just did a valve clearance check on my 06 GS500F and got a .05mm for my left intake, .05mm for my right intake, but for both exhaust i couldnt even fit a .02mm gauge in. The whole reason i even decided to check the valve clearance was because i was having trouble starting my bike in the cold (sometimes i have to push start it  ). I was thinking it was the valves but im not too sure now cause i would think that an increased clearance in the intake valves would make it run horrible in the cold, but the clearance is pretty much in spec for intake. The exhaust shims definitely needs to be changed out though as they are way too tight. Any thoughts on my predicament?

If you can spin the bucket on the exhaust valves then you have "some" clearance. If that is the case then the hard to start cold symptom may be something else, but I would get the exhaust valves in specs anyway. On my 94 both exhaust shims were 265s and I replaced them with 260s. I don't think the valves had ever had clearances set as the bike had 12.5 k miles when I did it.

The hard to start cold may be a weak battery, or other things. If the exhaust valves have no clearance it could be the cause. They need to be set to keep the valves from overheating since the time they spend seated allows them to transfer heat to the seats and cylinder head.

regards
Mech

i just checked the buckets and they didnt move at all. I think both of my exhaust valves are stuck open, and if not then they are pretty close. i do remember getting low compression in both cylinders, especially my left one.

Maybe ... but may not be too ...

A bike that has a valve clearance that is too close to 0 will usually start when stone cold, but in about 5 seconds want to stall. It will do so whether push started or started on the starter. Choke, and revving like crazy will what will keep it going. Once it get hot enough, it will run like a blast ... till you have to shut it off. Then the cycle will repeat.

That is because a non 0 valve clearance is fine for it to run.
When everything is fully up to temperature that non 0 clearance will be back and it will run good, in fact valve clearances increase slightly when fully hot.

However, the parts do not heat up all at the same rate. Valves get hot faster, the head gets hot slower ... so, your non 0 clearance will drop to 0 and below as it warms up.

Here is another problem with tight valves. If a valve is hanging open in the combustion cycle, it is in effect in a hotter zone. Worse yet, valves shed heat by conducting it into the head at the seat when the valve seats. So a valve that stays open will never hit the seat, and hence not ever cool.

Cool.
Buddha.

i also did a battery check. Battery is running fine. My spark plugs indicate that it has the right amount of air fuel mixture and also the spark plugs are both working correctly.

Quote from: The Buddha on September 29, 2013, 04:05:25 PM
Maybe ... but may not be too ...

A bike that has a valve clearance that is too close to 0 will usually start when stone cold, but in about 5 seconds want to stall. It will do so whether push started or started on the starter. Choke, and revving like crazy will what will keep it going. Once it get hot enough, it will run like a blast ... till you have to shut it off. Then the cycle will repeat.

That is because a non 0 valve clearance is fine for it to run.
When everything is fully up to temperature that non 0 clearance will be back and it will run good, in fact valve clearances increase slightly when fully hot.

However, the parts do not heat up all at the same rate. Valves get hot faster, the head gets hot slower ... so, your non 0 clearance will drop to 0 and below as it warms up.

Here is another problem with tight valves. If a valve is hanging open in the combustion cycle, it is in effect in a hotter zone. Worse yet, valves shed heat by conducting it into the head at the seat when the valve seats. So a valve that stays open will never hit the seat, and hence not ever cool.

Cool.
Buddha.

i actually have to keep the choke on when riding or else it will shut off. I noticed that when it is warmed up, it will start up and idle just fine, but when i am riding and slow down, then it will shut off. I was thinking it may be because when the bike is going, then the air cools it down so much that the valve clearance goes up and doesnt allow the valves to open enough, but when it stays still and warms up again, then the shims expand because of thermal expansion and bring the clearance back to spec.

Quote from: frylockjim on September 29, 2013, 04:13:43 PM

Quote from: The Buddha on September 29, 2013, 04:05:25 PM
Maybe ... but may not be too ...

A bike that has a valve clearance that is too close to 0 will usually start when stone cold, but in about 5 seconds want to stall. It will do so whether push started or started on the starter. Choke, and revving like crazy will what will keep it going. Once it get hot enough, it will run like a blast ... till you have to shut it off. Then the cycle will repeat.

That is because a non 0 valve clearance is fine for it to run.
When everything is fully up to temperature that non 0 clearance will be back and it will run good, in fact valve clearances increase slightly when fully hot.

However, the parts do not heat up all at the same rate. Valves get hot faster, the head gets hot slower ... so, your non 0 clearance will drop to 0 and below as it warms up.

Here is another problem with tight valves. If a valve is hanging open in the combustion cycle, it is in effect in a hotter zone. Worse yet, valves shed heat by conducting it into the head at the seat when the valve seats. So a valve that stays open will never hit the seat, and hence not ever cool.

Cool.
Buddha.

i actually have to keep the choke on when riding or else it will shut off. I noticed that when it is warmed up, it will start up and idle just fine, but when i am riding and slow down, then it will shut off. I was thinking it may be because when the bike is going, then the air cools it down so much that the valve clearance goes up and doesnt allow the valves to open enough, but when it stays still and warms up again, then the shims expand because of thermal expansion and bring the clearance back to spec.

Your explaination isn;t quite right ...
But ... adjust your valves. If they are hanging open when running you will burn the buggers in short order.
Cool.
Buddha,.

Quote from: The Buddha on September 29, 2013, 04:38:40 PM

Quote from: frylockjim on September 29, 2013, 04:13:43 PM

Quote from: The Buddha on September 29, 2013, 04:05:25 PM
Maybe ... but may not be too ...

A bike that has a valve clearance that is too close to 0 will usually start when stone cold, but in about 5 seconds want to stall. It will do so whether push started or started on the starter. Choke, and revving like crazy will what will keep it going. Once it get hot enough, it will run like a blast ... till you have to shut it off. Then the cycle will repeat.

That is because a non 0 valve clearance is fine for it to run.
When everything is fully up to temperature that non 0 clearance will be back and it will run good, in fact valve clearances increase slightly when fully hot.

However, the parts do not heat up all at the same rate. Valves get hot faster, the head gets hot slower ... so, your non 0 clearance will drop to 0 and below as it warms up.

Here is another problem with tight valves. If a valve is hanging open in the combustion cycle, it is in effect in a hotter zone. Worse yet, valves shed heat by conducting it into the head at the seat when the valve seats. So a valve that stays open will never hit the seat, and hence not ever cool.

Cool.
Buddha.

i actually have to keep the choke on when riding or else it will shut off. I noticed that when it is warmed up, it will start up and idle just fine, but when i am riding and slow down, then it will shut off. I was thinking it may be because when the bike is going, then the air cools it down so much that the valve clearance goes up and doesnt allow the valves to open enough, but when it stays still and warms up again, then the shims expand because of thermal expansion and bring the clearance back to spec.

Your explaination isn;t quite right ...
But ... adjust your valves. If they are hanging open when running you will burn the buggers in short order.
Cool.
Buddha,.

If he doesn't have any clearance (buckets don't move) doesn't that mean he has to remove the cams/buckets and pry them out?

Quote from: Dr.McNinja on September 29, 2013, 05:02:37 PM

Quote from: The Buddha on September 29, 2013, 04:38:40 PM

Quote from: frylockjim on September 29, 2013, 04:13:43 PM

Quote from: The Buddha on September 29, 2013, 04:05:25 PM
Maybe ... but may not be too ...

A bike that has a valve clearance that is too close to 0 will usually start when stone cold, but in about 5 seconds want to stall. It will do so whether push started or started on the starter. Choke, and revving like crazy will what will keep it going. Once it get hot enough, it will run like a blast ... till you have to shut it off. Then the cycle will repeat.

That is because a non 0 valve clearance is fine for it to run.
When everything is fully up to temperature that non 0 clearance will be back and it will run good, in fact valve clearances increase slightly when fully hot.

However, the parts do not heat up all at the same rate. Valves get hot faster, the head gets hot slower ... so, your non 0 clearance will drop to 0 and below as it warms up.

Here is another problem with tight valves. If a valve is hanging open in the combustion cycle, it is in effect in a hotter zone. Worse yet, valves shed heat by conducting it into the head at the seat when the valve seats. So a valve that stays open will never hit the seat, and hence not ever cool.

Cool.
Buddha.

i actually have to keep the choke on when riding or else it will shut off. I noticed that when it is warmed up, it will start up and idle just fine, but when i am riding and slow down, then it will shut off. I was thinking it may be because when the bike is going, then the air cools it down so much that the valve clearance goes up and doesnt allow the valves to open enough, but when it stays still and warms up again, then the shims expand because of thermal expansion and bring the clearance back to spec.

Your explaination isn;t quite right ...
But ... adjust your valves. If they are hanging open when running you will burn the buggers in short order.
Cool.
Buddha,.

If he doesn't have any clearance (buckets don't move) doesn't that mean he has to remove the cams/buckets and pry them out?

not exactly. if you have a suzuki valve shim tool then you could use that to force the buckets down so you can change out the shims

Right, you can still depress the bucket and change the shim when it is tight and has no clearance.  Your .05mm intake valve clearance is good, I wouldn't touch that.  But I'd set both exhaust valves to the new .08-.13mm clearance and hope they will be OK. Might have to go down 2 or 3 shims to get that much clearance if they are tight now. 

Be sure to check if buckets will turn after you have clearance and don't have a tight bucket also contributing to your problem.  Tight shims could be the cause of your current cold starting problem so get the valves right before checking for other possibilities. 

Set the valve lash and recheck your compression. That should answer the question and solve your problem if the compression rises after you have proper clearances. You can do that before you even put it all back together.

regards
Mech