Hi all.  I hate to introduce myself on a stupid/desperate and possibly sad note, but here I am.   

My name is Shawn.  I live in Philadelphia and I'm new to GS 500s and new to motorcycles in general .

I bought a 91 GS 500 at the end of September and its been mostly good to me until yesterday.

Yesterday it began bogging down, stalling and then struggling to start.  After several attempts at restarting I began walking the bike home.  Fifteen minutes later I discovered that it started fine and even rode for about ten minutes before bogging down again and stalling.  I went through a similar sequence one more time and then it flat out refused to start.  I walked it home some 18 or so city blocks.

The background leading up to this goes as follows...

1. Prior to all of this the bike idled very high (4000 then down to 3500) for a long time whenever I needed to use the choke at start up.  Not sure if that was a cable problem or not.

2. In one of my all-time more bone headed moves, yesterday I checked the oil level while the bike was on the side stand.  Instead of stopping and thinking about what was obviously a false reading based on the few miles I've ridden since last checking the oil (and no evidence of a leak)...I put up to an extra qt. of oil in the crank case.  I probably rode less than 15 miles after this before the bogging problem began, but I also started the bike up multiple times after the trouble started.

3. I was riding at low RPMs yesterday b/c I was concerned after being thrown by a loop by what I thought was an extremely low oil level.  I didn't know this could interfere with proper operation.

At any rate today I went to syphon some of the excess oil and didn't get far b/c the temperature is quite cool and I can't get the bike to fire up and warm the oil.

Is it likely that I've damaged the engine permanently with all that extra oil and the resulting pressure in the crank case?

Is the high idle after choke problem likely to be the symptom of a dirty carb problem that suddenly got worse?

Could any of the items I have mentioned result in fouled plugs that are preventing it from starting today?

I'm really concerned about the fact that it won't even start now.

I'll be bummed if my error killed the engine, but I just want to deal with whatever it turns out to be.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer.   

drain some oil out the bottom/ add to proper level
new plugs are cheeeeep
clean the carbs

Welcome!   

No, you didn't damage the engine by overfilling it one quart.  It will be fine, just siphon or drain out the excess oil. 

Your bogging problem could be one of several things.  You state that it idles high after using the choke.  Grab a flashlight and pull the choke control all the way on, the push it all the way off.  Look under the frame at the carbs, and push the choke plunger rail towards the right side of the bike.  Does it move?  If it was stuck partially on, that could explain your problem.

Beyond that, check to see that the fuel tank is clean, dry, and that the fuel cap vent works.

If the problem persists, or the fuel tank is dirty or shows signs of water, overhaul the carbs.

Remove the plugs and see if they're fouled or wet.  If they are wet leave them out for an hour or so and allow any built up fuel to evaporate.  If fouled, replace them.

Thanks guys.  I'll get to it and report back.

Definitely check the choke cable for binding/sticking/damage.  I experienced similar symptoms after I first bought my GS and it turned out that my choke cable was damaged.  Replaced it and everything was gravy.

Also, with the choke closed the idle will increase to 3500 to 4000.  It should go down after opening the choke (pushing the lever back up).  If your idle jumps up with the choke closed (lever pulled down) that is normal.  If stays up after opening the choke, that is not normal.

Do what Werase said.

Cool, I'm not the newest bone headed member then ! Welcome 

To make you feel better, I've changed my oil before, without draining my oil. This was while I was having a change fest... One truck, three cars, motorcycle, lawnmower, and then a brake job. One saturday morning.

If you don't want to get really messy, find a turkey baster. Press some fuel line on it, and viola, super oil sucker.

The carbs could use a cleaning. If you can't handle it, someone on the board can for a stiff fee.   Get a Haynes manual, get a comfy milk crate and start poking around. Look for all things sinister. Fix them.

The gs is tough as hell. You'll be sick of riding before you kill it off.

Good luck

Oh, before you experience it: SEARCH FOR "FUEL STARVATION" on the forum.

i know some one that added almost twice the oil in their cb250, aside from the oil gushing out onto the rear tire the engine ran fine once he drained the oil a bit 

Hey where in Philly are you from? I'm currently at Temple University and I'm having some enngine problem myself. The first time i checked my dipstick it was on the side as well, but if you look at my post, "gs500f start up troubleshooting" Theres a good post on how to properly check the oil level. As for the weather, its been getting really cold and i still havent been able to get my bike up and running either. It might be the cold weather.

Hey guys.  I haven't written back b/c a crazy work schedule has kept me from even looking at my bike.
I've held back with the little bit of time I have had knowing that a Clymer manual (ordered via this site) arrives tomorrow.  I appreciate the input and will report back.  Hopefully I can get this sorted prior to leaving on a trip Sunday.

Jaypeazy215: I'm down at 20th and Pine.  The only issue I imagine possibly having occurred due to cold weather in my case is maybe condensation having formed in the tank leading to water in the carbs.  We'll see.  Thanks for the heads up.  We'll have to go for a ride when the weather and our bikes start cooperating.

yeah good luck to you. My parents live on 10th and bainbridge so we're right around the corner from one another. Let me know how your bikes doing

Well, here's where I am right now:

Took vacation and just got back...finally have time to deal with my bike.

My Clymer manual says that too much oil can bog down the engine and make it hard to start.
Thinking about this and everything that led up to my bike's problems I realized that I had drained the battery with my multiple attempts to get the thing running again.

So I bought a schumacher 1.5 amp charger and charged the battery last night.  I've charged the battery and look forward to seeing what happens when I try starting the bike minus the extra 1 liter of oil I added prior to this episode.

Here's the problem:

When filling the cells with distilled water I apparently filled the battery past the upper limit line all the way to the top ridge of the battery.  (This happened because I couldn't see the water through the battery case btw)

Can I just extract the extra fluid with some fuel line grade tubing?

Quote from: slmndr13 on December 01, 2007, 10:53:34 AMCan I just extract the extra fluid with some fuel line grade tubing?[/font][/color]

I would just use a straw.  No, not the "obvious" way ... DON'T suck on it!   After picking up the straw somewhere in the middle:

    * Insert the lower end of the straw a short way into the battery cell
    * Stop up the open end of the straw with your index finger
    * Withdraw the straw from the battery cell, position it over a suitable container
    * Take your index finger from the end of the straw, dropping the fluid into the container
    * Repeat!

If you don't have a straw, I guess a length of tubing will do.  Just pick a container that is (hopefully) impervious to battery acid ... and don't get any ON you. 

Thanks!

Did that with some tubing.  Battery works fine now. 
Pulled extra oil from crank case and tried to fire her up with choke on and petcock set at prime.

She turned over and started to rumble just long enough to think that we were back in business, but then crapped out.  Subsequent attempts to get her started failed and I quit trying after five or six tries b/c I'd rather do something new than drain the battery again. 

I'm trying to eliminate the easiest stuff to address first before taking the carbs somewhere for a cleaning so I'll replace the plugs even though I doubt they are the problem given that it did begin to start.  The other thing I want to do is replace the gas and see if bad fuel isn't contributing to this problem.  I'll look at the air filter too, but that strikes me as being less likely than the plugs.  Am I off the mark?

The bogging and shutting down then being able to restart some time later could be a bad petcock valve.Try starting it on PRI(PRIME).If it starts you can eliminate the vacuume to the petcock.This link will help with that.

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=19363.0

Thanks.  I'll keep that in mind. 

Hopefully by tomorrow I will have ruled out bad gas and the spark plugs.

Just adding this for reference.

White to a whiteish blue smoke is oil burning.

Dark gray to black smoke is an overly rich condition.

If you live in a high humidity area, like I do,you may get steam out of the exhaust.
That's caused by water condensation in the exhaust.

Phew!
It was only fouled plugs!
Wish I had tackled this sooner, but I went away on vacation and was sick for awhile.

Now I need to figure out why my GS500 won't back off when I push the choke lever back to its home position.  It actually goes up and down, bouncing between 1800 and 4000 RPM like it has a mind of its own.

Does that sound like a bad cable, or sticky jet?  Something else?

If it's the original '91 cable, it may be "sticking" and just need lubrication.

Looking at the right side of the bike...




... watch the spring at the end of the choke cable as you move the lever in both directions:




If it doesn't expand all the way when you push the lever forward, it's time to lube the cable and work it back and forth until it loosens up.

If the cable DOES seem to be operating smoothly, it might be time to clean those carbs after all.... 

Thanks for the photos! 
I was trying to see what was up with the choke as suggested by Geep and just couldn't quite figure out what was what. 

I'll check this out and see what the deal is ASAP.