First of all, hello everyone! I just signed up but have been frequenting the forum for a few weeks at least. What a treasure trove this is, you guys rock!

I got myself a 2007 GS500F with 20K miles and I ran into a problem that I have trouble diagnosing.

I recently noticed that the clutch seemed to slip at high load / high RPM situations, so I'm guessing either it's worn or the clutch linkage is badly adjusted (too tight). The clutch engagement was at the very end of the lever travel (maybe last 10%), and the friction zone seemed quite narrow. After finding a bunch of helpful topics here, I tried doing the 3 way adjusting: I loosened both ends of the clutch cable, screwed the push rod screw out until it was loose, screwed it back in and then ½ turn out and tightened the cable adjusters on both ends to get just a hair of play on the lever.

Now, the bike starts fine in neutral but will die immediately when I clutch in and try to engage any gear, as if the clutch won't engage (or disengage, you know what I mean). I played around with all 3 settings for an hour but only got it to go into gear maybe once and then I tried to slightly readjust and was never able to get it to work again. I called it quits after my battery died.

At some point I screwed in the push rod screw almost as far as it would go and had the cable pretty tense and I still got the same effect – engine stalls immediately when going into gear.

I can see the push rod screw assembly moving when clutching in, so what gives? Is this a sign of a shot clutch or am I missing something else? I rode the bike today before attempting the adjustment and it would only slip once in a while during hard acceleration (7-8 K RPM and up).
Any ideas?

Possibly a stupid question, but did you happen to have your kickstand down when trying to shift into gear?
I'm only asking because having the kickstand down while going into gear will always kill the engine, and this is something that I would do if I was getting frustrated and testing crap.

I am having some clutch troubles on my own also. my thread is (clutch acting weird)

I liked the previous suggestion.. center stand it, take the opportunity to spin the wheel in neutral.. see if wheel, chain... etc.. is working fine.

Something that you could is double check is oil level.

However, I think you cannot scape of removing the cluch cover and having a visual inspection...

No way...  Now that I think about it, most of the time I did have the side stand down! And when I put it up that could have been the time when I got it to go into gear suddenly. While this makes me feel like a complete idiot, it would be a super simple fix. Thanks TGTwin!

And I'll definitely use your suggestion to put it on the center stand Kito and look around a bit.

I'll report back tonight, thanks for the suggestions!

Yep.. maybe can be just the side stand switch after all. (let hope so!) 

Ok, so I will now officially walk around with a pointy hat that reads "dunce". You were right, it was the sidestand switch. On the bright side, nothing was wrong and now my clutch seems to work fine. I haven't had the occasion to really give it the beans yet so I can't say for sure the slipping went away, but the clutch itself works fine. I wish that everybody would have issues of this caliber Thanks!

The amount of minutes I have cursed and spluttered over why my bike wasn't working, only to find the kickstand not fully up or the killswitch on would astound you. You aren't the first and sure won't be the last to wear this dunce cap

Reporting back after a break: bike redlines without any clutch slip, so it seems to only have been the clutch cable adjustment that was off.

Now, however, I have a new bug to chase. The bike started to die at idle today, choke helps but that obviously is not a fix.... Creating a checklist of things to analyze in order:

- petcock
- fuel lines
- vacuum lines
- clogged jets / junk in carb

Anything else worth looking into before I take the bike apart?

Quote from: Drzon on August 08, 2018, 05:10:14 PM
Reporting back after a break: bike redlines without any clutch slip, so it seems to only have been the clutch cable adjustment that was off.

Now, however, I have a new bug to chase. The bike started to die at idle today, choke helps but that obviously is not a fix.... Creating a checklist of things to analyze in order:

- petcock
- fuel lines
- vacuum lines
- clogged jets / junk in carb

Anything else worth looking into before I take the bike apart?

Does it die after you've been riding for 10 minutes or is only when you start the bike up from cold?
Have you tried using the idle screw between the carbs to adjust the idle? Do it when the bike is fully warmed up though. Haynes recommends to set it at 1200.

Hey Toner, it started fine and rode without issues today and then it first died on me at idle after maybe 10-15 min of riding. It got worse from there and wouldn't ride without choke. I played around with the idle screw but it only helped temporarily. At one point I had the revs up to 3k at idle just to die on me at the next lights...

When's the last time you checked your valve clearances?

Just checked them a week ago. Both my exhaust valves are just out of spec and new valves should be coming in today. Would tight exhaust valves give these kinds of symptoms though?

Quote from: Drzon on August 09, 2018, 07:15:40 AM
Just checked them a week ago. Both my exhaust valves are just out of spec and new valves should be coming in today. Would tight exhaust valves give these kinds of symptoms though?

I'm pretty sure tight valves can cause idling issues, yes. If the clearances are way too tight and the valves are being held open for longer than normal then the engine will have little to no compression at low RPMs, which can cause the engine to die unless you give a ton of throttle. But if your valves are only slightly out of spec, it probably wouldn't be the cause though. Reading more closely, I don't think your valves would be the issue here.

The bike running fine for ~10 minutes and then dying sounds to me like a fuel starvation issue. Maybe the carb bowls aren't filling up fast enough to keep up with the bike's fuel demand. If thats the case, would think it would be related to the petcock, lines, or tank screen. How does the bike run when the petcock is set to PRI?

I haven't had time to check anything yet after yesterday's ride but I hope to troubleshoot today, that's why I asked if there's anything else worth looking at. I'll check the things I mentioned in my list sans the carbs and report back.

So, it looks like it might be the petcock. I only rode around the block but after running on idle fairly fine for a few minutes and then taking it for a spin the bike soon started to die at stops. I switched to PRI and the problem seemed to go away. I don't get something though... if the petcock is obstructed somehow, wouldn't that cause problems when giving throttle rather then while idling where a lot less fuel is needed? It did seem to ride rough when set to ON rather than prime. Should I take the petcock off and just clean it with carb cleaner?

While running the fuel valve is held open by a vacuum operated diaphragm. The vacuum is taken from one of the carbs through a tube. You need to check this pipe is in place and not kinked or obstructed. If the pipe is ok the fault is with the diaphragm.

Generally the valves are not repairable and the solution is to replace it. It's a common fault and some owners choose to remove it and fit an alternative. Suzuki knew it was an issue and fitted later models with a redesigned and more reliable part.

It's been discussed many times in the past.

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=58895.0

Ok, that makes sense. My bike is a 2007 so I believe it's the newer petcock design but that doesn't mean it can't break.  The vacuum line you mentioned, is that the one that comes off only the right carburetor? If so, I broke off the nipple that holds that hose. I epoxied it back into place and it seemed to be fine for a few days but I'll double check the whole route of that hose now.

Quote from: Drzon on August 10, 2018, 10:25:17 AM
The vacuum line you mentioned, is that the one that comes off only the right carburetor? If so, I broke off the nipple that holds that hose. I epoxied it back into place and it seemed to be fine for a few days but I'll double check the whole route of that hose now.

I would suspect this is the likely cause. It's a double-whammy. On the one hand, it likely introduces a vacuum leak, which screws up idling. On the other hand, with a vacuum leak at idle, it may close the petcock which will eventually kill the bike but you'd have to drain the float bowls for it to die so I wouldn't really suspect the petcock is the root cause. The bike will idle for a little while with the fuel lines completely disconnected, running on fuel in the float bowls.

Usually I'd suspect the petcock when the bike has fuel starvation at WOT/high-revs.

I'll check that hose, and the repair spot. Would the - spray carb cleaner in the area and watch if revs rise - method work here?

Quote from: Drzon on August 10, 2018, 10:38:33 AM
I'll check that hose, and the repair spot. Would the - spray carb cleaner in the area and watch if revs rise - method work here?

Do NOT spray carb cleaner onto the carbs. It will ruin the rubber parts of the carb and if your diaphragms aren't damaged now, they will be after.

Spray water instead, and look for a drop in revs rather than a rise.