07 gs 500F Sluggish

[CaptainKyle]

Hello all I have an 07 500 F that was hit in the front any way I bought it that way & put new fork tubes on it. Heres the problem the carbs were dirty so I cleaned them just with spray cleaner & it still ran the same so I figured I missed something so I took them back off & took them completely apart & soaked them in carb clean for 2 days & put it back togather & it stilll runs the same it starts right up & will idle all day long & when you give it gas its not bad but still sluggish I adjusted the TPS & it did not help any what it seems like to me is the timing is staying retarted & not advancing thats my last guess at this point if any one could help I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks,Kyle

[lawman]

You were hit in the front... did you take a look at all your cables and cable adjustments?

Other than that, I'm guessing you have a plugged jet.  Did you adjust your mix screws at all?

When you soaked the carbs, did you soak the rubber parts... not a good idea.

[lamoun]

I believe you probably disturbed the float height.

Check it http://www.bbburma.net/FloatHeight.htm,
and if it's off limits adjust it http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Maintenance.FloatHeight. 

[CaptainKyle]

Float height is fine  I did not soak any rubber parts I have rebuilt god knows how many carbs & can get air through every passage in these carbs All cables & adjustmens look good to the best of my knowledge. I dont have a manual on this bike so I could be missing something small.

[bill14224]

If you have a timing light you can check to see if it's advancing.  Since the bike crashed it's very possible it's an electrical problem or some sort, or simply time for a new battery.  Weak battery = weak ignition = poor running as rpms increase.

[mach1]

what octane gas you using

[lawman]

what octane gas you using

...  That is the Ockham's Razor question, and I can't believe I didn't think to ask it...

[scratch]

Is the airfilter clean?
Are the carbs seated properly?
Are the vacuum caps on?
Were the little o-rings under the caps present?
Is the vacuum pickup hose to the petcock in good condition?

Try spraying some WD40 around the outside of the carb boots, and the caps, while the bike is running and see if the rpm's increase.  If the rpm's increase you have air leaking in.

[joshr08]

so many questions and i olny have one to add........anyone anyone.......what do your plugs look like?

[CaptainKyle]

Okay I guess I left out a few things bike only has 1200 miles on it plugs look great 93 octane gas carbs seated good vacume caps are on little orings are there & bike has a brand new battery. At this point my best guess is its electrical & timing is not advancing I will have to get a timing light & check that Oh & air filter is clean. Thanks for the input & any more is deffinately welcome.

[joshr08]

that could be your problem.  93 oc is to high for the gs and doesnt run good on it.  87 oc is all you need try draining and putting 87 in it and see how she runs.  put your TPS back to stock spot as well.  if im correct all the tps does on the gs is adjust the timing and by moving it you may have changed the timing a bit.  but all and all my guess is at only 1200 miles you just not burning the fuel good enough.  and one more thing seein that youve done god knows how many carbs your letting the COLD blooded gs warm up fully before your tryin to give it gas right?  how many washers are under your main needle?  may want to through a washer on each needle to a bit better warm up.  wiki has all the numbers for you if you wanna check that out as well. 

[CaptainKyle]

Thanks again i will change the gas. I had a suzuki tech give me the specs on where the TPS is supposed to be set & its set at stock specs the onle reason I checked it was I knew the bike took a bit of a jolt. I am letting the bike warm up I took it out & rode it about 5 miles after I let it sit & run in the drivway for about 15 minutes. I did not count the washers it  has whatever it comes with stock this bike has no modifications.

[bval]

 Have you checked the valve clearance? How long since they were last checked? This is very important and can make a big difference in how the bike performs.

[CaptainKyle]

I have not checked valve clearance the bike only has 1200 miles on it so that should not be an issue.

[gsJack]

Give it a quick finger in the hole cold compression test.  If it blows your finger off the plug hole when cranked it's not the valves.  I doubt it is anyway.  Valve clearances increase greatly as engine warms so a valve would have to be way off to be affecting it when hot.

What's your basis for comparison, the GS500 is not a powerhouse by any standards.  Does it respond on the street?  Are you getting the somewhat cold blooded GS warmed up although they aren't as bad in that regard since 01-02 models as older ones were.

[CaptainKyle]

No it does not respond on the street it just more like boggs down as soon as you put it under a load I have rode other GS 500s thats my comparison. I am really leaning towards a timing issue right now I just need to have a chance to look at it.

[bval]

You might be surprised how the valves can affect things. I've had to check/adjust mine 5 times in the last 2.5 years on my '06 GS500F and they're due again. (but I'm almost at 50,000km). The first time, they were out more than I would have expected, which surprised me because the bike didn't have much mileage on it. But during the third check/adjustment I did something incorrectly and didn't realize it. I spent a ton of time pulling carbs on and off, checking electrical, etc. But in the end, it was valve related. The main symptoms were: difficult to start in even slightly cold weather, idled roughly (worse when using the choke), bogged down on acceleration at highway speeds which was more pronounced at higher elevations.  

I finally broke down and bought a $35 compression tester and did a quick compression check on it which takes about 15-30 minutes and is done externally with the fairings off by replacing the spark plug with the tester. (there is a bit more to it than that, but not much) It's quick and easy. One cylinder was quite a way out of spec. I put a squirt of oil in the cylinder and retested, but that didn't change anything which it told me it was probably not rings related (there were no other signs it was rings either, but again, it's easy to do this check) and more likely to be valve related.

So, I pulled the valve cover again and very carefully did another valve adjustment. Bingo! Started like new, had tons of compression and power, pulled in every gear and ran smoothly at idle. It's been running fine for a good while now. However, the bike's due for a major maintenance and I'm starting to notice similar symptoms creeping back again. So I suspect an adjustment is required but I'll do a compression check again first, just to see if that indicates anything like it did last time.

I wouldn't assume that because it's failrly new and low mileage that the valves can't go out. Every bike is different and I was surprised how much mine needed adjusting in the first year. In the second year and a half, it seems to have settled down a bit. As GSJack alludes, it's easy to do a compression check, but I'd suggest either getting it tested by a Suzuki mechanic, or getting a compression tester. They're handy to have in the toolbox and you don't need an expensive one. Just make sure you get one that has an adapter to fit your spark plug thread. If you need instruction on doing the compression check, I can copy that section for you out of my Suzuki shop manual and email it to you. If you check and it's got good compression, then you haven't wasted much time or money ruling that factor out with more certainty.

[mach1]

Did you already change the gas? It may not seem that big a deal but once it put 89 octane gas in my gs and if started to lack power and feel real sluggish. The gs has a weak spark and a gas like 93 is used for higher output engines not for our lil twin your not burning all your fuel. Run your bike and do a plug chop and smell your plugs or just smell behind you can if its a free flow. Valves shouldn't be much of a problem at that low miles but yah never know I guess.

[CaptainKyle]

I changed the gas this morning but still the same. I have a compression gauge & will check that & to be honest if the valves are that far out at 1200 miles I will fix it & sell it I am not keeping any thing that the valves need adjusted that much even though I know how to do it.

[joshr08]

did you drain fuel bowls on the carbs?  how far did you run it?  if you just drove it around the block and didnt drain the float bowls you were still on 93 gas.....