07' GS500f troubles

[Armistice]

   Ok, so let me start by saying I'm no master mechanic.  I have always had fuel injected bikes such as my 13' ZX14R I ride right now.

  My wife wanted to start riding again so she asked me to buy her a used starter bike. Hence, I picked up a used 07' GS500F with 6800 miles on it. It was a father selling it since his son passed a year ago. The bike has sat since then.

   I picked the bike up and it was running pretty rough. Had to really feather clutch and raise rpm's and this would get bike rolling, however it seemed bog down terribly for a second or two then get going. If I went up steep hills it would really bog down and I'd have to shift into 2nd just to get it moving. It also will not go over 7000 rpm's or over 60 mph in any gear.

   So since I brought it home last week I've emptied fuel tank and put in fresh gas. New spark plugs, and cleaned the jets out. Float bowls really didn't look bad at all either. I've checked to make sure no hoses are kinked or misplaced per what I've read on these forums. That being said...It runs better but still has same symptoms.
 
   It is of note that when there was a slight overflow of fuel into carbs because I forgot to turn prime off initially, the bike ran awesome until fuel ran through carbs.
   
  Also I should mention it has an aftermarket Jardine exhaust on it so perhaps it's not jetted properly?

   Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
   

[Big Rich]

Definitely sounds like a fuel issue to me. Even though you cleaned the jets out, it could be some gunk in a passageway in the carbs. Try removing all the rubber from the carbs (orings and everything - check a parts diagram to make sure you get them all) and really clean the carbs out. There are a bunch of ways to do it, so I won't recommend any certain way. Some people prefer carb dip, some go with Pine Sol, etc.

And welcome to the site!

[Cerberus73]

Ultrasonicly clean the carbs.. modern fuel goes off damn fast with all the crap they put in it, also in the UK since they have started to add ethanol to our petrol, it has caused all kinds of grief with older rubber parts on bikes in the fuel system, be it rubber washers in fuel taps swelling, or float needles sticking etc.. and it varnishes up fast as hell. so if the fuel you guys get is full of ethanol, this can be an issue.

I would drain the tank, take the fuel filter out of the tank, clean it in carb cleaner or another solvent like brake cleaner. check the fuel tap vacuum is ok. and if possible rebuild the carbs to spec using a rebuild kit. this will give you a baseline to work from. also won't help cleaning or replacing the air filter and oil etc. especially since the bike was laid up for a while,, and run seafoam through her once you get her going just to help clean the insides.. it can't hurt.

[Armistice]

Appreciate the helpful input guys!

I will see if I'm up to the task. Seems like everyone I've talked to makes rebuilding the carb out to be a near impossible feat.

[bmf]

It's really not that bad as long as you are aware of the JIS screw story, be prepared to get creative to get those bolts out, as described in the excellent carb sticky.

[Cerberus73]

The screws aint that bad to get out.. liquid wrench.. and a good set of "pozidrive screwdrivers" cheap enough on ebay.. make sure its pozidrive and NOT philips.. yeah they kinda look the same but a pozidrive set won't chew up the heads on japanese screws.

[Armistice]

Update: Ended up pulling float bowls back off and looking things over, found out that the needle was sticking. Cleaned everything up and the bike is running great now!

[yamahonkawazuki]

Definitely sounds like a fuel issue to me. Even though you cleaned the jets out, it could be some gunk in a passageway in the carbs. Try removing all the rubber from the carbs (orings and everything - check a parts diagram to make sure you get them all) and really clean the carbs out. There are a bunch of ways to do it, so I won't recommend any certain way. Some people prefer carb dip, some go with Pine Sol, etc.

And welcome to the site!

this . ive used the carb dip for 24 hours. With great success. But hes right remove ALL non metal stuff. O rings swell in this stuff. Ask me how i know lol. But after that, never an issue with the dip again