Rookie rider on the loose...

[kincaire]

Yes, I am yet another novice biker chick who has absolutely no clue what she's doing and needs all the help she can possibly get.

YAY!! I just got my very first motorcycle, and lo and behold I was lucky enough to get an '06 GS500F! 680 miles when I got it, a few scratches but supposedly never been dropped (although it has been now, I regret to say...). It is a bit quirky, though, and I really don't know what's normal and what I need to look into repairing. So, I'm just gonna have to run through the list of questions and pray I'm not making some poor guru answer the same question for the 100th time. Apologies in advance if I do.

For starters, the choke is a bit strange. Again, never used a choke before in my life so I really don't know how they're SUPPOSED to behave. I live in the West Texan Desert, so its super hot here. Is it normal to have to use the choke for startup every single time I first wake the bike up in the morning, even though its easily 90 degrees on any given day? The choke starts the bike up alright, runs it at about 1500-2000 rpms for a few seconds, then the rpms shoot up to 4000. I turn off the choke, and it runs at a normal idle speed just fine. Judging by what I've read so far on the forum, all is well.

There is something that I think needs attention though: after I get the bike started it runs alright, but every few cycles it will misfire. Doesn't kill it or anything, just a quick misfire and then its on with life. Any clues what I should look into first? There is now about 1100 miles on it, but I can tell it hasn't been treated fantastically well by previous owners. When I first got it both sparkplugs were fouled with dry sooty residue, but since then I've run it around and the plugs firing correctly actually has burned off the grunge, so they look like new now. According to my  parts dude friend my fuel/O2 mix is just fine, not running to much fuel or O2.

Other than that I'm getting to know it pretty well. I absolutely love it though! I want to learn to do repairs/service on my own unless its really delicate work, so I know for sure everything is done right. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

[kincaire]

I read that you're not officially a member till you post pics, so here's my baby 

[Bluehaze]

this bike is coldblooded even in the desert.  i believe we all pretty much have to use our choke unless carbs has been messed with properly.  i think it sounds fine.

welcome and good luck with wrenching on your bike.

[jrains89]

the bikes run very very lean from the factory, that's what is causing the misfire when you first start up, and on stock jetting it will always happen at around 2k rpm if you try to keep the rpm's there. the choke seems like it's an on off thing but it's not, it's just very sensitive and only about a quarter of an inch of the choke actually does anything, just be very touchy. try this, start it up with full choke, and once the rpm's climb, just barely move the choke back till it sits about 3500ish rpm, then let it stay like that for a good minute, this should cut back on the misfiring some. if you want to get rid of it altogether, then you should shim the needles in your carbs with 1 washer, there are some good writeups on how to do this. just ask if you need anything and welcome!!!

[kincaire]

Oh! Here's another little tidbit I forgot to add: I read that this particular bike ought to get 50-60 miles to the gallon. Mine gets 44. Could that be tied in with the misfiring, or is it probably just a rookie rider who has no clue how to run that bike properly? 

I'm also a little confused as to my reserve. I've read the entire owner's manual cover to cover, but it says nothing about how much fuel is in the reserve or how to adjust the amount, if that's even possible. Any pointers from the experts in the back?

[Bluesmudge]

I get about 44 in the city but more like 60 on the freeway, so that  sounds about right if you are just riding around the city like most new riders. Also, short trips will kill your milage because when the bike is sitting and warming up you are getting 0 miles per gallon.

[mister]

I'm also a little confused as to my reserve. I've read the entire owner's manual cover to cover, but it says nothing about how much fuel is in the reserve or how to adjust the amount, if that's even possible. Any pointers from the experts in the back?

The tank holds 20 liters (5 gallons). Reserve is 4 liters (one gallon). So you should Roughly get about 176 miles before hitting reserve.

With the start up routine, I start the bike, make the necessary choke adjustment to sit around 3k, then put my jacket on, attach bag to bike, helmet and gloves. By then, she's good to ride.

Michael

[jrains89]

i got 65mpg on the highway at about 75mph, in town you will get around 40-45mpg depending on how you ride.

[black and silver twin]

The tank holds 20 liters (5 gallons). Reserve is 4 liters (one gallon).

the f models have a larger tank than the older models
my 07 gs500f holds 5.5 gallons. 3.5 in the main part of the tank, 2.0 in reserve. although I think the last 1/4-1/2 gallon is unusable (due to the design of the tank/petcock.) I will usually go 150-170 miles on the main tank, but Ive got quite a few mods so your mileage may vary.

[kincaire]

Awesome advice from everyone Thanks a bundle for all the help. I apparently haven't been letting the bike warm up nearly long enough, so I'm sure that's contributing to some of my issues. I'll give the proper warm up time a chance and see if that helps the misfiring. Yargh!!

[The Buddha]

The largest reason for low gas mileage is high float level.
Possibly yours is a wee bit high. and on an 06 its cos someone messed with it in an attempt to fix it. 89-00 floats wear high, 01+ ones do not.

Cold blooded and misfiring are cos its very lean on jetting.
Have to fix that and set the floats at the same time.

Having said that, I never set anything for gas mileage. I set it to run right, gas mileage is a side effect or not ... your luck in a way.
Cool.
Buddha.

[kincaire]

Yay! First official bike repair done today  . Replaced the brake switch on the handbrake. Not much perhaps, but I'm proud nonetheless. Next project: ensure that its jetted properly and that the float level is the right height. Hoo-Rah!

[Porkchop]

Congrats on your first repair.  Wait till you do you first mod.  It will be addictive.

-Porkchop