Hi all,

I've got a 08 GS500f, and when I bought it it would start immediately when you push the button.

Over the last couple of months the start up has become ever so slightly more laboured each time, and its almost at the point of me needing to give it a rev to get it going otherwise it will start and die.

I only work 5 minutes away from home so the bike is mainly used for short trips + at least an hour ride each weekend.  I also have heated grips installed which I use about 50% of the time.

Based on the above facts I reckon the battery is slowly dying. It's new but I assume that I am not recharging it enough on my short trips. 

Is this a fair assumption or is there anything else I should check?

Thank you.

You could check the battery to make sure.

You could either charge it and test,

or try to start it using a car battery(or another healthy battery) for a "jump start", something i used to do last winter before my new battery arrived. If it starts fine when you jump-start it, you know where the problem is.

If that's not the problem it could be ( i have a similar problem, and got suggested to clean the carbs) the carbs, but be sure to check battery  and (possibly) spark first.

How many miles on the bike and how long since the valves clearances were checked?

If the bike is getting harder to start in warmer and drier weather than you're too rich.
On the east coast the rising summer humidity seems to perfectly compensate for the warmer weather.
West coast - not so much esp in CA.
However the bike has a tendency to wear the floats and they go high when they do, it will get richer, and that can make the thing richer without the weather change even being a factor.
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: Bluesmudge on April 19, 2018, 09:23:02 AM
How many miles on the bike and how long since the valves clearances were checked?

It's on 19,000 miles & has most likely never had the valves checked.

Quote from: The Buddha on April 19, 2018, 09:32:11 AM
If the bike is getting harder to start in warmer and drier weather than you're too rich.

It has been getting hotter and hotter recently so maybe this is what's caused it to run rich?

Quote from: kryptek49 on April 19, 2018, 12:49:02 PM

It's on 19,000 miles & has most likely never had the valves checked.

That's almost exactly the mileage I had on my bike when I had to learn to check and adjust the valves. It was also getting very hard to start and liked to die when I pulled up to stop lights and stop signs.
The valve check interval is 4,000 miles so you are way past overdue. Best to never go more than 8,000 miles between valve clearance checks on these bikes.

BTW, heated grips will kill slowly kill the battery if you aren't sustaining RPMs above 5,000 for most of the ride. You could swap the headlight and tail light to LED to try and compensate. Or just hook it up to a battery tender each night. Thats what I did when I commuted with heated grips. Eventually I switched to Hippo hands which also keep your hands warm but dont require any bike power.

Quote from: Bluesmudge on April 19, 2018, 05:55:24 PM

Quote from: kryptek49 on April 19, 2018, 12:49:02 PM

It's on 19,000 miles & has most likely never had the valves checked.

That's almost exactly the mileage I had on my bike when I had to learn to check and adjust the valves. It was also getting very hard to start and liked to die when I pulled up to stop lights and stop signs.
The valve check interval is 4,000 miles so you are way past overdue. Best to never go more than 8,000 miles between valve clearance checks on these bikes.

BTW, heated grips will kill slowly kill the battery if you aren't sustaining RPMs above 5,000 for most of the ride. You could swap the headlight and tail light to LED to try and compensate. Or just hook it up to a battery tender each night. Thats what I did when I commuted with heated grips. Eventually I switched to Hippo hands which also keep your hands warm but dont require any bike power.

The Oxford heated grips are pretty good at shutting off/decreasing power usage before they kill the battery IME. Not had them fail yet.

Quote from: Bluesmudge on April 19, 2018, 05:55:24 PM

The valve check interval is 4,000 miles so you are way past overdue.

BTW, heated grips will kill slowly kill the battery if you aren't sustaining RPMs above 5,000 for most of the ride.

Thanks, I've checked valve clearances on a 1998 GS500e but checked this bike yet.  I couldn't lift the buckets with the tool so I think that's why I haven't bothered.

And yes, I thought as much. I've ordered an Oxford optimiser to trickle charge it regularly.

Thanks for the help!

Battery voltage should be checked as the bike starts and note what it briefly drops down to. Charge could look good but battery could still be borked, can't remember off hand the exact number but I think if it drops to below 10V or 10.5 it's on the way out.