Hey guys,
I bought a running '94 gs500 for $600 about a month ago, stripped it down, re-painted and put her back together. I got it running again so I figured I would take it out for a drive so I started it up, put it in first and as soon as it went in gear it just shut off. didn't sound like a stall, it sounded more like hitting the emergency shut off, almost like an electrical problem. started it back up, put it in first and..... the same thing happened. I checked all the wiring and fuses but they all seem fine so I dont even know where to start looking from there. and now she wont start, but like the idiot I am I think I may have gotten some paint dust in the gas tank while I was sanding on the frame close by. If I did get paint dust in the tank what would that clog up? the jets? it wasn't too long before I realized I forgot to tape the gas hole off so I dont think too much dust got in. just enough to clog something. any ideas about the clog and the tranny problem would be great. Thanks!

Clutch lever interlock switch,side stand switch,and neutral safety switch.All are easy to by pass to find which one is bad.Just disconnect one switch at a time and either plug them into each other or use a small jumper wire.

Quote from: ben2go on August 09, 2011, 12:04:31 PM
Clutch lever interlock switch,side stand switch,and neutral safety switch.All are easy to by pass to find which one is bad.Just disconnect one switch at a time and either plug them into each other or use a small jumper wire.

Actually.. gotta ask... You sure you put the side stand up?

Quote from: numus on August 09, 2011, 12:56:42 PM
Actually.. gotta ask... You sure you put the side stand up?

Thinking the same thing haha.

cool thanks! I know the clutch lever switch at the handlebar was turned around and I thought that was it at first but I got that fixed and it was still doing the same thing. The side stand was up but I dont see anything electrical around it that would trip a switch even if it was down, it just has the spring and the bolt that connects to the frame.
So the neutral safety switch is what Im thinking the problem might be. It did seem very hard to put the bike in gear from neutral the last time I tried, I dont know if that has anything to do with it or not. If it is the neutral switch, where is it located? I dont have a repair manual so im kinda flying blind here.

Quote from: rpkknives on August 09, 2011, 01:42:40 PM
cool thanks! I know the clutch lever switch at the handlebar was turned around and I thought that was it at first but I got that fixed and it was still doing the same thing. The side stand was up but I dont see anything electrical around it that would trip a switch even if it was down, it just has the spring and the bolt that connects to the frame.
So the neutral safety switch is what Im thinking the problem might be. It did seem very hard to put the bike in gear from neutral the last time I tried, I dont know if that has anything to do with it or not. If it is the neutral switch, where is it located? I dont have a repair manual so im kinda flying blind here.

Doubt it is the neutral safety switch... That sucker just stops it from starting...
Look for a green and orange/blue wire.. those are your sidestand relay wires ....

Doubt it is your clutch switch because once again.. the bike wouldn't start if that wasn't working...

Neutral safety switch does not stop bike from starting.
Bike can start if clutch pulled in and:
  a) in neutral with side stand down (so you can warm up the bike)
  b) not in neutral with side stand up (the normal way you ride. And as a safety so you don't ride with side stand down then fall when making a left turn.)

Side stand switch or relay: if side stand down, bike will stop when going into gear.

Side stand relay energized will kill the bike when not in neutral. Side stand switch must be pushed in to break its contact so the side stand relay does not get energized. If the side stand switch is not mounted so the side stand presses it in, the bike will die when taken out of neutral.

If clutch switch is backwards, you couldn't start the bike with clutch pulled in (unless clutch switch wires were shorted together). Starter relay goes through the clutch switch.

Sounds like you have a side stand switch that didn't get put back into place after taking the bike apart.

whoever had this bike before me did a hack job on the wiring, everything is spliced together or capped off so I dont even know if everything electrical is still on the bike. I see two holes in the frame by the side stand where it looks like the side stand swich was connected but I never took anything like that off and the only parts I have left over are the fenders that have yet to be put back on. the bike ran good and went into every gear fine before, and when I took it all apart I didnt mess with the spliced wires. But if I do find the wires do I just unplug them to bypass? where do the wires from the side stand switch go?

You really need a manual.
Get a Clymer or Haynes manual. They have wiring diagrams and photos to show where everything goes.
Probably in taking things apart you disturbed the previous owners hack job. The only way to get things straightened
out is to have someone with you that knows the GS500 or study the wiring diagram in the manual and start tracing wires.
If you search you might find a place to download a service manual. The wiring diagram is on the WIKI and some
prior postings on the board.
You really should try to put things back they way they belong. It will save you head aches in the future.
You can buy a used wiring harness from ebay for maybe $25. The side stand switch and other parts are not expensive and
people here on the board are loaded with extra parts.

ya I guess Ill have to buy a whole new harness. its to mangled to even know whats what.
but about the paint in my tank... would it clog the jets or something else? It progressively got harder and harder to start and now it wont start at all. I don't really want to rip apart the carbs unless I absolutely have to.

You can download the service manual AND the GS/F supplement in .PDF form by checking the first post on this page:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=46110.0

and yes, those links are still active; I checked both a few minutes ago. The service manual is 63+MB, so it will take a while to download; the supplement is 1.5MB, so it should only take a few seconds to download.

Don't forget to buy the manual soon; having it on hand can help you learn when you're not near a computer. In the meantime, those digital editions should help you get a LOT of things accomplished.

Let us know what part of the world you live in; if another GSTwinner lives fairly close to you, a sixpack of good beer might get you an extra set of hands to help with the troubleshooting and any needed repairs.

EDIT: Forgot to include the link for the owner's manual; see this thread:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=51112.0

The manual is in English, and it includes both standard and metric values, for example, quarts and liters, miles and kilometers.

Be sure to post your thanks (in that thread) to the member (Michael, who lives in The Land Down Under) who took the time to scan his manual and convert it to PDF format, and keep wrenching... let us know if you need help with the standard / metric "translations".

Paint "IN the tank"??
You got stuff IN the tank coming off? If that's true, probably is clogging up the screen filter inside the tank. Remove the tank petcock and clean it according to the manual. Do that first - before taking the carbs apart - because it is easier and may be all that's wrong. (And fix the inside of the tank. Others can suggest what to do as I've never had to deal with the inside of a tank.)

Quote from: rpkknives on August 09, 2011, 04:47:47 PM
ya I guess Ill have to buy a whole new harness. its to mangled to even know whats what.
but about the paint in my tank... would it clog the jets or something else? It progressively got harder and harder to start and now it wont start at all. I don't really want to rip apart the carbs unless I absolutely have to.

You been starting it and killing it a lot (trying to get it into first) correct? If so your battery is probably dead...

General question - did all years have a Side Stand switch?

I don't recall one on my '95 but the Previous Owner may have bypassed it at some point.

Quote from: mike__R on August 10, 2011, 10:01:16 AM
General question - did all years have a Side Stand switch?

I don't recall one on my '95 but the Previous Owner may have bypassed it at some point.

Yes.They are hid behind the plate the side stand is bolted onto.There not always easy to spot without getting under the bike.