GS500 falling apart with 10k miles?

[dreamweaver21]

Hello,

I have owned a 2002 GS500 since 2003.  I bought it used with 2.5k miles and never rode it that often.  I am riding it more now days and just rolled 10k miles.  Since it rolled 10k, it has been falling apart!  In the last few weeks the following has happened.

I developed an oil leak.  Oil seems to be seeping past the gasket on the shifter side engine cover.  I mean the main cover on the port side of the engine.  I noticed all the oil after a long ride by my standards (70 miles at 65-80mph).  I got some degreaser, cleaned it up, rode it again and then looked.  Sure enough it seems to be oozing through the gasket near the bottom of the engine.  Is this a common issue?  What should I do to address it?

The light for the speedo went out.  I do ride at night on a millitary base so I need to be damn sure how fast I am going.  I can't see the speedo at night anymore.  Is there much to replacing the light?

Looks like one of my front shocks sprung a leak too.  There is oily dirt on the upper part of one of them.  Again is this a common issue?

I have been happy with the bike overall.  Mostly it sat in my garage.  I do change the oil once a year or so and have replaced the air filter once and I wax the chain on occasion but that is all I have done to it.  Any pointers about my issues?

[Pontiackid73]

Time takes its toll. Even just sitting, gaskets, seals, o-rings etc. get fouled and deteriorate. These things happen. Get a new gasket for the engine leak, there are videos here on how to replace them. Get a new front shock seal, also easy to replace and again there are threads and videos on how to do that. speedo lights are cheap and easy to fix. not sure on the part number for that though. Change your bikes oil every 3-5k miles depending on what oil you run. everything you mentioned is common. I've seen bikes with 1k miles on them spring leaks its no big deal. Your local bike shop can help you get parts.

[mister]

My 09 just did a left side gasket. I am suspect on this as only a week before it had been in the shop getting a flat fixed - and I suspect they loosened the side cover nuts just enough to let the vibes do the rest. But I use a different mechanic for my mechanical needs so had that fixed together with it's 54,000km service at the same time. As per usual, this gasket is a bastard to get off as it tends to Burn into the engine. So be prepared to put in some elbow grease to get the old gasket off.

When replacing this gasket you will need to change the oil. If it has been a while since you did yours, might as well change the oil and filter at the same time instead of trying to keep the oil to use again.

Seals have a finite life. Your fork seals would simply be due. Or coincidentally, you somehow nicked one of them with a bit of hard bug on the fork or something.

As for the speedo light. What you'll need to do is....

1 - disconnect the speedo cable (it unscrews easily)
2 - Undo the acorn nuts below the speedo housing (just the speedo ones, not the tacho ones) and also remove the rubber grommets there.
3 - with a small jewellers screw driver, insert it through the trip reset knob and undo the small screw in there (hold the knob while you do this to stop the entire thing spinning) and pull the knob out
4 - lift up speedo to access the light bulb
5 - the black thing with the two wires going into it is the light bulb, pull it out, swap bulbs and put back

NOTE, the OEM bulb is 1.7 watts. If you replace it with a larger wattage bulb there is a good chance you'll soon fry your tacho bulb due to inconsistent drain.  What I did was replace both at the same time. As I couldn't wait for LEDs to arrive due to a Lot of night riding, I popped into my local bike store and got what they had - 2watt bulbs. Size is T10.

Michael

[gsJack]

I too have a 02 GS500 that I bought in 03 with about 4k miles on it but mine has 93k miles on it now.  I've had small oil leaks from both sides of the engine for a year or so now but they hardly show after the bike gets it's spring cleanup at the magic wand type car wash.  But the leak from the left side cover is starting to leave a small spot on the garage floor where it sits and cools overnight but it's never left a spot anywhere else I might park for an hour or two, guess I'll look into it one of these days.  I can remember way back when bikes, Harleys and Brit bikes alike, marked their spots every time the parked wherever they parked.  Bike seals are much better now.

My left fork developed a seal leak in May 08 at 69k miles so I replaced that leaking seal only, topped up the oil in both forks, and neither seal has leaked since.  I had a couple of guage and indicator lights go out a couple years ago so I just replaced all the bulbs at once in the speedo, tach, and 4 indicator lights and haven't replaced another since, easy enough to do and I used the inexpensive #194 auto parts bulbs from Walmart in all of them.  You need a small phillips screwdriver about the size of the ones in a jewelers set to remove the retaining screw from the center hole in the trip reset knob to remove the knob and then unhook the speedo and tach drive cables, remove the 2 acorn nuts for each guage at the bottom side of the gauge housing and just lift the guages out a ways  to unplug the bulb holders and replace the bulbs.

[dreamweaver21]

Thanks for the help.  I am putting together a parts list to order what I need.  Can I take just the crankcase cover off the left side or is that going to mean replacing the clutch gasket as well?

Also, I managed to drop the bike in the driveway today

Not sure what happened I guess the kick stand wasn't all the way down.  I got it out of the garage.  Started it and walked back in the garage and then heard it fall over.  Broke the tip off the clutch handle but that is all I saw broke.

[mister]

For most efficient use of side stand the bike needs to be on level ground or facing Up hill. Any downward forward facing slope is asking for your bike to roll forward and Off the side stand.

Michael

[k.rollin]

For most efficient use of side stand the bike needs to be on level ground or facing Up hill. Any downward forward facing slope is asking for your bike to roll forward and Off the side stand.

Michael

You could park it in gear so that it won't roll off the stand too.

[adidasguy]

When I first got Suzi I was chastised for not parking in gear by another rider at the gym (MSF also says to park in gear). Too easy for someone to bump your bike if in neutral and off she rolls off of the side stand and onto her side.

After parking on the side stand, give a jerk backwards on the bars so she settles down on the side stand.

[dreamweaver21]

Got the gasket replaced today.  Wasn't too bad a job.  Getting the old one off sucked.  Most of the gasket peeled off but I had to get a dremel with a fuzzy pad to get the last little bit off.

I went ahead and did an oil change and put new plugs in too.  Also replaced the clutch handle that I broke the tip off of the other day.  The only thing left is the light in the speedo.  Still need to do that.  I need to go for a long ride somewhere to see if the new gasket stops the leak.

As far as the bike falling over, I couldn't leave it in gear because I was letting it run to warm up.  I was on a slight decline though so I am sure that didn't help.  I'll be more careful in the future.

[Kijona]

For most efficient use of side stand the bike needs to be on level ground or facing Up hill. Any downward forward facing slope is asking for your bike to roll forward and Off the side stand.

Michael

Leaving the bike in gear, and also turning the handlebars towards the left side of the bike, will make the bike a lot more stable. You can also do as Adidasguy suggested and slide the bike backward slightly which will drive it over onto the side stand even further. The side stands on the GS are canted forward slightly, so if parked correctly, the bike will not roll forward while on the side stand. This is because it would have to overcome the weight of the bike in order to pass over the highest position to roll completely forward.

The stands on the newer models are shorter and less spindly which is far more confidence inspiring. I had replaced the original stand on my 97 with a newer one (courtesy of Adidasguy, of course) so that it would lean over more and it helped a great deal.