Idling issues?

[Toogoofy317]

Lately I've been having a bit of an issue with my baby. First, it seems like it takes forever to warm up. Mind you I live in Fl (although we did hit 41 night before last) usually by the time I get my gear on helmet, jacket, and gloves he's ready to go. But lately I have to turn on full choke and sit another few minutes. The idle screw was adjusted a bit and the  problem seemed to get better. The past few times esp. at night the throttle gets all weird for the first several miles it will be real sluggish then all of sudden surge up to 6,000 rpm and lurch forward then going sluggish it will do that for about 15 minutes then clear up. It can be quite unnerving when in stop and go traffic because it feels like the bike is going to plow into the back of a car.

So, what could be the culprit? Could my bike be that cold  blooded?

Mary S.

[beRto]

Lately I've been having a bit of an issue with my baby. First, it seems like it takes forever to warm up. Mind you I live in Fl (although we did hit 41 night before last) usually by the time I get my gear on helmet, jacket, and gloves he's ready to go. But lately I have to turn on full choke and sit another few minutes. The idle screw was adjusted a bit and the  problem seemed to get better. The past few times esp. at night the throttle gets all weird for the first several miles it will be real sluggish then all of sudden surge up to 6,000 rpm and lurch forward then going sluggish it will do that for about 15 minutes then clear up. It can be quite unnerving when in stop and go traffic because it feels like the bike is going to plow into the back of a car.

So, what could be the culprit? Could my bike be that cold  blooded?

Mary S.

Hi Mary,

When were the valve clearances last checked?
Have you had any previous problems with carb blockages?

[The Buddha]

Yup ... and intake leak too.
If all else fails or rather passes, rejet to a nice +1 config.
Cool.
Buddha.

[Toogoofy317]

I've not done valve clearances or rejetting(never had carb issues). I bought the complete maintainance package from the stealership hoping for the first five years of my bike me not having to deal too much with it since it was my first bike! Do you think this stuff would be covered? It is a 2004 with 8,000 miles on it. I enjoy working on stuff but moto's are still very new to me! I will pass on your ideas to my friend who knows a lot more about bikes than me!

Thanks,

Mary

[beRto]

I've not done valve clearances or rejetting(never had carb issues). I bought the complete maintainance package from the stealership hoping for the first five years of my bike me not having to deal too much with it since it was my first bike! Do you think this stuff would be covered? It is a 2004 with 8,000 miles on it. I enjoy working on stuff but moto's are still very new to me! I will pass on your ideas to my friend who knows a lot more about bikes than me!

Thanks,

Mary

Since you were happy with the performance of the bike before encountering idle issues, I wouldn't consider rejetting. You should be able to fix whatever is "broken" and get the bike back into its original condition.

You can easily check for air leaks by spraying starting fluid around the carb intake boots and listening for a change in the engine speed. I think WD-40 should work also. A search should turn up several useful threads.

The Suzuki maintenance schedule says that the valve clearances should be checked every 4000 miles.
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Maintenance/MaintenanceSchedule

Since the bike has 8000 miles and the valve clearances haven't been checked, I would suggest looking at them. If you have a complete maintenance package, I would think this routine maintenance would be covered - you will have to confirm with your dealer.

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out