Recently purchased a GS500F-K8 and from day one the bike was running rough i.e. idle wasn't steady and it wanted to pull away from me at times along the road. The engine will only heat up on the rght side. Bike was filled with 91 octane and later topped again with the same grade of fuel.
Took it back to the dealer and explained the above to one of their mechanics/technicians and he removed the left plug and replaced it with the exact same part no. plug and he did this after test riding it. He told me to ride it for while to run it in to see if it clears. Personally, I wasn't satisfied with that asnwer but had no choice at the time and so rode the bike home. He did show me that the spark plug was firing. still not happy with the performance and still finding that engine only heats up on the right side, I promptly started to remove the left spark plug and low & behold discovered using the supplied spark plug remover that it didn't fit the park plug at all as it could not grip it. Eventually removed it after using a spanner to find that left spark plug had a different part no. from the right one. The right plug is corrrect part no. and the left one was a different type cc engine - bloody Suzuki not doing their quality checks !
Phoned dealer and managed to speak to one their staff members in Services section of the dealership and explained what I discovered. He promptly said bring it in as it sounds as if it maybe being starved of fuel if the left side of the engine remains cooler than the right side even when the engine has been running 10-15 minutes to start and after 45 minutes of riding the left side cools very quickly too. He gave me a complete new set of spark plugs that matched that bike as I brought the user's manual and even after that the bike behaved not as bad i.e. the engine is still cold on the left side, bike starts up more easily and the idle isn't as rough.
The earlier advice given by one their mechanics was wrong because running the engine to lean could eventually damage the bike's engine as explained by the person I spoke to later on.
So I am in limbo until they find out if Suzuki's poor quality control for not installing the correct spark plug and if it has contributed to any possible to the bike's engine. Also, they may have also not balanced the carbs or the float chamber is filling with correct amount of fuel.
So now I am wary of Suzuki's quality control in manufacturing.
did you check the plug to see if it has spark and if so is it getting gas sounds like one or the other
Quote from: anthonygs1000 on April 06, 2008, 10:19:58 AM
did you check the plug to see if it has spark and if so is it getting gas sounds like one or the other
Yes, tested the plug and I could see it sparking. also, removed it to see that it was wet but unsure if there is enough fuel in the chamber to ignite ?
Sounds like the float level may be off in the carb on the suspect cylinder.Do this check on both carbs. http://www.bbburma.net/FloatHeight.htm
Quote from: ben2go on April 06, 2008, 12:11:59 PM
Sounds like the float level may be off in the carb on the suspect cylinder.Do this check on both carbs. http://www.bbburma.net/FloatHeight.htm
Thanks for that info !
Just an update !
Got the bike back from the dealer's mechanics and they discovered debris in the carbs. So it came from the manufacturer with debris either in the fuel tank/carbs and the dealer only fixed it after stating to them that the bike's engine should not be just heating up the right side alone and they delivered it with the wrong spark plug on the right side. So much for Suzuki quality control and hopefully from now it's going to be good riding the bike.
Good to hear!
GS's are very dependable when they're put in order. Hopefully that's the last of your problems. :thumb: