could be camshaft end play but I haven't heard it just like that coming down to idle, only at idle. It goes "clack-clack...clack-clack.." repeating about every 1.5 seconds or so.

Hmm, searching around in here I see theres some orange plastic on the starter clutch/rotor under the left cover. I noticed some small brittle orange plastic shards in the bottom of my oil catch can. My oil pan wasn't spotless before I started, and in an effort to comfort myself I figured that it must have already been there. Now I'm wondering - could a problem in there give me the clacking I heard on dropping revs? I wonder if I have a magnet bouncing around. Bike still starts fine though... I'm starting to wonder if the 3k on the clock is 103k...

I wondered about that myself 72. The sound is fairly faint. Now I'm worrying about orange plastic in the oil too! Yikes lol.

Quote from: Cincykz on September 18, 2018, 05:23:43 AM
Hmm, searching around in here I see theres some orange plastic on the starter clutch/rotor under the left cover. I noticed some small brittle orange plastic shards in the bottom of my oil catch can. My oil pan wasn't spotless before I started, and in an effort to comfort myself I figured that it must have already been there. Now I'm wondering - could a problem in there give me the clacking I heard on dropping revs? I wonder if I have a magnet bouncing around. Bike still starts fine though... I'm starting to wonder if the 3k on the clock is 103k...

check this out
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=63817.msg758842#msg758842

Hummm..... I have to study up on this. Thanks Kito with the good link as usual. Would these things make you guys nervous about proceeding with my build? I already ordered about $500 in parts (tires, brakes, suspension, oem bits, etc..) in addition to the $500 i spent on the bike. I figured these were pretty bulletproof and a lightly crashed 3k mile 04 would be a good savable bike. I was happy to get it running after sitting for who knows how long (maybe 10 yrs?) I'm all in at this point, i guess just proceed and hope for the best!

I guess the upshot is I've ordered almost everything, so I guess 1k to $1200 is really pretty reasonable for a good handling streetbike.

FWIW I paid $900 for my GS and wound up spending another $900 on basically immediate repairs, plus a lot of my own labor. I could have probably spent a bit over $2K and gotten one that was as well sorted right off the bat but #1 I wouldn't have learned everything I learned and #2 I still wouldn't have been absolutely sure of everything being 100% like I am after doing the work myself.

In my town, it seems like $2000-2500 is about the range you pay for a basic running drive-it-for-a-year kind of motorcycle, pretty much regardless of what bike it is, age, etc. You pay extra to get a bike in immediately usable condition with some other premium (Euro bike, top-line model). Talking basic bikes here. Doesn't matter if it's an EX500, Rebel, GS500, old UJM, DR350, whatever, this seems to be the cost. When I look at a $1K bike I figure it'll cost another $1K to get it ready to ride reliably.

I know there are exceptions and screamin' deals, just like there are folks who will pay $3000 for that mint-looking SV650 only to find the crank bearing is gone after a month. It's just a rule of thumb for me. It'll cost $2000-2500 to get a basic bike that will be reliable and usable.

So if you're only $1200 in then I'd say you're ahead of the game by a pretty big margin.

Definitely, if I end up in it for 1300 or 1400 I'll be very content. Just hoping to not finish up just in time for a new motor. We'll see! It runs pretty well and is overall pretty quiet besides the faint clack on decel, I'm going to say she has healthy bones.

well FWIW mine might make the clacking noise on decel, who knows. It's got a chopped yoshimura race muffler on it, it's pretty loud and crackles on decel. Hard to hear much mechanical except at idle.

About the money....

Every time that I think ... I am putting too much in it,,, I remembered that not only I am having a PROPER motorcycle mechanical training, but I am also saving a lot in labor cost.

True! And I bought this as a project as much as anything else, I just enjoy complaining! I'll be happy when she's perfect.

Further note, if trying to hold 2000rpm with the throttle in neutral, the bike will get to about 2k, you will feel/hear a very faint clunk or knock, revs drop 4 or 5 hundred, and start climbing again, then hit about 2k and clunk and drop again, and so on. This is all with a steady throttle (just cracked open). Mechanical problem? Tuning issue?

Any ideas would be appreciated

Quote from: Kito on September 10, 2018, 04:47:48 AM
As Kilted pointed...

The problem seems to be not on the carb that the gas went indefinitely, but the other that was dry.

Have you checked if your carbs are starving on fuel?... This could go something like. this:

2k rpm... sipping more gas that is being provided to the carbs...
lower than 2k.. the other way around.... make it somehow cyclic.

I am not the more experienced mechanical here.. but if is to brainstorm.. this is my idea..

Cincyks, my bike does basically the same thing. I think it has to do with that throttle position being right at the point between the pilot and mid jets, but that's honestly just a guess. Someone with more in-depth knowledge of the carbs will have to explain it. Sorry

Better question is why are you doing that with the throttle in the first place?

Good points both. Just realized that i had the tps off and never readjusted it per ohms or whatever. I might go try and check that now.

Quote from: Cincykz on September 21, 2018, 12:01:21 PM
Good points both. Just realized that i had the tps off and never readjusted it per ohms or whatever. I might go try and check that now.

Might help. If it does, let me know so I can try and replicate the results on my bike, since mine does the same thing.

in other news, my old '92 GS with first-gen carbs doesn't do this.

But this, by the way, is one big reason why trying to get a dual-carburetor bike to idle fast using the throttle stop screw is a fool's errand. With the throttle barely open there is extremely variable air flow through there. It's not very precise at all.

I'd say try this and watch the slide position while doing it (of course, airbox and tank off...). If the slides are dropping or moving around a lot then that explains it.

The TPS might be part of the issue, IDK. The smog stuff on the later bikes is over my head.

Hmm. Haynes is a bit vague on testing, and Suzuki seems worse. Assuming I measured correctly, my resistance (1) is 77% of resistance (2) at WOT. 76% is the goal. Also, I then disconnected the tps and had 0 difference in running. Rode up an down the road the very same.  A big part of me wants to remove the tps, the vacuum switch, the vacuum lines to the white plastic thingies... I think this bike is a little overcomplicated for what it is.

If you were local (I assume you're not), I'd say a big part of you should come get my spare set of '92 carbs and rebuild them with $30 worth of parts.

I know this is going up quite a few comments but I just wanted to add this:

Last year when I changed a few gaskets on my bike, I had the orange bits of epoxy make an appearance too. Most of them were in the oil screen. Pics of it here, starting halfway down the page:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=70880.320

I read many threads on here about it... as well as checked with my bike inspection mechanic... and what I found was that if the magnets are all secure, entact and without cracks, all should be good. The "extra" epoxy on the edges of the magnets is a common thing to flake/break off unfortunately.

That would be tempting 72. Thanks showbiz, I think I will be ordering ann oil pan gasket and a left side cover gasket, and see what I have in there. Im surprised epoxy from the magneto makes it to the oil, shouldnt it be dry in there?