Hey, all  

New to the forums, and all that jazz.

So.... here's the question.

Back in fall I was trying to get the last of the gas burned out of the bike, and of course, put a small wrinkle in my front fender. DOH!

Other problem is now my choke cable is sticking.  Bike wants to idle very, very high.  Not good.

I'm sure the tank has to come off, but would anyone have any pointers for inspecting the choke assembly and such so I can see if I may have accidentally trashed my bike?

Thanks in advance.

anyone? Or is everyone out riding today?

Get in front of the bike and look at the choke lever.  When you push the choke lever towards the rear of the bike, you can see about a centimeter of the bare cable.  



You can put some lubrication there, and work the choke lever for a few minutes, and it will work its way down the cable.  If you do this every week or two, it should be fine.  I like to use Lock-Ease graphite spray because the little hose is smaller than WD-40 or Tri-Flow, and because it works well below freezing.

You can get at the other end of the cable with the tank off, but I don't think you'd save any time that way.

Rema,


Thanks for the tip, but sadly enough I think the cable is jamming near the carbs.  Not 100% sure.   Hence why I wanted to pull the tank anyways.

Any other tips? have a .pdf of a GS500e repair manual?


Thanks in advance

Don't have a repair diagram to send you, but the assembly is pretty simple. Once the tank is off you'll likely be able to see where it's binding and if you just need to clean it up a bit or if it's cable/assembly related. If you haven't had the carbs apart recently or done something that may have resulted in the choke being put back together incorrectly, a good cleaning is probably all it needs. Maybe a new cable at worst. Good luck.

Great, well as an FYI this happened when I was trying to burn the last of the gas in the tank before winter.   SO I'm betting what lube was in the cable got  evaporated.  I'm hoping I didn't  kill anything.  Put a nice wrinkle in the front splashguard, other than that and the very high idel because of the choke, the bike does not seem the worse for wear.

Thanks everyone for the help so far.  I'll keep you all posted on how this goes.

The choke cable may be out of it's housing on the right carburetor. Look above the intake boot on the right side of the bike.

MikeT, has a nice tutorial on rejetting the carbs and in it he shows the easiest way to remove the tank.

Man that is a wicked rear fairing on your bike.

After I figure out what is wrong with my choke I'd love to replace my front splashguard and get one of those.  I love what has been done with the license plate.

Mind telling me where you got  it from?

The choke cable melted just enough to cause it to bind.  Looks like I get to order a new cable.

Anyone have a good source online for GS500 parts?

Thanks much for all the tips.  FOund my tank came off much easier than I thought, and I was able to get the last bit of last years gas out of the tank.

The "wicked rear fairing" on JohNLA's bike comes "free" on all 2001+ models.  The fuel tank is larger, and the seat is a different shape as well.

If you haven't already ordered a new choke cable, I could send you my original '96 cable for the cost of shipping.  It was sticking and I replaced it without even trying to clean it.  (I was such a noob back then!   )  I ordered the new cable from my local dealer BTW, which wasn't such a bad idea (or price) even if I was a noob....

Now for the bad news.  If you ARE interested in my original choke cable, I won't be able to send it until about the 12th of April.  I don't get home from India until late on Friday the 9th....

Quote from: KerryThe "wicked rear fairing" on JohNLA's bike comes "free" on all 2001+ models.  The fuel tank is larger, and the seat is a different shape as well.
...

Kerry, I have a 2000 model and now I'm wondering what size it is. I was under the impression it was 5.3gal, but maybe that's the newer tank.

I searched the manual till I found it. 4.5 gal. Oh well, it's still fairly large.

Kerry,

Drop me a note to speed@raymondjsanders.org, with contact info, and we can discuss that choke cable you've got.

Thanks!