My GS-gonna shoot it

[BaoQingTian]

I just bought a 92  GS500E last week.  It needed the carbs cleaned.  I did that.  I just got my parts in yesterday, since the rubber grommet that connects the carbs to the intake disintegrated when I took the carbs off.  Replaced that.  Changed out carbon fouled spark plugs.  Viola! started right up today with choke on.

Problem #1: The idle was too low.  I adjusted the screw until the idle was about 2K with choke on.  Unfortunately the RPMs took off to about 4 or 5 K after a few seconds.  What could cause this?  After I take choke off, RPMs do settle down.

Problem #2: It idled ok, a little weak in my opinion.  However, as I took the choke off and increased RPMs to about 3 or 4 K, it was kind of slow in responding and there would be little 'putts' coming out of the exhaust.  I assume these were minature backfires. 

Problem #3: I'm out riding it to the gas station a mile away, and it dies on me.  I can't get it to start, and then the engine won't even turn over.  Just a loud clicking sound.  I'm assuming the battery is too weak to start the bike, although headlights, etc do work. 

So after pushing it home 1/2 a mile I checked the plugs.  A little bit of carbon with a little white spot.  Also, my oil smells like gasoline (although that may be from flooded and leaking carbs before I cleaned them. 

Any help would be much appreciated, I'm so frustrated with that bike right now   I've got a lot of good info from the search button, but I just feel kind of stuck.

[makenzie71]

Problem #1: The idle was too low.  I adjusted the screw until the idle was about 2K with choke on.  Unfortunately the RPMs took off to about 4 or 5 K after a few seconds.  What could cause this?  After I take choke off, RPMs do settle down.

What causes that is you're dumping fuel into a warm engine.  If it settles down with the choke off then nothing's wrong.

Problem #2: It idled ok, a little weak in my opinion.  However, as I took the choke off and increased RPMs to about 3 or 4 K, it was kind of slow in responding and there would be little 'putts' coming out of the exhaust.  I assume these were minature backfires.

Likely burning the "cobwebs" out.  Don't look at a weak idle or small pops as problems until you've put a few miles on her.

Problem #3: I'm out riding it to the gas station a mile away, and it dies on me.  I can't get it to start, and then the engine won't even turn over.  Just a loud clicking sound.  I'm assuming the battery is too weak to start the bike, although headlights, etc do work. 

Yeah, battery.

So after pushing it home 1/2 a mile I checked the plugs.  A little bit of carbon with a little white spot.  Also, my oil smells like gasoline (although that may be from flooded and leaking carbs before I cleaned them.

Should have changed the oil before riding it.

[ambisinister]

You will more than likely still have lights that seem normally bright while being viewed in the daytime even if the battery is to low to start the engine. Get a cheap volt meter and read the positive battery cable before you try to start it and check it while you're trying to turnit over. It should have 12 volts min. before youtry to start it, and shouldn't drop any further than 11 volts while starting.

If you get it to start, check voltage while running, it should read anywhere between 12.5 to 14 volts Good luck

[mondo27]

#1 the choke on the gs is touchy. so jumping to 4-5k sounds normal
#2 i would rejet(stage 1) and change all the old crusty fuel lines. is your tank clean (no rust)? if not, all that rust could block your gas flow.
# 3 sounds like a bad battery

i had the same problems only my tank was so rusted that the only thing keeping it together was paint. but a rejet should improved throttle response. i'm no expert but thats what i would do.

[pantablo]

they got it covered pretty well so I wont add crap to their comments. welcome to the site and congrats on your new bike. I'm sure you'll enjoy it a great deal once its up and running like a top.

[shadyray]

I agree on the dirty fuel feeding in... but if he just cleaned the carbs and the tank IS throwing crud into the float bowls... that should affect choke and no choke.

So how about valve clearances?  Being such a picky little bike any way I wouldn't be supprised if that is the idle and running problem.

Starting?  sounds like the battery just like everyone else said... the fact that it wasn't charged enough after idling and riding? We'll see.

[scratch]

Welcome!

#2 Carburetion - size 40 non-bleed type pilot jets; pull the brass plugs over mix screws and seat lightly and then turn out 3 turns each.

#3 out of gas, and drained battery, make sure fluid level is up on battery, distilled water.

[BaoQingTian]

Is it ok to change the oil without warming the engine up first?  Or will it be so thick it won't want to come out?  Could gasonline get into the oil from a flooded engine?  What kind of problems would that cause? (not that I'm looking for an excuse to not change the oil-I just want to see if the small backfiring, hesitation, failure to rev over about 3K while in gear could be explained by gas contaminated oil).

[LimaXray]

You should warm up your engine changing the oil if possible.  This helps ensure you get as much of the old oil out as possible. 

I'm no GS expert, but I'd guess it would be possible for the gas in a flooded engine to work its way past the rings into the crankcase.  I do not think contaimated oil would cause those problems.  The engine running problems can probably be fixed by trying what previous people suggested.  Maybe you should check your float height? That seams to be a common problem people have with rebuilt carbs 

[tussey]

I just bought a 92  GS500E last week.  It needed the carbs cleaned.  I did that.  I just got my parts in yesterday, since the rubber grommet that connects the carbs to the intake disintegrated when I took the carbs off.  Replaced that.  Changed out carbon fouled spark plugs.  Viola! started right up today with choke on.

Problem #1: The idle was too low.  I adjusted the screw until the idle was about 2K with choke on.  Unfortunately the RPMs took off to about 4 or 5 K after a few seconds.  What could cause this?  After I take choke off, RPMs do settle down.

Problem #2: It idled ok, a little weak in my opinion.  However, as I took the choke off and increased RPMs to about 3 or 4 K, it was kind of slow in responding and there would be little 'putts' coming out of the exhaust.  I assume these were minature backfires. 

Problem #3: I'm out riding it to the gas station a mile away, and it dies on me.  I can't get it to start, and then the engine won't even turn over.  Just a loud clicking sound.  I'm assuming the battery is too weak to start the bike, although headlights, etc do work. 

So after pushing it home 1/2 a mile I checked the plugs.  A little bit of carbon with a little white spot.  Also, my oil smells like gasoline (although that may be from flooded and leaking carbs before I cleaned them. 

Any help would be much appreciated, I'm so frustrated with that bike right now   I've got a lot of good info from the search button, but I just feel kind of stuck.

Hey I wish you well on your journey to fix your bike. One of the things that attracts me to gs500e is how easy they are to work on. They can be high maintenaince bikes but by fixing them and getting them to run properly you will develop a strong bond between you and your bike. So treat your bike with TLC, it knows when it's not loved. 

[3imo]

on that note. keep us updated. I love this stuff.

**change your oil regardless of temp. it don't make that biag a diff and yess a flooded chamber will allow fuel to get into the engine.

**also stay close to home until the "cobwebs" are thouroughly cleared up.

**oh yeah, try washing the bike. it might be phsycological but I think it helps the bike run better. 

[BaoQingTian]

What could make the bike run so rich that I get carbon fouled plugs after about 10 minutes of idling and 5 minutes of riding?

Also, the bike is the california model.  I live at 4500 feet above sea level.  Could the jets on the carbs be the problem?  Or should it be able to run fine regardless of the different altitudes on stock jets?

[Oni]

I seriously doubt it's your jets.  I'm in Reno and running stock jets.  More likely your float height or idle mixture is off.  My idle mixture is set between 1&1/2 and 2&1/2 depending on which bike.  Three turns out is definitely too rich at 5000 ft.  Happy to do what I can to help you.

Hit me up if you want to ride some time.

[BaoQingTian]

Are you talking about the air/fuel screw or the big idle screw that I can turn with my fingers?

[Oni]

Air/Fuel on each carb.