I live in southern New Hampshire, and just returned from my second tour from the sandbox... I decided to buy a bike and I bought a 2004 Suzuki GS 500f... At the dealers shop (keep in mind I am new to riding) the bike had a loud knocking sound and I was told these engines are a dime a dozen... and that used engines are like 100-150 bucks at most... I don't believe I have been hose on the deal but for a 2004 bike for pretty cheap ($1250) I can't complain... I was told from the guy I bought it from it could be a barring or maybe a valve broken off...
First time I tried to turn it over when I got home the engine seem to want to "catch" I would get a throaty sound like it was turning over and i would get a knock or clank sound...
A day later I tried turning it over again to see if I could get it going so a buddy on the phone could hear the noise... and  I saw that it needed a new battery because it wasn't turning over nor were any lights coming on then I turned the key... So I bought a battery and when I went to turn it over the bike cranked for about a minute and stop... now when i hit the start switch the lights shut off and it makes no noise at all....
I have looked on ebay and pretty much every salvage yard I could and can't seem to find one under 1000... I got the bike for pretty cheap money and don't have alot to put into it... I was told by a friend to buy a gasket kit for it and start taking it apart and see what I find... Again I am new to bikes, I am a mechanic but not a bike mech... If anyone has pointers or knows where I can get a new/used motor I would really appriecate the help or knowledge.... thanks all

pull the spark plugs, and get a paaaaarerfull flashlight. sounds like you gotta busted valve or three.

or you got the goats syndrome, or stalwarts, or a combination of all of them. if you can find a motor that works and is safe to ride for $150, please forward me it as an 'extra'.

k tanx.

its sad that a dealer would try to one over on one of our vets... I'm not mechanically gifted but just thought i'd share my disapointment

Nah... the dealer said he would help all he could to get my bike up on the road... but unfortunatly he don't have another engine right now... his eyes and ears are open to finding one...

still as a dealer he should have known it wasn't going to be a quick fix.

Hey man, thanks for your service.  Check this out - I just ran a search on craigslist in New Hampshire and a gs turned up, here is the link: http://nh.craigslist.org/mcy/641731876.html $950 for a whole bike, says it runs good.

Anyway, I am sure you can either fix the one you have, although it will take some time or if you have the dough go and get another bike/engine.  It'll work out I'm sure. 

Pete

Dude, once you have a new engine to swap in the job can be done in a weekend afternoon.  That's a moderately quick fix.  Engines are gonna cost you more than $150 but you can probably find a decent one for $400 or so.

the cheapest I have found so far is 550 before shipping... I don't even know where to look... I guess I will have to keep trying... I would like to get this bike up and running by may at the latest but it don't see that time, money or knowledge is on my side... go figure... thanks for all your help and feedback... keep it coming...

well, do you want to keep it as an f, or go naked and w/o the oil cooler, and go E

i would like to stay F if at all possible

I guess fixing it is always an option, too.   Do you have compression??  I forget the specs for the GS, but any stable compression will let you know that the valves aren't the cause.  Just put it on the center stand, shift it into 6th and turn the engine over via the front sprocket shaft seeing as you're having electrical gremlins. 

no turn... we (my buddy and i) already tried that... engine seems seized... (going to bed on again tomorrow)

Try it once more in 6th using the rear wheel to turn the sprockets with the spark plugs out.

Okay, So today we put a new engine in... everything went smooth... got it all back together... it turns but don't turn over... getting gas, cranks, but still don't start...

we checked spark plugs - good and clean
we checked for spark - None
we checked starter relay and fuse -both good
we got gas and oil - both good

Bad ground, bad coil(s) are the only thing I can think of... any ideas?

got it.... bad ground