She has always dripped a drop of oil here and there from the left side of the engine (i believe where the cover bolts on?)
but the other day i went to start her up and from the smoke i could tell something was wrong, then i looked down and oil was basically pouring out.
i really dont know too much about the engine itself.. anyone know what may be wrong?

- Jordan

it sounds like a deteriorated gasket finally gave up the fight.  How difficult it will be to repair depends on where exactly the leak is coming from.  Clutch pin or chain tensioner gaskets are simple to repair, cylinder head gasket is quite a bit more involved.  Clean up the oil and try to pinpoint the leak.  Pics would be helpful if you can get some

-M

yeah.... pics please.... left side?  coming from the kick stand?  is it coming from the oil filter housing?  Recent oil change?  a gasket aint right somewhere?  Take a pic and us mspaint to circle the problem... the post.

i dont really know where to start.. i dont know where the clutch pin or chain tensioner gaskets are? what do i do to look for a problem.

yeah left side
always dripped from the front or middle of where the crankcase connects to the engine?

- Jordan

i pulled that side crank case cover off, which also drained all the oil, but the oil was really runny, i think it is gas and oil? i dunno im so confused and pissed, also did i just screw up my gears by pulling that side plate off

ugh

- Jordan

ok so i was looking at the gasket that goes between the crank case and the gear housing (dont really know my part names) and it is a bit old, not perfect shape, and has some tears and wear, could this be the answer to my problems?

- Jordan

Sounds like you also have a carb fload height problem too if there is gas in your oil... happened to me once, I had half a gas tank leak into my oil sump. When I went to crank my engine over, my cylinders were full of gas so it didn't turn over, thankfully it didn't bend anything. Anyways I drained my oil and it had the consistancy of black water... Not very pleasing  

but the mixutre is great for starting fires!!!!  


Sorry, but I have no idea about the gaskets... that's somewhere I've never worked on this bike before.

Good Luck!

so how did you fix your problem?
it was the same "black water" that poored out of my engine.
and there was just tons of it, so it had to be gas and oil.
how do i fix that?

- Jordan

I pulled my carbs appart and I saw that the oring around my needle valve seat was squared off and was allowing fuel to flow arount it. So I just went in the stores dept at work and matched up the orings and replaced it and voila! no more leak!

the oring I'm talkin about is the one on the end of the needle valve seat that the person is holding in picture 9.5:

ugh, how much work is it to take apart the carbs, or to even get to the carbs.
lets just say im more happy riding than working on the bike.

- Jordan

I can do it blindfolded.  YMMV.

No offense JoChan, bot how you come over to this here Non-Pro you should not be wrenching on your bike alone.

Some basic understanding of the innards of your engine should be reached before you start major breakdown.

Yup well im a college student.  I dont really have money to pay for these kinds of things to be done.  And i dont have experienced help available.  So i guess i could just let it stay broken.  Or i could try to do it myself.

- Jordan

Get a book.  Most recommend Clymer, and that's what I have.  Honestly, it's pretty crappy, at least for carb work.  After seeing that page that was scanned from a Haynes, I'd suggest that.

Yeah i have the "Suzukie GS500E Service Manual" But it isn't a ton of help.

- Jordan

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0892878339/ref=nosim/103-9721408-3431855?n=283155

buy it.  your gonna need it.

gasket seals are available online Bikebandit.com or ronayers.com or your local stealership.

post pics. "before" you do anything. or we can't be of much help.   if your unsure, I bet you will find someone on this forum who has done it a time or two.

I didn't mean a pro who makes you pay through your nose for crappy service. Don't you have a friend who has some basic knowledge who you can ask to assist?

No unfortunately i dont have that kind of help available.  I ordered the replacement gasket from bikebandit, that should take care of the oil leaking part.

Now would a bad gasket cause my bike to do the other things mentioned (barely start, blow all kinds of smoke, and then when i drain the "oil" its has the "black water" consistancy) I wouldnt' think so.

Maybe ill check out that o-ring seal in my carbs for possible leaking gas?

- Jordan

Gas in the oil is normally a sign of a bad float valve /stuck float (but the petcock needs to be open as well; with a standard operational vacuum petcock it won't happen.)

The carb bowls overflow, if the bike stands with a slight incline forward the fuel flows into the cylinder and from there down into the crankcase.
If the bike stands with a slight incline backwards the fuel flows back into the airbox and drains from there on the ground -> much safer, and you have an indication that something is wrong.

Having the oil thinned to near water viscosity will make it leak easier. Likewise you may get fuel/oil mixture sucked into the cylinder, causing it to smoke and fouling your sparkplugs.