the down slope ramp and still don't start.

Check the voltage of my battery and it shows 11.5V. Borrowed a battery charger from a next block neighbour (riding an S4) and brought the battery voltage back to 12.7V (full charge according to the charger). Install the battery onto the bike and still it don't start.

 

Google a little and it mentioned that voltage should not drop below 9.6V during cranking. Check and mine went down to 7V. So maybe the battery is faulty; CCA is likely to be very weak.

 

Not sure if my spark plug cleaning shorted something or kill the battery. Ignition fuse is still good.

Going to have to get a new battery and try it out. Hopefully I did not damage anything during the plugs cleaning.

Edited April 7, 2018 by w7_lee

[kaiq]

Bike won't start - check fuse and battery first.

[w7_lee]

Tried to jump start the bike from the car battery last night. And still it don't start.

Again, it make a single click sound & nothing happen.

 

Check the 10A ignition fuse and it is OK. Notice another assembly below the fuse box; open it and saw 2 nos of 30A fuse inside (this is probably the master fuse box). Remove them (1 was tight in the fuse holder but the other slide out freely).

Visually check both and they are OK too.

 

It was almost 10.30pm and decided call it a night. After putting everything together, decided to give it a crank.

This time, the bike came alive...

 

Took it for a quick ride around the neighbourhood. The exhaust make a farting sound and bike wants to die off when idling.

From past experience, it's a faulty spark plug (but they were just replaced with iridium type in Jan).

[w7_lee]

Check with a multimeter last night. Both 30A fuse are OK.

Also discovered that only the 30A fuse on the outside is in use.

The other fuse (inside) is a spare because there is no metal part in the fuse slot.

 

 

Bike still start fine last night except for the original problem from last Friday (starts but die off when idling).

[w7_lee]

Check the bike again last night and it started fine but engine still die off when idling.

 

Notice a sucking sound from the engine area (louder when listening from the left side). While giving a slight turn on the throttle just to prevent engine from die-off, listen more attentive and it was coming from around the petcock area. Initially thought that my vacuum line to the petcock was not properly connected but end up realize that it was coming from the vacuum port on the carburetor. Check the other 3 carburetors and they all had a cap, only the first carburetor on the left side was missing a cap and air was being suck in. When I put my finger to cover that port, the sucking sound was gone; engine idles better and don't die-off.

 

It might have came off when I was riding..... now to find where to buy the vacuum inlet cap.

[w7_lee]

Got the vacuum caps from Suzuki Motorcycle, a few dollars a piece. Now the impulse is normal.

 

For now, can only conclude the 'lost' cap cause the lost in power. Symptom is similar is to faulty spark plug except engine dies off more easily.

But cannot explain why the impulse won't start. Going to replace the battery and (hopefully) use it till the 5 year COE expire.

 

PS: Suzuki Motorcycle was formerly Guan Hoe. They've moved to Kaki Bukit.