The GS Saga

[juggernaught]

Ok...so after being absent from here for months and months i'll update ya on my GS saga.  After being t-boned last may i had the bike pretty much rebuilt and not even three months ago i had a tune-up but my problems with the bike continue.  I am not mechanically inclined and after spending more than enough money on repairs i am also now not very rich either.  Anyhow here are some of my current problems:

1- Leak in the gasket which on occasion acts up spilling some oil over the air intake.  This i know can be fixed but before this even showed up here is #2

2- Engine seems to overheat.  Ya i know this is not very common but it does happen.  After i ride to or from work i put the bike in neutral and the oil lite stays on.  If i shut it off at that point the bike wont start again for a few hours.  I don't even hear that familiar clicking of the ignition instead all the lights and indicators dim fort a moment then nothing happens.  If i let it sit for an hour or so she'll start up again but the same thing happens.  Not to mention just before this happens the engine seems to be low on power..meaning i just don't get the same speed at the same gear and revs as i used to.

3-  Last year i rode the bike all winter.  Yes i had to warm it up a bit but it was rarely a problem even below freezing.  This winter i have to ignite it 5 or 6 or 7 times babying the choke and throttle even if the temp outside is 40 deg. or so.

5- Rattling pipe (Cobra) seems to have a minor leak. Can this have an effect on anything..??

Now i always check the oil level and plugs to make sure they are ok though i may have a bit too much oil in the bike as i'm always adding a bit to make up for the gasket leak over time.  Hey what does having too much oil in the bike do to the performance..??

I am on my last legs with this bike.  I'm gonna send it to another shop once my finances are in order again as i think the last shop did nothing for it but now my trust in NYC mechanics is waning and if i get hiw with another expensive snow job i'm just gonna sell it.  I love that little bike but i'm getting a little tired of saying a prayer every time i hit the ignition
or am cruising home.

Help..!!!  Or at least gimme a pat on the shoulder and tell me it's gonna be alright    :dunno:

PS.  It's a 2002 GS500 5200 mi. K-N air filter and Cobra pipe.

[The Buddha]

Leak in what spilling over air intake... Valve cover gasket, or head hasket or the drain hose on the top of the valve cover???
Over heat... If the oil light comes on and stays on... you have no oil pressure... A problem that you need to fix before you can even start the bike again.
The batter is actually the controlling factor in the turning on and lights and starter comming alive. If that dont happen... well your battery is gone.
Ok so here is the final verdict...
Your bike is sucking air via the valve cover vent hose... That also gets the oil leaking on to the intake, and lets in un filtered air making the bike lean, making it run a shade hotter and making it look like its heating up and its just enough to light up the oil pressure light. OK The solution is to
1. Replace that hose if its ripped or to fit it back if its come off. Try and see if it also has a intake vacuum leak.
2. Replace the oil and filter... you also could have gas contamination in oil making it lighter than should be.
3. Run 20W50 oil and see.
4. Quit taking it to a shop.
Cool.
Srinath.

[juggernaught]

Thanx so much Srinath.

First of all the leak seems to be coming from the valve cover mostly on the right side of the engine.  That vent hose isn't broken but it does come loose and is usually covered in oil of late.  The battery is something i take out pretty much every nite that it drops below freezing and i keep it on a charger as my bike is parked outdoors but covered.

Do ya really think i can do this myself..??  i have the manual but am lacking in skill and confidence.

Hey thanx again and if any more ideas pop up i'm listening.

[The Buddha]

Its easy to do the repair yourself... reconnect the vent hose to the airbox... that lets in unfiltered air making the bike lean and lean is hot, and could be causing your heating problem. Its definetely causing your idle and lack of power peoblems. Honestly, oil light comming on when riding is a serious issue.
Cool.
Srinath..

[octane]

Confidence comes from screwing it up and asking for help. You've got a whole bunch of help on here. We've all been there.

[JamesG]

Don't listen to Seshadri  

Did the current problems start with the rebuild from the accident or the tuneup?  What exactly in the engine got broke and supposedly fixed?

The oil leak (from the valve cover?!???) and the overheating point to a lubrication/ oil system problem.  I have theories about whats wrong (and they an't pretty) but tell us more about what was done to the bike first.

Thinking pesimistically, I think you should clean the bike up as nice as you can, and trade it in for a new one. Dealers are hungry right now, A dealer can fix up that bike for resale easier than you (and are legally required too), and you won't get the bad karma from screwing another rider with your lemon.

[juggernaught]

Thansx James + octane,

 I have to go to work for a few hours but i'll put a bit more detail into my problem when i'm back.  And i'll list what was replaced in the accident last may.

[The Buddha]

JamesG may be right about the oil/heating... but I dont see what can happen in a crash... that damages the oil system wihtout affecting the bike otherwise. It starts, shifts and overall moves... cant see what can affect the oil system wihtout ruining one of the rest. You do have oil in the thing... Yes a bit high is what you said. and the light does go off when you start etc but comes on at the end of the ride.... Anyway lets see what it is... But I yeild to JamesG cos its far too important to make oil pressure.
Cool.
Srinath.

[JamesG]

Srinath- You're right.  Crashes don't usually cause internal engine problems (if a crash is violent enough for that, you have bigger problems).  I'm more suspicous that the shop he took it to may have buggered up something. It could just be that they screwed up a vavle adjustment or the carbs, but even if all they did was replace a rashed side cover that might have been enough to introduce junk which clogged up a few oil jets, which is my initial theory of his problem.

[The Buddha]

Yea... I guess the list of things they replaced would be the next item to look at. I forgot that aspect of it... and yea I hate shops... Forgot that too...
Cool.
Srinath.

[juggernaught]

Hey guys,
Thanx again for all the feedback.  A buddy of mine is trying to get a friend of his to give my bike a look, hopefully in the next week or so, so i'll let ya know the diagnosis.
in the crash the engine was pretty much intact but the fuel tank was punctured, swingarm had to be aligned, the frame was intact, the pipe was crushed (along with my right foot) bars had to be replaced of course as did the rear fairing.  In any case i too am a bit suspect to the work done on my bike and have yet to feel like i'm getting an honest deal from anyone i've met.  But if anyone knows a trustworthy mechanic in NYC i'd be more than happy to look him/her up.

Thanx again.

[juggernaught]

One more thing...prior to the accident the bike ran about as flawlessly as one could expect.  Sheesh.....life's a biatch. :x

[JamesG]

Was the work covered by insurance? You could call them and tell them the work wasn't satisfactory, and they might be able to put pressure on the shop...

You are right this sucks, hope you find a good mechanic to help you out.

[Casimir]

I'm with JamesG on this one. Where is the insurance company on all this?

It seems to me that the idiot who ran into you should be picking up the tab on all this. It's surprising with the damage that you listed that the bike wasn't totaled (in the legal sense). If they payed for it to get fixed, they didn't complete the task.

[The Buddha]

Hey Casimir... new avatar... and the East of Katy Texas for location... good innuendo there... or am I reading more meaning into it than you put in... like I am thinking that picture ... while its one of the ones The Rover sent back of Mars could also be East of Katy TX... Too much of a stretch... What you think...
Cool.
Srinath.

[Casimir]

It is a Mars picture. I adjusted the contrast/brightness a bit.

The "East of Katy" was in reference to a thread about someone in Houston who killed his daughter and stabbed his wife. Katy is a city just west of Houston. I switched to "East of Katy" to disassociate myself with the idiot.

Quite a stretch I know.  

[Diderich]

I guess i shouldn't change my location to clear lake then, or everybody will think that my wife is going to run over me with her mercedes, and then kill all my kids in her post partum depression and i'll jump out of a cessna while my teenage neighbors are killed in a quadruple homocide...we've had quite a newsworthy year or two down here in the 'burbs...