GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

ok.. i was riding home yesterday... and i was going up hill... and my bike just dies on me... i was giving it throttle and it starts to put and then my engine dies... i pull off the road and try to start it up... and i fail... so i push my bike all the way home.. up and down hills... it was crazy... anyways... i wake up this morning... to try to start it.. and this is the sound its giving me.. i push the start button and theres a clicking noise... everytime i try to start it .. i just get a clicking noise... and it sounds like its coming from near the battery.. i dont know what wrong... help me out..hopefully this is a simple thing i can fix... i was planning on going riding today too!... but sux to be me... thanks

the clicking noise means your battery is drained to the point that it can't turn the engine over.  charge it up and then try to start her and see what you get .  How old is the battery?  maybe time for a replacement.

as for the uphill sputtering... that's been described before.  try a search and see what you come up with.

thanks.. im going to take my battery to kragen and see if they can tell me how much life i got on it... thanks.. hopefully thats the only problem...

but wait... my lights still come on... is it still a battery problem?! hmm... let me know what you guys think

its your battery.

it takes alot less juice to run the headlights than it does to turn the engine over.  Get yourself a trickle charger like a BatteryTender Jr or similar and charge up the battery... i'm sure that's your problem with the clicking.

did you push the bike home with the lights on?  that would drain it for sure.

no i left the lights off.. but earlier that day i parked my car at work... and i left my igntion position in p.... and i didnt know that left the back light on... so that drained my batter all day...

but one question... why would my bike just die when i rode it for a couple miles?

You prolly just ran out gas. Once you charged the battery, turn the fuel valve to PRI. If it starts, turn it to RES and make a run to the gas station.

If the battery turns out to be ok maybe you didn't have any oil in your bike and you ended up ruining your engine.  

If only you were more responsible your bike would still be running.  Why o why did you neglect the oil.  Wait...that's me.

hey dude maybe the starter, the clicking was the relay for the starter its the same way with cars, if the battery deal doesn't work out check the starter out, but a bad started wouldn't make it stall, how is the sparkplugs and cables? bad cables would do just that also cause it to missfire and stall and also burn cold and lose power,   they also get worse when they get warm, so check the connection in the cable where it attaches to the sparkplug, i would change the plugs ever few months if you drive it alot and the cables once a year i guess, best i can do for ya guy..good luck

According to a former Suzuki mechanic I know, the GS500 starters rarely fail, especially on bikes with less than 30K.  

My bet is on a charging system failure causing in the battery to run down and die.

As for uphill, that's likely your floatbowls being too low and the bike not getting enough gas into the engine.

Adam

I don't think it is a coincidence that your engine died and then the battery died mysteriously.:o This motorcycle has a battery ignition system. No electrical power no engine power. I would recommend you have the battery checked under load. You'll have to take your battery to an auto electric shop or cycle shop to get this done.

Two things could cause both of these problems:

1. The battery has a shorted cell. This is a very common problem with cycle batteries. Charging it will not help. The battery must be replaced. The load test will tell if this is the cause. When this happens the cycle runs, then it dies, no warning.

2. Your charging system has malfunctioned. After your regulator (or alternator) failed the engine kept running for as long as there was still charge in the battery. Once the battery was drained, the engine stopped.

Both of these problems are easy to test for. Good luck, hope you get back on the road soon.

hmmm..i rather bet that the battery died from trying to start it over and over again on the side of the road.  Just recharge it.  

Dying on the side of the road like that?  Hard to say.  could be running out of gas or weak flow through the stock petcock that some people seem to have.  Next time that happens, try putting it on RES or PRI and see if that helps.  If not, keep coming back to the board with more information...

Any work done on the bike lately?

Quote from: Adam RAccording to a former Suzuki mechanic I know, the GS500 starters rarely fail, especially on bikes with less than 30K.  

Adam

My starter died at 16k miles. :( Thank god KevinC had a cheap used one :thumb:

One thing I have noticed, with all this warmer weather, is batteries drying up real fast. Make sure the battery has water (distilled water, inexpensively bought at grocery store). If it's not the sealed type.

well guys.. i solved the problem.. with all of your help... it was my battery that had been drained.. but then all it needed was a recharge.. so i didnt have to replace the battery.. and also the reason i stoppped on the hill was because i had very lil gas... but now i know what to do in that situation... haha... but anyways.. i learned that you should never park your bike and leave the ignition position in P all day... haha... anyways.. thanks guys....

now another question... my gas tank is loose at the top end.. near the handle bars... i dont know if it because the previous owner dropped the bike once... but its loose... like it moves left to right... not a whole lot.. but a little bit.. is there anyway to fix this?...

put some foam under the tab on the front of the tank... i'll bet the padding on the frame is gone or compressed.  I wonder if bike bandit sells those little pads...   :dunno:

HERE IT IS (http://houseofmotorcycles.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/oem_schematic_view.asp?schem_dept_id=722535&section_dept_id=1&section_dept_name=OEM+%28Stock+Parts%29&dept_type_id=2&model_dept_year=1997&model_dept_mfr=Suzuki&model_dept_id=703281&model_dept_name=GS500EV)

part #6....

Damn, I'm good (http://www.r6-forum.com/nuke/modules/Forums/images/smiles/cool008.gif)

thanks... now does this mean i have to take apart my bike?
...
im scared! :o

Quote from: soon2bridingdoes this mean i have to take apart my bike?
...
im scared! :o

Well, you don't have to "take apart" very much.

1) Use your key to remove the seat.
2) On either side of the seat lock (under the seat), use a 10mm socket to remove the bolt that holds the side plastics to the frame.
3) Gently pull outward on the front, then middle, then  and rear of the side plastics, until the 3 mounting points come out of the rubber grommets.
4) Now you can see the 10mm (or maybe 12mm) bolts that hold the gas tank in place - one on each side.  Remove them.
5) Holding onto the back part of the gas tank, lift a little and wiggle the tank from side to side as you pull the tank backwards.  You won't be able to move it very far back without pulling the fuel hoses, etc.  But you should have all the room you need.
6) Look at the sideways-U-shaped channel under the front of the fuel tank.  This will help you see where the OEM rubber part (or "aftermarket" padding) need to go.
7) Install your choice of padding, and follow steps 1-5 in reverse to put everything back together.

Four bolts... You can't get much easier than that!

tank you! haha get it gas tank ..thank you? never mind.. thanks :mrgreen:

Let us know what you find (or don't find) at the front of the gas tank, and how the fix goes if you need to put some cushioning in there.

BTW, you may be able to get a good enough idea from below by trying some creative viewing angles (behind the front wheel, or eyes next to the spark plug wires or something) before you remove anything.