I have a 2006 GS500F. Right now it is pretty much stock. When I purchased it the piston rings were seized, so it has a complete top end rebuild done at a shop. I have put about 5000 miles since to rebuild, and I have noticed that it is starting to run poorly, it coughs a bit through the carbs , less power etc. I have decided to do some of the usual upgrades, exhaust, K&N lunch box filter, and I know it needs re jetting. My mechanic told me it was running lean at the rebuild.  I  have been to the K&N site to order the filter, it lists the part as RU 2970, but says it will only fit 2002 models and earlier. Nothing for a 2006 model. I would like to know if the filter will fit my bike just the same or is there a different option. I have been kinda lurking here for awhile, and I am finally ready to start working on my bike some more.   So I hope my questions are not to annoying. I have searched some on this site about the air filter fitment but have not found an answer. I appreciate all help. My Name is Edward, by the way.


                                                                                                                                Thanks, Ed

I'm in the same boat actually. I have a 2009 GS500 and I wanted to do some upgrades, the lunchbox being one of them. The filter fit my bike and I'm almost certain it would fit yours.

-gsnoob

Thank You for your reply, I will order it first thing.

                                                   Ed

I bought a 2010 model with 15,000kms on the clock it was stock and running well. Since I bought it I've taken off the header pipes and repainted, put in a new stator gasket that was leaking and changed the oil every 6000kms with good quality synthetic (Fuchs Silkolene comp 4 if you're interested) New plugs, just standard plugs not special $50 you beaut plugs, replaced the standard air filter every 12,000kms, new original fuel hoses, expensive but in my opinion worth it. Put a steel braided line on the front brake, and regularly clean the chain which is still in new condition with no slack when you pull at the back sprocket. It has the standard jetting and muffler. The plugs look like they might be indicating a little bit lean (see photo below) because there's no tan on the plug, just a light grey.

In other words, there are no special performance mods at all. And you know what, this bike is running so sweetly that I want to cry tears of joy every time I ride it. It idles as regularly as my Bernina 730 record sewing machine http://tinyurl.com/730-record as first I almost got sucked into the slip on muffler, rejetting and lunchbox mods, but in the end I have determined that Suzuki really have built a solid bike that runs well with standard equipment.

So if I were you and you are determined to do rejetting and a lunchbox, I'd give that a miss until you get it running properly first, otherwise you'll never isolate the problem but a lunchbox will not solve any problems. Maybe you need to strip the carbs and give them a good flossing or rebuild, I'd start with that, but then I don't know much so listen to me at your own peril.

Here's what my plugs look like after 12,000kms and the bike is running perfectly. Starts instantly and I mean instantly and idles perfectly every time and it is showing no signs at all of running lean. I'm at sea level.

I have a stock 2007 model with about 43000 ks on it. It had about 10000 when we got it.

The only 'mods' have been a drop in K&N Air Filter (because I dislike throwing the OEM ones out) and Iridium plugs.

In Newcastle, the biggest coal port in the world, we get coal dust on the roads. This seems to dirty up the OEM air filter pretty quickly. The K&N filter, that I run with the restrictor in place, doesn't need cleaning as often as I do it. It's a simple and cheap job.

The plugs are, in my opinion, worth it simply because they last for so long which means less fiddling with plug leads and boots. These fail more often than plugs do.
My plugs run a similar colour to the pic above - a little lean. However, the bike is so ridiculously reliable and economical that I can't see a good reason tinker with jetting.
It's not so lean that it would be doing the engine any damage.

I use full-choke to start the bike. It starts first kick. I've read in places about people complaining that they need to use the choke to start their bikes as if it's a bad thing. The chemistry of combustion says that a cold engine should need a richer mix to start. Let it start, warm up and away you go. Also, if the bike is running a little lean, running a bit of extra choke time will do it no harm at all.

I do about 300 ks of commute each week, a mix of highway (80 - 110kph zones) and some 60 - 70kph zones. Also, whenever I can I get away for weekend rides. The average fuel economy over the past two and a half years has been 3.67 litres / 100 ks.

There is very little that I'd do to basic setup.

My plugs are much more white colored than the plug in the picture. It is running on the lean side, the mechanic at the shop told me it should be done soon, I would have gotten to it sooner but I am just back from a lengthy illness, so I can start working on it some.
My reasoning for the upgrades is from my goal not to make a high performance star, but just to get the most possible out of it . When I first got it back from the shop from the rebuild it ran really smooth, I was really impressed with it, but the last few months its been running rough , it wont idle smooth and the weird thing is when I start it in the morning first thing cold start, I put the choke on, as the rpms start to rise I will back it down some till it gets around 2k, and the rpm will drop out fast and I am getting some top end noise. after it warms up its fine.    I believe the carbs need to be cleaned , and the jetting issue resolved, and I am hoping that all goes away. While I am doing that anyway I thought I would go ahead and do the upgrades too  . Thank you for the reply's  Regards, Ed

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=56597.0

I agree with user11235813, you should figure out what is causing problems before doing any upgrades. Otherwise you will just muddy the water and have even more variables to worry about while also trying to get the jetting correct on your new intake and exhaust set up.

Check for vacuum leaks and carb boot leaks first, then check (and adjust if needed) the valve clearances and sync the carburetors. These are normal maintenance items --- do them! The carb should never need cleaning if you run it regularly with reasonably fresh gas.

Thanks, I am defiantly going to take your advice and get it running correctly before I try any upgrades. I will try to get some video uploaded yso you guys can hear what it is doing, I appreciate the help

                                                                                             Regards, ED