n00b with his first GS500... and a vacuum hose question

[SixSpeedSquirrel]

Hey guys! I am stoked to have picked up a GS500 rcently. This is my second bike, my first was a Honda Nighthawk 250, and I really like the additional power of the GS! It feels like such a solid bike, and I like that it is lightweight and air cooled.

Anyways, it's a 2001, and I got it for only $1400. I think the seller (a father selling it for his son) let it go so cheap because it's been sitting for six months and has high idle issues. But the bike has very few cosmetic issues, and Pirelli tires.

I took apart the carbs this week and they looked really clean (for a bike with 15,000 miles, especially). I thought I might find some clogging or something that would contribute to the idle, but no such luck. Now after reading a lot on the forums, I am pretty sure that I solved the idle issue by adjusting the idle knob when the bike was fully warmed. It will take a few more days of riding to determine if this worked.

I didn't readjust my throttle cables correctly... again, reading on the forum helped me figure out my mistake. There is too much slack in the cables right now.

So on to my question... it concerns the vacuum hose that goes from the right carb to the petcock. I cannot figure out how to route this hose, other than running it over the top of the airbox and then down onto the petcock vacuum port. Is this correct? I did a quick search (and read the How-To fuel hose routing page), but was not able to find my answers.

I plan to take the carbs back off this weekend and release my mixture screws from captivity, and adjust them a bit richer. Then I will tighten the throttle cables back up and I will have one happy bike!

BTW, this forum is great. I have learned a lot of info just from trolling. I hope I can get 50k miles or more out of this bike, with the help of the forum. 

My GS500 is the same year and color (roughly) as my Mazda Miata... so my life is in harmony. I will post pics as soon as I get a chance!

[laserred97gt]

Welcome to the site!

All resources I have found show the petcock vacuum going to the LEFT carb.  Not the right. It would be the left one, as you are sitting on the bike and looked down at the carbs.

Here is a diagram:
http://gstwin.com/images/how_to/fuel%20hose/www_gs500_de_HoseRouting.jpg

and a diagram from the microfiche:

http://houseofmotorcycles.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/assets/schematics/Suzuki/SU0084_013.gif

Check these out ans see if it helps...

[SixSpeedSquirrel]

That is interesting... I actually had trouble removing the little rubber cap that is on the left carb vent, so I just left it alone while I was cleaning the carbs. I could switch the two tubes if I really thought it would make a difference, but I can't imagine it affecting the bike much since one is plugged and the other is vacuumed.

[arbakken]

for some reason, and it's difficult to find anyone who has information on it, it seems that a few 01's get their vacuum from that right carb. Mine is that way also. Any parts fiches or diagrams here won't show it, but mine doesn't have that nipple on the right side of the left carb like it is 'supposed' to

[ohgood]

welcome to the forum, looks like 2001 is a good year for you.

looks like you've already been answered

[SixSpeedSquirrel]

Yeah my GS is oficially fixed. Adjusting my idle while fully warmed up has cured the high idle. But one of my mirrors is now sagging... I realize its an aftermarket mirror put on by the previous owner. I will either replace it with something else aftermarket, or pick up some SV650 ones.

I love this bike 

I promise I'll get pics soon.