I have had it for about 3 weeks now and put 350 miles on it.
It is a 1994 gs500e with 18k miles on it. The guy I bought it from changed the oil and didn't check it standing straight
So by the next week when I checked the oil it was about half full. It was running rather hot of course. So I added the rest of the oil let it run in idle and then a small spin around the block then checked it standing up. Everything was at the correct levels. I rode it home from my friends garage, I pushed it a little hard just to get that oil churning in there and then started to notice a tapping coming from the engine.

I watched your video on youtube on how to adjust the valve clearance. I saw a marring mark on the front right (from riding position) exhaust valve on the lobe of the shaft. So I started there and tested it with a feeler gauge. I could not get a .04 in there and I do not have anything less than that. The tapping is present during idle but even more apparent during riding. I.E. when you gear down and release the clutch it makes an almost backfire sound as the engine revs into the lower gear. At a higher gear while cruising it is not as loud though. Still seems that the engine is a little hot as well. But not as hot as before.

I have attached a video of it running today in idle after a small ride out to the store and back. You can hear the higher pitch squeal in the video but I think that is from the mic in my camera. The tapping is clear as day though. Your advice is much appreciated. Is the bike still ok to ride is another story, I have been using it to save on gas for work. Instead of driving the hummer (enough said) I really feel confident in my ability to change this out, just I need a little direction. My big question is this. I have followed your instructions from the video, I have gathered that a .05/.06 clearance is what we are after, right?
Also if the clearance is too small,  say .02 and I go to a .05 less,  that will put me at .07 and be nearing the "too much" area! Right? Sorry this is all new to me. If you could let me know the exact size I am after and any other information that will help that would be awesome.


HERE IS THE VIDEO I MADE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS0r1Q0_Bh4


Thanks for your help, in advance.

Dear Cobra Commander

Welcome to the board.

.03 - .08 is correct clearance called for in Factory Service Manual.  Get a manual.  Search this site for a link to download one.  This will also tell you the correct cam position at which to measure clearances.

Good job posting a video so we can actually listen.  I could not hear the noise you described.  Possibly it is obvious to everyone else and my bike sounds just as bad so I am ignoring that noise. 

The marred cam lobe on your bike is a sign that the clearances are too tight and cams are not getting oil.  Valve probably not seating correctly either.  You may need to use .05 thinner or .10 thinner or maybe .25 thinner, no telling until you put in a thinner shim and can get a feeler in there.  After you adjust it, be prepared for the clearance to tighten up again quickly, as the valve readjusts to being fully seated.  Also be prepared for your idle to smooth out and your warm up to be easier.

Good luck.

thanks for the reply,

So it doesn't matter what the clearance is as long as it is between .03 and .08? I guess I should aim for an average in between then of maybe .06?
I will preemptively stop and grab an increment smaller on the way home considering they close an hour after I get off work today.

I will try this tonight and document my outcome with a video again perhaps.

hopefully im back in action soon 

I shim my valves with tinfoil, cause I heard they did it in cuba to main bearings. nothing bad has happened yet.... just incase you need to adjust by 1 thou at a time.

My experience in putting 150k miles on 2 GS500s is that intake valves don't require shim changes and exhaust valves require thinner shims when changed.  The exhaust valves recede into the seats over time and this is greatly accelerated by running them too tight.  I suggest shiming exhaust valves to give max .002-.003" clearance or about .05-.08 mm clearance.  I've actually taken to setting my own exhaust valve clearances to .003-.005" to stop valves receding into seats by giving them more cooling seat time.  My GS500 valve check and shim change record:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/valveclearances.jpg

ok the shim I got from the store is smaller in circumferance than the original I.E. moves around in the bucket. not as round as the original.

Im trying to beat the rain outside so a quick response if this is ok or not will be awesome.

Thanks guys

too small:  not good
not round: What?! can't be good.

sounds a bit sketchy... how much smaller? less than a millimeter? could you shim it with tinfoil?

a tinfoil-ey gap is gonna be okay, otherwise it sounds a bit sketch.

more like 5mm difference in circumference which leads  me to believe that it is for the wrong bike model.

im editing the video frm today, I will post a link with documentation of my ordeal once again in high def video. lol gotta love the internet.

And thanks for the help so far guys.

Those are Kawi, Yami, BMW shims that are .5 mm smaller dia, I wouldn't use them .

http://www.crc2onlinecatalog.com/valve_shims.htm

right on, I knew that being cautious was the right thing to do.

I didnt even attempt to put it back together with that one in there.
I will hit them up tomorrow morning when they open to try to get the right one.

I'm ftp'ing the videos from today necause youtube is giving me crap about the videos this time for some reason. So I will post them later tonight or tomorrow while at work.

Thanks

Once I get this problem taken care of I will be able to see if that was the cause of the tapping. or if I have to get a diagnostic done at the shop a.k.a. $50 out of my wallet. lol

Next is idle is sticking at 3.5 - 4k rpms most of the time. and a front fork seal leak after that. Still I love this bike. it is my first and I have had a great 355 miles on it so far.

Okay,

Here are the videos I shot today. Freakin youtube is giving me trouble so ftp'ed them to my brothers website.

Link:

http://fibrousdysplasia.org/upload/DIGI0003.avi
http://fibrousdysplasia.org/upload/DIGI0004.avi
http://fibrousdysplasia.org/upload/DIGI0005.avi
http://fibrousdysplasia.org/upload/DIGI0006.avi

I will go tomorrow morning and try to get the right part. there are three places here that work on suzuki's and all are the same hours of operation that I work! go figure.Thats why they made lunch breaks.

In the mean time I have the bike assembled without bolts and under a bike cover for the night. I posted about getting the east coast valve kit on another post, perhaps with a variety of shims to work with and the correct feelers I can get this taken care of straight away. give those links about 20 more minutes from the time of this post they are all but complete.

Thanks

and  to redline honda in fort wayne indiana

I can hear the knock in the first video you posted.  It is definitely a knock.  Is it bad? I don't know for sure. Search this forum for "camshaft end play" as these bikes are known to have a problem. Some model years have too much end play in the cam and the cam slides back and forth (sideways on the bike) making that knocking sound. I've not heard it in action so I'd be looking for a post in a thread that talks about it and maybe has a video/audio recording of it. Is it the same sound you've got?

I can tell you that the too-much-end-play "problem" causes no damage, just noise. There is a fix for it but most people don't bother because it's time consuming and the parts are difficult to get hold of. If your noise is from end play, your best bet is to learn to accept it.

Here's hoping that's your noise.


Anyone on this board heard the 'end play' noise before? Can you confirm this is what's going on?

I hear the knock in your video and don't believe it's the camshaft side play knock.  I had the cam knock on both my 97 GS and my current 02 GS but haven't heard it for years now.  I remember it as a much lower frequency knock than you have.  Knocks only on warm engine and only at idle.  Pick up the rpm to a 1800-2000 rpm fast idle speed and it stops knocking and is never heard at riding speeds above a fast idle. 

I ran 15W-50 Mobil 1 in my 97 for first 50k miles and heard the knock off and on but switched to the 15W-40 truck oils after that and never heard it again on the 97 which I used up to 80k miles.  Heard it when I first got my 02 in Sept 03 with 4k miles on it but I changed to the 15W-40 truck oils about 2k miles later and don't recall hearing it since then.  The camshaft side play knock is harmless and I never worried about it after I determined what it was. 

Sorry about the crappy links earlier. Here are the updated videos hosted on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd-agEccfD0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3lbt_6YPBs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbJdc-W8NVc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKZM7dbcmCs


That is the update from yesterday, I stopped at the parts store this morning on the way to work and they did not have the shim I needed. I will check the other store today at lunch for the right one. The shim i got before was a 258 and I was so cranky about it being the wrong circumference size that I forgot to check the clearance. I am picking up some digital calipers today after work from a friend so I will have a true reading of my original later this evening.

Ok at lunch time here I went to a powersports place and got TWO!!!!! 2.58's for 4$ instead of one wrong shim for 11$ first break of the month.

My original (front right exhaust) was 2.63, so if that tells you anything please let me know.

so with the 2.58 shim in the right exhaust I have a .038 clearance and it lessened the taping enough to hear that the left side is tapping as well.

I tested the clearance of the left exhaust shim with the original shim in it and I could not get my .038 in there. So I went ahead and replaced it with the 2.58 one just for today and tomorrow. I will get a size smaller and one smaller than that tomorrow so that I can go down a size on both and increase the gap to a more desired clearance.

I did a test ride after the second shimming (Left side exhaust), and although the tapping is there still (but less on the right) I noticed it ran a little better. Also there is no power difference since before the problem and now. I really opened it up on the way back home just incase there would be a problem, so I'm not stranded 10 miles from home tomorrow at work. Total power and acceleration. The damn idle still sticks sometimes at 3k-4k rpm's and after I adjust the screw it hangs for a minute then settles.

If there was a vacum leak where would I check it at? Does anyone know.

Check the exhaust and carbs. Spray some wd-40 around the carb boots where they connect to the airbox... not too sure where else to look - I haven't touched my carbs.  As for the exhaust, if you have removed it at any point then you need to replace the exhaust gaskets ($5 for a set from dealer) as they are one time use items.  Hopefully someone else can give you more info.