Hey guys, I've been lurking around this forum for a while now that I've made the jump to two wheels Just want to introduce myself first, I'm 19 years old, in my 3rd year at Cal Poly - SLO as a mechanical engineer. Really glad I could join the community.

Got myself a 1990 suzuki GS500 a month and a half ago after I finished the MSF course and I've been riding (or trying to) every day since. I do accept the fact it's a 20 year old bike and "the black man" as I named the bike, is definitely showing it. Had to replace the stator in the first week, then had my front brake stick coming out of a stop sign and laid the bike down onto the front lawn of a sorority house with about 100 girls practicing their rush week cheer. Other than a bent handlebar and broken mirror which I got fixed, the black man wasn't hurting too bad.

Few days later I took him out again and for some reason I had really inconsistent low-end power. Coming off the line, the bike coughs its way to 4000rpm. When it hit the 4grand marker power is smooth all the way to redline. I went through most of the checklist in the manual and everything seemed fine. I took a look at the carburetor and everything seemed clean/functional. Then I looked at one of the pilot jets and it seems like one of the who knows how many owners before me tried to unscrew it but completely stripped the top. Didn't seem blocked because I sprayed WD40 into both of them and it would drop through at the same rate.

I'm really adamant on doing everything myself from this point after looking at the bills from the shop. So apart from suspecting something wrong with the pilot jet (which could explain inconsistent low end power, right?) I'm pretty lost. Hoping one of you guys could shoot some advice my way. It's my main commuter to school so till you guys share some wisdom I'm mooching rides off of roommates =/

What do you think?

Yeah, sounds like a messed up pilot jet.  If you don't have access to lots of tools and time, you might do well to disassemble the carb and take it into a machine shop and have them remove it.  They have the tools and expertise.  If they are not busy they would probably do it while you wait.  Should be a lot less $$ than a motorcycle shop!

Thanks! I've been reading around the forum and it seems like the pilot jet is definitely the issue. Ordering a new carb from ebay in good condition would cost 115 ish so I hope that machining it out and ordering another jet won't add up to that.

if youre lucky enough to get a hold of buddha, he'll sell you a complete set of jets for about 25 bucks. machining out the stripped jet shouldnt be more than say 50 bucks.
good luck.

nvm

Welcome to the forum. Like they said above I would try to get a jet kit for your carbs. I wouldn't put the stock size back in, as most of them are lean from the factory, so your bike will most likely be happier with more fuel.

SHAZAM. decided to try it myself and got the smallest screw extractor I could find. the jet popped out with minimal issues, but the funny thing is that the other pilot jet was the clogged up one...I just didn't have another pilot jet to compare the opening with. The jet was almost 60 percent obstructed so I'm glad I found the problem.

About bigger jets, where would you find them? I saw the dynojet and factory pro kit but don't those only have bigger mains?

Sounds like you are almost done.

I suggest all "buying jet" questions should be directed at Buddha. Track him down by his posts here and PM him. Do whatever he recommends. He will ask what mods you have on the bike.

Quote from: johnny ro on September 30, 2010, 05:27:14 PM
I suggest all "buying jet" questions should be directed at Buddha.

This.