GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

brand new 2004 gs500f with about 300 miles.

fully warmed up and riding around, when coming to a red light or a stop the engine would knock, knock, knock...

i use super - the highest octane gas and it still knock, knock, knocks when i come to a stop.  :x

the knock is not a constant knocking. i hear/feel it soon after coming to a full stop - it knock, knock, knocks then goes away. depending on how long i stop - it knock, knock, knocks then goes away again.

i've not had too much experience with a parallel twin engine and wonder if this is just the nature of the beast?

ideas?    :dunno:

the motors are known to be noisy, and have lots of camshaft endplay,  if you search using the terms "camshaft endplay" you should be able to figure out if that is your problem.  although I am about 98% sure it is.

Sounds exactly like my description when I first described my knock, never found anything wrong so it has to be the cam shaft side play that has already been reffered to.  It seems to be harmless, my bike has 17k plus and Ive heard of other bikes having the same noise with more miles then mine.

Yeah, its extremely common. Just cam play. My gsf had it. The dealer said that suzuki knew what it is, but didnt make a recall or anything cauz it isnt safety oriented. They did some engine work to it, and never did it again. Just go talk to ur dealer if its on warrenty, theyll fix it.

Yea my 98e does the same thing ive been riding bikes most of my life and have heardy many scary but actually harmless noises i never checked it out to see what it was but with nearly 20k on the bike it apparently wasnt anything major, but its good to know what is probably is now. :thumb:

Yep to the above, and it'll run fine on 87. ;)

thanks gang - put's my mind at ease :thumb:

just put another 100mi & nearing the 600mi mark. i'll describe it to the wrench that will work on it, maybe he can do something...

(87, phew! i can save a few $$$ on gas)

Not to be repetitive, but here in UT I run my '99 on 85 octane.  :)

EDIT:  85 is the (RON + MON)/2 number.

Europeans are lucky: we have 95 to 98 octane fuel available.

I use the cheapest one (unleaded 95 octane) and sometimes use leaded
97 octane (by bike flies with it).
I've tried unleaded 98 but it's about the same as 95 unleaded.

Quote from: marcEuropeans are lucky: we have 95 to 98 octane fuel available.

But that's RON, not AKI, no?

Hey you guys and gals, if you have that knock in your bike don't listen to some of these guys who say they all do that, or don't worry about it...
My wifes bike developed the same knock just before the first service.
So the dealer first ordered in some cam shims to try and fix it. Guess what they took it to ZERO  Tolerance and still had a knock ???????
My bike was one of 3 with the same problem sold at that dealership.
What now then ?????....... Suzuki Australia transported another bike with that same problem across 3 states to tear the motor down at their head office in Melbourne. Next thing i know i get a call from my dealer about a month later, to bring the bike in to get the SUZUKI OFFICIAL MODIFIED CAM KIT. This consisted of new cam caps, camshaft, shims and a wavey washer. Apparently the valve guides have been moved out  1mm, which the dealership seem to think has been done by Suzuki to try and improve the emissions from the motor. I actually saw all the parts for the new cam kit, along with a fitting diagram from Suzuki itself. So if any ones thinks this is a minor problem think again. So if you have this knock in your new bike take it to your dealer to get it fixed. Because true to all manufacturers they only recall bikes/vehicles if it is a safety problem which could get them sued from go to whoa. I would imagine now that the whole problem has been addressed on all the new bikes coming from the factory in Spain, and their will only be a handfull of bikes out their with the problem left. I was even told that Suzuki stopped the production on the engine assembly line for a short while till they got on top of the problem........ Ride safe people

New cam caps?  :?  
They are line bored with the head. Very unlikely that you will find another set that fits properly unless they are bored to match the head.

Good to see someone is awake. Suzuki should have supplied a new head along with the other parts ?????????
My other worry is later on when their is a possibilty that the wavey washer will break up........ think about that one my learned friend...

Yeah, the wavy washer sounds like a BS fix to keep the cams from having lateral movement. True, that washer will not last too long. Then what kind of problems will there be?

bike is nearing the 600 mile mark and i will be taking it in for it's 1st service.

i will print out this post and show it to the dealer.

i can also show it to 3 other wrenches and see what they think...

thanks gang  :thumb:

Thankyou to force7r for sheading light on the problem my 04 bike is doing the same thing and shall be phoning Suzuki Australia direct to have this problem fixed ASAP.......that's what's so great about this forum there is help out there and there is a wealth of knowledge its fantastic  :thumb:

hey gang,

take a view/listen here of the engine knock, let me know if it's the same as yours...

it happens 3 times in the vid 14seconds into it again at 27secs and again at 41secs.

Click here to watch gsf_knock (http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=gsf_knock)

Try changing the brand of gas. In Canada Shell has the best refining process, I had knocking with petro 91 switched to shell 91 and ran like a champ.

That's the knock alright, it is intermittant at times. Believe me it aint no octane problem. Time to ring your local Suzuki Dealer and if they try to fob you off, ring Suzuki's Head Office in the country your in. My wifes bike sounds as sweet as a swiss watch now it has been fixed....

I have an '05 with about 3,000 miles and it has never made that sound FWIW.

Quote from: rclzTry changing the brand of gas. In Canada Shell has the best refining process, I had knocking with petro 91 switched to shell 91 and ran like a champ.

My suzuki mechanic today told me never to put petro gas in the bike. Why i dont remember, but he said that. He recommended only Shell or Esso. nothing else.

I wouldn't exprect yours to knock being an 05, as Suzuki should now be mopping up the 04 models that have that problem, and protect the GREAT REPUTATION that that motor has built up since it was first introduced  to the Suzuki line-up....cheers

Quote from: ginoetake a view/listen here of the engine knock, let me know if it's the same as yours...

Thanks for the recording, it really helps!

:o  Yours is a much more "rat-tat-tatty" sound than the "soft clunk" I had on my '96.  :o

I was lucky.......the noise that I was hearing wasn't that ....because my bike was still under warranty before taking it to my hopeless suzuki dealer we took the bike to our normal mechanic.......he had a look and said that it was the throtle positioning sensor.......we mentioned this when I took my bike in for its first service ...........they didn't even look at it......so needless to say the next service will be done with our mechanic who is very good and I know that this problem will be fixed.   mmmmm no wonder there are more Honda bikes riding around my town then Suzuki because of the dealer here........I know I have the only 2004 Yellow one and they have only sold one other fairing model and so far have only seen another 2 naked models its a shame because I think my bike's a little beauty.

Stay safe folks

Quote from: force7rHdon't listen to some of these guys who say they all do that, or don't worry about it...

It's true that not all GSes have camshaft endplay.  However, just because you can do something about it (with an official OEM Suzuki "wavy washer" :roll: ) doesn't mean that you should worry about it.  It's possible that the issue is only cosmetic (annoying noises).

That said, your knocking may be more severe than most; I don't know, since my GS doesn't knock.

I had the same problem, but after I replaced the cam chain tensioner with a manual one, it went away.

Hello everyone,

I've got a brand-new 2005 GS500/F (faired) with 800 km on it.  It's been making that knocking sound from day one.  I'm taking it in soon for it's 1000km break-in check up, and will let all of you know what the good ole Suzuki peeps tell me about the 2005 and this problem.

I have a '97 . I hear a similar sound to the recorded one. not consistent at all, it sounds a little different than that sound asmy sound is very rhythmic when it happens. the sound does not seem tied to the engine speed and happens when i'm moving (maybe stopping) and while idling. Im the 3rd owner. it's a little beat (4 stationary drops before I got it)

Any thoughts?

Hi Ginoe, going up the wall because I cant download the noise. My bike, an 89, has a noise problem that nobody seems to understand. Id like to compare with the noise on yours. Any advice on how to download.
Cheers :dunno:

Hi everyone,

Just an update on my gs.  I've been riding it for over a year now.  The Suzuki techs were well aware of the "problem" but told me that it's just a harmless free-play issue with the cams.  My bike still makes the noise at warm idle, and judging by the other posts on this forum, will probably continue to do so for the rest of its (hopefully long) life.

It's an awesome bike, one of the last that you can get that's got the naked, unfaired style.  (I mis-typed in my earlier post - it is definitely without fairing, what a cool, classy and unique look.  Too bad the folks at Suzuki got rid of the unfaired for 2006)  And, it's under 500cc.  This is a real bonus to us folks in Ontario, as the insurance companies rape you if you have a > 500cc bike.  Right now, I'm paying $1400/yr to insure it, and this considered cheap.  I tried to insure a 1984 Maxim 650 and they quoted me $3500...okay guys, stick that up your arse!

In any case, I'm bringing her in for my 1 year inspection, and will let you know if their story changes. 

my 05 did tha exact same thing and i took it to the shop to get a jet kit put in and ron found that some sort of flap wasnt lettin the right cylinder go all the way up and that it was hittin it making it knock since he fixed it i havent heard it :thumb: