Got my first bike the other day. 91 gs500e runs strong needs few odds and ends and is a fixer upper but hey, it was free

Congrats on the free bike! What questions do you have about it?

Once you get a listof all the parts, post in the WTB/WTS thread, i'm sure between the parts whores you'll get what you need!
And welcome to the forums!

Where do i need to place the fuel filtet? I have it placed between frmae petcock and carbs. Is there a petcok bypass like use 1 not 2?motor revs real high when starts but i started with battery charger and airbox was off, and set screw is all the way down barely touching the throttle body.do i need blinkers on the front? I have no fairings. Which bikes are mostly compatible with my model i think i read 89-00? Ill post pics later

Okay, you don't "need" a fuel filter, these bikes do not come with one and it is completely optional. However, if you want one it goes on the "ON" tube, not RES. also, make sure it is just a mesh filter as the others are built for a car and these bikes are gravity fed so they cannot push the gas through a woven filter.

You're probably going to need a brake light and rear blinkers, did the  P.O track this bike? it doesn't look street legal

Buddy of mine had it before me and he wanted to convert it to a "street fighter" which is so dumb imo! He cut the tail and the rear of the seat. Hes bringing me the tail he cut off and the blinkers and i have the taillight. Im gonna weld it back on no biggie. And the filter is a fram filter

#5295

Like mentioned, a fuel filter is not standard.

If you want one, it goes from frame petcock to carbs.
If you want to go from tank to frame petcock, you need 2: one on the ON like and one on the RES line.

Use one for bikes - not one for cars. You do not have a fuel pump so all gas is gravity fed.

Probably a track bike.
No turn signals (need front and rear, spacing minimum 9" apart by DOT requirements.)
No brake light.
No speedometer
Missing emblem over the right side timing cover.
Missing the tail end of the frame.
Missing passenger peg mounts (which are optional) though the right side has the mount for the muffler.

Important to be 100% by the law if you will need a safety inspection to make it street legal. after inspection, do what you want.

89-00 are compatible.
90% of parts 2001+ are compatible. Tank and tail plastics are not one of them.

Free was a good price. You'll spend $200-$400 getting everything back on to make it look good and be street legal. You'll enjoy your project and end up with a good reliable bike.

"Street Fighter" - in rare instances it is done right. 99% of the time it is "I have a good bike which I will turn into a piece pf crap because I have no clue what I'm doing and then try to convince everyone it is cool then sell on Craigs List for a fortune as a custom bike and end up giving it away because it is so ugly"

Forgot - "Custom Bobber" falls into that category, too.

Tail, blinkers, tail light im picking up tonight. Speedo im hoping to pickup her for cheap. Got the bike to get good gas mileage as i have a big diesel truck lol. Might leave it naked like it is wiyh new seat and tail but cant decide to do fenders and wheels white or whole bike flat black? I hate flat but i think it will look good on this bike. I just dont wann get stranded from trash in the cabs with no filter. Ever had this issue? They just got cleaned

#5297

There is a fine screen filter inside the tank. Be sure that is there, not damaged, and you're OK.

There are too many flat black bikes because it is so simple, can't screw up flat black and it always looks bad (and I don't mean that in the nice slang way).

Spend some time and make the bike something you're proud of. If your first restoration, go for a good stock bike. A well done stock bike always looks good. After that, then you can decide what changes you want to make. You can do a good paint job - some detailing, pin striping or other things to give it that eye catching look without people going "why did he do that".

Go look at other bikes. Do not say "That looks cool I will copy it" but say "Is that something I would feel proud of riding every day?" The two are not necessarily the same.

Not looking to keep the bike forever. Truck is my pride and joy! Riding th gs is for gas and downtime on the truck. Want it to look decent as i dont want to put a whole bunch if money into it

Don't worry, that will change with time, you'll soon find yourself splitting your money 50/50 between  bike / truck until you're done with the bike (you can only do so much after all) welcome to the rest of your life 

aaanyways, the gs500 makes an awesome commuter bike!

Just one pessimistic comment - before you delve too far into this, have you got a clean title? No fun to fix it up and find out you can't register it, much less get it inspected. The state of it makes me wonder if it's lacking one, since many track bikes are.

If you hate flat black, don't paint it flat black. No need to drop lots on paint - a few rattlecans will do worlds of good if you don't dribble gasoline all over the bike, and do decent prep. If you have cheap access to good paint, go that way, but otherwise you can rattlecan it and make it look a lot better.

The important filter is already in the tank on the stock petcock - take it out and check it if you like (may need a new gasket, or not, depending how it comes out.) There are also two drains (one on each carb bowl at the bottom which can (and should) be used to remove any accumulating crud or water before it accumulates too much. I suggest draining a bit from them every 3 tanks of fuel along with checking and lubing the chain - just enough that it runs clear (use a hose or cup to catch it.)

Truck is near done ill post pic when i pick it up this week, has clear title and the paint is less than $50 and my friend has a paint booth. Thanks guys if any of you guys have a speedo layin atound let me know lol

Couple questions. Bike plumbed ready to ride so i start it and its running but idles up a little then down up n down not real high but higher than idle, tank rattles a little and connects frame and +battery post and shuts off. Im thinkin its the stater relay because battery tested good but nothing on relay, hooked battery charger too it and nothing no lights no nothing.if its the relay can i get one from a car/truck or is it specific?

Is the fuse blown?

Fuse next to the solenoid? No its fine or another one your ralking about?

There's only one fuse (in use - there's also a spare that confuses people sometimes, as it's easier to see, since it's outside the rubber cover) so if you have power at all the fuse is not blown. If you have no power, you may be looking at the wrong fuse - the one you can see easily is the spare, the real one is UNDER the rubber cover the spare is stored on the outside of. Lack of any electrical contacts in the spare slot are also a clue...

Shorting the + terminal to the frame is not good and should be avoided.

If there are any other fuses, they are owner add-ons.

This might help, as your 91 (GS500EM, I do believe) is in the right vintage:



Note that there is a direct wire from the battery to one side of the fuse. If you have voltage at the battery and no voltage at the fuse, that's the only + wire it could be (it could also be a negative/ground wire being fried, depending how much you let it cook with the + connected to the frame.)

Thanks man but i tookbthe fuse put even tho it looked fine and replaced it and lights came on and it spun over once. Batt charger on it and turned over started for a little bit then just turned over. So it was just the fuse and the battery is dead because i left the key on all night but no lights were on?

Someone did a nice job recently on their tail with a round under seat light and I thought it looked great.  Yours looks like it could be done the same way.  Have to find that thread again,.....definitely watching to see how you pull it together.