Hello,

I did a search and found nothing on this one:  Should my GS still be able to run (meaning, start and idle) when I screw the mixture screws in all the way, or do the mix screws have more effect on higher RPMs (I.e. more open throttle to achieve higher RPM)?  At idle it doesn't seem to make a difference whether they are turned all the way in or 3.5 turns out.

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I cannot click into neutral while my bike is running; at least not with my foot.  I tightened my clutch cable with no change, and my oil level is full.  Is there anything else I should check?

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Two years ago my bike was lean after I installed a K&N lunchbox.  I cleaned my carbs, adjusted the valves to spec, replaced the intake boots to address an air leak, rejetted for the lunchbox and my Yosh slip on (40/150,) replaced the vacuum caps and O-rings, installed the longboy mix screws, and synced the carbs.  I put it all back together and my idle was still hanging, so I swapped out the pilot jets to 42.5s. 

At this point the bike ran better than it ever did.  It idles steady and doesn't bog down anywhere in its RPM range.  The only issue I am having is the bike is still slow to return to idle when I pull in the clutch. 

It has been this way ever since I put it back together, and I decided I would just enjoy the fact that my GS was running and functional. 

I got two good seasons out of it and it is still running exactly the same.  I recently figured it was a back-pressure issue from the slip on. So I sealed up the "joint" with some exhaust wrap.  Still no change.

Now that it is getting cold I am thinking about tearing it down again and trying to fix the slow return to idle.

Any ideas where I should start?

Thanks

Sounds like the idle/mixture screws may be set to run too rich and/or the idle adjust knob (adjusts the stop on the butterfly valves) is too high.

When you cleaned the carbs, did you check the orings on the ends of the mixture screws? If they have been damaged,it would make the screws eessentially useless. And you said you got new intake boots, but did you get new orings for them at the same time?

I'm curious about your clutch issue though. Has it been adjusted to the specs in the service manual (all 3 locations)? Only other thing I can think of is a stretched cable, or an issue with the actual clutch assembly.

42.5 pilots made my first GS miserable, and I lived with it for years till I learnt about jetting. It will promptly stall on start up unless you're revving it to 4+K as you let the clutch out.
If you're running fine with 42.5, something else could be set differently than stock.
The Air screws, OK they should make a huge difference from 0 to 3.5. That is indication #2 something is off.

OK my thought is - one of the holes that let in air in the bell mouth @ the air filter end is clogged.
Second thought - floats set too low. Though it will affect the bike in the midrange a good bit, likely its not, ... but your slow idle return can be due to this ...
Third thought - You have a choke that is hanging open.
4th - throttle cable is sticking.

I dunno, 5, 6 and 7th thoughts are worse and worse and worse ... like you have a air leak in the butterfly assumming you have checked for air leaks ... but butterfly leaks can affect it @ 1 setting of the butterfly and not all the way across.

Cool.
Buddha.

Sorry to resurrect my old thread, but I thought I would give an update (not that anyone gives a turkey):

Valve check:  left intake with zero clearance and left exhaust with way too much clearance.  Swapped shims and brought everything to spec.  Helped a little, still slow to return to idle.

I took a good, close look at my carbs last weekend (float height is perfect, and carbs are still in sync.)  It turns out the vacuum cap I installed on the port that runs from the right carb to the factory petcock (which I long replaced with a cr250x) was cracked, and the caps on my sync ports were cracking. 

So I was wrong about having no vacuum leaks (dumbass.)  it's always something simple.

I replaced them again, and now now no more slow return to idle.

NOW I am bogging down and running way rich on the bottom end because of the 42.5 pilots I installed.  So I still have to pull the carbs and reinstall the 40s.  Might as well clean them while I am at it.

So Buddha, you are right about the 42.5s making the bike run badly.

Not to much of a resurrection by any means, besides posting the solution not only fulfills others curiosity but also teaches some something new.

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I cannot click into neutral while my bike is running; at least not with my foot....

Am having same issue with my bike - 2007 f - which occurred previously. Bike will not go into neutral at rest unless I turn the engine off first and then turn the key back into the on position Yet will clonk into neutral from first but not down from second. Also slips out of gear at 5/6 very quietely into neutral straight down frightening on the f3 or m7 and sometimes does this weird "in between no I'm not anywhere oh yeah I think I will choose a gear myself now" thing sometimes after it has been in peak traffic and suddenly we get to go off and get up to 3/4 it just decides to hover somewhere changing itself between the two gears for a while. Most disconcerting

Took it to mechanic previously they claim they completely replaced the clutch and straightened the *something something pin* inside there along with doing a general service on the bike all seemed well for a while (8 months) but I had only ridden it 3 times in that period (work related back injury). Now I have riddden the bike another 5 times in the last few weeks it is doing it again which makes me think the problem was never fixed originally but they charged me a shedload for work they probably never did and obviously going back to them to say hey sport you didn't do the work is going to be a bletch to prove due to the time lag

Ummmmm question is - is it the clutch? If they did replace it has something else gone wrong and has it buggered the clutch up? I haven't dropped it or had any accidents since it was serviced/allegedly fixed so cannot see that as the issue or I would put my hand up as a complete goose and it be my own stupid fault. Is it possibly something else entirely, that is widely known in GS500 circles but not to those outside of them?

The bike has only done 18100ish k's no big interstate trips through the outback and has been serviced by licensed mechanics. I don't thrash it or race it as I'm a big sooky la la that likes intact bones

I would check your clutch adjustment (all of the 3 possibilities) first. Then, if it's okay, the sitting in heavy traffic and  then taking off part with the problem occuring makes me think if you are using the correct oil weight, or something too thin, maybe too 'old'?
You may have a worn out transmission, but with 18000 k's I don't think that should be possible...
Hope I could help, cheers