get oem needles. I chased my tail with those dj needles for a long time and problems completely went away with original needles. Now, I don't think this will fix your problem, but at least you will be able to diagnose it without the mystery of needle profile.

Quote from: mr72 on September 09, 2020, 05:31:57 AM
get oem needles. I chased my tail with those dj needles for a long time and problems completely went away with original needles. Now, I don't think this will fix your problem, but at least you will be able to diagnose it without the mystery of needle profile.

Sounds like a plan. It also looks like the guy before drilled out the left side whole on both of the slides, do those need to be replaced too? 

I guess you can fill in the holes with JB weld and re-drill the correct size, or get some used slides. IDK where you are located but you are welcome to the spare set in my spare/parts carbs I have in my garage. I'll even ship them to you if you like, but it may take some time before I can get to it because I can't drive until mid October.

Hey thats really nice. I'll start with the new needles and see where that leaves me. The problem doesn't make it un-rideable just a little weak which is probably fine for getting back into riding after a few years.

Btw I dont think I ever said how much I paid for it. I got it for 575. I think I put about 5 to 6 hundred into it but the knowledge/experience/confidence I gained has been priceless! Like an engine repair class where you get to keep the bike haha.

Those bigger holes could very well be causing precisely the problem you are experiencing. Just saying. It screws up the vacuum balance between the top and bottom of the diaphragm.

Someone armed only with the internet modified those carbs at some point.

Quote from: mr72 on September 09, 2020, 07:24:48 AM
Those bigger holes could very well be causing precisely the problem you are experiencing. Just saying. It screws up the vacuum balance between the top and bottom of the diaphragm.

Someone armed only with the internet modified those carbs at some point.

Yes you are probably right. Everything else on it seems fine. I am located in Germantown Maryland. That any close to you? I just looked up the price of those slides. I would definitely be interested in working something out for your spares!

I'm right by Austin TX but I'm on crutches until mid-October so I can't get out to ship anything. But you are welcome to them once I can drive again. Probably cost like $10-12 to ship.

OP, if you need something sooner, I sent a link to a set of slides, diaphragms and needles.  I had it on my watchlist from earlier in my project

Quote from: Sporty on September 09, 2020, 11:37:27 AM
OP, if you need something sooner, I sent a link to a set of slides, diaphragms and needles.  I had it on my watchlist from earlier in my project

Thanks for the heads up! I might give these a shot at that price.

Quote from: aconti2 on September 09, 2020, 12:52:53 PM

Quote from: Sporty on September 09, 2020, 11:37:27 AM
OP, if you need something sooner, I sent a link to a set of slides, diaphragms and needles.  I had it on my watchlist from earlier in my project

Thanks for the heads up! I might give these a shot at that price.

If you are chasing more jets and o-rings etc... I used these kits in my rebuild. Made in Taiwan. Everything seemed good quality and all the o-rings fit.

It has a lot of parts.  It's based around the 37.5/122.5 calibration.  I compared the needles to my stock one, measured in several spots it seemed the same. 

I used different jets because of the mods the bike has (lunchbox and slip-on)

The only o-ring it didn't have has was the o-ring for the plastic end of the float carrier.
I sourced that from the local hardware store.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-Carburetor-carb-Repair-Rebuild-Kit-1989-2000-GS500-GS-500-GS500E-US/323338869308?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160727114228%26meid%3D938fa79d464a4b13a700d7538f4ebfc3%26pid%3D100290%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D353191053907%26itm%3D323338869308%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2060778%26brand%3DDamineding&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507

Ok so I pulled the plugs today to check the spark and found that one plug was a pinch lean and the other was crazy rich. Hmmm something not right at all. I'll admit I took the lazy route when adjusting the needles, doing it without taking the airbox out (hate that thing.)

Anyways one diaphram wasn't seated well and was going up way too fast (the rich plug.) The other was all jacked up and wasn't opening (the lean plug.) So that explains why it could do some low revs but was falling on its face anywhere else. One carb was pouring in gas while the other was giving it nothing, oh boy.

Fixed up the slides and holy shaZam! this thing can GO. I know I haven't ridden in a while but how do people call these slow? I could barely open it up on my local roads. Can't wait to take it for a longer ride! I'll probably keep fiddling with it once I get those other parts is but this thing is really almost there! Thanks so much for your help everyone! I'll take a sweet picture tomorrow to share my new beaut.

Quote from: aconti2 on September 11, 2020, 05:21:42 PM
Fixed up the slides and holy shaZam! this thing can GO. I know I haven't ridden in a while but how do people call these slow?

good job getting it sorted. Glad you fixed it up! 

as for calling them slow, I think three reasons.
1. The internet says they're slow and people just repeat what they heard in fear of appearing stupid
2. They associate "fast" with that feeling of lots of torque at a low rpm, maybe they never revved it up beyond like 5k
3. They are used to riding something with a lot more power like a gsxr

Reality is that a properly tuned GS500 will do 0-60 in under 5 seconds which is pretty freaking quick. My Bonneville has 30+ more hp and is barely quicker, although it feels a whole lot faster because it has a ton more low end torque. But a sv650 or air cooled Monster or mt07 all have 65ish hp are gs500 weight and are much quicker. So that's probably the 650 class middleweight standard for quickness.

If you keep it over 6k my GS is plenty quick. With a 14T sprocket it's hard not to keep it above 6k. But with stock gearing you have to work and plan ahead to keep it in the power band. Get the gear changes wrong and it's easy to come out of corners sitting at 3k rpm and barely get to 6k before the next corner, it'll feel pretty slow. A 650-800cc twin redlines 3k lower so that same 3k-6k maneuver is in the meat of their power band and it feels a whole lot faster.

Fwiw I personally don't care about going fast, I just changed my sprocket so the GS would be different from the Bonneville and give me some variety.

I'm right there with you. Riding a motorcycle for me is about being in the open air and the joy of leaning through turns. I can't see myself needing something faster for a long while. I have a lot to learn. My first riding experience was cut short by someone pushing all the motorycles over at my college parking lot and an SV handlebar going through my ninja 250's radiator.

Am I real Gs Twinner now? Not too shabby for 575.

Ok I got the OEM needles in. It seems to have smoothed it out a bit. Only issue is now my throttle/clutch play is a little off when taking off from a stop. The DJ needles required a softer touch with the throttle when taking off (due to the aggressive taper i assume) so now I have to give it a bit more throttle for it to take off smoothly. The good news is when I get it right I feel like I have a lot more control. Just gotta practice now!

Any tips on adjusting the mixture screws while on the bike? My screws don't have a very deep slot so its really hard to tell if I'm doing anything. Its pretty tight in there. I'm about to just take them off completely and adjust them but that will take forever.

I'm using a bit that connects to my wrench.

I have a little stubby flathead screwdriver especially for this that came from harbor freight. I've also just used a normal flat screwdriver bit like you'd use with a drill.

I have one of those. My issue is the screw doesn't have a deep enough slot and it the screws don't turn super easily which makes it a very tough combo to adjust upside down in a tight space. I might try one of those screw extenders when I service the valves this winter.

Or not, it runs pretty well. I'm really only having a slight issue at take off from a dead stop. It's just a little noisy.

That's a great shot aconti!   I use bits myself,...have a couple I especially like.  Dabbed some paint on the side so I can count etc etc,...