A few weeks ago I installed an Avon AM26 Roadrider Front tire to match the rear. Today I drove in and waited for a quick Pennsylvania State Motor Vehicle Inspection contributing just under $33 USD to my local mechanic and the State's coffers.

I checked valve clearance yesterday.  Left exhaust was tight and right intake was a little loose.  Ordered shims.  Waiting for parts sucks.
Then I chased some electrical gremlins back to some shady twisted-wire connections, fixed those.  Checked and cleaned the major electrical connectors while I was at it.  And finally added frame sliders.  Progress.

Replaced blown stock shock with another.

Pondered what to do about left exhaust valve on last Suzuki recommended valve shim 220. Do I go smaller?

Suzuki min shim size for GS500 is 215 not 220. I was down to a 215 on one exhaust valve on my 97 GS at 80k miles.  I went to a wider .003-.005" exhaust valve spec on my 02 GS and was only down to a 245 smallest shim at 100k miles.

Quote from: gsJack on August 14, 2017, 11:15:43 AM
Suzuki min shim size for GS500 is 215 not 220. I was down to a 215 on one exhaust valve on my 97 GS at 80k miles.  I went to a wider .003-.005" exhaust valve spec on my 02 GS and was only down to a 245 smallest shim at 100k miles.

Thanks. My mistake, the shim is 215 

Do I risk going to 210 if I don't redline?

I also run wider valve spec, but his one valve was extremely tight when I bought the bike and it has worn faster than the others since.

Shame for this 1 valve, this is the best GS500 I've had, runs great 52K miles.

Got new shims and installed them.  That's all I had time to do before I had to go adult 

Not so much for my bike, but for my helmet. I pulled the cheek pads and helmet liner and gave them a bath. I'm going to the local indoor go-kart track tomorrow, and figured it would be nice to have a clean helmet.


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Headlight upgrade, chain tightened to within spec and rim tape =)








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Cool, let us know how well the headlight works.

Just saw the pictures--the headlight beams look good. Are you happy with the headlight on the road?

Added Saddle Bags and Engine Guards, did the 500 Mile Service 

Quote from: ajensen on September 02, 2017, 03:02:57 PM
Just saw the pictures--the headlight beams look good. Are you happy with the headlight on the road?

Yeah man, it's amazing. Just gotta make sure it is adjusted so I am not flashing people all the time.

The cut off is spot on, at night its like I have the line in an artificial hozizon =)


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Slapped a set of Bridgestone BT45 tires on my old girl. This after I "found out" my old tires were 12 and 8 years old.
Although well kept and not very worn, I deemed it time for some fresh rubber. 

- And damn it's great!

Replaced the battery last night, rode to work today. Feels good to be back on two wheels. Granted I was only unable to ride for maybe 3 weeks, but still lol.

Wrote up how to fix common carb issues.

Not for my bike, but for yours!

https://joshkarnes.blogspot.com/2017/09/fixing-common-gs500-carburetor-issues.html

Installed a set of HEL stainless steel braided brake lines - pretty blue ones.
The installation on the front was painless. Even the flushing and bleeding the brake fluid went without a hitch.

The rear brake line is a bit more of a problem to get to. I removed the stock exhaust system to get better access.
I've read so many horror stories of people stripping the hex head in the OEM header bolts and of even breaking these bolts.
My bolts are 10 years old, the bike has 65000 ks on in it, and the hex heads looked rusty and awful.
To say I approached this job with some trepidation is a huge under-statement.
Having watched The Adidas Guy (sadly missed) undo his with nothing more than a standard Allen key, I had no idea what to expect.
This was either going to be the beginning of a disaster or a walk in the park.

After a tiny bit of cleaning, just to make sure the Allen key was well seated, they came off painlessly. Yes, they showed some corrosion and galling along there length but nowhere near enough to bind them into the head.

Rear lines took a little fiddling to get angle of the banjo heads right so the line would follow the required path without any twisting or tension.
Flushing and bleeding took a little while - the relative positions of the master cylinder and brake caliper seems designed to trap air.

Reinstalling the header bolts I looked up the torque specs - 6.5 - 8.5 foot pounds. I double checked it. I triple checked it! That's just a tiny bit north of finger tight. These bolts are massively under-stressed. Maybe that's why Mr Suzuki used hex head bolts rather than studs and nuts? That's all that's required.

The braided lines don't make a huge difference to the stopping power. They feel a bit more positive. And they're pretty 

Found a set of GS500 Oggy Knobbs for a good price on ebay. Fitted them last weekend. 

Went for a ride!  Granted it was just around the yard and I didn't get out of 2nd gear, but it was a proof of concept ride.  WOOHOO!

Designed and printed a GoPro mount for the GS....



Although it's still a prototype, I can share the STL Giles for those who know what they are.






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I replaced Suzy's fuel lines--the old ones were hardware-store plastic that turns as hard as as an IRS agent's heart after awhile. I used black automotive (not reinforced) gas lines--5/16". The lines fit tight, so I did not use any clamps.

Side note (useless knowledge): The first Yamaha TD-1 road racers had remote float carbs. Some of the TD-1s would run lean at high rpm's, no matter what size main jet. Someone figured out that the fuel lines had gotten hard and were vibrating enough to froth the fuel. Fresh soft lines solved the problem.