Hey all,

Coming around 13.5k miles on my 06 GS500F and I've got a few problems.


1. Oil Leak

Initially I had a leak that leaked down the sidestand. I fixed it by pounding the shifter seal back into place as it had become dislodged. I no longer had a leak and thought everything was fixed. Now I have a new oil leak that only appears to leak after riding when the bike is turned off and placed on it's sidestand. The leak's "drop zone" is approximately just between the filter cover and the magneto cover but it appears there's oil around the fins of the heads as well. Inspecting the upper half of the engine the area between the two sides of the valve cover (it looks like some type of breather) has oil around it as well.

The leak doesn't appear very severe. It's dripping oil, however I changed my oil at 11.1k miles and had to top it up now at 13.5k. It was pretty low, I probably put half a liter back in before it started showing near full again.

I'm having trouble finding the leak. I can pick up some engine degreaser this week and baby powder my bike but I really would like to know where you guys think I should be focusing on. I have a hard time thinking the magneto gasket is bad, but there is oil around that area. The oil filter cover area is oily as well, but I just checked it's tightness a week ago and it seems within spec (1/4 passed hand tight). What are the chances my magneto cover is just loose?

Can you guys recommend any "checks" I can perform on the bike to aid in my diagnosis? I'd rather not pay through the nose for an oil leak I can fix myself if I can help it.


2. The squeak

This started recently as well. It seems that after some riding (especially spirited riding) my bike will develop a squeak while moving. I've checked and cleaned my brakes and my discs. They are well within acceptable wear and shouldn't be triggering a squeak. I was thinking it could possibly be related to the speedo cable but what's the likelihood of that and how would I check?


Thank you for your help!

One thing you can do to eliminate a possibility of an oil leak is take off the chain side cover that has all the clutch and shifting parts and clean it thoroughly to make sure your leak is not just a build up of chain oil within that case warming up and dripping out of the area located around where you are talking about.

The squeak - next time you hear it, disconnect the speedo cable at the wheel and zip tie it out of the way. Move the bike around to see if that's the problem.

Quote from: jacob92icu on March 26, 2013, 04:35:26 PM
One thing you can do to eliminate a possibility of an oil leak is take off the chain side cover that has all the clutch and shifting parts and clean it thoroughly to make sure your leak is not just a build up of chain oil within that case warming up and dripping out of the area located around where you are talking about.

It's not, I use Motul chain lube which is extremely sticky even when its warm. The stuff dripping out is definitely oil.

Quote from: Big Rich on March 26, 2013, 04:38:26 PM
The squeak - next time you hear it, disconnect the speedo cable at the wheel and zip tie it out of the way. Move the bike around to see if that's the problem.

Is this simple enough to do? I'm typically not home when it happens, so I'd have to pull over into a parking lot and do it.

I don't have a GS, but usually just takes some pliers (at most) and a zip tie. If it's not the source of the noise, you'll want to reattach it soon though. Oh - it's best to take the cable off all together to test. That way there's no chance of it snagging.

Pretty good chance the squeak is from something else though. Does it happen constantly at certain speeds / under acceleration / hard braking / turning / etc?

Quote from: Big Rich on March 26, 2013, 06:39:47 PM
I don't have a GS, but usually just takes some pliers (at most) and a zip tie. If it's not the source of the noise, you'll want to reattach it soon though. Oh - it's best to take the cable off all together to test. That way there's no chance of it snagging.

Pretty good chance the squeak is from something else though. Does it happen constantly at certain speeds / under acceleration / hard braking / turning / etc?

It happens during acceleration/deceleration but stops completely when I'm at a stand still and can't be reproduced by pushing it (unless I'm pushing it down a hill). There's no real speed, I just stop hearing it after 20-25 mph because of the wind and my exhaust. It does sound like it is coming from the front end though and I've already ruled out dirty/damaged brakes.


Update on the oil leak, I tried to tighten a few bolts I had access to without taking off the fairing and it seems the magneto cover bolts are pretty loose. I was able to tighten them with very little force which tells me they weren't that tight. I need to go to the auto shop tomorrow and pick up an 8mm socket before I strip any bolts any worse. I'll tighten those tomorrow afternoon and see if it fixes it.

Does it quiet down when you give the brakes any decent pressure? If yes, the backs of the pads could be dry. If no.....it could be a number of things.

Quote from: Big Rich on March 26, 2013, 08:45:38 PM
Does it quiet down when you give the brakes any decent pressure? If yes, the backs of the pads could be dry. If no.....it could be a number of things.

Haven't tried that yet. From memory I'd say no, but I'll try it tomorrow if it does it again. It's very sporadic at at times.

Your oil leak seems to mimic my recently acquired leak identically. Only happens when the bike is stopped and put on the sidestand when warm and comes from the front left corner of the engine. It stops when the bike has cooled.

13.5k?? Suzuki say head bolts need to be retorqued at 10k, has it been done?  If it doesnt get done the base gasket can leak when the engine is running.

Speedo/tacho cables can dry up, if you think its noisy take it off and lube it, wont do any harm 

Quote from: sledge on March 27, 2013, 02:39:58 AM
13.5k?? Suzuki say head bolts need to be retorqued at 10k, has it been done?  If it doesnt get done the base gasket can leak when the engine is running.

Speedo/tacho cables can dry up, if you think its noisy take it off and lube it, wont do any harm 

This is enlightening. There is a bit of oil around the head cover and this would be consistent with the oil I see on the head fins. It's entirely plausible that it's leaking down from there, rolling off the left side when it's warm, and dripping down. I'll do some investigation on Saturday when I can get the tank lifted and have someone hold a light for me.


How do you lube the speedo/tach cable? Also, what lube should I use? The only reason I even went to the speedo/tach cable line is I have an old car who squeaked like mad because of an old dried out speedo cable.