2005 GS500F running issue

[Trolleywire]

Well, been a while was busy with life... I got the bike running pretty good today! It turns out the pilot jets needed a second and third thorough cleaning. I set the floats, cleaned carbs again, replaced orings, charged battery and new float valves and seats. No leaks and ran good. I also rebuilt the petcock that was leaking and some new fuel line. That's what happens when the previous owner left it collecting dust at the back of the garage for 3 years with fuel sitting in it... and I  cleaned out the tank too!! I have "infamous GS500 camshaft knock" at idle so I'm changing the oil today with a little heavier weight. I've done my research and talked to the mechanic friend of mine at Suzuki and it's common for some to have it and not to worry. I'm not. So, it's ready to go now even though riding season is over... haha. Should be good for the spring! Thanks for all your help. 😊

[Bluesmudge]

I thought the camshaft knock was fixed in '04? Or was it '06? Next time you do a valve clearance check see if you have the little wavy washer springs on the end of your camshafts.

[mr72]

If we're talking about the camshaft "rollover" noise, whenever it was "fixed", is not a problem worth worrying with. I wouldn't describe that as a "knock". A knock usually is an actual serious issue.

Too-thick oil will screw up gear changing and clutch release, but I guess that's worth it if it doesn't go "clack...clack" at idle.

[chris900f]

If we're talking about the camshaft "rollover" noise, whenever it was "fixed", is not a problem worth worrying with. I wouldn't describe that as a "knock". A knock usually is an actual serious issue.

Too-thick oil will screw up gear changing and clutch release, but I guess that's worth it if it doesn't go "clack...clack" at idle.

I had really bad cam knock on my 2005. With the cam cover off I discovered that it is (almost?) completely the fault of the exhaust cam. On mine you could press your thumb on the right end of the camshaft, and with enough pressure the cam would shift to the left with a loud-ish snap. It was only moving a tiny feeler-gauge distance, but because of the valve spring pressure and cam-chain tension, when it moves laterally, it snaps over with an evil sounding "clack". I don't think the noise was nearly as bad in the earlier bikes.

My theory is that when they went with the electronic tach, they simply removed the worm drive on the exhaust cam without factoring in the tach-drive's role in centering the cam in it's bearings.

I got lucky and found the NOS parts at a bargain price, so I replaced my cams with the 2006+ cams with the wave washers. I also replaced my cam-chain tensioner with an APE manual unit. I didn't trust my stock tensioner after watching the BaltimoreGS videos. Mine had more slack and sag between the sprockets and would unwind quite slowly compared to snappy action I saw in the videos. I did both jobs at once so I don't know if just replacing the tensioner would have any effect, but I suspect it might. When I would turn over the engine with the stock tensioner, the cam-chain was sort of tight-loose-tight-loose. Now it's very smooth with *just enough* tension to eliminate the sag between the sprockets.

[sledge]

The factory camshaft mod began at engine no  M504-125866.