My 1st Moto project - 2004 GS500f Rebuild and going naked

[Turd Ferguson]

Congrats on your bike resurrection!

Hey, likewise!  Glad you got her running.  Hovering idle means lean typically.  Any vacuum leaks?  Did you adjust the throttle stop (idle screw)?  Silly question, but I had to back mine down from 4k because I had randomly set it during rebuild of carbs.

Dan

[yamahonkawazuki]

yup poop lol. a ds80 is doing this. once I warm her up she holds idle. but I know theres a leak cause its obvious. aka a hole in airbox tube. but not my bike and owner is meh will see type attitude.

[NikonAndy]

Congrats on your bike resurrection!

Hey, likewise!  Glad you got her running.  Hovering idle means lean typically.  Any vacuum leaks?  Did you adjust the throttle stop (idle screw)?  Silly question, but I had to back mine down from 4k because I had randomly set it during rebuild of carbs.

Dan

Yep, I did the stop screw adjustment, it bumps the idle enough to drop it , but hovers again if I hit the gas. It's a vacuum leak of some sort, I'll figure it out next time I get in the shop. Plus adidasguy is a phone call away so that's helpful I ordered new exhaust gaskets and intake o-rings so that should also tighten things up. I'll find the leak soon.

[NikonAndy]

Ok, she had her first real trip today! 18 miles from the garage to work. I repaired the gas tank with a fiberglass tank repair which is holding well. I have a replacement tank that'll be painted up as well to take the old one's place soon.

This was my first bike ride on proper roads. I got my motorcycle endorsement Wednesday. It's a cold day in Seattle, but the adrenaline kept me real warm.

She's still hovering a bit at idle and I can kick it down with a bit of clutch, but I'll be at adidasguy's place tomorrow to take a close look with some experienced eyes. I suspect my choke cable is catching a bit and may need to get lubed and set a bit better, but we'll see.

Other than that. She's running like a champ. Atleast as far as I can tell without ever having ridden another GS. Might do valve shims tomorrow too.

[NikonAndy]

First ride today, still has a ways to go to get the look I want, but here she is:

[Turd Ferguson]

Looks awesome, and congrats on the first ride!  So cool that you are local to someone like adidasguy who goes out of thier way to open their shop up and help people.  Kick ass community!

Dan

[adidasguy]

Looks awesome, and congrats on the first ride!  So cool that you are local to someone like adidasguy who goes out of thier way to open their shop up and help people.  Kick ass community!

Dan

They bring beers (supposed to).  I do it so I don't have to go shop for beers. 

[Turd Ferguson]

They bring beers (supposed to).  I do it so I don't have to go shop for beers. 

My kind of guy.    Too bad I'm 2300 miles away and only travel to Seattle once a year.

Dan

[yamahonkawazuki]

They bring beers (supposed to).  I do it so I don't have to go shop for beers. 

My kind of guy.    Too bad I'm 2300 miles away and only travel to Seattle once a year.

Dan

same here, cept ive yet to go. will bring em when im able to go.

[Xevamir]

What headlight did you buy off of eBay?

[NikonAndy]

What headlight did you buy off of eBay?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&vxp=mtr&item=131033107623

I used 500e headlight brackets. This light is a little smaller than the stock e light by about an inch and the bracket location is about 1-2 inches narrower on this light. If you flip the 500e headlight brackets so the left one is on the right and upsidedown and the right one is on the left upside down, it flips the tabs in perfectly and is the perfect size for this light. That was lucky for me to find out, no research first, haha. I also picked up a couple nylon washers to buffer the contact between the brackets and the chrome. Oh, you'll also need to drill out the old bracket where it meets the headlight a bit to accommodate the m14 (I think...) bolt. Make sure you use a lockwasher too!

I love the look, though, it's turned out awesome!

[NikonAndy]

Also, here's a pic of Betty in her current state:

[adidasguy]

A second application of stove polish might be in order for the headers. Then they should look good for quite a while.

Looking good! She needs a Vashon Island ride.

[NikonAndy]

A second application of stove polish might be in order for the headers. Then they should look good for quite a while.

Looking good! She needs a Vashon Island ride.

I was thinking the same thing on both points: Stove polish and Vashon

I've just removed the wheels and getting new rubber on tomorrow, so she's taking a break for a few days. Plus it's forecasted to get wet, so it's a good break point. Though driving my car just got much much more depressing.

[adidasguy]

Your blue tank coming soon?
I might have a white tail that would look OK for a while until you paint up a blue set. I'll have to look in the storage area for that.

[NikonAndy]

Your blue tank coming soon?
I might have a white tail that would look OK for a while until you paint up a blue set. I'll have to look in the storage area for that.

Ah, that'd be good idea! Betty would have an outfit change while I painted her current set.

[NikonAndy]

UPDATE!!!!!!!!

Betty has gone to paint. I'm going to need to let the color dry for a couple days then I'll be off to clear coat and sanding and polishing and blah blah blah.

Blue tank is a replacement tank for my old one which is patched up from leaking, one of many reasons I decided to get fresh paint on her. Old plastics paint was scratched and dull anyway.

Here's some pics

























Hope to have pics of her with her new paint all put together soon, next week maybe?

[Janx101]

nice!! 

that racing stripe has gotta be good for another 3-4 hp alone!! 

[NikonAndy]

nice!! 

that racing stripe has gotta be good for another 3-4 hp alone!! 

That's what I was thinking. Maybe I should put more on...

[Janx101]

yeah but see .. thats tricky ... too much extra power means you need bigger tyres, then you need bigger brakes, then bigger swingarm, bigger frame... etc etc etc!

pretty soon you have this



now the gs500 is often referred to as having 'tractor technology' around here... but there is a point to stop at eh!!?