First Bike! Guess what it is.

[Nixorrell]

If you guessed GS500, you are correct! 

I just picked up a new '09 GS500F today. I took the MSF BRC 3 weeks ago and now here I am, the proud owner of the machine I deemed to be the best choice for my first bike ever exteeeeensive research.

As you can see, it is the lovely black & grey model:



I'm looking forward to getting to the know the community here. 
From what I've observed, motorcycle-based fraternal bonds seem pretty strong!

Unfortunately I've only put about two miles on it around the neighborhood due to what I think is some strange behavior.
First go around: engine stalls in first while slowing to a stop with the clutch fully pulled in; bike refuses to start a few times.
Second go around: throttle becomes inexplicably unresponsive while driving; bike stalls, refuses to start yet again. Hooray, uphill push.
I've just parked it and let it be, for fear of killing the battery -- more than I surely already have with ~10 attempts -- trying to start even more times.

Battery fully charged, full tank, fuel valve on.. all that stuff. I'll have to call the dealer tomorrow and ask YTF my new bike is having issues after the same day they set it up, the first time I try to ride it.

ANYWAYS I'm glad to be here!
By the way, I'm a grad student in Richmond, VA -- I know I saw one or two people mention they lived here in one of the location threads back when I was lurking a couple of weeks ago.

Take care everyone!

[romulux]

Nice bike -- don't spend too much time figuring out the trouble you're having.  That's the dealer's job now.

But...

Your first issue sounds like the bike isn't warmed up and idle isn't adjusted.  Did you use choke starting it?

Second issue sounds like fuel starvation.  Full tank that shouldn't happen.  Maybe they set it up wrong (misrouted hose, forgot a vacuum line, etc.)

[Nixorrell]

Nice bike -- don't spend too much time figuring out the trouble you're having.  That's the dealer's job now.

But...

Your first issue sounds like the bike isn't warmed up and idle isn't adjusted.  Did you use choke starting it?

Second issue sounds like fuel starvation.  Full tank that shouldn't happen.  Maybe they set it up wrong (misrouted hose, forgot a vacuum line, etc.)

No choke starting it up - I just followed the owner's manual instructions to avoid complications.

The lame thing is I can't really get it back to the dealer on my own since it can't seem to make it out of the neighborhood without cutting off and refusing to start back up -- 4 mile drive with 80% of it on thehighway and a 4-lane main road with many stoplights doesn't sound like a good idea.

Things will work out in the end though - they always do. I have faith.
I still love the bike, despite the short time I got to get moving on it today.

I absolutely can't wait to get that machine rolling around on some actual trips once everything's sorted.

[pandy]

Congrats on your new baby!! She's a beauty!!! 

Ok...this is going to sound like the typical "is it plugged in?" question, but do you have the RPMs high enough when you're first starting out? When you're just starting to ride, it's an adjustment to keep the RPMs high (one trip to the track and you'll find out how much they love the high RPMs!  ).

I don't know your experience level, so this is just a starter question. If you've learned to ride and know how bikes should feel, then yeah...that dealer would be getting questions from me, too!

Again, congrats, and welcome to the (crazy!!!!) family!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[romulux]

Nice bike -- don't spend too much time figuring out the trouble you're having.  That's the dealer's job now.

But...

Your first issue sounds like the bike isn't warmed up and idle isn't adjusted.  Did you use choke starting it?

Second issue sounds like fuel starvation.  Full tank that shouldn't happen.  Maybe they set it up wrong (misrouted hose, forgot a vacuum line, etc.)

No choke starting it up - I just followed the owner's manual instructions to avoid complications.

The lame thing is I can't really get it back to the dealer on my own since it can't seem to make it out of the neighborhood without cutting off and refusing to start back up -- 4 mile drive with 80% of it on thehighway and a 4-lane main road with many stoplights doesn't sound like a good idea.

Things will work out in the end though - they always do. I have faith.
I still love the bike, despite the short time I got to get moving on it today.

I absolutely can't wait to get that machine rolling around on some actual trips once everything's sorted.

I don't have an owner's manual, but I can tell you it needs full choke starting up.  The choke lever needs to be pulled towards you.  Start the bike (it should start right up), turn the choke down until it's idling around 1500 to 2000 rpm.  Wait for it to warm up.  When it warms up, the rpms may rise significantly.  Gradually turn the choke down until it's warm enough to run on its own.

The bike takes a significant time to warm fully -- usually 10 to 20 minutes of riding around at road speeds with varying RPM.

I suspect there may be nothing wrong with the bike...


By the way, you might want to take the fairing off until you've dropped it a few times.  Which you probably will do.

Then you'll learn not to grab the front brake at low speed.

Have fun, be safe!  Wear gear if you have it, buy it if you don't!

[Nixorrell]

I don't have an owner's manual, but I can tell you it needs full choke starting up.  The choke lever needs to be pulled towards you.  Start the bike (it should start right up), turn the choke down until it's idling around 1500 to 2000 rpm.  Wait for it to warm up.  When it warms up, the rpms may rise significantly.  Gradually turn the choke down until it's warm enough to run on its own.

The bike takes a significant time to warm fully -- usually 10 to 20 minutes of riding around at road speeds with varying RPM.

I'll give that a try on the first start-up tomorrow. I recall seeing a couple of posts out there on the web about how the bikes can tend to have "cold blood."

I definitely will exhaust all my options before calling the dealer up -- I'm not one to just assume things 'broken' beyond my abilities to address the issue so soon.

[Ross]

Hi,

I had the same problem once, i noticed that i hadnt pushed the throttle leaver fully back haha.
Couple of other times, it was that i had to readjust the clutch cable because it was still engaging even though it was fully in at the lights (you'll have to take the clutch housing front off) but its really simple i promise!
and thirdly have u checked the choke cable isnt caught or trapped open?this would cause it flooding your engine, it sounds to me like the engine is flooding (when you have to wait to start it again).

Hope that helps... oh and PS Nice Bike

[mister]

CHOKE!

If the bike conks out with no choke, it is reluctant to start again. That's the way it is. So you should use choke.

Check your owner's manual. 2-9 "When starting the cold engine turn the choke lever all the way toward you"

Also, in the manual under Riding Tips, Section 5-2

When the engine is cold...
- 1 Turn the choke lever All the way toward you. Close the throttle completely
- 2 Push the start button
- 3 Keep the engine speed between 2000 and 3000 RPMs by varying the choke lever

I think you may have mis-understood earlier on when it says to start the bike as soon as you turn the key to the On position. It's says that, not as a starting method - but - so you don't drain the battery with it in On and nothing happening so the light uses power.

Because your bike is not warm properly, you are also having the other issues.

My Start Up is...

Full Choke
Start up.
Idle at 3000+ for a minute or so
Adjust choke to idle around 2000 or a tad above.
While idling at this reduced RPM, put on jacket, helmet, gloves, etc.

Michael

[zukertort]

I also just got a new 2009 (1 month ago) and also just took MSF to get my license. When I first got the bike, it needed about 45 seconds of choke and 4 or 5 minutes more to run right. Now, about 1 month and 800 miles later, it will start without choke and it is ready to ride in about 1 minute. I usually use the choke according to the owners manual directions, but when I forget, I just give it enough throttle to keep rpms around 2500-3000 for a minute and drive away. In the beginning, it would stall easily for 1st couple of minutes, but I think that was my inexperience and lack of sensitivity to what was going on. Now, it requires no thought and my throttle hand reacts immediately to whatever is going on and no stalls.

If you start it without the choke and you  let it stall, it is more difficult to get it going again. It then requires the choke.

[redhawkdancing]

Then you'll learn not to grab the front brake at low speed.

You can break at low speed, just make sure the bike is straight, or you have oil resistant non-slip rubber on your feet and strong arms and legs!   

[jonathanneely]

If there is something wrong, dealership will pick up the bike to bring it back to the shop to fix it.

[rger8]

FYI - This is how I warm mine up

No gas, pull choke towered you all the way. Let it rev up 3-4K - 15 seconds

Back it down slowly to 3K leave for 5-10 seconds than back down again to around 2500 or so for 10 seconds

Bring it down again but don't shut down the choke completely but almost. ( 30 seconds )

Take off and close the choke after about 2 minutes of riding.

PS - No carb modifications but did back out air/fuel mix screw 2-3/4 turns out from fully closed.

At that point my 06 never skips a beat! I run a little Sta-Bil in it all the time.

[fraze11]

Excellent, another black and silver owner   I have the same rig...

http://i48.tinypic.com/5cybtx.jpg

Now go chop that rear fender and get rid of that tank sticker

[Nixorrell]

Alright, making some headway here.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback! It all made a lot of sense, and I believe what happened was a very literal interpretation of the manual on my part (ie: warm temperature outside = "warm" engine).
All they told us at the MSF course regarding the choke was not to touch it, because they'd take care of it if need be. I suspected that I would run in to some issue concerning it at some point.

I wish I could say I put about about 50 miles on today, but I'm still not quite able to get out of the gate. Using the proper starting technique as laid out, the bike starts and the RPMs go up, but any adjustment I make to the choke after that (at any time) seems to make the bike act like I startled it or something. It then drops to ~1.3K, and dies shortly after.

I took a little 1 minute video capturing what's going on. So if y'all wouldn't mind taking a look, perhaps you can identify something I'm missing. It's commented and annotated for your viewing pleasure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVHhx7Rdzpc

This appears to be a consistent issue. I've no worries, and I'm quite positive it'll be something simple in the end.

Take care, friends.

[romulux]

Interesting...


I'm really thinking the idle isn't adjusted right, either.

If you look under where your seat and tank meet, you'll see the carbs.

If you look under the carbs, there is one knob sticking down further than anything else.

That's the idle adjust.

You can't properly adjust the idle until you've ridden it around for 10 or 20 minutes, but it seems like it's adjusted too low for you to even get warmed up.

I would start it up just like you did and adjust the choke down just like you did, but then reach under the bike while you're sitting on it and start turning that adjuster.  I believe you need to turn it clockwise to increase the idle speed.

You can adjust it until the bike keeps the rpms up a little bit higher, say around 1800 or 2000 rpm.

It may warm up and then start revving much higher, at which point you turn the choke down more.  If you turn the choke down all the way and it's still revving high, back the idle adjust out in a counterclockwise direction.

Just so you know what the idle adjust does, it's very simple.  It opens throttle a tiny bit at a time.  It's identical to using the throttle with your hand, it just sets it at a precise spot.


Shame on your dealer for not getting you up to speed, too.

[yooblonder]

Hmmm, nice bike.

What happens if you don't reduce the choke so soon?  It's not great for the engine to have it idling too high but try it once / twice and see.  And if it starts to die, does it pick up with manual revving, or turning the choke full on again?

[Nixorrell]

Hmmm, nice bike.

What happens if you don't reduce the choke so soon?  It's not great for the engine to have it idling too high but try it once / twice and see.  And if it starts to die, does it pick up with manual revving, or turning the choke full on again?

Same thing waiting about 45 sec on the choke. Throttle application will pick it up, and turning the choke back up makes it go back to 4K I don't know, maybe I need to let it sit for an extra couple of minutes at 4K, since the bike is brand new after all and may need to be warmed up more than usual?

It's raining now (got home just in time with the cover I bought today, phew) so I'll have to wait till tomorrow to try again most likely. I'll try tuning the idle speed if I can't get it to behave properly with some more choke + throttle fiddling.

[kylegod]

leave the choke on longer, needs more than 45 seconds to warm up...leave it on for a few minutes

[mister]

Nix,

As I said in my start up, I leave it revving high for a minute or two after starting it. THEN, I adjust it down a little - and - while it is still high but not as high, I put on my jacket and helmet and stuff. This takes a few minutes. In winter it can be as long as 5 minutes. Less than a minute and my bike will die too - cause it is not warm enough.

Michael

[Ross]

Interesting...


I'm really thinking the idle isn't adjusted right, either.

If you look under where your seat and tank meet, you'll see the carbs.

If you look under the carbs, there is one knob sticking down further than anything else.

That's the idle adjust.

You can't properly adjust the idle until you've ridden it around for 10 or 20 minutes, but it seems like it's adjusted too low for you to even get warmed up.

I would start it up just like you did and adjust the choke down just like you did, but then reach under the bike while you're sitting on it and start turning that adjuster.  I believe you need to turn it clockwise to increase the idle speed.

You can adjust it until the bike keeps the rpms up a little bit higher, say around 1800 or 2000 rpm.

It may warm up and then start revving much higher, at which point you turn the choke down more.  If you turn the choke down all the way and it's still revving high, back the idle adjust out in a counterclockwise direction.

Just so you know what the idle adjust does, it's very simple.  It opens throttle a tiny bit at a time.  It's identical to using the throttle with your hand, it just sets it at a precise spot.


Shame on your dealer for not getting you up to speed, too.

I agree with this quote, must be the idle, if you start it and then it drops, think u need to idle it higher!