I recently purchased my first Motorcyle, a 2006 GS500f. I am in the process of trying to read all the posts on here to catch up on what I have missed. I was wondering what advice all the experienced riders out there have for a brand new suzuki owner. This isn't the first motorcycle I have riden, just the first one I have had to maintain. Anything to watch out for or go ahead and fix now. This weekend I am going to do a fenderectomy, shorten the turn signals, reflectoromy, and am considering fork spacers. I want to advance the timing, but I don't think I have the correct one to be advanced (Gonna take the cover off and see how many tabs I have). I am probably gonna re-jet the carb next month, and am trying to find a good aftermarket air filter. Any other good aftermarket or mods to do now before I get it on the road in May, Or advice for better handling/performance? I always accept kind words of advice from veteran riders about anything to keep my eye out for.

JCocke
AMMO
I.Y.A.A.Y.A.S.

How many miles are on it?

-Jessie

Small steps at a time,if you change lots of things at once sometimes its a lot harder to trace a prob` get used to the bike and its changes gradual.Suzuki`s a good bike,suspension its weak point.oh and the fuel tap.   Combo Jay.

3752 Miles....What be the problem with the fuel tap?   The last owner neglected the basics (oil changes, air filter, spark plugs). I am in the process of changing and replacing all of thed basic things (had to get a manuel, went with Haynes). I know about little things I was just wanting to know what all my options are, what kind of upgrade it will give the bike, and the difficulty level of doing 'em. I have been having the hardest time finding upgrades for this bike online.

Just got back from a ride a minute ago and I will have to troubleshoot this problem. Everything is running fine except for my RPM gauge. at any speed greater than 25 every 30-45 seconds the needle in the RPM gauge will jump down and show 0. It pops right back up to the correct RPM's and only lasts 1 second at most, I lose no throttle response, the bike does not sputter, nothing happens except for the needle jumps down. Any Ideas?

might need a new speedo cable, might need to make sure its not cracked anywhere. any one else?

Be gently with your nuts!

The first thing I broke on my bike was one of the posts that secure the oil filter.  So my advice is when you change your oil filter, tighten the nuts gently.  About 8 pounds of torque will do.

-Porkchop

I wonder if your rev counter cable is snaging inside outer sleeve,undo both ends and rotate it see how it feels,not sure if you can pull the inner out to check it?
Fuel tap on the gs often starves carbs when maintaining 70mph+ its a very common prob`,if i`m on a main road i leave on the prime position.
Combo Jay.

Quote from: JAY W on March 23, 2010, 01:13:08 PM
I wonder if your rev counter cable is snaging inside outer sleeve,undo both ends and rotate it see how it feels,not sure if you can pull the inner out to check it?
Fuel tap on the gs often starves carbs when maintaining 70mph+ its a very common prob`,if i`m on a main road i leave on the prime position.
Combo Jay.

I believe the tach on the f model bikes is not cable driven.

-Jessie

Quote from: BaltimoreGS on March 23, 2010, 01:47:18 PM

Quote from: JAY W on March 23, 2010, 01:13:08 PM
I wonder if your rev counter cable is snaging inside outer sleeve,undo both ends and rotate it see how it feels,not sure if you can pull the inner out to check it?
Fuel tap on the gs often starves carbs when maintaining 70mph+ its a very common prob`,if i`m on a main road i leave on the prime position.
Combo Jay.

I believe the tach on the f model bikes is not cable driven.

-Jessie

Is it electronic, and is there a chance there's voltage leak/grounding somewhere?

Quote from: burnymcstalls on March 23, 2010, 02:25:53 PM

Quote from: BaltimoreGS on March 23, 2010, 01:47:18 PM

Quote from: JAY W on March 23, 2010, 01:13:08 PM
I wonder if your rev counter cable is snaging inside outer sleeve,undo both ends and rotate it see how it feels,not sure if you can pull the inner out to check it?
Fuel tap on the gs often starves carbs when maintaining 70mph+ its a very common prob`,if i`m on a main road i leave on the prime position.
Combo Jay.

I believe the tach on the f model bikes is not cable driven.

-Jessie

Is it electronic, and is there a chance there's voltage leak/grounding somewhere?

My manual does not come in until the 1rst... Is there a way to check to see if it is cable or electronic?  Also I read on Wikipedia (I know I know it isn't the most reliable thing on the net) and it said that in 2004 Suzuki fixed the starvation problem in the fuel system (I can't remember exactly, but I think it said the petcock) anyone have any info on that? and if not how can I fix the problem, 30 minutes of my daily drive is on highway 70-73 M.P.H. and I don't want to burn a piston or something worse.  Thanks for all the advice.
Justin

Anyone in the Kansas City MO Area?

Hi,looks like suzuki have sorted the general iffy bits of the early models,sorry for misleading you.If you have an electronic rev counter it will be wired up rather than a cable routed to cylinder head.

It is a cable wired to the cylinder head..... So can anyone confirm or deny the gas starvation problem in the 04 to present bikes?

Your GS has an electronic tach; I've never worked on one (my GS is an early model), but look for a loose or corroded connection anywhere along the wire(S) leading into the tach. Also keep your eyes open for damage to the wire itself; if the insulation is worn, the wire might occasionally be touching metal somewhere, which would kill the signal to the tach momentarily, causing the exact symptoms you've described.

Check this diagram for more details:

http://images.powersportsnetwork.com/fiche/images/SUZUKI/2004/Motorcycles/7247_24B.gif

Find number 16 in the diagram; that is listed as "SOCKET&CORD, SPEEDOMETER/TACH"; the Suzuki part number is 34170-01DD0. When you find number 16, you'll see two light bulbs, which are most likely the ones inside the speedo and tach, to illuminate them at night, along with three wires with ring terminals on them. If one of those three wires is loose (maybe the nut or other type of fastener holding the ring terminal backed off a bit), or is somehow damaged, you could lose the tach signal intermittently. I don't have a wiring diagram for the new models, so I can't tell you which of those three wires to check, but you might as well look at all of them while you're troubleshooting this.

Look for SIMPLE problems first; check BOTH ends of the wires, which means you'll have to trace the entire loom (number 16) back to the engine to see where it might be damaged. If you can't find any damage, follow the wire which goes to the cams; that is the one which provides the signal to the tach. Again, if it is loose or otherwise defective, it could be the culprit. Let us know what you find, and someone will be able to advise you on the best way to fix it.

Lastly, if you don't want to try fixing the damage, you can buy the Suzuki part online from mrcycles.com for $25.04, plus shipping. The dealer will probably want more for it, and probably WON'T have it in stock, so if you're going to have to wait a few days for it anyway, you might as well save a few bucks and order it online. You won't have to make two trips to the dealership to get it; getting to the dealership while it is open is difficult for me, except on the weekend.

Good luck; let us know how this turns out. Someone else will have to answer your fuel starvation question...

noober

Ill be in overland park tomorrow, just not on my bike, Broken wrist and such.

Check your battery cables. I had the weird jumpy tach needle and the prob went away when I tighteded up loose battery cables.