no idle, engiine dies..

[elektron]

hey all -
 i've had my gs500 for a little over a year now. I mostly just shaZam! around on it in town, although earlier this summeri took a long road trip to san francisco and las vegas (from chicago). got 17,000+ miles on my bike. anyway, recently it's not idleing right. it just dies. this started happening quite recentlly and seems to be worse when it's raining out. i tried pulling apart the carbs and cleaning them but it didn't help. any ideas ?

thanx for your time.

[Pkaaso]

Just curious, but are you using the idle adjust screw underneath between the float bowls.

After a bike runs hard, it usually needs to have the idle udjusted up a little.

Oh, by the way....

Welcome to the board.

Paul

[The Buddha]

My bet is...sucking air...wd-40 around the carb manifold area when idling...turn it up to keep it running..and look for whitish smoke in the exhaust.
Cool.
Srinath.

[scratch]

Rainy, cold, overcast weather tends to lean out carburetion, that's why old Triumph, BSA and Norton owners ride in the early morning when the air is cold and dense. Cold air usually means a denser air charge with more oxygen in it, more oxygen means more power for those old bikes.

Maybe after a long ride the idle screw has loosened.

[elektron]

than for the welcome    .

i've tried adjusting the idle up, but then after the bike warms up, it's apparent that the idle has been raised. i also pulled apart the carburators and cleaned the jets and stuff with carb and choke cleaner. i do have oil leaking out my sidecover gaskets . ordered gaskets to replace them with, wonder if that has anything to do with it.. thanks for the suggestions.. i'll get in the garage in the next couple of days..

i love my bike ...

[Pkaaso]

It's not uncommon to mess with the idle adjust screw several times during a ride.

I mess with mine for a while after I start it.  Once it warms up, it seems to stay where I put it.

Paul

[scratch]

Assuming everything is fine when you put your carbs back together. Valves not closing? You got gas in the tank? Petcock/fuel selector in the on/res position, try prime and run it.