Well, i've looked around to see if i could find an answer to my problem but i'm not bike savvy enough yet to really understand what exactly to look for that's wrong with my bike.

I bought a gs500f about 4 months ago with 5000 miles on it.  It's was perfect for the first few months but later in the winter (alabama winters so not colder than the mid teens at the coldest at night) the bike started to take alot longer to crank up, even on warmer days.  When i first bought it it would crank almost instantly when it was 30 outside but as time went by it took about 4-5 tries to get it to start.  The other day I went on a poker run, in which i drove the bike 220 miles at about 90 mph the whole time.  The bike ran perfect all day, even after stopping at the dealership at the end and not starting it for another 2 hours it started back up like normal.  But about two days later I go out to the garage and try to start the bike and it won't start at all.  It will turn over and sounds sorta off, and wont start.  The only way to get it to start is to twist the throttle completely open and hit the starter for about 5 straight seconds, then i have to keep it revved to keep it running. I got it to idle once, but it was only at about 900 rpms and sounded very off.  I tried driving it and in second gear it was extremely jumpy, like the feeling of running out of gas, and when i hit the clutch the bike died completely.  So now I'm kinda at a loss of what to do.  I don't really know what to look for and couldn't find anyone with any problems that were exactly like what i was describing so i didnt want to go take the bike apart when i dont really know whats wrong.  i cant get it to start at all without full throttle twist and if it does start doing that i have to keep feeding it gas to keep it running.

Anyone have any suggestions of what may be wrong?  any help is appreciated

thanks

are you outa gas?

The first things I would check are:

• gas in the tank
• condition of spark plugs
• is there fuel in the carbs? (use a hose on the drain plug. If not, turn it to "PRI" and wait a few seconds, then check again)
• is the air filter plugged?

I have the same exact problem with mine. 5000 miles doesnt start. Its still winter so i'm going to deal with it in march. If you figure out your problem let me know. My situation is almost exactly the same as yours. worked perfectly for a while had to crank it hard to start it later on

Alabama = South = fairly humid, right?

I wonder if you might have some weird sort of condensation-in-the-wiring problem.  If the bike stays out "in the weather", is there any way that you could park it in a nice WARM and DRY place for a day or two?  Just thinking out loud about what might have changed....

Quote from: Meph on January 30, 2008, 04:26:18 PM
Well, i've looked around to see if i could find an answer to my problem but i'm not bike savvy enough yet to really understand what exactly to look for that's wrong with my bike.

I bought a gs500f about 4 months ago with 5000 miles on it.  It's was perfect for the first few months but later in the winter (alabama winters so not colder than the mid teens at the coldest at night) the bike started to take alot longer to crank up, even on warmer days.  When i first bought it it would crank almost instantly when it was 30 outside but as time went by it took about 4-5 tries to get it to start.  The other day I went on a poker run, in which i drove the bike 220 miles at about 90 mph the whole time.  The bike ran perfect all day, even after stopping at the dealership at the end and not starting it for another 2 hours it started back up like normal.  But about two days later I go out to the garage and try to start the bike and it won't start at all.  It will turn over and sounds sorta off, and wont start.  The only way to get it to start is to twist the throttle completely open and hit the starter for about 5 straight seconds, then i have to keep it revved to keep it running. I got it to idle once, but it was only at about 900 rpms and sounded very off.  I tried driving it and in second gear it was extremely jumpy, like the feeling of running out of gas, and when i hit the clutch the bike died completely.  So now I'm kinda at a loss of what to do.  I don't really know what to look for and couldn't find anyone with any problems that were exactly like what i was describing so i didnt want to go take the bike apart when i dont really know whats wrong.  i cant get it to start at all without full throttle twist and if it does start doing that i have to keep feeding it gas to keep it running.

Anyone have any suggestions of what may be wrong?  any help is appreciated

thanks

SOunds like electrical to me, a broken or corroded coil wire or spark plug wire maybe ? Mine did a similar thing a while back. Thought it was the carburetors, tore them apart, wrong. Simple partially broken wire made it -seem- like  a fueling problem. It would rev nicely, but idle very poorly. Starting was an issue too.

Check your wires, check your plugs. Then make sure your fuel lines are ok, and your pet chicken isn't sucking air.

Oh, and duh huh, drain your tank and carbs. Now I'm thinking water/trash in the gas tank. (The duh huh is for me, not you    )

is the carb breather hose blocked?

Quote from: Kerry on January 30, 2008, 04:46:22 PM
Alabama = South = fairly humid, right?

I wonder if you might have some weird sort of condensation-in-the-wiring problem.  If the bike stays out "in the weather", is there any way that you could park it in a nice WARM and DRY place for a day or two?  Just thinking out loud about what might have changed....

when i can ill start checking some of the things people have listed.  I do keep the bike garaged at all times, so its out of the majority of the humidity, it has been near the sixties for a day or two and still the same problem with the bike

Quote from: Meph on January 30, 2008, 05:04:43 PMI do keep the bike garaged at all times, so its out of the majority of the humidity, it has been near the sixties for a day or two and still the same problem with the bike

Sixties?  Whoa!  Never mind my suggestion then; I guess I'm stuck in my current "the high along the Wasatch Front today will be 28 degrees" circumstances.

well it will be close to 70 so im about to go clean up the garage a bit and work on the bike to see what i come up with, hopefully i can figure out whats wrong with it.

sounds fuel related to me. if it is turning over and only starting at full throttle i would think it is a fuel problem.  if you are not bike savvy i would take it to a dealership for the fix, unless you have a local friend who is savvy.  make sure they take it for a long test run after the repair.  on a couple of occasions i have gotten my 89 gs back from the dealer only to have it crap out on me a few miles later.  as it turns out it was a vacuum problem and really no big deal once it has been diagnosed.   try not to crank it too long cuz you could end up doing more damage than normal.  again if you have the money and a Suzuki dealership near by see if you can get it in there and fixed.  we all know what it is like having a bike at one time or another that has not worked properly.  it is very disappointing and stressful.  this board and the people on it are some of the greatest bike people i have the pleasure of knowing.  i am sure someone here is able to help you out.

Frankie

thanks for the advice.

If i can't get it running after a normal amount of effort im sure i will take it in.  I just can't afford it really.  I'm pretty technically savvy with anything and feel i can fix something if I can figure out what it is.  I do have alot of lawnmower and car engine teching under my belt along with many other things.


I did get to work on the bike today. I took some pics to show what i've found and see if anyone knows whats up

So heres the story for today. The bike is steadily dripping gas out of the drain tube.  There is still a nice puddle under my bike,  its been dripping for days, the petcock is not on prime so thats not why its doing it. here's a pic of the puddle:



There is a nice pool of gas in my airbox.  Pic included:



I pulled my spark plugs and they look like they have some dry carbon residue, im going to replace them, but i still dont know why so much gas is entering my airbox and draining out the tube nonstop.  spark plug pic:



I also checked the oil, it was slightly above the full mark and smelled of gasoline, dunno if thats normal or not, but i smelled the stick after cleaning and redipping and i smelled gas on it.  once again pic:



and that's about as far as i could get today, anyone have an idea??   

 

Doesn't that mean a stuck or improperly set float ?

One of the guru's will correct me shortly....

that would be fine with me, what really bothers me is not knowing whats wrong with it, not that fact that something is wrong =)

Quote from: ohgood on February 04, 2008, 06:54:15 PM
Doesn't that mean a stuck or improperly set float ?

I'd buy that ... or maybe a bit of grit preventing the float needle(s) from sealing up the fuel inlet.  Kinda the opposite of a damaged needle, which I wouldn't expect with a newer bike:

Looks like your float height is too high causing your mixture to run rich and foul your plugs. Do the float height test mentioned here (courtesy of Kerry  )

http://www.bbburma.net/FloatHeight.htm

This also explains why gas is spilling into your air box.

You can't easily adjust the 2004 - 2007 floats.

Check your carb breather hose first!!!

Check this thread. I had something similar, pulled my entire carbs aprat and it ended up just being I had a wasp build a nest in my carb breather hose
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=33835.0

Now that is a thread that I'm sorry I missed.  LOVE the diagram in [this post]. 

i'll check the breather hose asap.

Now since my oil level seems to be high and i'm smelling gas in the oil, should i do an oil flush and fill before i start to ride her again once i fix the carb problem?  and does this particular carb problem normally cause gas to enter the oil pan?

Quote from: Meph on February 05, 2008, 11:22:47 AMNow since my oil level seems to be high and i'm smelling gas in the oil, should i do an oil flush and fill before i start to ride her again once i fix the carb problem?

Yep, that would be a good idea. 

Quote from: Meph on February 05, 2008, 11:22:47 AMdoes this particular carb problem normally cause gas to enter the oil pan?

It certainly can.  I don't know exactly how the carbs on the F models are situated, but you can see from [this E model diagram] that it's a downhill run from the "Carb Throat" in [galahs' diagram] to the cylinders ... depending on how level the bike is when it's parked.

Fuel would seep down the intake boots to the intake valves.  If one of the valves was open, it would continue down the side of the cylinder wall, around the piston to the split in the ring(s), and eventually down to the oil pan.

Hey, maybe we can get galahs to whip up another diagram!