Just picked up a 2002 gs500 for 500. Has 9000 miles on it and a small dent in the tank. Otherwise, its pretty clean. Had been sitting for about two years so I went through the carbs and cleaned them up. While doing that, I noticed that the center bolt on the cam chain tensioner, the one called a plug, is missing. Is this something Ican just replace o r should Ireplace the whole tensioner? The bike runs after going through the carbs, though the jets are not at standard sizes. Main jet is at 130, don't remember the others.

My advice would be remove the entire tensioner assembly and inspect it. Take it apart and make sure everything is in good shape. Compare what you have to either a picture or the FICHE and see if anything is missing. Possibly post a picture of it taken apart. If it looks okay, you could just buy the plug.

I was originally going to say F it and just replace the whole mess but it's $60...kind of hard to swallow that much of an expense if all it needs is a $2 bolt.

The plug on the CCT is just that: a rubber plug to protect the tensioner mechanism. Cover it with tape, or get a new plug. While you're in there, it would be a good idea to pull it and check all functions (crank the flat-head screw that controls the tensioner to check operation) and lubricate. Also check your gasket where it mates to the engine.

When you put the tensioner back in, you have to have it tensioned or else you will break it when you try to screw it in.

OP...FYI...The stock jetting on the 01-02 carbs are 127.5 main, 60 mid, and 17.5 pilot.  I put a 130 main, left the stock 60 mid, and also put in a 20 pilot when I rejetted mine.  Runs alot better, but I think the bottom end is a bit rich (no need for the choke....EVER!) I am gonna try turning the fuel screw in a bit before I bump the pilot back down to the stock 17.5 or put a K&N drop in filter in......

Craig449 - How does the bike do @ take off's without cranking it to 4-5K. Can you take off from a dead stop in 1st without much problem. If so, your pilots are fine, turn in your airscrews 1/2 turn. If your take off is bad, and it feels like stalling just as soon as it moves, and you have to give it 4-5K to move, then yea swap the 20's for the stock pilots.
Cool.
Buddha.

Took two days of screwing with the carbs before I got the damn thing to start. Right now, when you touch the throttle the revs continue to climb after you release the throttle before it drops back down. I think it was jetted for a pipe it doesn't have anymore. I'm so glad my z1000 is fuel injection. I had forgotten how much of a pain carbs are. Guess I'm gonna have to pull out the merc sticks.

Quote from: The Buddha on March 13, 2012, 01:36:29 PM
Craig449 - How does the bike do @ take off's without cranking it to 4-5K. Can you take off from a dead stop in 1st without much problem. If so, your pilots are fine, turn in your airscrews 1/2 turn. If your take off is bad, and it feels like stalling just as soon as it moves, and you have to give it 4-5K to move, then yea swap the 20's for the stock pilots.
Cool.
Buddha.

A bit of hesitation off the start, gotta give it 3-4000 rpms.......my air screws are at 3 full turns out.  Also, I can't use the choke at all whatsoever on this bike even when it is stone cold which would lead me to belive the bottom is rich.  I should be able to dial it in with just the screws.....gnna turn them to 2 ful turns out and see if that cures my low end hesitation without sacrificing top end power. Or just putting a better air filter with more flow should lean out the low end a bit.  Either way, i will get it going spot on, just a bit of fine tuning...

Good times.

Quote from: sphinx on March 13, 2012, 03:53:34 PM
Took two days of screwing with the carbs before I got the damn thing to start. Right now, when you touch the throttle the revs continue to climb after you release the throttle before it drops back down. I think it was jetted for a pipe it doesn't have anymore. I'm so glad my z1000 is fuel injection. I had forgotten how much of a pain carbs are. Guess I'm gonna have to pull out the merc sticks.

That is an air leak.  with the bike running at idle, spray some carb cleaner/electrical contact cleaner/wd40 around the carb intake boots to pinpoint which area has the leak.  If you bothered the intake manifolds, there is a good chance that the o-ring needs replaced or it needs a treatment of flexible high temp rtv silicone.

So i went ahead and started the motor, no choke when cold and fired up real quick, and let it warm up. After it was warm I sprayed carb cleaner everywhere I could including intake boots, covers etc. Rpm still climbs after a little throttle. So pulled the airbox and did it again, this time paying attention to the diaphragm covers at the top of the carbs to check for leaking there. Still nothing. But i did notice that while it was running, it would stumble and spit a small amount of fuel out the throat of the carbs. It only did this when it stumbled though. Almost like it is "loading up" on fuel and spraying it backwards. Still no fix for the idle climbing after throttle. So i pulled the carbs and went through the jets to ensure that they are to spec. PIlot is at 17.5 mids are at 60 and mains are at 130. This bike has no exhaust so im questioning the mains, but i dont see them making that big of a difference, especially not right off idle./ Any ideas?

Quote from: sphinx on March 13, 2012, 07:26:35 PM
So i went ahead and started the motor, no choke when cold and fired up real quick, and let it warm up. After it was warm I sprayed carb cleaner everywhere I could including intake boots, covers etc. Rpm still climbs after a little throttle. So pulled the airbox and did it again, this time paying attention to the diaphragm covers at the top of the carbs to check for leaking there. Still nothing. But i did notice that while it was running, it would stumble and spit a small amount of fuel out the throat of the carbs. It only did this when it stumbled though. Almost like it is "loading up" on fuel and spraying it backwards. Still no fix for the idle climbing after throttle. So i pulled the carbs and went through the jets to ensure that they are to spec. PIlot is at 17.5 mids are at 60 and mains are at 130. This bike has no exhaust so im questioning the mains, but i dont see them making that big of a difference, especially not right off idle./ Any ideas?

mains have nothing to do with idle...they only handle 2/3 throttle to WFO.  When you sprayed the wd40 around the carbs, did you hear a change in the idle (usually slows for a second, then climbs a bit before settling back down).  If you did, that is where your problem (air leak) is.

I got no change in idle when spraying the Carb cleaner. Can anyone point me in a direction for hose routing after removing the carbon canister? Seems like one less spot for a vacuum leak.