Hi everyone!

Just yesterday I picked up a new to me 2003 GS500E. I've only ridden small singles in the past, so I'm pretty excited about this motorbike. What's more exciting is that the bike is non-operational, so I get to work to bring it back to life! I have experience with real basic motorcycle maintenance like valve checks, swapping rubber, chain sprockets, fluids, but have never needed to split the cases.

Anywho, I've actually been lurking awhile now, have been accruing some bits of knowledge here and there, but while there is a vast repository of information to be had with the search function, I thought I would illicit some input from some of you more experienced GSers as to what you think of my current situation.

So the situation: bike is registered non-operational. The previous owner I bought it from said the bike developed a strange ticking noise, which persisted for a few days until while riding along the freeway, the bike seemed to lose power, and developed some type of engine knock and died. He pulled over, tried restarting, which he described produced fart-wincing sounds--he wasn't much more explicit then that. This was back in July, bike's apparently been sitting since then. Also, when I asked him if there was sufficient oil at the time of occurrence, or if he checked, he said he didn't know and that was something the previous owner's must have done. He logged around 2K miles in the time he owned it.

So I kinda eased myself into the bike yesterday night. I took off the small cover on the RHS and was able to turn the engine over without the spark plugs in. Spark plugs looked pretty baked, but intact. Drained the oil, and maybe a little less then a quart came out of the bike (smelled very richly of gasoline). I decided to check LHS cover, after reading several threads about the so-called "Goats syndrome" (that still cracks me up). Fortunately, the epoxy seems untouched and everything quite pristine. However, while examining the components, I noticed this little recess behind that big gear behind the flywheel, and thought maybe what I was seeing was a pretty black and toasty crankshaft/connecting rod? I'm not sure, and I don't have a Clymer's manual yet (it's on the way)--but it seems like it. Given that the previous owner couldn't tell me when he last filled the oil in the bike, how much came out, and if in fact, I'm looking at what I think I'm looking at (I browsed through some threads where some GS500E's were oil starved, and the pictures of the connecting rods sure seemed dark like this!)--pretty feasible that I will have to replace the crankshaft and connecting rods, and possible "re-sieve" the cylinder wall? My understanding of "re-sieving" is that a little bit of material will be cut out to make it smooth, but does this mean I will need new piston rings? Is there anything else I might look out for?

Here are a few pictures too:

No Goatsie!



This is the recess I'm talking about. Is that thing in there the crankshaft?




Also, I noticed in just a few spots on the casing, this wrinkly texture. Is this from overheating?



Thanks in advance for the input!

Kevin

Yea I believe its the crank - the cheeks of the crank to be exact.
Cool.
Buddha.

Oh it died from a rod knock.
OK I have 2 that are in similar situation.
Pay for postage and they are yours.
Yea ... garbage.

Take it apart and spend 800 bucks and 100 hours of labor, or buy another bike that runs for 1000 and ride.

Cool.
Buddha.

some people enjoy 100 hours of labor Budha. and an extra 200 bucks is a bonus.

Hey Buhdda,

I found a pair of connecting rods for $20 shipped, and think I found a reasonable crankshaft for about $25 + shipping. I haven't figured in gaskets yet and don't know how much honing will be. What am I missing (of the $800?). While I don't mind investing the time for the rebuild, I don't want to spend gratuitous amounts of money! $1000 I WISH!!!! I see them on craigslist adds in other parts of the country, but most GS's that are in pretty good condition (aesthetically and mechanically) around here seem closer to 2K. That's why I got this project bike. It has new tires, good battery and stuff already (will need a new chain), but I was under the impression it would be relatively economic to fix.

Kevin

OK you know if your cases are not eaten where the bearings died ? cos on one of mine, they were.
The other one - I aint looking in there, I am tossing that motor posthaste.
Maybe I should sell you my cases if they are good ... mu haha haha haha ...

You'd have to get bearings to fit the crank you're buying and the cases you've got. In effect you'd prolly have to get everythign back to stock cos there are no oversize bearings.

And you're cheating by buying rods and crank used and cheap. That way you will not spend 800 ... only like 3-400 ... but yea, mic that crankshaft and get back to me, there are too many crooks who will hand sand the crank journals to they look nice and shiny and palm it off as good.

BTW you see streaks of black or blue near the journal on the crank, dead giveaway its garbage that has been hand sanded to look nice. That is from over heating, and that always accompanies a rod bearing burning up. When the motor is cooled off it will even act normal and turn over well.

Cool.
Buddha.

Crankshaft journals very very rarely survive a shagged out bearing. The book quotes a service limit of 31.976 to 32.000mm. Loose enough metal to take it over 32.000mm  and it becomes a paperweight/doorstop/boat-anchor. Buying blind means you are taking a BIG BIG chance brother. No one strips down a GS motor for spares when it can be sold as runner, the one you are about to stump up on could have come from a bike just like yours.

Sledge dude, if you give him good advice like this you're ruining my $$ making opportunity and well ... he'd never spend the 800 bucks and the 100 hours I have told him to spend.

You really dont want him to give up with $ still in his pocket do you ...

Atleast that's the principle the world's economy works on ... you dont want to be caught dead with ammo in your pocket ... yes, unfortunately you're fighting a forest fire, and all the bullets you shot, killed the fire fighters ... who like idiots brought a fire hose to a gun fight ... ha ha ha stupid people, eat lead you funny yellow uniform wearing man, lets see if your hat can save you now ...

Cool.
Buddha.

Hi Kevin,
Welcome to our little GS500 world.
Here are my thoughts on your 2003 bike.
First, tell us how much it cost you to buy?
This is essentially a $50 motorcycle you have. And even that might be too much to have paid.
The reason?
Engines cost a lot of money to fix properly, even if you do the work yourself.
If it was oil-starved, then crank, rods, crank and rod bearings, pistons and more are all immediately suspect for major damage. The cylinder bores could be damaged, too. Re-sleeving is only possible if there are replacement cylinder insert sleeves to be had and on a low-volume engine like this, I sincerely doubt that is the case.
Used parts are out there, but like others here on the board said, their condition is suspect until you can measure and inspect them properly with a micrometer and other precision instruments.
If you can find used parts like a crank, rods etc., you will have to know if they came out of a similarly trashed engine. That's likely so buyer beware.
You'll have to carefully measure and examine everything after a careful cleaning.
Start your parts list with piston rings and a full gasket set with head gasket, cylinder base gasket, oil pan gasket (you need to pull the oil pan out and inspect the oil pump and clean it all well due to the debris from the friend engine) and every seal and other gasket.
Spark plugs. Oil. Oil filter and o-ring and drain plug washer. It's possible the cylinders are scored and will need boring ($100 or so perhaps) and then new oversized pistons and rings. New pistons require new piston pins and new piston pin circlips. If you remove the pistons from the rods you will need new piston pin circlips anyway. You'll have to check valves and vale guides, but you might as well replace the valve guide seals while you are in there. Check the valve sealing by turning the cylinder head upside down and pour kerosene into the chambers. If it leaks past the valves and comes though the intake or exhaust ports, you have bent or burned valves that will need to be replaced, as well as cut and lapped in.
An "economical job," as you called it, this is not.
And you haven't even added in the new chain you said it needs ($100 plus $45 for new sprockets).
There will be other things it needs. There are always other things that you missed when inspecting it all.
We don't even know about the other intangibles like is the transmission OK, is the engine debris in the oil pump etc.
So add up the parts, the machine shop work (valve job will likely be $100 to $200), extras and all of a sudden the bike you might have bought for $500 thinking you were getting a STEAL is now a $1500 to $2000 project and doesn't even include your labor or time.
And anything you can't do yourself, add more money to have someone else do it for you.
All of this can be done, certainly.
But often basket cases are way more money and work than you ever estimate.
I take that back.
They are ALWAYS more money and time than you estimate.
I used to work at a motorcycle shop and saw this happen all the time.

All that being said, just go into it with eyes open.
I have done this before and never found it to be a good deal, compared to buying a nice bike at a good price.
I know you said it seems like a fun project, and it may well be, but if you want a nice bike at a reasonable price, then buy one that is a nice bike at a reasonable price. Now is a good time to buy with winter here.
Good luck and let us know what's happening.
Yours,
Trwhouse

When you're ready to part it out, hit me up first 

Wow, those were all very insightful responses! Thanks everyone. I guess this coming weekend, I'll be popping the engine out and inspecting all the parts to make sure of everything I need. I already bought the connecting rods, and was about to jump the gun on a crankshaft, but think I'll be asking the seller a little more about the history the bike it came from (The parts sure did look shiney though! lol). I've got a micrometer that I used for checking the shims on some of my older bikes that I can use to make sure everything within spec too.

Oh, and I got the bike for $400. I'm definitely seeing all the $$$$$'s adding up now though! Thanks again everyone for the humor and input. I'll be sure to update as I dig in deeper--also if I just get bogged down and decide to part it. 

I guess I'm stating the obvious and I might have missed it in someone else's post but it sounds like a used engine would be the most cost effective cure.

-Jessie

OK put a pic up of the crank.
If its got that deep purple color like your crank did in the pic through the hole through the left engine case ... its dead as well.
Oddly, the heat doesn't hurt the crank, they are heat treated, more aint hurting.
Its the fact that the heat came from the bearing ...
Cool.
Buddha.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-SUZUKI-GS500-ENGINE-TRANS-ONLY-11-600-MILES_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem483822237cQQitemZ310179406716QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

if link doesnt work its a 01 gs500 motor with 11k miles and comes with a 6 months unlimited war.  for 695.00 buy it now.  prolly your best bet.

I would look at putting an engine in it. I paid $400 for a running engine with 12K miles on it. Keep an eye on fleabay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1994-Suzuki-GS500E-GS500-GS-500-ENGINE-MOTOR_W0QQitemZ140362365745QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorcycles_Parts_Accessories?hash=item20ae3fbb31
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-SUZUKI-GS500-ENGINE-TRANS-ONLY-11-600-MILES_W0QQitemZ310179406716QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorcycles_Parts_Accessories?hash=item483822237c

These are on there now. I wouldn't pay $695 unless it was close enough to check out personally before bidding, but the other one may go cheap enough.

I am going to add my 2 cents for the used engine.
I met a guy on this board (had a pleasure to ride to Harriman Stat Park together last fall) who swapped an engine in his 2005 gs500. I believe that he paid around $500 for the engine, that he found in junkyard. Engine had less than 1000 miles on it.

So it looks like the used engine is no brainer, unless you really enjoy splitting yours apart and doing all of that work...
good luck with whichever direction you choose, and welcome to this awesome forum 

Hi again Kevin,
Oh, there's one more thing I meant to point out about this bike that you bought.
Your "non-operational" title may very well limit the bike's value in the future.
So if that is essentially a salvage title, I wouldn't invest much in it because it's value is low to future buyers and you may have trouble insuring or licensing it depending on your state of residence.
Best wishes,
Trwhouse

If you really want to do it, do it.  It's your money and your time.  The advice you have gotten so far should be enough for you to make your decision, but maybe some pics of the insides will help, too.

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=45697.0
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=43550.0
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=41982.0

The "non-operational" is a registration thing in California.  California requires all vehicles to stay permanently registered.  So even if you have a broken-down '75 volvo that you plan on keeping in storage for awhile, you still have to register it every year with the DMV.  Instead of paying full registration fees, you can register it "non-operational", which is cheaper, but then you can't drive it on California state roads until you "fully" register it again, but it still counts as being registered.

Hi Brendan,
Thanks for the update on the registration.
They do everything differently in California, don't they?
Best wishes,
Trwhouse