New guy 500 questions.

[Pontiackid73]

Hello ladies and gents,
New guy here from south suburbs of chicago, just got my 2001 gs500 3 days ago. She is a bit rough but for my first street bike I'm happy as can be. I rode motocross for about 7 years so bikes aren't new to me but paved roads are so I'm taking it easy so i don't get myself hurt. I have owned just about everything with an engine dirtbikes, quads, cars, jetskis, sleds, etc and have wrenched on everything so I'm looking forward to playing with this bike with advice on mods from the forums here. The only other toy i currently have is my 73 Firebird and that's my baby. I will put pics of the car and bike up here soon.

Ok so intro out of the way i have quite an abundance of questions for the gurus here. First off the bike is completely stock and i have done a little bit of reading here on the carb tuning and i would like to know the best jetting/settings for the bike as is. More importantly and what concerns me is that in every corner i take, and its worse at slow speeds, the steering pushes on me. For example in a left turn when i start to lean it the front tire tries to turn left pretty hard and i am fighting it while riding. Not sure if this is just how the bike rides or something is wrong. I have never had a bike do this. the guy before me laid it on the left side pretty good so not sure if that knocked that out of wack or something. I need to replace some parts because of that wreck but its cosmetic.

There is 17k on the motor now so is there any maintenance i should be aware of to do soon? Lets assume they were hard miles just to be sure. Did the oil, plugs and filter to start. Top end work? I know from Dirtbikes i re-did my top end frequently but those get beat on really hard.

Any other tips or info you can send my way is greatly appreciated.
Thanks everyone,
Brian.

[bombsquad83]

Hey welcome bud.  Are you by chance from Pontiac, IL?  I'm in Blo/No. 

I'm not sure about your steering issue,  I do know that if the valves haven't been adjusted with that kind of mileage they will be in sore need of it.

[adidasguy]

First, especially if you're heavy, the front springs on a GS500 are known for being weak. See how much it sags just by sitting on the bike. Probably a lot. Most people change the front springs. Easy to do for about $85. That's the #1 mod for a GS500.

Second, it could be the steering stem bearings. Put bike on center stand. Have someone push down on the back so the front wheel is off the ground. Does it swing back and forth really easy? If so, you're OK. If not, the steering bearings are probably bad. That is more work. We can go there if that is the problem.

[Phil B]

maybe it's just "not a motocross bike"?

simple thing to do if you have a buddy, is to borrow a different, small streetbike and see how they compare?

Or... try not fighting it into how you expect it to right, and just lean less for a while?

yes if you're going slow, and you lean hard.. it wont fight you, it'll lay right over! perhaps you've been suckered into the allure of "it's a sportsbike, I have to lean to do anything"... but (unless you ride like me) on very slow turns, most people just steer it like a bike and dont lean.

FYI, I was messing around today with some tight street turns at 15mph myself.
Yes, it is normal to be leaning over like a mad thing at something that feels like 45degrees, if you're going to be leaning with the bike at slow speeds.

[Pontiackid73]

What does it take to a valve adjustment on this engine? and specifics from someone has done it already?

Also i will be playing with my riding style to make sure that steering issue isn't just me 

and thank you for the feedback, my mod list following the replacement of a few broken parts is Suspension all the way around, and on that note rear shock ideas anyone? Then filter and full exhaust with a re-jet. I wont be putting anything crazy into the bike because im not looking to make this a race bike by any means.

[bombsquad83]

Just about all the info you are asking about is pretty well laid out on the wiki.  If you have any further questions just post and let everyone help out.

http://wiki.gstwins.com

EDIT:
Oh, and for goodness sake, learn from my mistakes.  Buy a good small torque wrench and be careful not to break bolts or strip out threads.

[Pontiackid73]

Excellent link, thank you

Anyone know if a 04 katana gsx 600 shock will fit on my 01 500?

[SAFE-T]

Underinflated front tire ? That was the problem on my wife's bike. Check for irregular wear such as cupping or scalloping.

[Pontiackid73]

Sometimes i forget to check the simple things   
I will look into that tomorrow.

Another question, there are no lights on my speedo and tach gauge at night. Are there no little bulbs in them from the factory or did mine just burn out?

[adidasguy]

Lights burnt out. (OR wiring to them disconnected or broken)
Search threads on LEDs. Replace them with LEDs.

[mister]

The GS500 is known for Diving in to corners. Whenever I get off my 919 and hop on the GS, it's Very noticeable how much the bikes Wants to corner.

Michael

[tt_four]

I've always ridden street bikes, but took a street legal YZ426 on the road a week ago with the normal MX wheels and can tell you there's a huge difference in the handling. When I hopped on the road and would try to turn the steering felt completely backwards. On a streetbike, if you want to turn right you lean right and push forward on the right handlebar. The front wheel tries to turn in like you described and you have to push against it to keep the bike going where you want it to. For the first few turns on the YZ I actually felt like I was pulling the bar back instead of pushing it like I normally would. It all felt normal after a while, and I didn't notice it after a few miles, so chances are it's just a new experience for you since you're used to being offroad and aren't used to the feeling of a bike diving into a turn. GSs seems to do it way more than other bikes I've ridden too.

As far as the valves, if you've worked on other bikes you'll definitely be able to handle it. I sold my manual when I sold the bike so I can't give you specifics on torque for the bolts, valve clearances, or what angle the cam lobes should be in when you check, but pull the tank, move all the cables and wires out of the way, unbolt the camshaft cover, check the clearances, they should either be between .03-.08mm, or maybe it's .003-.008inches, I can't remember. someone will definitely come by who can give you the specifics though.

[bombsquad83]

As far as the valves, if you've worked on other bikes you'll definitely be able to handle it. I sold my manual when I sold the bike so I can't give you specifics on torque for the bolts, valve clearances, or what angle the cam lobes should be in when you check, but pull the tank, move all the cables and wires out of the way, unbolt the camshaft cover, check the clearances, they should either be between .03-.08mm, or maybe it's .003-.008inches, I can't remember. someone will definitely come by who can give you the specifics though.

It's .03-.08mm.  Some people prefer to run a little looser than this from what I've seen on this forum.  Maybe up to .13 mm?  Also when you take the valve cover off, you will have to take the breather cover on top off first so you can get the valve cover out of the frame.  If you have questions on the torque specs of any bolt I can look them up in the Haynes manual for you.

[Phil B]

I've always ridden street bikes, but took a street legal YZ426 on the road a week ago with the normal MX wheels and can tell you there's a huge difference in the handling. When I hopped on the road and would try to turn the steering felt completely backwards. On a streetbike, if you want to turn right you lean right and push forward on the right handlebar. The front wheel tries to turn in like you described and you have to push against it to keep the bike going where you want it to.

Eh... yes and no, on the "fight the handlebars" thing.
Remember, that motorcycles are actually designed to have the front wheel turn in, when you lean.
Apparently, the GS500 is designed a little more agily than most in that reguard but;

If you're leaning a particular amount, but the wheel is turning in more than you want.. yeah, you can "fight the handlebars", but technically, the bike is telling you "dont lean in that hard, unless you want to turn sharper"

Just lean a bit less, and dont fight the wheel, and you should be turning the amount you originally thought you needed.

aka "steer with lean, not so much with the bars"

Interestingly, this goes back to a much earlier post I made, about how it's better to always steer with lean, (rather than counter-balance and handlebar wrestling) even at slow speeds. Becuase it gives you a better idea of how the bike wants to turn, rather than how you THINK it should turn.

Trust the bike, dont fight the bike.

[bombsquad83]

Telling someone how to ride bike is probably about as effective as telling someone how to make love.  In the end, you are just going to have to try it and figure it out for yourself. 

[Phil B]

But they're doing it WRRROOONGGGG...

can I hire myself out as a "motorcycle surrogate", I wonder?



(erm.. so I ride their *bike*  .... dont get any funny ideas   )

[bombsquad83]

  Here...just let me show you how to do it right!! 

*clears throat* back on topic?

[Pontiackid73]

I like this forum already

I rode about another 60 miles on it today and i am getting used to the lean and steer of this bike.
It is definitely way different than a Dirt-bike thats for sure. Just a little tweak to the riding style and i will be good to go.

Another note, does anyone else notice a harmonic-type vibration around light throttle at 5k? its clean below and above it but right around there it vibrates a bit.

[Phil B]

Funny thing, mine has that too. But I only really noticed it after I dropped it. sigh.
it's at its worse in 2nd gear. my footpegs vibe at that speed. but only in that gear.