My 2001 GS 500 has been sitting idle for a long time.. (i know i know)

So i recently gave away about 5gallons of old gas (non stabil) to a guy with an old VW Bug. Anyway i put in a gallon of fresh gas in today and i was hoping to ride her to the gas station, fill her up and then take her out for a ride.

Well that doesnt seem like its gonna happen. I got it to start (battery needed a bit of a charge) but only with the choke. If i turn off the choke it dies. I cant start it without the choke, even if the engine is warm (had it run on the choke for over 5 minutes at 2000-3000 RPM). Initally it would start to die if i opened the throttle with teh choke on, but later on it would actually catch and the revs will go up.

I had it rejet last year sometime in May/June and i rode it once or twice but thats it. Its been sitting idle cause i wasnt in LA.

I am thinking either the carbs are dirty or i am lean. It wont start without the choke, even if you give it throttle it will grab when the throttle is given more than 1/2 way. So it seems something is f%&ked.

I have the K&N lunch box in there. Anyway this is what is written in my repair log " Changed jetting to 20, 62 and 145, 2 shims under needle. Cleaned intake and carbs. New battery. Lubed chain and got bike up for rideablity. Changed oil and fixed lower gasket leak. "

Any ideas?? i wanna ride!

Hi there,
This is easy to solve.
You need to pull the carbs and carefully clean out the jets, which are apparently clogged, especially the idle (low speed) jet, which are smaller and get clogged more easily. The main jets and carb passages also need to be cleaned well.
It sounds like you know that this is what you need to do, but you don't sound too thrilled about having to do it. 
I'm afraid, though, that there's no easy way around it.
It's not really a bad job.
This is why you should always put Stabil fuel stabilizer in your gas when you know the bike will be stored for a while.
Best wishes and good luck.
We're here to help you as you clean the carbs. If you have any questions, do a search first on the site and then ask about things you can't find there.
yours,
Todd

I'd almost bet pilot jets aren't fully cleaned out. Chase it with a super super thin wire ... or ... a very very small possibility (its above the fuel level) that the passage to the air screw is clogged.
My $$$ is on pilot jet. You have to take it off to clean it, doing so sometimes destroys it.
Not starting is all pilot and air screw ... in that order. I'd start with pilot.
BTW you have allen head screws on your float bowls. If so, sit by the fully assembled bike on the floor on a milk crate etc ... and using allen wrenches, take off the bowl ... one at a time. Then pretty much, spray it out through the opening with carb cleaner - careful, carb cleaners eat paint, or run a thin wire through the pilot ... ir try a tooth brush, or use a L shaped screwdriver and remove it as well and clean it.
Cool.
Srinath.

Remember, Srinath, he said he has three jets per carb.. that means bleeder pilots. I'd take them out and clean all the orifices (orifi?).

Would Seafoam help him at all if he REALLY didn't want to remove the carbs ?
  I used it just cause i saw you guys speaking so highly of it , and it cured  the slight hesitation i didn't realise i had hehe . It seems that if he could get it to run on choke and a really strong mix of Seafoam (and a fan obviously) that he could clean them enough to get it riding , then maybe keep adding less and less until the jets are clean (or cleaner than before at least) ?

i got tuesday off from work, barring lunch with the girl, i can work on the bike.

Lets see how things go on tuesday. I was afraid i had to take the bloody thing apart again. Atleast i got only a gallon of gas this time in there, so it shouldnt be too heavy.

Quote from: TheGoodGuy on July 15, 2007, 04:33:08 PM
i got tuesday off from work, barring lunch with the girl, i can work on the bike.

Lets see how things go on tuesday. I was afraid i had to take the bloody thing apart again. Atleast i got only a gallon of gas this time in there, so it shouldnt be too heavy.

Gas only weighs about 5.5 lb per gallon, it's really not a problem taking off a full tank.

If the bowl screws have been replaced and the mixture plugs removed, that's most of the hassle right there. With an '01, there aren't that many hoses to keep track of. It's really not that big a deal.

Seafoam or the yamaha concoction will work, it needs time and agitation really ... if bike runs (how would it is my question) put in tank and ride.
I actually loaded a bike at purchase in my truck, first drain the tank via carbs, one at a time with a small hose hooked to the drain and into a can and after tank is empty, put in fresh gas, with seafoam, and drive the truck home (400 miles) and when I got home, the bike started and ran pretty much after a oil change, oil squirt in the cylinder, new spark plugs, new battery, valve check, airfilter clean, drain carbs look for vaseline like crap etc ... carbs were clean on the inside, filthy on the outside.
As in, I didnt touch the carbs ...
Agitation and seafoam ... pretty much, if choke needs to be on, leave it on and ride if you can ... 20-30 miles should do it. You got engine heat to boost cleaning too.
Cool.
Srinath.