Gentlemen, i could use your assistance

2002 gs with about 14000 miles on it. Had it for about a month, rode decent, but now is giving me some problems

Initially it rode fair, but then soon began to not want to keep an idle  ie: flutter at 900/1000ish rpms even after messing with the idle screw. and would die within the first few minutes of riding when coming to a stop, even after a ridiculous amount of warm up time. After a good amount of riding, it would 'stick' at 4k rpms. Vacuum leak?

I did have a bit of an 'accident' ( I dropped it going 1/2 a mile an hour ) but she picked right up and started just fine.

A few days later, she started up but wouldn't hold an idle, and if i blipped the throttle she struggled to get the rpms up. If i blipped to hard ( over 4k rpms ) she would just die.  She did this about 4 times before just quitting on me.

Plugs arent dirty
I inspected all the lines, nothing cramped.
Removed the carbs, gave 'em a quick glance over, nothing really dirty, ( I didn't rebuild or even completely dissassemble them )

Other than the stripped screws I'm finding here and there, ( brass carb bolts ) I have no idea what the previous owner did or did not do with it, so i'm starting from scratch.

Any ideas?
Petcock crapping out?
Needs a Shim job?

Any ideas are better than mine. Thanks again gentlemen. D

ya, sounds like a vacuum leak. and bad gas. and possibly an electical connection. i'd go:


1) drain all that old gas through the float bowls
2) check all the electrics (spark wires/coils)
3) spray with WD-40 around the carbs and see if the idle changes (vacuum leak indicator)

don't blame the carbs right off. they usually point to another culprit.

ps -

spray your intake boots (pipes) also with the WD-40. just don't set the bike on fire with it !

Just a guess but it sounds carb related like clogged jets or air leak.   I would go through the carbs carefully according to the info in the  Clymer manual the the resources you have here like the wiki and carb related searches.   The buggered up screws can be removed by soaking them with a penetrating oil like Kroil or WD 40, cooking the oil in / heating the float cover w/ a hairdryer, and then affixing a pair of vise grips to the head of the screw and CAREFULLY coaxing it out.

shameless bump for the afternoon crew.

I'll try and search for a vacuume leak if i can ever get the ol' girl running again. maybe the tumble jumbled up the jets?

I'm blankin on ideas. Just wanting to be able to ride again.

Quote from: McD on November 13, 2008, 03:11:45 PM
shameless bump for the afternoon crew.

I'll try and search for a vacuume leak if i can ever get the ol' girl running again. maybe the tumble jumbled up the jets?

I'm blankin on ideas. Just wanting to be able to ride again.

Have the carbs ever been cleaned? And is there rust in the tank?
Have the valve clearances ever been checked?
Is the air filter in good shape?

Because of the rapid onset of the problem, I agree with the above posts that it seems like a vacuum leak or a carb blockage.

The following thread may be useful because it provides some carb details:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=42192.20

Quote from: McD on November 12, 2008, 07:14:11 PM
...so i'm starting from scratch.

My ear tickled.

Not sure about 2002's, but this would sound like the typical factory lean jetting on stock carburetors, especially the hanging at 4k rpm's.

Make sure the carb boots are seated all the way around the carbs at both ends.

Check both ends of the vacuum line to the petcock.

How's the airfilter?

After a good long ride (15 minutes at least), the idle should be set at 1200rpms.

If something is clogging the jets, the first thing I would do is tap the sides of the floatbowls gently with the butt end of a scrwedriver, and then drain the floatbowls.

14,000 miles means that it should have had a valve adjustment 2000 miles ago.