Motorcycle Repair: Suzuki GS500E, faulty side, fuel drain

Question
hey man, my motorcycle is having trouble, since I bought it from a private seller. when i first got it it would start up alright, and then i started having problems, and had to jump start it. we had it running and it was going pretty good then it all of a sudden turned of, we got it started a few more times and gave it some gas to rev the engin, and then it just flickered off and shut off imediatly.

Answer
Rufus,

it sounds like you may have a couple of problems
going on, first one is the battery needs to
be good and fully charged to get a good
spark from the ignition.

-You may have to check the charging system
when you get it running. Should have about 14
volts at 3000 rpm.

-Stick a good plug in the wire and see if the
spark looks okay.

-secondly it may be having fuel problems.
If it starts when you spray some wd40 or
carb cleaner in the carbs, then you need
to check the gas tank, fuel petcock valve and
possibly clean the carbs. Fuel can varnish
carb jets quickly if the bike is not
run daily or at least weekly.

-add some fresh fuel, drain the carbs
and make sure you have spark.

-I believe the ignition is electronic
and expensive to repair. It may
be a loose connector, bad kill switch
or faulty side stand or clutch switch if
fitted. These all have to be checked
for continuity with a multimeter
or bypassed for testing.