2001 GS problems

[scratch]

Lugging is where the engine has to work harder than it has to.  This is by riding under 4000rpm in any gear but 1st. 

Warm up on a properly jetted bike: 1 minute; 1 minute 30 seconds when it's cold out.
Full choke for no longer than 1 minute, gradually, or slowly, bumping the choke off.  Do not occationally rev, unless you're going to hold it there for a while.  Revving and chopping the throttle is bad for the cams, as oil delivery is interupted when you chop the throttle.

[Kaizer]

That sounds good. That means I should let the choke rev itself up to 4000 rpm? I should then slowly ease the choke up to starting position and let the engine idle at 1000 rpm? So is it then okay to slowly rev up the engine up to 4000 or so rpm while it is in neutral to make sure that it will work? What else are major bad practices that I should not do for this particular model? Thanks!

[John Bates]

...........................
What exactly does LUGGING the engine mean? ..........................

Lugging is when you try to accelerate and the engine feels powerless and the bike lurches.  It's because the selected gear is too high and presents too much load for the engine to overcome. This can occur in any gear when the bike speed is too low for that gear.  It can also occur when going up a hill and the hill overloads the engine.

There are two solutions to lugging:

1. Downshift
2. Let off the throttle, stop accelerating

What is the proper warm up procedure? ............................................

It's in the Owners Manual:

"Immediatly after the engine starts, keep the engine speed at 2000 rpm by varying the choke lever position."

"Move the choke lever to the OFF position approximately 30 seconds after the engine starts. It may be necessary to use the choke longer than 30 seconds in extremely cold weather."

[Kaizer]

Tried the manual way of starting, HOWEVER, it will only go up to 1500 rpm. Is that bad? What is wrong with it? It starts okay, and takes less than a minute to idle at 1000 rpm. Also, does anyone know when the valves for the carbs need to be adjusted? How often do I need to check them with a dyno to make sure the mixture of fuel and oxygen is 14:1? The previous owner said he rejetted them not too long ago, so when do I need to adjust them? I took it to him today after having it for over a month, and he said everything was fine. I have not seen the engine lug, and I am being very careful to be going at least 4000 rpm per gear. I noticed that at the 30 to 35 speed limit, 3rd gear is best. 45 mph then 4th gear. Above that, 5th and 6th. Does that work?

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

You're thinking too hard about this shifting thing. Just ride it. Best rule of thumb is to be at 5K revs or more in any gear, cuz that's where your powerband starts. That way you can roll on, no matter where you are and have power to dodge/accelerate/whatever. Nothing worse than rolling on and getting a nice bog where you wanted power. THe carbs don't have valves. The engine does. Engine valves should be checked/adjusted every 4K miles.

[OhDot]

I don't know where you live KAIZER but in Canada I find that my K2 GS takes long to warm up even in the 30 degree (celcius) summer days.  I end up riding with the choke partially open for the first 5 minutes or so with uneven running until it is warm.  Then I push the choke in and it smooths out well.  I haven't upsized my jets like others suggest in other posts but I think if this cold start thing keeps up I will have to. 

If you are having huge problems you may want to find out if the previous owner upsized the jets or if they are the stock ones.  That might be part of your warm up problem too.

[Kaizer]

That is what the previous owner said. He upsized the jets himself and had everything adjusted. I guess I will go about 4k before I have a valve adjustment. So far, so good. I live in Florida, so sorry for you Canadians. However, it gets in the 20s here, so that is when I will have to take my time to warm up the bike. Also, is it normal for the back tire to lose up to 4 psi over 1 week? The front tire is fine. We checked it for leaks, but none are apparent. Any suggestions?

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

4psi per week... if it's not being ridden much, I guess I could see that. I mean, there is a reason why we're supposed to check our pressures before every ride (I need to buy another pressure gauge.. lost mine.. dangit)

[Kaizer]

Yeah, I check the pressures pretty often. The front tire is fine, the rear just seems to lose a bit every time. I ride almost daily, so could it have pinched itself on the rim or something like that? I don't see any puncture marks on it. How much would it cost to have the tire checked by a mechanic? What is the lowest pressure that it can get down to and still be okay to ride? I know the IDEAL pressures are 33 psi for front and 36-41 for back. One more thing, how long are tires good for when they have good tread and no cracking? Mine are 3-5 yrs old. There is some slight fine crack lines on the front tire, but nothing on the rear. Let me know. Thanks!

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Honestly, at more then 2psi below normal, the bike will start feeling funny (at least, mine does. I get headshake, etc). As for tires that are 5 years old.. honestly, in Florida, I wouldn't trust em. I've lived almost my whole life in Naples, and I know what the sun does to rubber. I say dry rot is too scary. Your bike, your tires, your decision to trust em or not. But honestly, when you can get a new set for $130 or so (for NICE sport demons), I don't see why you wouldn't. Tires are the contact patch between your bike and the road. Which is way better than the contact patch between you and the road. (Been there, done that, got the bruises)

[Kaizer]

OHhhh. What does dry rot look like? How often do I need to replace the tires in Florida? Unfortunately I don't have a garage, so I put a waterproof cover over her day and night.  I know extreme temperatures can do more damage than anything else to tires. If I keep losing air in the rear so frequently, I will have the set replaced and start from scratch. Same thing with the oil. It hasn't been changed in 7 months, but has less than a 1000  miles on it. It looks okay and the level is fine, but how often should I change it then? Let me know. Thanks.

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

My rule of thumb for oil changes is every 3K miles or 3 months, whichever comes first. YMMV. As for the tires.. ehh, if it's under a cover, dry rot won't be AS bad. You could always ask a tire place to look at em (don't know how honest they'll be).

[Kaizer]

That is true. I had two mechanics look over the bike.  To be honest with you, I think they were lazy and I was too anal retentive, so they said, hell, ride the crap out of the bike until it falls apart. That is why I got a used, previously crashed bike. It has its love taps, but runs fine. I will ride it over by a shop and see what they say. How far is Naples from Gainesville? Just curious. Also, the bike was garaged the entire time the previous owner had it, that is why the tires seem okay. Not sure what the first owner did to it. As for the oil, I ride about 4 miles or so a day. Short commutes. That means more frequent oil changes. Another thing one guy told me is to check the oil when it's cold because that will give you a true estimate of how much oil is there. I have checked it both warm and cold and it seems fine. What do you think?

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Naples is roughly 3.5-4 hours south of Gainesville. It's pretty much the same spot as Miami, but on the other coast. Another thing to look out for with those short commutes is your battery. Your charging system won't put out peak voltage until about 5.5K RPMs, and realistically, I think we decided that the bike should be running at or above 5.5K for like 15 mins to keep the battery in tip top shape. You may want to look into a trickle charger. As for the oil, I've always checked mine warm, same as on my car. That's just my $.02

[Kaizer]

Wow. Didn't know that. Oh, BTW, the coastal cities are worse for bike wear and tear. Sea air and salt and the roads wear out tires more because of ground up seashells. Read that somewhere. So I guess that means I have to ride in lower gears to build up the rpm in order to do as you say. But the engine sounds like it wants to die? Hmmm. Kinda hard to do around this college town. Have to stretch her out on some country roads for 15 min or so at least on the weekends. How often should I be doing that for the battery? Realistically, I ride in a 20 mph zone in 2nd gear most of the time. My daily commute. That sucks, but will have to do if I can't ride longer and farther and faster.

[John Bates]

Tried the manual way of starting, HOWEVER, it will only go up to 1500 rpm. Is that bad? What is wrong with it? .........................

Sounds like the choke needs adjusted.  But 1500 rpm for warm up is probably ok, especially in Florida.  It's only slightly less than the recommended 2000.

I wouldn't worry about it unless it takes too long to warm up and reach normal idle which is 1200 rpm.

[John Bates]

................. is it normal for the back tire to lose up to 4 psi over 1 week? The front tire is fine. We checked it for leaks, but none are apparent. Any suggestions?

The rear tire definitely has a slow leak.  You should get it fixed or replaced.

 

[John Bates]

....................... As for the oil, I ride about 4 miles or so a day. Short commutes.

For normal riding change the oil every 3500 miles or 12 months, whichever occurs first.
Changing more often is a waste of money and oil.  Changing less often allows contaminents to build up.

Severe conditions, if any of these are your normal conditions:

1. If the engine never gets fully warmed up
2. If the ambient temperature is always extremely hot
3. Extended idling like a taxi cab
4. Trailer towing or mountain driving
5. Continuously driving on dusty or deiced roads

require shorter oil change interval.

............Another thing one guy told me is to check the oil when it's cold because that will give you a true estimate of how much oil is there. I have checked it both warm and cold and it seems fine. What do you think?

The temperature of the oil doesn't matter.  What matters is that you want any oil that's in the upper part of the engine to drain to the bottom so that you measure all the oil.  If the engine is hot from just being ridden, wait  a minute or two for the oil to drain down.  If the bike has been setting and the engine is cold that's fine too.

When you dip the stick to measure the oil, don't engage the threads of the cap.

Keep the bike vertical when making the measurement.

[Kaizer]

Thanks for the info. I will get the tires replaced because I am tired of refilling the rear tire every week. One guy told me to put a thin layer of vaseline all around the rim on both sides and see if that works. Since the tires are several years old, I think that would be best. Hate to eat pavement due to blowout. What BRAND of tires do you recommend? I heard borelli's are good. One more thing, WHERE did you read that the battery needs to be run and recharged on 5.5 rpm for 15 min? Where is the guideline that I need to keep each gear around 4000 rpm? I am usually in this range anyway, except 2nd. As for the oil, what BRAND do you recommend? Do you recommend synthetic or non? Some say use the suzuki or the castrol or mobil one. Oh, and what IS a fully warmed up engine? How can you tell? I leave the choke on for 30 sec to 1 minute. It goes to 1200 rpm usually after that. Also, it is always hot in Florida, so I assume that less than 3500 would be best.

[ducati_nolan]

To figure out where your tire is leaking, inflate it a little bit above the recomended ammout, say 45-50 or so (let out the excess air before riding though) and then take a spray bottle with soapy water and spray it on your tire. Little bubles will form wherever it's leaking.

As for the oil, this always starts big arguments, but I'd say that with your short rides, and the oil not getting fully up to temperature, it's best to change the oil more often. At least every 6 months, 3 months is best, but maybe unnecesary. The ocasional long ride is good for it too, it will let the oil get nice and hot for long enough for the water and fuel that accumulate to evaporate.

As for the oil type  everyone has their opinions and favorite brand, but as long as it dosen't say 'energy conserving' on the API stamp you'll be okay. For you I think it would be better to use a cheap oil and change it more often than to use a more expensive fully synthetic oil and not change it as often. Others will surely disagree so whatever. 10W40 weight though.

As far as the engine being "fully" warmed up, that means the oil and cylinders and head is all the way up to temperature. It only takes a minute or two of idilig before it's warmed up enough to ride, then it takes a few minutes before it will ride really smoothly, and then a few more minuted before it's "fully" warmed (then it's okay to beat on it) up then it takes a few more minutes for the fuel and water vapor that accumulates to evaporate out of the oil. So in just a couple of miles the oil will get partially warm, but not enough for the water and gas to evaporate, and in fact more will accumulate. Thats why your short trips require more frequent changes, going on a long ride (20 minutes or more) every week will help.

The Guideline about the 4,000 RPM, isn't written anywhere but you'll find out with experience that it works better and rides smoother. Also the alternator won't put out full output untill 5.5k or so, so your batt may run down over time. Trickle charger, or your weekly 20+minute ride will help with that.

Good luck