Hello to all.  This must be THE place to be for GS500 owners around the world.  I'm glad to see there's so much enthusiam for these bikes and I feel like a member in a private club now.  This is my first street bike ever.  I rode trail bikes until I was about 14 (27 years ago) so I'm basically starting from scratch.  My neighbors all think I'm having a mid-life crisis and roll their eyes whenever I go out for a joy ride on my very loud motorcycle but I didn't have room for a red convertible in the garage...so, I bought a bike instead.  Crisis averted!  At 30 it was playing bass in a garage band, at 40, a motorcycle.  I can't wait for 50!

A special thanks to Kerry Burton for the Valve Adjustment video posted on Google.  Although I don't plan to adjust the valves any time soon, I learned a great deal about how to strip down the bike by watching that.  Kerry, you displayed a great deal of patience during that video.  I couldn't even figure out how to shut off the fuel before.  (It kinda sucks though having to remove the tank to change the air filter but it'll come easier with practice).  Keep the videos coming, Kerry!

I singled out Kerry but I'm grateful for all the "How To" pictures and instructions on this site as I'm sure most newbies are.  Hopefully, I will be able to contribute someday as well.  I need to buy a manual first.

On to my problem...

I bought a 2000 GS500E about two weeks ago.  The weather has been getting cooler and I've noticed a problem spot in the throttle.  I'm not sure it there is a connection.  Even after riding for 20-30 minutes, I get engine sputter when I roll on the throttle at about the 1/5 to 1/4 positition.  If I crank the throttle quickly, it seems to be OK but is more of a problem when increasing smoothly.  It eventually gets past the sputter and comes on like a banshee!  (The more I ride it, the more I'm liking the 6000-11000 rpm range) 

It's more of a problem and I notice it more when starting in 1st gear from a dead stop.  Unless I really crank it, it feels like the engine will stop.  This is not a great feeling for a new rider when cars are behind me or I'm merging into traffic.  I've tried to pay close attention to the rpm range when it happens and it seems to be more to do with the throttle position than the rpms.  It happens in any gear whenever I'm below 3000-4000 rpm.

I did some searching on the site but didn't feel like I found a solution for this particular problem.  If this has been covered already, please point me towards a link.  I get the feeling someone is going to tell me I need to adjust the valves.  I'm hoping it's more simple than that.

Thanks in advance.

BH

carbs might need a cleaning, you might cure it, by flogging the hell out of it, but kinda sorta sounds like the carbs amy be a bit on teh clogged side, perhaps on the pilot jet side

I don't think there is any smooth delivery of power below 4000rpm, and I usually am feathering the clutch, or very slowly letting it out when under 4k rpm.  Usually, I don't let rpm's drop below 4k, so I'm shifting anywhere above 5k.

Welcome, BH!!

When I first started riding, one of the things that was hard for me to get used to was really revving the engine when taking off. I was taking off at about 2-3k, and I was lugging the engine. A couple of my mentors pointed out that I really need to get the revs up over 4k before even (gently) starting to let go of the clutch. It's second nature now; I have no problem revving my baby up to 4K or 5K before launching, but it took practice and some getting used to (and a few stalls). 

As for mid-life crisis....noooooo... what happens is that we reach a certain age, and then we start getting younger again!..... at least in our minds... 

pandy 

Run a can of Seafoam through a couple tanks of gas and see if that helps.  You can get it at Advanced Autoparts, and probably most other autoparts stores in town.

Looks like the carbs problem to me. Do you know if the bike was rejetted by the previous owner? If so there's many pieces in the puzzle for you (incl. jet sizes, air mixture screws, etc). Search on 'rejet' here. Also you porbably need to  do the carb sync (GS has two carburators, in case you did not know.) Search on that, too.

IMHO carbs is one of the nastiest problems of GS500 (maybe of any non-FI bike). I fiddled with mine a lot to make the bike run well.

Also if the front sprocket was changed from stock 16 tooth to 17T it makes it a bit harder for the bike to start moving (due to changed gear ratio) and hence a need for more revv's. I know this first hand because I did that mod.


Welcome to the GS world! Search this forums on everything. It's a great community here!

I really don't know what modifications have been made to the bike besides one of the PO's tearing out some of the baffling in the stock muffler.  It seems really loud and does this cool burbling back-fire thing when down-shifting.  I guess it's possible the opening has changed the dynamics/back pressure of the stock system enough to screw things up a little.  I've never heard another GS500 in RL so I don't how much louder it is than stock or an aftermarket system.  I thought about having a muffler shop weld something in the pipe to see how it runs and sounds.  Or I could get a slip-on and go ahead with a rejet.

My friend who helped me with the purchase told me recently that he noticed this dead spot/hesitation when he test rode the bike but attributed it to a cold engine.

Thanks for the input so far guys.  I do plan to run some seafoam through it.

BH

Backfire is a signal from the engine that the mixture is lean. That may very well be your hesitation problem root cause.

Stock muffler is relatively quiet. It reminds the sound of a lawnmover or a 'crazy sewing machine'. Those are self-ironical descriptions I saw from this board members. Stock sounds good to me personally.