Just got my new GS, and I'm having some problems

[Tyrant171]

Well, I picked up my 1997 GS500E on Saturday, and I've still yet to ride it.

I'm not incredibly knowledgeable about bikes, so I'm hoping that you guys can maybe give me some tips on what the problem/problems may be. When I got the bike home I started it up after a few tries and it seemed to be working fine, then I shut it off. I had to go drop off a trailer so I returned about an hour later and tried it again. No dice. It would almost sound like it'd turn over, but then you'd just hear the battery clicking away....obviously the battery wasn't pulling it's weight. I called the guy I bought it from and he told me to jump the battery. I did. The bike started up (with the choke on) once I gave it a little throttle. I let the bike just run for about 3-4 minutes with the choke on to warm it up (he said the bike had been sitting for about 2 months before I bought it), and then the RPM's started to drop and the bike died. Ever since then, the bike will start if I jump it with my car, and even for a few times after I charge it up, but no matter what I do with the choke or how I keep revving it, the bike always dies.  I called the guy I bought it from and he said that he thinks it's because there is moisture in the fuel lines. He said to keep it revved without the choke on once I get it started and to try and ride it around to get the moisture out if I can. He also said to put "Heat" in the tank to get the moisture out if I really wanted to. But, the problem with that is that it's damn near impossible to keep the bike running to do anything with it. He said he had the same problem when he got it from his friend.....but I dunno.

So, that's the first problem. The second problem is that, after I had been trying to start the bike up for the first time, I went to park it in my garage and, by a logic-defying feet of my own stupidity, I thought the kickstand was down and the bike ended up falling on me. It never hit the ground, but more just slammed into my leg, however, it was pretty horizontal for a moment. Ever since that incident, the bike has been leaking gas. The little overflow tube or whatever it is near the bottom of the bike keeps leaking and the bike is leaking gas from somewhere near the engine from the bottom of the bike as well. It's really odd because it seems like when I turn the fuel valve to the off position it leaks, but when I turn it to ON, it stops leaking. I dunno if anything I said about this problem made any sense, but try to decipher my ramblings the best you can. :p

Anyway, I really don't know where to turn about any of this. My friend's dad has been working on bikes his whole life, but it's been very hard for me to get a hold of him. I'm just hoping that someone here can give me a little bit of insight. It would be greatly appreciated.

[dgyver]

Start with cleaning the carbs and put fresh gas in.

[milo]

I thought the GS doesn't have an OFF position for the petcock? Maybe you're turning it to PRI and it's leaking (which would make a bit more sense)? But then I have an '01 model, so maybe the '97 does have an OFF position...

[Tyrant171]

Actually, you're right, it's not OFF, it is PRI. What does PRI mean and what does that position do?

Okay......well, the tank was completely empty when I picked the bike up, so all the gas that's in it now is fresh. You think cleaning the carbs would help?

[Tyrant171]

Oh, I also maybe should've said that the guy I bought it from had recently re-jetted the bike, if that makes any difference.......

[treybrad]

OK, PRI bypasses the vacuum needed to get fuel into the carbs, it uses gravity whereas ON and RES use the engine's vacuum. It shouldn't leak in any position... First thing I would do is check the float height. See Kerry's website: http://www.bbburma.net/FloatHeight.htm (go ahead and read the whole site... you'll thank yourself)

I bet the floats are set wrong. If they're set too high they can cause the bike to leak, usually through the airbox I think. Pull your plugs and see if they're carbon fouled or if they're nice and brown/tan...

Why did the PO rejet? Is it all stock or do you have a pipe/air filter? When my floats were set too high I left it on the PRI position one night.. next day the bike ran like crap and stunk of gas. Was really hard to start that morning and I probably rode 10mi before I felt like it was acting normal again.

If the bike has only set for a couple months since it was jetted/cleaned, chances are they aren't gummed up, but if you have to reset your float height you'll be in there to check and see...

Anyway, congrats on the new bike    Check your float height and go from there.

trey

[Tyrant171]

Yeah, he re-jetted because of the pipe/air filter. It has a K&N air filter now. I pulled the spark plugs yesterday and they were very fouled up.....deep black. I tried to clean em in a plug cleaner, but they were still pretty bad and that didn't make much of a difference.

I'll try checking the float height, though. Thanks man!

[treybrad]

Well.. if the plugs are fouled that bad, it leads to the same conclusion in my head... float height is way off. Check the floats and let us know.

Does it just have a K&N or K&N and exhaust? Is it the K&N in the airbox or a pod style that replaces the airbox? If it's the pod... I don't think anyone has ever gotten it to run right w/o upgrading their exhaust in some way...

trey

[conflicttheorist]

I'm going to second what dgyver recommended- Put fresh gas in.  If the bike hasn't been run in a few months, it will not run with the gas that is currently in the tank.  remove one of the fuel lines if you want to let gas flow out, reattach wnen empty, and then put in new gas.  Cleaning carbs is recommended, but try the gas first since it is easiest.  Also, charge the battery with a bike battery charger.  Your bike can't charge a battery with the alternator like a car can, and it is bad to jump the bike with an overpowered car battery.