Gday all

Great web site. I am having problems with my GS 500. I bought the bike just over 2 weeks ago and this really is all the exposure I have had with motorbikes as I have just got my learners (age 38 just taken the plunge). No problem with the bike untill I dicided to explore what happens over 5000revs. I did so going up a hill in a 100klh zone (I did 80k promise) and the bike was great. Coming down the other side the bike was stalling on each down change and when I got to the right turn at the bottom it conked out completely. The bike was leaking from the over flow hose constistantly after trying to start and stalling again. I managed to get the bike home keeping revs up. Now I have changed the plugs but have no idle at all and the bike is running very rich. I pulled out very black plugs. I have the bike booked in for a tune on Tuesday but I can not get it to idle. I have seen through your forum which is the idle screw but feel I have lost my way as to - screw in to speed up or out to speed up. Am I better to screw all the way in and back off or the other. Sorry for the length of post but any advice would be appreciated.

I would check and adjust the float levels. If I recall, turning the idle screw in will speed it up.

Yup, float levels sound messed up if excessive fuel comes out the hose.  My XR100 was doing the same exact thing, not holding idle and pissing fuel.  Bent the float plate back up, voila.  No more stalling.

Welcome!

Does fuel come out the overflow, if you set the fuel selector to PRIme, while the bike is parked?  If so, the floats are stuck open.  The bike may be flooded and that's why it wont start.

The bike was running fine as you drove it to, and up, the hill, but going down hill it gave you problems...seems to me something has lodged itself in between the float needle and needle seat, keeping the float needle open and allowing fuel to just flow by.  I would set your fuel selector to PRIme and open up one of the floatbowl drain screws to flush out the debris.  Attach a hose to the drain spigot first, of course, and route it to a catchpan (or, if you can fit one of those small, plastic hospital puke-pans underneath the floatbowl...); should only take two or three seconds for each carburetor.

The best way to start with the idle screw is to start at the lowest and screw it in half a turn at a time.  Make sure your battery is all charged up.