idle problem

[gulliver]

hi ive just bought a gs500 year 2002 with 20k on the clock and when i went for a test ride last saturday the guy at the shop upped the adle speed before i went out when the engine was cold,anyway when i got back the engine was racing so he re-adjusted it and said the carbs needed balancing-i went and picked up the bike today and the guy said he had done a couple of items that he promised ie sorted out the carbs ,mot etc anyway he started the bike and re-adjusted the idle and said that the bike has been standing for a couple of weeks and once its been ridden it it may need just tweeking up so i took it for about a half hours ride and when i stopped at junctions etc the engine was racing at about 3500 rpm so i took it back to the shop and told the guy i wasnt happy with it and he assured me that after he re-adjusted the tickover once more it would be ok ,i have told him that i will try it for a couple of days and if it dont improve i will be backing the bike to the shop and want my money back as im not prepared to keep upping the tickover when the bike cold and backing it off when its warmed up i am going to see how it runs tomorrow when cold ,im fairly new to bikes but have ridden a couple of these bikes during my rider training and they were fine ,i like the gs but would be grateful for any advice as i dont want to have to spend a fortune at a later date sorting this problem out especially as i bought it from a long established bike shop and they should be able to sort the problem out which make me suspicious that maybe it needs new parts and may cost loads and thats why its been left ,any help would be appreciated as if im going to return it im going to do it at the wekend
thanks paul

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

idle should be set when it's warm. If your dealer set it when the engine was cold, he's a retard.

[gulliver]

hi thanks for the reply ,what he did was increase it when it was cold to keep the bike running without choke ? and then set it once it was warm,but i get the feeling that it will need upping again when cold

[Toledo Jim]

Set the idle when warm, use the choke when cold.

Again:
Don't set idle when cold, use the choke.

Warm means at least after fifteen or 20 min ride. (You should be turning choke down as it warms up. Mine takes about 2 min at 50 f, before I have choke full off, but the bike is still not really warmed up.)

[brett]

The idle should be set so that the bike runs around 1200 rpm once it is properly warmed up. This is done with the idle screw under the tank. If the idle is set properly, you will need to run the choke when the engine is cold. The choke is located on the left handlebar. The choke provides you with a richer fuel-air mixture, which is needed for starting up and running the bike while the engine is cold. This is normal, and riding with the choke on is ok. As the engine warms up, just make sure to back off the choke so the rpms don't go way up.

PS - Never go back to that shop again, the guy is a moron.

PPS - Congrats on the new bike!

[CO_GS500]

Ditto above, my beast (2002, stock but for stickers) needs every second of that 20mins to be really, truly warmed up.   On cooler days I'll even ride with a little choke for a few miles to keep it happy at stops.  Until it's really warmed up, I have to spin it up to at least 3,500 and then slip, slip, slip the clutch to pull away from a stop sign.  I might mess with the pilot circuit someday...

FWIW, mine is also VERY picky about fuel age - two weeks with no riding since filling the tank and it's a but fussy, three weeks and I'll transfer the tank into my wife's car and re-fill it.  Idle speed control/consistency is my most common problem, but keeping +/- fresh gas in there keeps things pretty content all around.

Have fun, and let us know how it runs after some exercise and some fresh gas.

[scratch]

I set the idle when warm, and then use the throttle to keep rpm's up until it's fully warmed up.
Edit: Oh yeah, and I only leave the choke on for a minute.

[gulliver]

hi all thanks for the replies - just to update you i came home tonight and went to start the bike which has been parked in my garage overnight and all day today .when i parked it last night the tickover was fine with the engine hot so i gave it some choke and it started and ran at about 4000rpm and i could not get the engine speed down ie everytime i tried to ease off the choke the bike wanted to die,eventually i got the choke off but when the bike revved it takes a long time for the revs to go bck down when the throttle is released ,as i said before this is my first bike but im fairly competent on cars and this seems to me to be a carb problem - could anybody advise is this just me because id like to know as im planning to take the bike back to the dealers on sat and demand my money back or another bike - if anybody has any ideas what could be the problem at least i would have a better idea of what its poss going to cost me if i cant get it sorted out under warrentee
ps i think there must be a problem as this seems to me the reason why the guy said not to use the choke for more than a couple of mins and had to use the tickover screw rather than the choke to get the bike going
thanks again

[MarkusN]

High idle, going down slowly -> lean, probably drawing air somewhere.

[Jace009gs]

YEA that's a confirmation on a lean mixture!....blip the throttle and the rpms hang up

I'm confused what do you mean by "tickmark"? (the big screw looking thing between the carbs?) The screw looking thing is the idle adjustment.....You should never have to adjust this to get your bike started....


If you paided to have the carbs syncronized see if you can get a flashlight under the fuel bowels and see if your mechanic drilled out the air mixture screws....I find it highly probably that he/she did and dosn't have the air mixture screws adjusted properly. Read this page's How-to's on jetting. Be concerned with the ending part. Pretty sure 99% that re-tuning the carbs will fix your mechanic's short commings....His certification award is hanging on the wall right


A few days should not interfear with combustable gas...However like you said you just got the bike. NEW FUEL WOULD NOT HURT by any means. But like others said it does take 15-20minutes to warm up the engine. Probably 3-5minutes w/ full choke (3500rpm's @ like 40*F) then you can kind of move around with 1/2 choke and sputter away riding knocking the choke down a little bit on your way. Or like scratch use the "lead hand approach" Choke-is the carb's start up mode