Sick GS500E :(

[lx]

Greetings,

A bit of background - I'm new to motorcycles, and this is my first bike. I had some work done by a shop in SF(valve adjustment, tune-up), and they reported some wierd behavior. They said that after the valve adjustment, the bike was very hard to start and was getting poor compression, but after they rode it for a while, the power came back, and it seemed to end up ok. Wierd, but allright.

Fast forward a few months and one wreck later, and the thing seems to be deteriorating a bit. It started re-developing a tick in the engine, becoming more and more difficult to start when cold, and making a few heavy clunks when warming up.  A couple of times, it's lost power when starting from a stop, even after warmed up.

I took this to a more reputable shop, they found a couple things that needed correction. They also told me that the valves looked right, and engine tick and clunking during warmup was normal for these bikes - is this true? They seem convinced the bike runs great, but they didn't have to start it when it's cold and foggy...

The problem starting hasn't gone away, unfortunately. When it hasn't been in the sun, it complains quite a bit, and sometimes won't start at all. When it does, I have to coax it quite a bit twitching on the throttle. If it's a hot day, the thing kicks right up. The occasional power loss still seems to happen, but I suppose this could be attributed to me doing something wrong with the amount of throttle I give it.

Can anyone give me some pointers as to what might be causing this starting difficulty/temperature sensitivity? I'm at my wits' end, and as much as I like the gs500, I really can't throw much more money at this bike.

Thanks,
david

[JasonB]

Do you use the choke when you start up the bike? Sounds like normal cold blooded GS behavior.

[Rashad]

Perhaps its lean (if its stock, then it definitely is) so swap in 40 pilots and see if the cold starting prob gets better. Also, you might want to shim the needles with one or two washers.

If you dont have a clue what im talking about ( I didnt when i first came here), im talking about the carbs. Your pilot jets control idle and startup... low speed etc. And the needles are midrange. These bikes are lean from the factory (US version) so they take forever to warm up with stock jetting.

[Cal Price]

I know all about cold and foggy, south coast of England. I think "clunky" is normal. The handbook says when starting, no throttle, use choke,  and keep it at 3K revs by adjusting choke for about 30 seconds before engaging first gear. It worked for me.