I have had nothing but problems with this motorcycle. Last night I had to practically push it home. The problem initially was that it wouldn't start, it wouldn't idle at 4000 rpm when I put it on choke, and it would promptly die if I didn't hit the throttle periodically. We had previously had to remove the tank to get it coated, and accidently switched the fuel hose with the reserve hose, even though we double checked where they were supposed to go. I read about this earlier in the forum, HOWEVER, no one said whether you can just leave it as is without causing problems, except to remember that your fuel line is now a reserve line and vice versa. Do I REALLY need to change the two hoses, since getting the tank off and putting the hoses on was a pain in the ass.  Next issue was that I had the hardest time accelerating. I could only go up to 20 mph. What happened was that when I was at the gym, the entire bike got soaked from the sprinkler system. Could THAT cause electrical issues and severe power loss? Could water have gotten into the gas tank or spark plugs? Is the inability to accelerate and maintain speed a carburator problem? The previous owner had them rejetted not too long ago. It has not done this before. What is my troubleshooting list besides the one listed in Chapter 2 of the manual? Also, the engine just doesn't sound right. Not a knocking, ticking, but a different high pitched drone in 2nd gear at 20 mph. This is my first vehicle ever, so not sure what is normal or what is not. Your input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

ok well I would switch your lines back just for simplicities sake. Then I would grab a copy of the haynes manual and clean the carbs and check the float height level. Those are pretty much basic steps that should be taking when your bike is acting funny.

Also pull the spark plugs and tell me what color they are.

Not being able to go past 20mph is strange

Are the sparkplugs tight?

What does it idle at with the choke on?  What does it idle at without?

Did you remove the tank shutoff when you coated the tank?

Is the tank still coated, or did some of the coating come off and clog the filter screen in the tank?

Is there something covering the air intake/airfilter?

I am going to do that probably tomorrow. Going to give it a day to dry off and see if I can ride it. Will take it up to the seller this weekend and let him deal with it until I can find an alternate solution. However, do you have a diagram of HOW the fuel hoses are supposed to be hooked up? On the forum, they did one but for a different model. Should I follow that one? It is confusing how they have it depicted in the manual.  Also, for MY simplicity sake, can I leave the lines hooked up as they are until I have to take the tank off? Let me know. Thanks!

That was also what I was thinking regarding the clogged tank. It is on and unfortunately the tank is FULL. I rode 40 miles on it before it did this crap. Could it still have gotten plugged up? The redtop stuff the radiator place used shouldn't have peeled or come off. When the choke is on and working, it will go up to 4000 rpm. When the choke is off, it will idle slightly above 1000 rpm. The previous owner JUST cleaned out and rejetted the carbs, so should it have a problem so quickly? This is a hell of a job.

You can still shine a flashlight into the tank and look to the left and see if there's anything covering the in-tank filter, it's the white thing sticking up into the tank.

What will the engine rev to?  Above 6k rpms?

What kind of engine oil did the previous owner put in?

I will do that as well. I think the main culprit is that the carburaters need a valve adjustment. I ran it today and it died the first time starting it. THEN it only idled to maybe 2000-3000 rpm, gave it a bit of throttle, and it shot up to 4000. I let it go for 30 sec, and then released the choke. Idled at 1200 rpm. WAS able to rev it up to 6000 rpm in neutral. Went for a ride, and COULDN'T get past 25 mph.  Opened up the throttle ALL the way down, and it could barely accelerate in 1st or 2nd gear. Shouldn't opening the throttle in 2nd gear almost take your head off? I would think so. What do you think? I am also afraid to mess with the spark plugs and check to see if they are worn out or oil damaged.  One thing that I would like to know is if repeated killing of the engine (stalling it) and restarting it will wear out the plugs. I am a beginner and was notorious for having problems with starting from a stop. I would release the clutch too early and kill the engine and then have to restart it.  So, let me know. Thanks for all your help.

It almost sounds as though a synthetic car oil is interfering with the clutch plates...

What kind of engine oil did the previous owner use?

Could a water logged air filter cause this kind of problem maybe? 
That's what I would check first.

"What happened was that when I was at the gym, the entire bike got soaked from the sprinkler system." 

Pull the plugs and check them. (And the wires)

Check the oil, should be easy to tell if it has water in it.

Yes water will cause all kinds of problems with electrical circuits,
make sure there are no obvious pools of water shorting something out.

Was the battery soaked also? Make sure it will hold a charge.

Route the fuel lines properly. 

If it was working ok when you went to the gym, then I would guess the soaking got to something.

KISS it, it saves time. (Keep It Simple Stupid.)

Jim

OKAY!!! Thanks for all the input. I checked the fuel line connections and spark plugs, checked if any of the filters were plugged, and drained the carburaters. There was a small amount of water in the collection basins. HOWEVER, please pass this on to anyone with a GS500 2001 model, DO NOT try to put a hose on the tank vent and attach it to the soft vent between the carburaters. You know WHY, because THEN that WAS the root of my problem and the bike ran like CRAP. Not sure what the mechanics of this malfunction are, but do NOT do that. The mechanics here don't know what the hell they are talking about. They told me to put a hose and  connect the two, otherwise I would be spilling hot gas on a hot engine. Well, I guess not. Anyhow, not sure what kind of oil is in there. Suggestions as to the brand? I need 40W10. Should I use synthetic or not? I will do that myself when the time comes. It was done 7 months ago. I ride almost daily and do short trips. That means I need to change it more often. HOW frequently though? Also, the previous owner told me NOT to run the bike on PREMIUM gas but fill it with the cheap unleaded stuff. Is that correct? I did notice it ran better with regular than the premium. Also, does anyone have a handy diagram of what the fuel line connections should be for this model? The one in the manual is actually for another year. Weird. Thanks again!

Quote from: Kaizer on October 15, 2006, 02:57:59 PM
OKAY!!! Thanks for all the input. I checked the fuel line connections and spark plugs, checked if any of the filters were plugged, and drained the carburaters. There was a small amount of water in the collection basins. HOWEVER, please pass this on to anyone with a GS500 2001 model, DO NOT try to put a hose on the tank vent and attach it to the soft vent between the carburaters. You know WHY, because THEN that WAS the root of my problem and the bike ran like CRAP. Not sure what the mechanics of this malfunction are, but do NOT do that. The mechanics here don't know what the hell they are talking about. They told me to put a hose and  connect the two, otherwise I would be spilling hot gas on a hot engine. Well, I guess not. Anyhow, not sure what kind of oil is in there. Suggestions as to the brand? I need 40W10. Should I use synthetic or not? I will do that myself when the time comes. It was done 7 months ago. I ride almost daily and do short trips. That means I need to change it more often. HOW frequently though? Also, the previous owner told me NOT to run the bike on PREMIUM gas but fill it with the cheap unleaded stuff. Is that correct? I did notice it ran better with regular than the premium. Also, does anyone have a handy diagram of what the fuel line connections should be for this model? The one in the manual is actually for another year. Weird. Thanks again!

Use any oil you want. I personally use Castrol GTX+ 40W10. There are special motorcycle oils. Some people call them a  gimick, some people swear by them. Who knows. 

Premium vs Regular. Doesn't matter. You will get the same performance regardless. Don't waste your money, get regulat old 87.

here is an excerpt from wiki

"Many high-performance engines are designed to operate with a high maximum compression and thus need a high quality (high energy) fuel usually associated with high octane numbers and thus demand high-octane premium gasoline.

The power output of an engine depends on the energy content of its fuel, and this bears no simple relationship to the octane rating. A common myth amongst petrol consumers is that adding a higher octane fuel to a vehicle's engine will increase its performance and/or lessen its fuel consumption; this is mostly false—engines perform best when using fuel with the octane rating they were designed for and any increase in performance by using a fuel with a different octane rating is minimal."

Quote from: Kaizer on October 15, 2006, 02:57:59 PM
......................... not sure what kind of oil is in there. Suggestions as to the brand? I need 40W10. ...............................

Spell check.

40W10?  How about 10W40.

The reason I question oil, is because some car oils (thin (10w30/5w30), energy saving) will cause the clutch friction plates to slip.

My bad. I wrote 10w40 initially and then changed it. I am dyslexic. Seriously! One more question, if you hear a repeated noise somewhere in the front of the bike at 20 mph and then it goes away with higher gears, should I be worried?  I can't quite describe the noise, but it isn't a ticking or a clanging. Also, can you shift from 2nd to higher gears all at the same time while holding the clutch down (no releasing the clutch in between shifts)? I tried to go from 2nd to 4th, and the bike sort of coughed. I guess that would mean inadequate engine speed. I am still learning....suggestions?

2nd - 4th = bogging. Totally normal.

Quote from: Kaizer on October 15, 2006, 09:22:45 PM
I tried to go from 2nd to 4th

why? 

What do you mean? Why I want to bypass 3rd gear and go to 4th? Well, that is mainly for those 45 mph zones, occassionally the 35 mph. I just seem to pick up speed better when I go from 2nd to 4th.  My friend that has been riding for decades goes from 2nd to 5th right away. Just holds the clutch and clicks up to 5th or 6th. Is this a bad practice? What is the general rule for the speed ranges from 3rd to 6th gear? I know 1st and 2nd gear limits pretty well.  Basically, I don't ride above 4th gear in city traffic and most residential areas. The more input I get, the better, so thanks! I would love to become a great rider and driver...and mechanic as well 

Quote from: Kaizer on October 16, 2006, 12:16:03 AM
.................. My friend that has been riding for decades goes from 2nd to 5th right away. Just holds the clutch and clicks up to 5th or 6th. Is this a bad practice?

With the GS500 and a conservative driver I'd say generally yes it's a bad practice. It will usually put too much load on the engine, resulting in lugging.  The only time I can see doing it is when you're going down a steep hill.  Then when you engage the clutch the load on the engine will be minimized.  If your friend has a big high torque engine then he can get away with it.

Quote from: Kaizer on October 16, 2006, 12:16:03 AM
What is the general rule for the speed ranges from 3rd to 6th gear? ...................

Suzuki's recommended shift schedule is:

1 to 2 at 12 mph
2 to 3 at 19 mph
3 to 4 at 25 mph
4 to 5 at 31 mph
5 to 6 at 37 mph

Most people will say these shift speeds are too low, however, for general use, conservative drivers they are ok. 

If you're a more aggressive driver you can easily run the speed up in a lower gear and then bypass a few gears.  So if you're in 2nd at 12 mph then run the speed up to 25 mph and shift to 4th you will meet Suzuki's schedule.

Ultimately, there are many ways to drive a motorcycle.  Just don't lug the engine.

Quote from: John Bates on October 16, 2006, 06:21:40 AM
Suzuki's recommended shift schedule is:

1 to 2 at 12 mph
2 to 3 at 19 mph
3 to 4 at 25 mph
4 to 5 at 31 mph
5 to 6 at 37 mph

Most people will say these shift speeds are too low, however, for general use, conservative drivers they are ok. 

If you're a more aggressive driver you can easily run the speed up in a lower gear and then bypass a few gears.  So if you're in 2nd at 12 mph then run the speed up to 25 mph and shift to 4th you will meet Suzuki's schedule.

Ultimately, there are many ways to drive a motorcycle.  Just don't lug the engine.

eeeh. I would ignore that. If you follow the above I don't think you'll ever break 3k on your bike.

That is what it says in the manual. My mechanic and long-time rider said that is too low too. In town, it is a heck of a job to downshift. Plus, didn't someone have a discussion on the forum about driving hard up to 8-9000 rpm per gear? Or did I misunderstand? I never go past 5000 rpm in one gear. What exactly does LUGGING the engine mean? I will try not to skip gears in the future.  One more question, how LONG will it take to warm up the engine? I know it is shorter on warm days and when the engine feels warm after a ride. It has gotten cooler at night here, in the 50s, so how long should I warm up before I start driving? What is the proper warm up procedure? I turn the choke on for about 30 sec, if it doesn't rev past 2000 rpm, I give it some throttle to maintain it at 4000 rpm. Then I let it idle at 1000 rpm, and ocassionally rev it up to 4-6000 rpm. Sound good?