Im a newbie to bikes, i passed my MSF course maybe 2 months ago now.
I bought my 97 GS500E around the same time, $1400, 31k miles, owner said it needs its carbs cleaned out. I did clean em out and it ran a bit better.
When i first started riding i thought "holy shaZam! this is fast!" but obviously thats died away. I didnt realize how much the effect SHOULDNT have died away so soon.
I understand that my friends ninja is a brand new 06 and is going to have some horsepower advantage over my gs500e, im cool with that. But on her bike I could be in 6th gear going 80, roll on the throttle and the bike plants my ass into the seat. On my bike if I REALLY push her I can get to 80, and then when im there, in 4th or 5th or whatever, I roll on the throttle and the engine makes more noise... and thats about it.
I have to rev to 5-6k not to lug the bike from a stop. With the idle set proper, easing off the clutch kills the engine without gas, however slight I ease off.
I get maybe 40 mpg at best on premium gas.
In short I think I got a GS250E ;) with gs500 gearing :(
Where do I start? spark plugs look fine. Carbs looked a bit aged but everything was still intact and working as far as I saw. Would it be really obvious if one cylinder wasnt firing or something? I wasnt kidding about the 250 thing :laugh:
Any help's appreciated.
Check if you have spark from both plugs, by removing one sparkplug, put it back in the cap, and ground the threads to the cylinder head fins, then press the starter button. You should see a bluish spark. Now, test the other side.
its time to clean out those carbs, do an oil change, change the plugs, ect ect. my bike has done the same mileage and i can still get to 115 on the clock(not a real 115)
but do those basics and if your feeling frisky you could even change your pilot jet to the next size up so its not running lean
Quote from: scratch on June 06, 2006, 01:58:41 PMCheck if you have spark from both plugs, by removing one sparkplug, put it back in the cap, and ground the threads to the cylinder head fins[...]
Like this ... only it's best if you don't hold onto it!
(http://www.bbburma.net/MiscFotos/100_1781_TestingForSpark.jpg)
Quote from: hmmmnz on June 06, 2006, 02:06:28 PM
its time to clean out those carbs, do an oil change, change the plugs, ect ect. my bike has done the same mileage and i can still get to 115 on the clock(not a real 115)
but do those basics and if your feeling frisky you could even change your pilot jet to the next size up so its not running lean
oil was changed right before i bought the bike, he still had the oil container out and the filter's box :)
as already stated I cleaned the carbs out mighty well.
Will try testing for spark to make sure, but if one wasnt firing, shouldnt it be a different color than the other spark plug? both looked beautiful =X
Quote from: Kerry on June 06, 2006, 02:27:31 PM
Quote from: scratch on June 06, 2006, 01:58:41 PMCheck if you have spark from both plugs, by removing one sparkplug, put it back in the cap, and ground the threads to the cylinder head fins[...]
Like this ... only it's best if you don't hold onto it!
(http://www.bbburma.net/MiscFotos/100_1781_TestingForSpark.jpg)
Oh yeah...that's some painful stuff when you shock yourself by holding the wire :laugh: AMHIK
Quote from: p0diabl0 on June 06, 2006, 02:36:24 PM
Quote from: hmmmnz on June 06, 2006, 02:06:28 PM
its time to clean out those carbs, do an oil change, change the plugs, ect ect. my bike has done the same mileage and i can still get to 115 on the clock(not a real 115)
but do those basics and if your feeling frisky you could even change your pilot jet to the next size up so its not running lean
oil was changed right before i bought the bike, he still had the oil container out and the filter's box :)
as already stated I cleaned the carbs out mighty well.
Will try testing for spark to make sure, but if one wasnt firing, shouldnt it be a different color than the other spark plug? both looked beautiful =X
Maybe neither are firing and your just rolling :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Hmmm ... it would be a good idea to check the compression in the cylinders. (See this Haynes page (http://bbburma.net/Scans/Haynes_EngineSpecs_CylinderCompression.gif) for the specs.)
Maybe the first 31K miles were harder on your bike than on hmmmnz's and mine. :dunno_white: Are you burning oil? Any blue smoke?
I've done that plug-against-fins thing with my Yamaha using rubber gloves to holf the plug in place, I get a spark, is there a way of telling if the spark is enough ???
Vacuum synchronization of the carbs might be a good idea, too. This way they're both doing equal work, or carrying an equal load.
Hey! how did that blue perplexed smiley appear, i never did that. Has John added a mind-reading feature to the board ???
why are you runing priemum? run regular
my plugs are white, which means.... lean
if the carbs are set right they should be (the plugs that is ) light tan or brown, if there dark or carbon fouled then your too rich or the fuel is not burning all the way (the wrong gas, switch to lower grade)
Quote from: rangerbrown on June 06, 2006, 03:08:28 PM
why are you runing priemum? run regular
Good catch!
No wonder he's having terrible performance!
Quote from: Cal Price on June 06, 2006, 03:06:51 PMHey! how did that blue perplexed smiley appear, i never did that. Has John added a mind-reading feature to the board ???
Looks like you broke the code (3
?s in a row) and restored one of our old smilies to us. Thanks, Cal!
Quote from: scratch on June 06, 2006, 03:05:33 PM
Vacuum synchronization of the carbs might be a good idea, too. This way they're both doing equal work, or carrying an equal load.
I synced em too. Or rather a friend did it for me cause I suck at teh carbs. I can clean anything, but the rest of that stuff.. im still learning. :cheers:
As far as premium vs regular, Ive been told to do either by different peoples from all walks of motorcycling, i was going to switch back to regular next tank just to make sure but im pretty sure that the difference has been zip to nil. Will do though.
yea, any one that tell you that doesnt know what there talking about, run reg and save the money, now if it was a high compression engine like the new 600-up and the manual said to use it then yea use it.
the higher the # means its resistance to burn, but the higher the compression the easer it is for it to burn. so if you use reg in a high (9.5 to 1 comp) it would burn before the plug fires and this is call spark nock.
Quote from: rangerbrown on June 06, 2006, 03:55:37 PM
yea, any one that tell you that doesnt know what there talking about, run reg and save the money, now if it was a high compression engine like the new 600-up and the manual said to use it then yea use it.
the higher the # means its resistance to burn, but the higher the compression the easer it is for it to burn. so if you use reg in a high (9.5 to 1 comp) it would burn before the plug fires and this is call spark nock.
What about a new 650? My dealer said "treat it well, use premium"....was he just dumb (at least he was nice)? The bike seems to run well enough.
Go to the last page of any Motorcyclist magazine. The GS500e has the lowest horsepower and torque of any bike listed. Only the Ninja 250 is missing. We're Number One. Our funny little 500's are down 10 horsies from the factory on those Ninjas. That is about 25%. Our carburation is also f_cked. Mine gets about 50 MPG, though. And it does start everyday. It doesn't seem to wear out tires much (at least compared to the 955, the CBR1000f, and the Bandit 1200 I used to own. My chain is also holding up well, the bike has 22,000 miles on it with the stock chain. Just get used to it being a cheap, reliable bike.
Oh, by the way, mine will do about 110 MPH
Quote from: skoebl on June 06, 2006, 06:00:47 PM
Quote from: rangerbrown on June 06, 2006, 03:55:37 PM
yea, any one that tell you that doesnt know what there talking about, run reg and save the money, now if it was a high compression engine like the new 600-up and the manual said to use it then yea use it.
the higher the # means its resistance to burn, but the higher the compression the easer it is for it to burn. so if you use reg in a high (9.5 to 1 comp) it would burn before the plug fires and this is call spark nock.
What about a new 650? My dealer said "treat it well, use premium"....was he just dumb (at least he was nice)? The bike seems to run well enough.
most if not all new bike have a sticker on the tank that says use (90+ octane to aviod sever damage to engine)
if not check the little book that comes with the bike (user manual) for details
Podiablo...the first thing that you need to do here is realize that the EX500 has a 14rwhp advantage over the GS out of the box. Power actually has more of a tendency to appreciate with age, as opposed to depriciate, if the bike is maintaned and cared for propperly (this is usually accounted for by carbon deposits and such). Stock for stock, considering the weight of these bikes, if you bike's valves and carbs are in good order then you'll be beat on pretty good by an EX. Further, if the EX isn't stock, you should keep in mind that they're VERY responsive to modifications (mine is putting down close to 72rwhp with basic bolt ons and no headgasket).
I can't really suggest much as for making the best of what you got...all the good tips have been covered. Are you looking to have a faster bike than this EX?
As for fuel level...use whatever doesn't make the engine knock. If you're not boosting fuel level isn't too serious an issue if you're not knocking. My manuals call for premium in my TLS and my 328i but I only use the premium if I intend to be doing any hard riding/driving. If I'm just cruising or commuting the cheap stuff works fine. Bike and car both work well off 86 and sometimes lower.
mackenzie, the ninja was brand new, .4 miles on it (i was delievering it to a friends house who only has permit and lives 30 miles away). Maybe i just got my numbers wrong, i thought the ninja was rated at ~46 hp and the gs500e at 40 or so. But like i said, i can barely reach 80. going 65 mph in the powerband i almost dont feel safe on the highway if i need to speed up to potentially avoid something.
I understand that this is one of the slower bikes I can get and look forward to grabbing a mid 90s 600 come the end of summer after I get the hang of riding a bit more. I would simply like a working machine in the meantime, and this bike has its fair share of other problems (idle can be at 1.5k rpms one stoplight, 5k at the next). Theres a huge difference between 80 and 108 which many people say theyve topped out at, so i was just worried =X
you might wanna check what RPM range you are operating in.
If I'm doing 80 on the freeway, I'm usually in 5th, not 6th.
Anywhere between about 5500 and 9000 is where I seem to find the perky power.
The stock EX actually dyno's between 50 and 54 rwhp.
ehhh who cares the nnnnnninja is farking ugly anyway
AJ, you're starting to sound like Tickleme....
You remember, she thought it was ugly and looked like a dirt bike....
Well it is ugly, although it doesnt look like a dirtbike, but I guess that is what smoking crack will do to you. And.... I know how to spell and use punctuation unlike tickle.
and you probably bathe too.... damn jersey girls....
I could have sworn horse power depreciates with age. Because they did a test on it the other day, true it was on some 80's sports cars but from what they left the factory with in their day they now dyno them and read sometimes less thank half the HP they had when they came out.
Plus there is no theory to support HP increasing with age because age brings warping, slight changes in the shape of the cylinder, built up deposits (even if you clean things it will still happen to a degree) Worn out electrics, which have greater resistence so weaker sparks, piston rings will become warn, conrods can gain more play. There is nothing to say an engine could mature with age and ive yet to see research to prove it.
Actualy power increases as the bike matures for first few years, but after that i drops as the compression decreases. It goes in a curve like in dyno runs, first up then down.
Yea i can understand an intial few years of increasion as the engine its "broken in" and properly run in. But from then on down hill . .
At first, the rings will seat and the compression goes up a bit, to where it was actually designed to be. After proper break in, things just start on the road to wearing out.
Kasumi...go back and read the post again. Maybe you missed the explanation I supplied.
3 pages of debating shaZam! about a freaking nnnnnninja 500...... GHEY!!!