So I bought a '93 gs500e about a month ago and finally got insured and plated last weekend. The bike is a blast, but the previous owner told me it idles really low and frequently stalls out at lights, etc. So I set the idle to about 3500-4000 and it seems to be fine. Is there any harm in having the idle set this high?

He told me I should have a tune-up done to fix the idle problem, what exactly would be involved in something like this?

Thanks.

Idle really shouldn't be any higher than 1500.

Try cleaning the carbs.

Tune-up would be new plugs, new gas in the tank, cleaning the carbs, new air filter (don't waste money buying a stock replacement though).


Things you can do yourself=all of the above, except for cleaning the carbs.  I'd wait a bit on that unless you've dealt with carburateurs before and are confident in following schematics/retracing your steps.  In that case, jump right in!

I am dealing with a similar/same issue -- a fuel system purge and adjustment is usually the recommended first step.

The ritual is: (done in the spirit of "Car Talk" sound effects)

Some choke on...starts first bump. Hmmmbudahummmmbudhummmm.
A few minutes and she warms up: HmmmmMMMMMMMMM!
Back off the choke and try to throttle up slightly: HmmmWHAAAAAAAA (3k+ rpm)

The 3k+ stuff goes on and if the choke is backed off....silence.

We discussed this here last week or so. Scratch and others fingered dirty carb orifices and such.

In short - disassemble and completely clean the carbs and fuel system.

Heck, mine even decided to just quit while going down the steep hill of the road I live on. The dog that was chasing me just stopped when the engine stopped!  I just pulled in the clutch and coasted the rest of the way down hill, into my drive way, and right up to the garage.

Dead Stick landing with a GS -- how cool is that?

The "dead" part might be significant if you need the power to get away and she just quit. 

Welcome!

How long has the bike been sitting before the previous owner sold it to you?

If greater than a week, the carbs would benefit from a cleaning.

A tune-up involves replacing the sparkplugs and synching the carbs.

While you are cleaning it ... like rejet.
Oh ... its all stock ... then rejet.
What ... it has a pipe and UNI filter, then the answer is - rejet.
You have a cold. Rejet.
Cool.
Srinath.

I had high idle and rejet workd good

don't fear the carb clean (also don't lose any of the little parts while you do it)

Thanks for the replies, here is a list of everything that was modified on the bike before I purchased it. It was also sitting for about a month before I got plated and insured, before that I was told it was a daily rider.

Recent and Aftermarket parts;
-Full Vance & Hines exhaust system
-K&N 'lunch box' clamp on air filter (replaces the air box and clamps right onto the carbs)
-Re-jetted with genuine Mikuni jets (new 40 pilots, and 150 mains)
-Real carbon fiber headlight fairing
-Small cat eye front turn signals (smaller but brighter than stock)
-Billet aluminum rear license plate frame with integrated turn signals (again bringer than stock)
-Goodyear Front stainless steel braided brake line
-Front brake caliper from 1996+ GS500 (better more modern caliper)
-'clubman' style handle bars for the clip on feel and riding position
-Pro grip grips
-Cool single bar end mirror mounted in stock mirror location on left side
-Red L.E.D. bulbs in the gauges
-Race tech straight rate fork springs with gold emulators
-Pirelli Sport Demon tires (best and stickiest rubber you can buy in these sizes)
-Brand new EK Gold X-ring chain
-Brand new front sprocket (-1 tooth)
-Brand new rear sprocket (stock size) (new sprockets and chain have about 600km on them)
-Brand new clutch end of last year
-Oil and oil filter changed about 400km ago


He changed the spark plugs the day I bought it from him. So I guess the only other thing to do would be add some fresh fuel and clean the carbs?

You could even add some fuel injection cleaner to help clean the carbs.

Quote from: scratch on November 23, 2006, 09:31:30 AM
You could even add some fuel injection cleaner to help clean the carbs.

Seafoam in the Pour Can.