Hey guys,

I've got a GS500E 2008 and noticed something weird while working on it. The flywheel (magneto) has some noticeable play while mounted on the crankshaft. I haven't opened the engine yet to check it properly, but I'm suspecting it might be related to the crankshaft thrust washers (the half-moon ones).

I recorded a short video showing the movement — it just doesn't look or feel right.

Anyone ever run into this? Is that kind of play normal or should I be worried about internal wear?

I'm from Brazil, but as I long I know, the engine is the same.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Quote from: Bautitz on August 04, 2025, 04:43:14 PMHey guys,

I've got a GS500E 2008 and noticed something weird while working on it. The flywheel (magneto) has some noticeable play while mounted on the crankshaft. I haven't opened the engine yet to check it properly, but I'm suspecting it might be related to the crankshaft thrust washers (the half-moon ones).

I recorded a short video showing the movement — it just doesn't look or feel right.

Anyone ever run into this? Is that kind of play normal or should I be worried about internal wear?

I'm from Brazil, but as I long I know, the engine is the same.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you!

the crankshaft has axial play, thats why you have axial bearings(7), i think is not a problem.

you are pulling from the starter gear(bendix)behind the magneto?
open the other side igniton cover to see if it is moving also. that way you are sure all the crankshaft is moving

Hey Armandorf, thanks for getting back to me!

My plan is to open up the engine and check bearing (7) directly—I definitely felt that play when I pushed on the rotor. Do you think I should just split the ignition-side cover, or is it better to split the whole engine? I'm also chasing down some oil leaks, so I was leaning toward a full teardown anyway. My biggest worry is that there's already too much play in the crankshaft because of this issue.

Oh, and sorry about the mix-up in my original post—the play isn't at the flywheel, it's the generator rotor that's loose!

I appreciate your help—cheers!

Also, I noticed a few of the magnets on the rotor have actually cracked off, and I'm not sure whether that's a consequence of the excessive play in the crankshaft or just a bad magneto from the start. Could a worn bearing allow the rotor to wobble enough to break those magnets, or is it more likely a standalone defect? Any ideas on that would be super helpful!

The magneto epoxy resin cracking is "normal", has to do with age and heat cycles, not with the axial play. its dangerous also, the oil pickup scren on the pan could have cacthed fragments,on worst cases scratch some surfaces.
The problem has it's own name here, startwalts disease , I sent my generator to re balance and glue it again to a machine shop.

To access that bearing you have to split the two cases, basically having to take the engine out of the frame.
I would leave it like that till it's time for a rebuild. It's making noise?

Hey Armandorf, thanks again for your help.

When I bought my GS, it already had issues holding a battery charge. The odometer showed 58,000 km. I took it to a mechanic who replaced the rectifier and stator, and I had the rotor magnets refurbished.

That same mechanic installed the refurbished rotor and the new parts, but on the same day I got the bike back, it started making a strange noise. Less than a week later, the battery died again—brand new Motobatt. I took it to another mechanic to double-check everything, and when he opened it up, he found the rotor had shattered again. Luckily, this time it didn't damage the stator.

Since I bought the bike used, I've been thinking about opening the engine. In the mornings, when I start it, it blows smoke from the exhaust until it warms up (or the smoke just loses color, I'm not sure). So I figured opening the engine would give me a better idea of what needs to be fixed, so I can ride with peace of mind. I want to use the bike on weekends and maybe even take some trips.

Smoke is piston rings or valve seats, guides/orings.
Have you measured valve gap?
Check chain tensioner as well.

I know it is tempting to do everything at once but I would try first to assess the current state.

I know it was sold in Brazil, so I think you  should have a somewhat decent amount of spare parts, have you checked the costs of the bearings, piston + rings and Gaskets?

How is the carburetor?

So, since the bike has been sitting for a while due to this issue, the idea is to take the time to carefully tear it down. It's not a daily rider, so the plan is to do a full engine check to get it running safely again.

Right now, the main problems are: the play I showed in the video, smoke on cold starts, and oil leaks from the engine.

As for the carburetor, I honestly have no idea how it's doing. It's still the original one, but the bike sat unused for a long time. I'll open it up and check, but if it's in bad shape, I'll probably go for a PWK or even convert it to fuel injection using Speeduino. Here in Brazil, there's actually a working setup using modules from the local CB300s.

The bike was produced here until 2009, but unfortunately, there's very little availability of spare parts—especially good quality aftermarket ones. What's left is either importing OEM parts from eBay or ordering directly from Suzuki, where something like the cam chain tensioner can cost nearly 40% of the bike's entire value.

Tell me about it I paid almost 200 CHF for the trigger coil on the end of the crank. Nothing on ebay, they must fail quite often that spares have dried up....

What was left for me is used parts, but here in Brazil we use other bikes parts too.