1997 carb rebuild?

[DerekNC]

I just bought a 1997 GS500E Saturday night, on a whim unfortunately. The bike is going to need a few things done to it to get it legal and running well. I haven't gotten any time at all trying to run the bike because it does not carburate well. It is fully stock except the idle mixture caps have been drilled out so someone has definitely messed with the carbs. Here's a few of my observations...

1.The bike will not start or run in the choke position no matter how cold it is outside. It always starts with the choke off. When it warms up for about five minutes the idle suddenly surges to 4000 rpm and hangs, giving it a little choke brings it back down.

2. I started it today in 40 degree weather and it would only idle and backfire through the airbox, all the time unable to handle any choke.

3. It appears the carb is leaking around the outside edge. I'll have to look into it more to pinpoint it.

4. I don't know if it will make any difference but the stock airfilter is not screwed to the airbox, it's just hanging there.

So I'm considering the best and most economical way to fix the running problem. Ebay has the carb rebuild kits for $37 but I'm sure I will need something else as well. If the weather warms up this weekend I'd like to pull the carbs and just have a look.
Is there anything to watch out for pertaining to the bad running condition I'm experiencing now?  
Would it be more economical to send the carbs to Srinath to have them sorted out?    
This is my first true streetbike but I had an '87 Xt350 dualsport  around 1990. I'll have to retake the motorcycle endorsement because it was accidentally deleted last time so this bike needs to run really well. Thanks to everyone's help.

Derek

[The Buddha]

OK A rebuild kit is mainly for carbs that are leaking, especially at the float gasket ... otherwise its not worth it buying a kit ... why ... the other O rings in the kit are generics ... autoparts store will sell you most of them for $5-7 ... Float veelde and seat are useful, but never seen them wear out.
Your carbs sound like they need cleaning and rejet. 125/40/1 washer/3 turns ...  cant miss ... under $20 for the parts and your saturday (OK might be frozen and shitty but useful for doing carbs ) should be plenty to get it sorted out ... Yours is simple ... nothing too complicated ...
Cool.
Srinath.

[DerekNC]

Thanks for the quick reply Srinath. I'll try to see what I can get accomplished this weekend. If it seems to be well over my head I'll send them down your way to have them worked out. The only carbs I've ever worked on was an XR75 carb and also model helicopter carbs. I'll keep you updated on everything. Thanks.

Derek

[The Buddha]

Well 2 stroke carbs are a lot different ... these are pretty simple anyway ... Yea and you mentioned the air filter and the leaking ... those should be fixed too ... just didn't want to repeat ... anyway paper filter can be sloshed in gas and reused 3 times or more ... Lets see after 3 ...
Cool.
Srinath.