[322170]

I'm thinking about buying a 2001 GSXR1000 however the owner said that the tachometer was acting funny and then all of sudden it quit working as well as the speedo however the shift light etc.. does work

My question is do these K1 clusters generally go bad and entirely quit working or is it more probable to suspect a wiring issue?

I can purchase a rebuilt K1 cluster off of Ebay and if it fixes it great but if not then what do you think the issue could be?

My main concern is that mileage on this bike is unknown however it does run and seem to drive fine with no issues.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Tinsnips]

The cluster doesn't really do anything except show information. The bike will run fine with out it. Corrosion on the main plug at the harness has been a common problem. If you do purchase it, I would start by cleaning that up before buying a replacement cluster. I'd take the gamble and use the cluster to reduce the purchase price.

 

[rv6john]

^ What Tinsnips said.

It sounds like the cluster just lost power. The neutral and high beam lights are separate from the operation of the cluster itself. They are really just indicator bulbs with their own separate wiring.

Did you note if the headlights were doing anything funny? The common issue with the main plug that Tin mentioned is the single ground wire (black/white striped) connector that serves the cluster and all the lights in front.

 

[airhead83]

This may seem a uneducated question.. But I've noticed that electrical system problems appear to be the GSXs 'weak link'. Am I mistaken on this? Maybe it's just so many bikes are still in use after many miles and many years.

 

[rv6john]

This may seem a uneducated question.. But I've noticed that electrical system problems appear to be the GSXs 'weak link'. Am I mistaken on this? Maybe it's just so many bikes are still in use after many miles and many years.

It seems like Suzuki did not source the best R/Rs, and maybe stators, from 2004 to about 2008 from what I see. They did have a recall on 2008 R/Rs as I remember. So everyone knows a friend who's brother's friend knows someone that had a GSXR that needed an R/R or stator.

Clouding the issue more is a bunch of cheap Ebay Chinese parts that failed quickly and of course that makes Suzukis suck. And making it more complicated is the improper/faulty replacement of parts causing premature failure and sometimes engine damage in the process.

The two pretty common issues are:
1) The connector between the R/R and the stator gets hot and melts. It is a high current connection and age and corrosion will cause heat and failure. I'm not quite sure this can be blamed on Suzuki.
2) The single ground connection in the big connector between the all the nose electrics and the main harness. I do think this is not a good design. The connector is buried in an area where it gets wet and probably stays that way awhile and over 10-20 years, the contacts corrode.

I guess there is a third common cause and that is crap wiring workmanship adding accessories (lights, alarms, power suppies).

.

 

[airhead83]

Thanks and Good to know. I doubt my GSX250R has anything resembling the electrical needs of it's big sisters. But, my Suzuki dealer's 'lead mechanic' balked at adding a pair of Denali LED running lights, and wiring them into the lighting system so they could be dimmed and 'flash-to-pass' along with the headlamps. I installed them anyway, the mechanic wired them in per Denali instructions, and they work fine. Thanks again for the reply.

 

[billv]

With regard to the OP, there are two connectors between the main and forward harnesses that are near the right lower triple clamp and are notorious for going bad. A common scenario is that the ground contact fails and the entire front end goes dead. The problem is their location and them not being sealed. Suzuki moved them to a single connector with a shroud on the left side in later years but it wasn't until K9 that they switched to a sealed connector and solved the problem. You'll sometimes see a gigantic kludge where someone has rigged jumpers around the connectors (not good). So check the connectors before doing anything else. Corsa Technic sells the contacts. Identify the bad ones and carefully file them until they'll come apart without damaging the wire. Afterwards apply dielectric grease to slow down future corrosion. If the cluster is actually the culprit, BlueGauges may be able to fix it.

 

[Weapon6]

This may seem a uneducated question.. But I've noticed that electrical system problems appear to be the GSXs 'weak link'. Am I mistaken on this? Maybe it's just so many bikes are still in use after many miles and many years.

I've had my 2002 GSXR 1000 for a long time and it is almost 20 years old I haven't replaced a thing other than tires, brake pads, bulbs, ignition switch, fairings, spark plugs. So if there is a weakness in this bike I sure haven't seen any. The thing is a tank and I ride it more than my 2013 GSXR 1000 and my Kawasaki ZX6R.