Bike shut off on fwy! what can i do??

[substudio]

Just like the title states.
1993 Suzuki GS500e
24,xxx miles
ridden bike for 215 miles since purchased

I was coming home from a memorial day ride and made my way onto the freeway.

As I merged onto traffic I brought my bike up to speed and around 75-80mph I noticed the bike just shut off!

I pulled onto the side of the road to see if i might have run out of gas and although it was low it was still enough to get me home.
I walked the bike for a few hundred feet and was able to start it again and when i merged onto the freeway the bike quit on me again...

Next day:
I left the bike overnight at a gas station and got a ride home from a friend.
I checked the carburetor and noticed that the vacuum fitting cap was off.
-I replaced the vacuum cap
-sprayed the carbs with carb cleaner (float bowls had accumulated rust at the bottom)

with all that done I've had not luck getting it to run.

I have been able to get it to start up on full choke but it only goes up to 2,500 rpms

Any ideas on what I can check??

Thanks.

[wreckhog]

Drain the gas, clean the carbs, change the plugs, yadda, yadda, yadda.

[Toledo Jim]

get gas

[mach1]

buy a new motor



























JK
check for vac leaks first if that passes then clean the carbs adjust flot bowl height and add new gas. that doesnt work its a long shot but clean out your fuel lines or just replace them. or take it to a shot and have some high school dropout take a look at your gssr

[beRto]

get gas

+1

Before trying anything else, fill the tank. When the GS tank is empty, it still looks like there is plenty of gas in there.

[ohgood]

get gas

+1

Before trying anything else, fill the tank. When the GS tank is empty, it still looks like there is plenty of gas in there.

+2

Search the forum for 'fuel starvation' also. Sounds like you have a combination (in this one instance) of fuel starvation and/or the crappy design of the gs gas tank. It looks like there is a gallon or so left, but the petcock is mounted too high to pull any in.

Fill the tank. If your idle is all mucked up, use the throttle to start the bike, let it warm up, then adjust your idle screw. It's the big brass looking thumb screw under the carbs. With the bike running (AND WARM!) it's not hard to finger out. Never adjust cold. Or off.

FFR, every time I expect to venture over 50 MPH for more than 20 seconds, I switch to PRIME. No starvation.

Please post the solution in this thread, as some people forget to update things if/when they solve problems. We all learn together

[06GSF]

+3 on the gas!  Does your model have a reserve switch?  I've run out with with over an inch of gas left in the tank.

[ls 64086]

last week mine did the same thing - looked to have 1/4  of a tank. I put a gallon in and it ran 3 blocks. put two more in and i made it to the gas station where I put almost 2 more in. fill that shat up

[dchrist]

sounds like classic fuel starvation. and if you have rust in the bottom of your carbs, you probably have it in your tank.... por-15 time.

d

[ben2go]

The vacuum petcock has a bad habit of crapping out on the highway or at sustained high speeds.Try running it on PRIme.If that solves the problem try these links for a solution.Don't run the bike much on PRIme.The orifice inside the petcock is half the size of the hose orifice.It will cause fuel starvation.

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=19363.0

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=36958.0

[Toledo Jim]

get gas

+1

Before trying anything else, fill the tank. When the GS tank is empty, it still looks like there is plenty of gas in there.

Before trying anything else:
GET GAS!!!!!!
Been there, done it, got the t-shirt. ($75.00 For the Tow truck!!!!  )

[substudio]

I will try to set the pet chicken to Prime.

I was normally running the bike on Prime but decided to set it to ON.

I had a weekend mechanic inspect it a few months ago and discovered a vacuum leak from a missing vacuum hose on the left carb.


As far as fuel goes I will add 2 more gallons.
Note:
-when I had first purchased my GS I used "Yamaha fuel tank cleaner" it cleaned most of the tank but still left some fragments of rust inside.
-I added an inline Fuel filter.
-Newer plugs
-valve adjustment
-carbs balanced
-new fuel grade (clear) fuel lines

The weekend mechanic noticed that the smaller jets were clogged up and made a few attempts at spraying and poking them clear.
-I'm thinking of replacing the pilot jets with new stock ones.

I had drained both float bowls and noticed the right carb had less fuel than the left one.

[Toledo Jim]

How far have you gone since last put gas in?

I have a 93 also and had exact same thing happen, called a tow truck which took it to a shop, they tried to start it and when it started right up the mechanic took it down to the corner gas station and filled it up.

They were laughing so hard at me that they did not even charge me for the gas!!! 

Trust us when we tell you that looking in the tank and seeing it appear to be half full when it is empty is quite common!

Jim

[ohgood]

I will try to set the pet chicken to Prime.

I was normally running the bike on Prime but decided to set it to ON.

I had a weekend mechanic inspect it a few months ago and discovered a vacuum leak from a missing vacuum hose on the left carb.


As far as fuel goes I will add 2 more gallons.
Note:
-when I had first purchased my GS I used "Yamaha fuel tank cleaner" it cleaned most of the tank but still left some fragments of rust inside.
-I added an inline Fuel filter.
-Newer plugs
-valve adjustment
-carbs balanced
-new fuel grade (clear) fuel lines

The weekend mechanic noticed that the smaller jets were clogged up and made a few attempts at spraying and poking them clear.
-I'm thinking of replacing the pilot jets with new stock ones.

I had drained both float bowls and noticed the right carb had less fuel than the left one.

If your bike was parked on the sidestand, that's normal. The centerstand will give you a better idea of your float height for both carbs.

[substudio]

actually i had been running the bike in the RESERVE position.

im going to fill the tank up with at least one more gallon of fuel

[beRto]

actually i had been running the bike in the RESERVE position.

im going to fill the tank up with at least one more gallon of fuel

I think RES provides about one gallon; if you only put in this much (from empty), you may not get past the RES outlet in the tank.

http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Main/Fuel

The easiest thing to do in this situation is to fill the tank... 

[Toledo Jim]

ridden bike for 215 miles since purchased

215 miles / 4 gallons of gas = 53.75 mpg.

GET GAS ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !       .   

[Toledo Jim]

btw: If you have started changing all those other things you were mentioning since this problem came up, you may have to undo those changes to get the bike back running again.

ALWAYS try the simplest, least destructive, possible solutions first, for some strange reason, most of the time they seem to work.

Jim

[substudio]

I should also note that a similar thing happened to me when I came exited the freeway on the way home a few weeks ago.

I was braking and around 35 mph it shut off on my again.
The exit was close to a gas station and thought that I had simply run out of gas or just stalled.

When I opened the gas tank I noticed that it was half full and proceded to fill up the tank anyway.
It wouldn't start right up so I walked the bike for half a block until it started up.

I thought I had stalled it on the off ramp.

[beRto]

I should also note that a similar thing happened to me when I came exited the freeway on the way home a few weeks ago.

I was braking and around 35 mph it shut off on my again.
The exit was close to a gas station and thought that I had simply run out of gas or just stalled.

When I opened the gas tank I noticed that it was half full and proceded to fill up the tank anyway.
It wouldn't start right up so I walked the bike for half a block until it started up.

I thought I had stalled it on the off ramp.

If you run out of gas, your carb float bowls will be empty and the bike will not start again. You need to turn the petcock to PRI for a few seconds to allow fuel to flow into the carbs with the engine off. Then you should be able to start the bike again.