Hi! I own an 89 GS500e. It is a piece of sh!t. I believe this because my perception is my reality, and my reality sucks. Why you may ask? Well I'll tell ya! I just got back from walking my bike home AGAIN after it decided to die on me for no reason. Funny thing is, I was prepared this time! I brought the tools and the part needed to fix this problem just in case there was the small chance it happened again...then it happened again.

     See, my bike has had "fuel starvation" problems for a while now. Ive had it break down on me four times in the past week now. First it was the petcock...first. Then, it was a vacuum problem, which I got fixed...or so I thought. After putting a NEW new vacuum cap on the line, I drove it for a minute and she died on me quicker then a coked up geriatric with a bad heart. So I took off the seat, unbolted the tank, and sure enough there was the problem...oh wait...no...there WASN'T the problem. The vacuum cap was there, all tucked in and secure like a little baby in the arms of its loving Mother.

     This Mother is a Buddha Loves You, but what could it's problem be? Is it me personally? So here I am getting drunk over this Buddha Loves You like IT was a SHE, and SHE broke my heart not unlike an ex girlfriend or a bad visit at Golden Corral.

     I need help Ladies and Gentlemen. I need help for I am lost in a quandry. What could it be?

   

43 views and no help? Cmon people, Im really out of solutions for this thing short of replacing everything in the fuel system so any help would be great. Thanks.

Hi there,
The first step to recovery is admitting you need help.
Best of luck on your journey into resolving the problem.
Yours,
Trwhouse

P.S. You didn't really tell us much.
Did you replace the petcock with a new one?
Or did you convert it into a non-vacuum petcock?
Have you cleaned the carbs and jets out and measured the float levels etc?
You have replaced all the fuel and vacuum lines?
Have you cleaned the gas tank cap vent in the cap?

More details, please.

haha. Man welcome to the joys of buying a 19 year old bike. I too bought an '89  and it ran like crap for about the first six months. Runs perfectly and has been for about the past two years.

Stuff I ended up doing to it.
Carb overhaul (floats were WAAAAAY off)
rejet
K&N lunchbox
Yoshi full exhuast
Valve check
replace fuel line
replace tires
replace battery
replace handlebar (bypassed clutch switch too)
replace chain
replace brake pads/flush fluid
replace exhaust gaskets
replace intake boots (old one rotted in half)

I agree, drinking off the frustration sounds like a good start.  :cheers:When you sober up tomorrow tackle the bike in an orderly and logical manner. Start basic troubleshooting.

You need three things to run: spark, fuel, and air.

1) Does it have gas? (don't laugh it happens to people)
2) Check your plugs (are they firing? what color do they look like?)
3) Check your carbs (synched? float height? jets clogged?)

Give us more technical info and we can help you. 

You keep starting new threads about the same problems, so it's hard to see what you have/have not actually done without backtracking down 5 side alleys - have you ever checked the tank venting?

I am not very familiar with the GS500, but I suggest you check the simple things first.  Is the tank vent open?  Is the fuel screen clean?  Spark, fuel, air; then it will run, maybe not so good, but it will run.

prs

...and the top Tee carb vent?

Does it run on prime? If so, then the diaphram in the frame mounted selector valve has probably turned to goo. Every one of the valves I have converted to no-vacuum had a failed diaphram that turned to goo.

Quote from: Pigeonroost on August 29, 2008, 06:03:38 PM
I am not very familiar with the GS500, but I suggest you check the simple things first.  Is the tank vent open?  Is the fuel screen clean?  Spark, fuel, air; then it will run, maybe not so good, but it will run.

prs

Let's not leave out compression too.

To answer all your questions(or at least try to)

1. The fuel valve is for a Honda CRF250
2. I tried popping the gas cap for it to vent and it did nothing
3. I have only replaced the fuel filter and will be replacing the lines within the week
4. I know basically nothing about carburators and I have not checked float height, sync,  or anything else on the carbs really
5. It did run after I capped the vacuum line, but not for long(this happened twice because the first cap fell off)
6. The new vacuum cap is still on there
7. It started up again for about a minute after I revved the throttle a while and kept it above 3k
8. After that the battery didnt seem to have enough juice to start the bike again

Questions
1. Will a battery thats not fully charged/weak cause my bike to die like this after it has time to sit, then run the bike again?
2.Does it sound like more of just a carburator problem and less anything to do with the lines or battery?
3. How much does it cost to get carbs worked on if I decided not to do it myself?

Sorry for all the re-run posts, I was SO pissed when I started this thread I felt I needed to vent out my frustrations and confide in all of you for support and help. Its very discouraging not being able to ride my bike, after all it took for me to get it. Thank you all for your patience and support. This forum really is like no other.

Well, the other vent you need to check is the "upper vent hose", as shown here. Yank the seat and tank and have a close look - mud wasps have been known to nest in it, causing this type of problem.



As for the battery, charge it and then take it to an auto parts store for a load test, which will let you know for sure that it is good, or is not good - then you can look there, or look elsewhere.

I believe that buddha charges something like $45 plus shipping to work your carbs over, and is probably the best bet if you don't do them yourself.

Shhh guys, we should encourage people to slap random parts on their bikes ...
Hey secondfall, Honda CRF petcock aint no good, try Honda CR-V ... no, how about a CRX ... OK 89 (same year ad your bike) CRX, if that fails, try mazda miata ... no sense leaving it out.
Gaaaaaa ....
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: The Buddha on August 29, 2008, 07:35:28 PM
Shhh guys, we should encourage people to slap random parts on their bikes ...
Hey secondfall, Honda CRF petcock aint no good, try Honda CR-V ... no, how about a CRX ... OK 89 (same year ad your bike) CRX, if that fails, try mazda miata ... no sense leaving it out.
Gaaaaaa ....
Cool.
Buddha.

Could try Nissan petcock too 

Quote from: tussey on August 29, 2008, 08:10:59 PM

Quote from: The Buddha on August 29, 2008, 07:35:28 PM
Shhh guys, we should encourage people to slap random parts on their bikes ...
Hey secondfall, Honda CRF petcock aint no good, try Honda CR-V ... no, how about a CRX ... OK 89 (same year ad your bike) CRX, if that fails, try mazda miata ... no sense leaving it out.
Gaaaaaa ....
Cool.
Buddha.

Could try Nissan petcock too 

huhuhuhuhu good one...really...riveting.

Quote from: DoD#i on August 29, 2008, 07:12:20 PM
Well, the other vent you need to check is the "upper vent hose", as shown here. Yank the seat and tank and have a close look - mud wasps have been known to nest in it, causing this type of problem.



As for the battery, charge it and then take it to an auto parts store for a load test, which will let you know for sure that it is good, or is not good - then you can look there, or look elsewhere.

I believe that buddha charges something like $45 plus shipping to work your carbs over, and is probably the best bet if you don't do them yourself.

As for the "upper vent hose", this is connected to the line connecting the two carburators together, correct?

yes.

Okay Ill taka look once my new fuel line comes with my gastank cushion. As for the fuel valve, is the Honda crf fuel valve junk? I was told by several furm members that it would work fine. Thanks

Quote from: SecondsFromTheFall on August 29, 2008, 06:54:41 PM
To answer all your questions(or at least try to)

1. The fuel valve is for a Honda CRF250
2. I tried popping the gas cap for it to vent and it did nothing
3. I have only replaced the fuel filter and will be replacing the lines within the week
4. I know basically nothing about carburators and I have not checked float height, sync,  or anything else on the carbs really
5. It did run after I capped the vacuum line, but not for long(this happened twice because the first cap fell off)
6. The new vacuum cap is still on there
7. It started up again for about a minute after I revved the throttle a while and kept it above 3k
8. After that the battery didnt seem to have enough juice to start the bike again

Questions
1. Will a battery thats not fully charged/weak cause my bike to die like this after it has time to sit, then run the bike again?
2.Does it sound like more of just a carburator problem and less anything to do with the lines or battery?
3. How much does it cost to get carbs worked on if I decided not to do it myself?

Sorry for all the re-run posts, I was SO pissed when I started this thread I felt I needed to vent out my frustrations and confide in all of you for support and help. Its very discouraging not being able to ride my bike, after all it took for me to get it. Thank you all for your patience and support. This forum really is like no other.

1. yes and no. starting will be next to impossilbe with a low battery. you need ALL that juice not just for turning the engine, but for a GOOD spark to actually start it. spark needs a healthy battery. chargers are cheap, distilled water cheaper. check your levels.
2. sounds like starvation to me. replace your lines, it's an 89 (20 years old!) after all. do the JB-Weld mod to your petcock.
3. srina.... i mean buddha will wring out the carbs for a minimal fee, and he kinda knows what he's doing too. the dealership will rip you a new one, make it run WORSE, and likely destroy your carbs in the process. no, really.

checking float height, air tightness, and other stuff isn't difficult. want to know what i'd start with ? ok, here we go:

1) replace all fuel lines, drain (or remove) float bowls. did that help ?
yes= cool, but continue anyway
no= ditto

2) bypass your petcock for a short ride around the 'hood. does it still starve ?
yes = continue
no = you're on the right track, continue anyway

3) drop the floats out and check them for air tightness. (you can dunk them in a vat of gas to check for bubbles)

4) check you float height. there are threads here on the forum with pictures.

above all, expect the float height to be wrong, and/or the vent to be clogged, AND the petcock to be problematic. you had vacuum issues, so don't forget to make everything air tight.

Quote from: SecondsFromTheFall on August 29, 2008, 09:13:14 PM
Okay Ill taka look once my new fuel line comes with my gastank cushion. As for the fuel valve, is the Honda crf fuel valve junk? I was told by several furm members that it would work fine. Thanks

I dunno about crf petcock, I have not slapped any petcock on a suzuki, I fit suzuki petcocks on kawasaki's. Those are total POS.
Cool.
Buddha.

your bike is  piece of sh!t
deliver it to bud-duh
give him some green and some high quality skunk beer

pick up bike and ride it