Hello to all, new here to the forums and basically a novice when it comes to anything mechanical (forewarning). I just bought a 93 GS500E two weeks ago and I have started to encounter problems with the bike hesistating and then stalling. Whenever I get the bike to about 5000 RPMS it bogs out and then it will start to hesitate and stall. After the stall it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to get the bike to start and then it seems like it drives fine. Does anyone know what the problem could be and maybe what needs to be checked/fixed?
My Dad does all the mechanical work on my vehicles and any help may assist him in diagnosing the problem. He thinks it could be a fuel line or the carburetors from the description I've given him.
Here's a picture of my motorcycle:
(http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l400/sphsfootballstar/Moto4.jpg)
I'm guessing that with that ebay car muffler that's on it; it's running extremely rich or not getting enough fuel. I would probably start with the carbs, checking to see what size jets it has in it. With that free flowing car muffler, i can't begin to tell you were to start but with your dad's knowledge and your; I'm sure you two will figure it out. :thumb:
I was thinking the same thing about the muffler.
Think about making or buying a restrictor for that muffler and make sure the carbs are jetted for it. What's on the intake?
Yep, if it doesn't have a silencer; find one for it and start there. I'm sure that wouldn't fix the probelm but it should help tremendously.
Dad just checked the engine compression and it's low at 105 lb/in^2 (Standard is btw 142 to 199, right?). It needs new spark plugs and I think I inherited a piece of crap. Also, the muffler is a car muffler (3A Racing), so that's probably something else that will need to be fixed.
Anyone want to buy a gun?
Oh man, I hate that problem. Fix it, and let me know what it was so I can fix my bike!
Quote from: tt_four on June 11, 2009, 01:53:32 PM
Oh man, I hate that problem. Fix it, and let me know what it was so I can fix my bike!
I won't even know what he does when he fixes it. I'm a moron when it comes to anything mechanical.
I had the same exact problem with my 92 right after I bought it and started looking around to check everything out. I figured it was the carbs or something so I took off the seat and tank and got a good look at them and they looked completely fine. At that point I figured I would just take it to someone who knew what they were doing, but when putting everything back together I realized that someone had connected the tank drain hose to the top T on the carbs, and the hose that goes to the top T on the carbs was just in there not connected to anything. I re routed the hoses and seemed to get rid of the problem but the bike still did run a little bit rough. After an oil change and new NGK iridium spark plugs the bike is running so much better. Still have to replace the air filter which should take care of the rest of it I'm hoping.
Anyway, long story short, pull up the hose routing diagram from the wiki and make sure that they are all run correctly.
I'm painting my basement this weekend, which means I can spend next week putting up the pegboard, hang up my tools, put my work bench back together, and then next weekend I can start pulling the GS apart so I can ride it again! I'll make sure I look into those hoses as well.
Not a bad looking bike, and welcome to the board!
Before you have Dad tear it apart, try to save him some work. He works hard all day and he will appreciate it, believe me.
Try running it with the fuel petcock set to PRI (prime) instead of ON or RES. The vacuum operated petcock is notorious for getting cruddy inside and not opening all the way, strangling fuel flow. Setting it to PRI by-passes the vacuum operated safety feature and allows gas to flow to the carbs without any restriction. If it runs good set to PRI, you need to clean your petcock. Some change them with manual petcocks. Putting 2 ounces of Marvel Mystery Oil or Seafoam in each tank of gas has been known to help this sticking valve. MMO worked for me.
As for the low compression, it's possible the valves have never been adjusted. How many miles are on the bike? If they're too far out of adjustment, particularly the exhaust valves, they can stop seating completely, losing compression. They should be checked before you tear the engine apart. If your valve seats are worn to the point where they're way out of adjustment, it will be hard to start.
Good luck and keep us posted!
Quote from: bill14224 on June 11, 2009, 07:23:15 PM
Not a bad looking bike, and welcome to the board!
Before you have Dad tear it apart, try to save him some work. He works hard all day and he will appreciate it, believe me.
Try running it with the fuel petcock set to PRI (prime) instead of ON or RES. The vacuum operated petcock is notorious for getting cruddy inside and not opening all the way, strangling fuel flow. Setting it to PRI by-passes the vacuum operated safety feature and allows gas to flow to the carbs without any restriction. If it runs good set to PRI, you need to clean your petcock. Some change them with manual petcocks. Putting 2 ounces of Marvel Mystery Oil or Seafoam in each tank of gas has been known to help this sticking valve. MMO worked for me.
As for the low compression, it's possible the valves have never been adjusted. How many miles are on the bike? If they're too far out of adjustment, particularly the exhaust valves, they can stop seating completely, losing compression. They should be checked before you tear the engine apart. If your valve seats are worn to the point where they're way out of adjustment, it will be hard to start.
Good luck and keep us posted!
Thanks. I'll attempt the petcock later in the day after I get off work. The bike has 11,*** miles on it, so it is possible that the valves need to be adjusted.
Going for a ride today and I'm going to have the petcock set to PRI to see how it runs. I will update if I encounter any problems or if I don't.
Dad came over to replace the spark plugs, but the bike wouldn't hold an idle, so we put the old ones back in. After that the bike idled fine, but I still need to get new spark plugs.
Well I kept the bike set to PRI and it drove wonderful. The only down side was that the bike would sometimes idle at 2000 RPM, but that's the only thing that I can think of that was somewhat off.
The exhaust doesn't seem to affect the bike whatsoever, so I don't know if it should even be replaced.
All in all it turned out to be a good day.
With my petcock set to PRI, will I burn more gas? Also, I seem to be smelling gas from the bike, is that b/c of the petcock setting on PRI or maybe there might be a gas leak?
if you smell it, there's a leak. Might want to have Pop's check the floats on that bad boy. Also, check your gas lines. On a bike that old, i'm sure you have some dry rotted lines.
end of line....
Thanks for the advice.
Well I am about to throw my bike into the river b/c I'm going to have to put too much money into it.
At first I thought I only needed a rear tire, so I bought one. Of course that's not the only thing it needs. Now I have to buy a needle and seat kit, a rear brake rotor, rear brake pad, spark plugs, kreem (for the rusted fuel tank), bowl gaskets, o-rings for the carburetors, and an air filter. I knew I would have to spend money, but this is getting ridiculous.
And to make matters worse, while trying to take the fuel cap off the tank I dropped an alan wrench into the tank and I now cannot get the wrench out.
:technical: <----if this were my bike.
From the pic that you posted of the bike, it's not that bad. It may take a little time but it will be well worth it. The biggest enemy of the GS is neglect/not being ridden. Once you fix these, you have a pretty cheap and reliable bike. And who said you needed a rear rotor? Any pics?
The rear rotor has grooves. My Dad said it should be replaced b/c of the grooves. Is this correct?
Im sure all of us have grooves in our rotors but they are expensive. I would throw some pads at it and call it a day. Especially if it's just the rear.
Quote from: average on June 15, 2009, 05:07:32 PM
Im sure all of us have grooves in our rotors but they are expensive. I would throw some pads at it and call it a day. Especially if it's just the rear.
I saw ($160). I'll talk to him about it, but it's more or less his decision b/c he wants me to be driving a safe bike.
Alright, I have some updates on the bike.
Bought:
Seat/Needle (2).
Carb Gaskets.
O-Rings.
Brake Pads.
Rear Rotor off eBay for $30 in decent condition with very little grooves.
Going to Jersey tomorrow to buy stock exhaust off someone for $50 and maybe taking the muffler off the bike and putting it on my car.
I think that's about it so far.
I think I mentioned I have rust in my tank and I was wondering what the best product to use. I was going to buy Kreem, which my Dad recommended, but I talked to a girl who also has a GS500E where I train and she says the Kreem tends to flake off and my problem will be worse. Any suggestions?
Dad also cleaned the carbs, so no more rust or gunk inside of those bad boys. A few more weeks and I should have a nice bike back on the road.
One more question: If I buy a K&N Air Filter, do I have to change anything?
Yes, just get a newer tank. Fits without too much fuss and there's that plus of being cancer free :thumb:
I cleaned out my old tank with the last 2 steps of the por15 kit, and just used simple green for the first. I'm about to do it again, but this time I just bought a thing of phosphoric acid from home depot, still have simple green, and ordered the 8oz can of por15. The phosphoric acid cost the same as por15s metal ready, so i'd just get theirs to be sure you do it right. It was pretty easy, but took a while, and kinda stunk up the house. I'll do it outside this time.
Quote from: tt_four on June 27, 2009, 08:37:50 PM
I cleaned out my old tank with the last 2 steps of the por15 kit, and just used simple green for the first. I'm about to do it again, but this time I just bought a thing of phosphoric acid from home depot, still have simple green, and ordered the 8oz can of por15. The phosphoric acid cost the same as por15s metal ready, so i'd just get theirs to be sure you do it right. It was pretty easy, but took a while, and kinda stunk up the house. I'll do it outside this time.
Is the 4oz can of Por15 enough for the gas tank? I've found some cheap prices for a kit which includes Marine Clean, Metal Ready, and Por15.
Dude - send your carbs over - I'll jet it for that pipe - you will prolly not need to buy much else.
I'll post in detail - and how did I miss this for so long ... I need a :technical:.
Cool.
Buddha.
4 oz is just a shade low, 6 oz is good though.
I'd try it this way though.
Buy metal ready in a qt, and the gas tank liner in a quart.
Buy a couple of their pourer spouts etc.
Buy some paint tins @ napa. You want the smaller than quart sizes. Pint is how many - 16 oz right - so pint and 1/2 pint 1 each.
Then treat the bad rust first with muriatic acid. Dilute it if you like with hot water. This actually helps remove oil and dirt and rust.
Then dump the acid, chase with hot water with baking soda, then with just plain water.
Then put in some water - so tank can be wet from previous step, and metal ready. Now slosh for 15 mins.
Drain, rinse and dry. Here it has to be bone dry - so warm it in an oven or in a hot car under the sun etc etc, but dry it as fast as you can. Drop tore up towel in it, shake and pull ... repeat.
Now you can seal up all the openings well and put 6-8 ox POR15 in it, and put the rest of the POR 15 in the pint and 1/2 pint cans and seal it up.
No air, as high to the top as you can get, and close and lock it and seal it.
That POR 15 can now be sold to people - heck I'd do 3 1/2 pint over 1 pint and 1 1/2. 1/2 pint is the right size for the GS tank.
BTW I do POR jobs starting @75 bucks. But it would take a few days to a week turn around if my weather is good.
Cool.
Buddha.
Quote from: The Buddha on June 30, 2009, 10:14:43 AM
Dude - send your carbs over - I'll jet it for that pipe - you will prolly not need to buy much else.
I'll post in detail - and how did I miss this for so long ... I need a :technical:.
Cool.
Buddha.
I bought the stock pipe and painted it and now it looks brand new for $50.
Quote from: The Buddha on June 30, 2009, 10:26:06 AM
4 oz is just a shade low, 6 oz is good though.
I'd try it this way though.
Buy metal ready in a qt, and the gas tank liner in a quart.
Buy a couple of their pourer spouts etc.
Buy some paint tins @ napa. You want the smaller than quart sizes. Pint is how many - 16 oz right - so pint and 1/2 pint 1 each.
Then treat the bad rust first with muriatic acid. Dilute it if you like with hot water. This actually helps remove oil and dirt and rust.
Then dump the acid, chase with hot water with baking soda, then with just plain water.
Then put in some water - so tank can be wet from previous step, and metal ready. Now slosh for 15 mins.
Drain, rinse and dry. Here it has to be bone dry - so warm it in an oven or in a hot car under the sun etc etc, but dry it as fast as you can. Drop tore up towel in it, shake and pull ... repeat.
Now you can seal up all the openings well and put 6-8 ox POR15 in it, and put the rest of the POR 15 in the pint and 1/2 pint cans and seal it up.
No air, as high to the top as you can get, and close and lock it and seal it.
That POR 15 can now be sold to people - heck I'd do 3 1/2 pint over 1 pint and 1 1/2. 1/2 pint is the right size for the GS tank.
BTW I do POR jobs starting @75 bucks. But it would take a few days to a week turn around if my weather is good.
Cool.
Buddha.
I'll think about the gas tank. The time period doesn't seem bad, but I don't know what shipping costs will be since I don't normally ship anything......I'll get back to you on the gas tank scenario.
I love updating my own thread...... :D
Anyways, Dad came over and installed the carbs after cleaning them and replacing some of the parts I mentioned earlier in the thread (synced and everything). We had difficulty installing the airbox.......that was definitely a turd. :mad: Stupid plastic, rubber compound.
Buddha, I would have had you do the gas tank rust removal and lining, but I just don't have that money right now especially when my Dad will do it for free.
What else....?
First time hearing the stock exhaust since taking off the old pipes/muffler. The bike is definitely more quiet and seems to run better, but that's not a bad thing.
All in all, once the gas tank's rust is removed and lined the bike should be as good as new and then I can finally drive it farther than the end of the road.