Ok...I'm SUCH a newbie that I really don't know where to begin.   So here goes.

I got my '92 GS last weekend.  I haven't ridden it yet as I'm waiting to take my class in september.  Plus I don't have insurance on the bike yet.  BUT, I was trying to start it the other day and couldn't.  The previous owner said that it was very hard to start when cold.  He started it once when he dropped it off but it hasn't been started since.  It looks like the frame petcock has been modified and now has an aftermarket that just has an on and off.  The res from the tank petcock has been plugged.  Anyway the last few days I've noticed a real strong gas oder in my garage(thats where its kept) there is no other vehicles stored/parked in the garage.  Can someone tell me what might be the cause?   I did notice a few days ago that after my attempt at trying to start I had left the fuel "ON" for at least a day.  I have obviously turned it "OFF" since but still have a bad oder.  And before you ask, no obvious signs of a gas leak on the engine or garage floor.  I have ordered a Clymer's manual(from the gstwins.com link) and it should be here in a few days.

I have more noob questions so this is only the beginning!

Thanks muchly in advance for any help and suggestions.

DLW

Hi there,
Congrats on the bike, but it sounds like you will be dealing with carb and fuel delivery issues to get it sorted out.
What kind of petcock is now on the bike? Can you show us photos of it too?
The previous owner likely jury-rigged something to solve a GS500 fuel starvation problem, and you will loikely have to fix his "engineering" problems now.
I'd recommend going through the whole fuel system so you can see what he did and what is there as a reference point.
The fuel odor may be from leaks in the jury-rigged system or it can be from sticking or high floats or even from fuel bowl leaks.
Is there any gas leaking under the bike?
Since we don't know what he did, I'd say start from scratch and do it all properly, with fuel line replacements, carb rebuilds and even going back to a stock petcock or modified stock petcock that does away with the vacuum system which is often troublesome.
Photos will help.
It's good you have time to work on it over the next month or so.
Best wishes,
Todd

Hey Todd,

I'll try to get some 'detailed' photos today if it quits raining long enough.  Besides the 'new' petcock what else should I get photos of?  Not a lot of room down there to get the camera.

DLW

mine leaked out of the bolts that hold the petcock to the tank.

loctite fixed that.

the tank is venting fumes out the fuel cap like it was designed to do .on warm days mine does it to but my out building is vented.

ben gets an A+ for that answer

That would be nice but it hasn't been very warm here those days only in the upper 70's...it only got warm here today but the oder isn't that bad now that I closed the petcock.

DLW