89 GS500 problem:(

[entok]

I got my first motorcycle a little while ago (89 GS500), everything was wonderful for about a week then all of the sudden the thing acted like it was running out of gas and just died going up a hill. After a few minutes I was able to start up again, sure enough a few minutes later it was the same problem. This happened about 5 times before I was able to finally make it home, being on the streets for only about a week at this point, it wasn't the best experience to have a motorcycle die in the middle of traffic. Anyways, now the bike will someitmes start, generaly when it's cold and after about 2-4 minutes it will die, with or without load. I've checked the choke and it seems to be working fine, as well as the battery (I charged it using a trickle charger), and the plugs. I really don't have experience with motorcycles, so any help would be appreciated.


Jeremy

[Kerry]

You say it ran fine for a week and then the symptoms showed up out of nowhere?  Hmmm.  Here are some possibilities:

1) Perhaps you really ARE "out of gas".  Looking into the fuel tank through the filler neck can be deceiving.  You can have a gallon in there and it will look like plenty, but when you're down to a gallon it's usually time to switch the petcock on the left side of the bike to REServe.  Also, the next time the bike dies on you, switch to PRI for several seconds to get more fuel into the carbs.  This is whether or not you eventually switch it to REServe.

2) If you have PLENTY of gas, it still sounds like a fuel delivery problem.  It's possible that some rust or other matter from the tank made its way into one of fuel lines, or even all the way to the carbs, and is blocking things up.  Not an unlikely scenario for a 15-year-old bike, depending on how well it's been cared for.  "Just for Sherlock's sake", shine a flashlight INTO the gas tank and see if there is any evidence of rust or other stuff.

The solution in this second scenario can be anywhere from running carb cleaner through a tank or two of gas, to removing and cleaning the carbs.  Whatever you do, you may want to install an in-line fuel filter at some point to PREVENT this scenario from happening.

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Tinker around with these two possibilities for starters, and let us know what you find.  We'll go from there....

PS - WELCOME TO THE BOARD!

[Maniac]

Awww man, Kerry beat me to it!  

[Maniac]

Something else you can try is to unhook the fuel line at the fuel petcock and see if gas will come out when turned to 'On' or 'Res'. If it does, reattach the line and unhook it at the carbs, make sure gas comes out there...

If it does, then... hmm. Dunno if you can do this on a bike, but get one of those oil-squirt cans or possibly even an old squirt bottle that you'll never miss (AND HAVE CLEANED!) and put gas in it. When the bike dies and won't start, pull the air-filter hose/filters off and give it a couple of squirts right into each carb. If it starts and then dies, then you've got a problem with fuel delivery!  :mrgreen:

Disclaimer: I probally don't know what I'm talking about here!  

[Reknelb]

check your valve clearance