New Owner of 2000 GS500E = Questions

[Ed_in_Az]

Bought it today. Rode 90 miles home.  How accurate are their speedometers? I hit 100 on the way home and cruised most of the way between 75 & 85. I left everything except one car I let go.    Compared to my previous cruiser type bikes, this thing apparently flies!

Also, The engine bogs below 5,000rpm. The previous owner had a dealer look at it(I talked to them in fact). They said It is probably a (common) lean condition and they can shim the carb needles to eliminate it. Told me to make an appointment and gave me a techs. name there. Does this sound right? Do these have adjustable needles, or must they be shimmed? Is this common?

Thanks for any advice.

Overall, I'm impressed.  

[Ed_in_Az]

OK, I'm not totally new to engines or the net.

The plugs are white. Must be stock.

I printed the re-jetting instructions.

I bought the #4 washers.

I'll try the needles first.

[Turkina]

I guess you already have the info, but everyone is going to tell you to stick in 40 pilots (non-bleeder)  My bike I think came rejetted, and it's running nicely now so I'm not about to check!

Here's a chart that conradvr came up with:
http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4865&highlight=rejetting+matrix
otherwise, there's plenty of posts, and Srinath gives lots of good advice!

Congrats on your new bike, and welcome!  

[Ed_in_Az]

It seems pretty much cured.  

[Rema1000]

Does your bike have an aftermarket air filter or exhaust?  When I bought mine, it had an aftermarket exhaust and stock jetting, and a flat spot below 5k (and it would backfire all the time).  It now has an OEM exhaust on it, and the flat spot is gone (along with the backfiring).

[Ed_in_Az]

It looks to be completely stock. The first owner said it always acted like that. She just ran above 5,000rpms. It's much better now. I put 2 #4 shims on each needle.

[Kerry]

Yep.  Folks coming from the world of cars or even from a lower-reving bike are often surprised that they have to get up to 5,000 RPM (!) to get any power at all from the GS500.

5,000 RPM is about my cruising point.  Much higher than that, I shift up.  Lots of folks try not to let the tach get below 7 or 8 (or 9) thousand!

[Ed_in_Az]

I guess I cruise at 5000 to 7000. I'll do 8,000 on hills if I need to. More than 8,000 If I can't control myself!  

But I do appreciate a smooth motor and it's smooth now. I'll putt around town under 5000, but then if some car does something stupid I've gotta shift down if I need rapid acceleration.

[sanityfree]

5,000 RPM is about my cruising point.  Much higher than that, I shift up.  Lots of folks try not to let the tach get below 7 or 8 (or 9) thousand!

over 7K? doesn't that kill mileage?