I am pretty new here, but I gotta say something. . . . .

[ejudasf]

I finally got my GS runnig.

I actually rode it around the block a few times.  More like a figure 8.

Mine is a '94.  Given to me by my younger brother.  Has been garaged since 2001. 

First day in my home, jumped started, and ran it for about 2 minutes. 

Put it in my back yard and half assed washed it.  Found this website, and read.  REad till my eyes bled.  moved the bike into my garage. 

Seriously, thanks to the info on this site, I followed some simple suggestions, like cleaning the carbs and using a tiny dab of 2-cycle engine oil.  The first time I tried cleaning my carbs, it didn't run right.  The second time, I used the oil, and I was really thrilled that the bike ran perfectly.

Did I mention PERFECTLY.

Funny thing about the battery.  Battery was in storage since 2001.  I put some dead-car -battery acid into the little battery, and it was now able to hold a charge (somewhat).   I noticed, if the bike was in gear, the start button would not function.

FAST FOREWARD a little, I went to AutoZone to look for a new battery.  Found one, but the 'over-flow' is on the opposite side.  The Battery with the nipple on corect side would have cost me $79.00.  I got this one for $40.00 total.

Charged the new battery for over 10 hours. When I thought I was finally done with everything on the bike, I tried it.  Could not believe how smooth this thing purrrrs. 

Can't wait to make the bike look good for pix.

laterz guys.

ed

[Yev]

Welcome 
Good to see that your excited about fixing up the bike and all.

[scottpA_GS]

Awesome! Welcome to the Forum 

Cant wait to see pics 

[ben2go]

The start button not working while in gear is a valuable safety feature.
I'm bad to park my bike in 1st gear so it doesn't roll.
It's saved my forgetful self many times.
         

[dgyver]

...
 I noticed, if the bike was in gear, the start button would not function.
...

Only when the side stand is down.

[The Buddha]

The $40 battery is available at walmart for $30, and its been posted on one forum or another atleast going back to 1998. There is also a sealed battery side ways trick that several people have implemented in the last few years.
With the battery you got, make sure you dont park too much on side stand. Confucius say :- Drain being on wrong side = acid on your swingarm.
Cool.
Srinath.

[mikesgs500]

The $40 battery is available at walmart for $30, and its been posted on one forum or another atleast going back to 1998. There is also a sealed battery side ways trick that several people have implemented in the last few years.
With the battery you got, make sure you dont park too much on side stand. Confucius say :- Drain being on wrong side = acid on your swingarm.
Cool.
Srinath.

Congrats on getting your GS going, I have had my '04 GS500F for about 2 months now and I've put about 1,200 miles on it so far (it had about 9k miles when I bought it) and I'm loving it.  Mine was having problems starting sometimes if it sat for a while and a new battery did the trick for me too.  In the time I've had mine I replaced the battery, replaced a practically new tire that picked up a screw, replaced the rear brake pads that were almost to the metal backing, changed the oil (whilst dealing with a stripped oil drain threading), tightened and lubed the drive chain, and installed ProGrips... so everything other than the grips has just been normal maintenance or bad luck. 
I replaced my factory battery with one from a local Advance Auto parts (IIRC, it is an "autocraft") that had the drain hose on the wrong side.  I haven't noticed any leaking from the hose and I always park on the sidestand.  It appears that there is enough space between the fill line for the battery acid and the top of the battery that the battery isn't tilted enough to dump acid when parked.  This is just my experience and observation, others may vary.