So I only got to ride my GS500 a few times last year after fixing it up before it got to cold; I just got it going again and I'm having an awful time with the idle hanging at about 3k after riding for 10 min or so. The problem I'm most concerned with, though, is the fact that there is some kind of oil/gas mixture dripping off the carbs and it seems to be coming from where they attach to the intake manifold. Now I've already checked for a leaky intake boot by spraying with WD-40 because I thought that might be the cause of the hanging idle, but nothing happened when I sprayed them. The float bowls were a little high, but I have adjusted them to the right level. I checked the valves for the first time the other day and they are all tight, but the boots still spin; I am ordering a shim remover tool so that I can adjust them; I have heard that this can cause a hanging idle too. Anyway, I keep getting away from the important thing, which is the oil/gas mix, anybody know what might be the cause of that and how serious it is?
cmon someone has to have an idea about oil and gas leaking from the intake boots
something stuck in the float valves or they are set too high and just just leaking up and out
Yeah I keep thinking float valves too, but it isn't just gas, its a brown gas oil mix. I pulled the spark plugs the other day and they are oil fouled, for what its worth.
It really shouldnt be oil. It would be a mixture of gas and carbon deposits. If by some chance you DO have oil coming out near the carbs, it means that you have a leaking valve that is letting oil come in from the top of the head. That would explain the oil fouling of the plug too.
Got a compression tester?
An easy item to check too is the breather hose at the top of the head that feeds back to the airbox. Just pop off one end and see if this is a source of the wetness. That would indicate a different type of problem. I'm just saying check it because its easy to do and will rule out some other causes. Report back on your findings, and your compression test.
I'll check that air hose out when I get home. That actually reminds me of something I meant to ask the other day. I put a lunchbox air filter on the bike, so what do I do with the breather hose for the valve cover? It's unfiltered right now, but do I need to find a small air filter to put on it?
I do not have a compression tester, guess I need to find one, but I do know that the valves are all tighter than the minimum .03; the buckets still spin, though.
Just an example, I don't know if this has the right dimension, but you can get a wee little filter pretty cheap at most auto parts stores (doesn't have to be K&N). Mainly it serves to catch the crap oozing out of the breather hose that would otherwise drip all over your pretty bike.
http://www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?Prod=62-1570 (http://www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?Prod=62-1570)
You don't really need that filter if you don't want to use it. Theres a steel mesh sponge filter on top of the valve cover.
But you can re route the hose to over top of the K&N or just leave it dangling down.