Hello all, I am a new member to this site. However, I have been to this site many times. I have owned my 90' GS500E for 4 years now. I just put a full fairing and solo seat on the bike.. I will post a picture soon. I have noticed that my choke lever is sticking. I checked it and think its the cable. The lever works fine, but when I do pull the chose lever forward it doesn't move the mechanism on the carb. Would this be a bad line? Let me know what you all think. Thanks, Ryan :)
It sounds like the choke cable is either not attached on one (or both) end(s), or it's broken somewhere inside the cable sheath.
To check the "business" end, crouch down on the right side of the bike, facing the rear, and look under the frame at the right-side carburetor. You should see something like this:
(http://www.bbburma.net/MiscFotos/100_0130_IdleScrew_ChokeCable.jpg)
Now that you know you're in the right place, make sure the choke cable is hooked up by comparing it with this close-up:
(http://www.bbburma.net/MiscFotos/100_0130_ChokeCableCloseUp.jpg)
If everything looks good so far, compress the spring out of the way and pull on the cable inside it. If the cable is broken there will be nothing but SLACK.
EDIT: Changed links from sisna.com to bbburma.net
When you pull the choke lever toward you does it work but then you push it back and it stays on? Thats what mine has done since I got it . I just push the choke off manually and I am on my way.
Wayne
Thanks for the advice. I am going to check the cable tonight. It does pull forward nice and easy, but wont work when I push it back... Same problem as you stated Wayne. Thanks Kerry for your help. I will check on it tonight and let you know what I find out. I know the ends are attached correctly. I am thinking its a broken cable inside! Anyway... Got my fairings painted last night and the bike should be back together by the weekend. I will post some pictures when its all done. Thanks , Ryan
Good read Wayne! I saw "pull" and didn't catch "forward".
Ryan, if this is really the problem you're having then your cable is not broken. It works when it's pulled through the cable housing, but it resists being pushed back through the housing. The spring on the other end (the one in my pictures) is supposed to help pull the cable back to its OFF position. I had the same problem on my '96....
Here are the possibilities as I see them:
1) The cable almost certainly needs to be lubed.
2) The spring could be missing/out of place, or may have "lost its spring". However, it's not a very "beefy" spring in the first place.
3) The cable, although not broken, could be frayed inside. This would increase the resistance between the cable and the housing.
Sure fire cure? Replace the cable.
Next bext thing? Lube the cable.
One other possibility: If the carbs have been taken apart, the "choke slider" may not have been reassembled correctly.
If the spring is shot, should I replace that? Will any of the same size spring work? Just wondering? I know the spring on my bike is not in that good of shape. This is sounding more like my problem... So you suggest getting a new cable then, right?
Quote from: JeepWrangler8So you suggest getting a new cable then, right?
That's what I did - end of problem. Maybe I should have tried lubing the thing, but it was a used bike and I knew I would need another eventually anyway, so I splurged.
Sounds good, I will order a new line! Should I just use the same spring?
I can't remember whether my new cable came with a new spring.
If yours doesn't include a new spring then yeah - use the old one.
Alrighty 8) ... Thanks for the advice! I just order the cable, I will see if it comes with a spring or not. If the old one is too damaged, I will go to the Home Depot and try and match up the sping with a new one! Hopefully, my problem goes away as yours did! Thanks again Kerry! You have been a big help.. Ryan