I have a 94 GS, Its old, shagged and most likely on its last legs, the piston rings are worn so it smokes on startup now and struggles to start (needs about 5 seconds of the starter motor), Strange thing i have found recently is that with the choke on (its a necesity to use it in the UK on cold mornings) when i give it some throttle the bike just cuts the power and splutters, so now i have resorted to using the choke to get it started then, manually holding the revs at around 5-6k for the first 5-10 mins of ridiing, I can live with this considering the age of the bike, but i was wondering if it would be anythning easy to fix. It all started when the earth wire disocnnected from the negative battery cable, thats been bodged together with electrical tape... could that be the cause? loose connection?. Thanks in advance for any help

How many miles do you have on it? I had a GS with over 22K and it didn't smoke out oil, however I had some stalling. In my case it was tight exhaust valves.

LOL... 82k ... as i said, old bike, i had the top end of the engine rebuilt a couple months ago.......

I have just come back from a bike run from London to Hastings... about 150miles... must have been about 10,000 other bikes, saw some GS's...

but back to the topic at hand, i know the bike is shagged, but what could cause it to splutter when given throttle.... the fuel lines are clear and i had fuel, i know my carbs need cleaning, could that be it?

It's natural for it to bog a bit when it's cold and you give it gas with the choke on. You just have to let it warm up a bit more before throttling it. Happens on mine, but only for a little while since I'm in Texas.

Agreed, it's best to use either choke or throttle.  Both together tends to bog the motor down. 

You could probably have that engine running like new again for < $100 if you're willing to get your hands dirty.  New oversized rings and pistons and a bore job on the cylinder and you'll be back in business. 

-M

its not just the warm up, today i went for a rideout as stated above, and when i went to pull off from standing i had to use masses of clutch slip whereas usually i dont...

what would be the symptoms of gummed up carbs or blocked jets?

RE: the engine, i dont have the mechanical knowledge to do it myself, and even though my mechanic is a friend, you are still looking at labour and parts... i brought the for £250 (most likely around $500), so i dont want to spend any more than i have, i am a poor student.... I guess you pays your money and takes your chances...