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New Australian GS500F owner!

Started by Beelzeboss, July 19, 2018, 02:57:54 PM

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Beelzeboss

Hi all,

I chose a GS500 because I'm familiar with the bike, having built a GS500 powered off-road buggy about 10 years ago, and I also have a bucket load of spare parts for them including a low km engine and gearbox.

The plan is to use the bike to ride to and from work (4k's each way) and to and from Sydney most weekends. I live in Bathurst at the moment so that's about 200k's each way.





I picked up the bike in Orange last night and rode it back. A few things were immediately obvious - the headlight was crap, the bike had no power, and the chain was loose... but it made it!

I checked the chain slack when I bought the bike and factored in a replacement fairly soon, but when I got it back I saw that it's all the way at the end of it's adjustment and still has a HUGE amount of slack, so there goes my plan to ride it to Sydney this weekend :(









Now on to the power issue. I think the bike has a big vacuum leak because a small amount of choke will bring the idle up to over 5,000 rpm and it has a hanging idle issue sometimes when riding. I'll try the old spray carby cleaner on the carb boots to confirm and replace the vacuum petcock which has a small leak.



The exhaust is also mostly blocked off which can't be helping the power issue. I'll use a holesaw and drill that final washer-baffle piece out and hopefully uncork some more horsies.

It's also a GS500F which someone has converted to a naked bike, no doubt because of a drop. All the indicators and headlight have been wired using crimp connectors which, while they work fine just now, I'd feel more comfortable if I could solder and heat shrink all connectors.

All that aside, IT MADE IT TO WORK!










ShowBizWolf

Saw your post on the fb group! Welcome to the forums... glad to see you here as well :thumb:

Awesome first thread! I'm looking forward to seeing the TLC ya give this bike. That chain is crazy!
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

cbrfxr67

Lookin good!  That blue catches your eye so you don't notice the uhh,.... things that need a little tlc!
Welcome!  Hope to see more of your experiences!
:thumb:
"Its something you take apart in 2-3 days and takes 10 years to go back together."
-buddha

peteGS

Hey mate, welcome from sunny Brissy! Good choice in bikes of course  :thumb:
'82 GS450E
'84 GSX1100S Katana

mr72

#4
Quote from: Beelzeboss on July 19, 2018, 02:57:54 PM
I think the bike has a big vacuum leak because a small amount of choke will bring the idle up to over 5,000 rpm and it has a hanging idle issue sometimes when riding. I'll try the old spray carby cleaner on the carb boots to confirm and replace the vacuum petcock which has a small leak.

Hey congrats on the bike. Looks great. Couple of things.

1. Don't spray carb cleaner on it, not now or ever. Especially if it has a vacuum leak. It can ruin the rubber diaphragms in the carbs. If you must test for vacuum leaks use water. Or IMHO just fix everything, assuming all of the o rings are likely leaking.

2. That choke behavior is normal. That's what it's supposed to do.

3. The hanging idle is probably caused by the idle speed (really throttle stop screw) being set too high. It's not a vacuum problem.

4. If your petcock has a vacuum leak then you may have serious fuel starvation. Fix this first, or verify by running it on prime. Just don't leave it on prime when you park it.

There's a post on my blog that may help you go through the carbs.

Quote
The exhaust is also mostly blocked off which can't be helping the power issue. I'll use a holesaw and drill that final washer-baffle piece out and hopefully uncork some more horsies.

This has no effect on power, just noise. You are not going to find any extra power in exhaust mods.

QuoteAll the indicators and headlight have been wired using crimp connectors which, while they work fine just now, I'd feel more comfortable if I could solder and heat shrink all connectors.

They are crimped from the factory. Nothing wrong with it, and it makes it much easier to repair later. Inline soldering wires, especially with PVC insulation, is not a great idea. IMHO. Try hitting the! With contact cleaner. I bet the headlight performance issue is how it's aimed. But I did observe a night and day difference when I swapped mine to LED.

Beelzeboss

Quote from: ShowBizWolf on July 19, 2018, 03:22:36 PM
Saw your post on the fb group! Welcome to the forums... glad to see you here as well :thumb:

Awesome first thread! I'm looking forward to seeing the TLC ya give this bike. That chain is crazy!
Haha thanks mate! I managed to get the thing tensioned but I have a new chain and sprockets coming this week.

Quote from: cbrfxr67 on July 20, 2018, 07:29:29 AM
Lookin good!  That blue catches your eye so you don't notice the uhh,.... things that need a little tlc!
Welcome!  Hope to see more of your experiences!
:thumb:
Haha cheers! Yeah the blue is not my favourite but I don't hate it enough to change it :D

Quote from: peteGS on July 22, 2018, 03:42:26 AM
Hey mate, welcome from sunny Brissy! Good choice in bikes of course  :thumb:
Thanks man!

Quote from: mr72 on July 22, 2018, 04:49:36 AM
Quote from: Beelzeboss on July 19, 2018, 02:57:54 PM
I think the bike has a big vacuum leak because a small amount of choke will bring the idle up to over 5,000 rpm and it has a hanging idle issue sometimes when riding. I'll try the old spray carby cleaner on the carb boots to confirm and replace the vacuum petcock which has a small leak.

Hey congrats on the bike. Looks great. Couple of things.

1. Don't spray carb cleaner on it, not now or ever. Especially if it has a vacuum leak. It can ruin the rubber diaphragms in the carbs. If you must test for vacuum leaks use water. Or IMHO just fix everything, assuming all of the o rings are likely leaking.

2. That choke behavior is normal. That's what it's supposed to do.

3. The hanging idle is probably caused by the idle speed (really throttle stop screw) being set too high. It's not a vacuum problem.

4. If your petcock has a vacuum leak then you may have serious fuel starvation. Fix this first, or verify by running it on prime. Just don't leave it on prime when you park it.

There's a post on my blog that may help you go through the carbs.

Quote
The exhaust is also mostly blocked off which can't be helping the power issue. I'll use a holesaw and drill that final washer-baffle piece out and hopefully uncork some more horsies.

This has no effect on power, just noise. You are not going to find any extra power in exhaust mods.

QuoteAll the indicators and headlight have been wired using crimp connectors which, while they work fine just now, I'd feel more comfortable if I could solder and heat shrink all connectors.

They are crimped from the factory. Nothing wrong with it, and it makes it much easier to repair later. Inline soldering wires, especially with PVC insulation, is not a great idea. IMHO. Try hitting the! With contact cleaner. I bet the headlight performance issue is how it's aimed. But I did observe a night and day difference when I swapped mine to LED.
Alrighty I'll avoid carb cleaner, and I have a spare set of carbs and intake rubbers which I'm going to fit this week.
With the hanging idle, it hangs sometimes and then sometimes it idles at 1500, sometimes it idles at 1000 and ocassionally it idles so low it dies. It seems completely random but if I close the idle screw it dies every time.
I've replaced the petcock which may have made a slight difference but not enough to confirm it was the problem.

The muffler has a 14mm bore through the entire thing, it's definitely a massive restriction and is affecting power output. I'll be fitting a stock can that I have in the garage this week. I'm not looking for extra power, but stock levels would be nice. At the moment I'd say it puts out about 30hp.

These crimp connectors are not standard and very poorly done, as evidence by the fact that my headlight went out randomly this morning, then wiggling the connectors/headlight made it all come back online (sort of). I don't trust the crimps that the previous owner put in, they look hella dodgy. I'll try and get a pic later, but they are definitely responsible for the headlight going out and I'll feel much better soldering it all together.

crackin

#6
Quote from: mr72 on July 22, 2018, 04:49:36 AM
This has no effect on power, just noise. You are not going to find any extra power in exhaust mods.
That is incorrect, there is HP and performance enhancement to be found in the exhaust. But you also need to open up the intake of the bike too. The GS is desinged to be commuter, thats why it has a commuter type exhaust system. Open that thing up and the engine feels totally different.
I know this from my own experience, what experience do you have to make such a statement?

Welcome to the forum Beelzeboss from a fellow Aussie.
That can looks like something off a two banger not a four banger. It reminds me of what was in my old RD's.
The stock baffle is shite too mate, the are restricted up the @$$hole. You can modify it, but its so god damned heavy its really a waste of time.
I got mine from megacycle engineering, but thats in melbourne. Probably to far away for you but they are great baffles and reasonably priced. Postage wouldn't be all that much. Check them out on the net. Ken (the owner) is a great bloke to deal with and I can't say enough about his exhausts.
No matter what i do to it, it's still a GS
It's not how fast your bike is, it's how long you are prepared to hold the throttle on.

mr72

Quote from: crackin on July 23, 2018, 02:56:30 AM
I know this from my own experience, what experience do you have to make such a statement?

The same as you, probably. I have added and removed exactly such a silencer from my own GS muffler numerous times. It has no effect on the way the bike runs, power, nothing at least that is detectable by riding it. Sure, maybe on a dyno you might find the torque peak has moved by a few rpms, and if it moves up by a few rpms then you will measure more peak hp, like you know, a half of a hp.

Exhaust tuning is a science, and a reasonably complicated one at that. The exhaust velocity and resonant frequency of the GS's exhaust is not reasonably affected by a silencer in the very end of the pipe. If that silencer were instead installed at the header collector it would make a huge difference, but it's not. That's why they put it at the end of the pipe, because they can make the bike much quieter without affecting performance.

BTW if you "open up the intake" too, presumably you mean by changing the airbox, then all you will succeed in doing is slowing down the air and requiring you to retune the carbs. If you were to swap the entire exhaust from header to tailpipe with something of a different design, like larger diameter primaries and the collector a different distance from the head, then you might wind up also slowing the exhaust velocity which will have the effect of raising the resonant frequency and you basically will ruin the scavenging in the low-midrange, so you might end up with the potential for more power but at the expense of torque in the range where you ordinarily need it. To get that extra power will require more rpms, and to get the GS to flow enough air at those higher RPMs will require a different head, or at least a lot of modification to the head (bigger valves, higher lift cams, more valve overlap, probably more compression ratio and pistons with valve relief and degreeing the cams not to mention porting...).

THEN you will need a way to move more fuel AND air into the engine, which would be bigger carbs or FI.

But anyway. knock yourself out. Louder==faster, right? So swap away.

mr72

Quote from: Beelzeboss on July 22, 2018, 03:47:00 PM
With the hanging idle, it hangs sometimes and then sometimes it idles at 1500, sometimes it idles at 1000 and ocassionally it idles so low it dies. It seems completely random but if I close the idle screw it dies every time.

Is it fully warmed up in these conditions? If you adjust everything correctly and then try to run it with the engine cold (or partly cold) and no choke it will most likely die, every time. If you get it dialed in and everything is working right then (in my experience) it should idle at around 1200-1400 rpm when it is very warm (half hour plus of riding through gears in hot weather), and it should idle without choke after about a mile or two of riding but maybe as low as 800-1000 rpm, hard to say since the tach basically jumps from 500-1000 when it does this. But it should run, maybe require an occasional tap of the throttle if you are sitting a while at a stop light.

If it has inconsistent idle speed, that's probably caused by too much air bypass. Throttle plate stuck partly open at idle will cause irregular airflow and this air doesn't pick up fuel unless the slides are up (and they're not, at idle, or not supposed to be) so the idle mixture will vary and the idle speed will vary accordingly. If too much air leaks in then the mixture will go too lean and it'll stall. If you open the throttle stop enough to get it to lift the slides then it'll idle at like 1500-1800 rpm and it will be an erratic idle since there is so much variance in vacuum that it'll move the slides a lot. We'd call this "hunting idle". But the carbs are intended to idle with the throttles closed.

If it won't idle at all with the throttles closed then either the pilot air orifice is clogged or some fuel passageway is clogged leading to the pilot jet, or the pilot jet itself is clogged (which is very likely), or the pilot mixture is set way too lean due to a combination of jet and needle adjustment.

And of course a gross vacuum leak can cause all of this too, or exacerbate it. You can't debug carb issues with vacuum leaks.

So if it were my bike, and BTW I've had this range of problems with mine so I am speaking from direct experience, I would pull the carbs, tear them down, clean then thoroughly, clean the air and fuel passages you can get to with a gauged wire for the orifice size (I use old guitar strings...), replace ALL o-rings, replace the pilot jets, and then put it all together and start over tuning like it was just off the assembly line. If you want a detailed walk-thru you can find it on my blog:
https://joshkarnes.blogspot.com/2017/09/fixing-common-gs500-carburetor-issues.html

Quote
The muffler has a 14mm bore through the entire thing, it's definitely a massive restriction and is affecting power output.

You know this because you dynoed it, right?

You're saying that little hole is smaller than 14mm?

Quote
I'll be fitting a stock can that I have in the garage this week. I'm not looking for extra power, but stock levels would be nice. At the moment I'd say it puts out about 30hp.

Again, did you dyno it to learn this? With all of the carb problems you report, I'd be surprised if you can get half the power that the bike is intended to make. My guess is if you have a gross vacuum leak, then you never get the main jets open because it is vacuum that lifts the slides. You have a vacuum leak it means not enough can be generated to move the slides, so the bike will run very, very lean once you get past about 1/2 throttle and about 6K rpm. The rest of the rev range it'll just run very lean, due to leaking extra air. Fix that first, then worry about whatever hp tuning, which is a fool's errand, but anyway...

The stock muffler will be fine. I think it has a baffle in the end of it too, doesn't it?

Quote
These crimp connectors are not standard and very poorly done, as evidence by the fact that my headlight went out randomly this morning, then wiggling the connectors/headlight made it all come back online (sort of). I don't trust the crimps that the previous owner put in, they look hella dodgy. I'll try and get a pic later, but they are definitely responsible for the headlight going out and I'll feel much better soldering it all together.

My point is crimp connectors in general are the correct way to join wires in a motorcycle or automotive electrical system. Improperly crimped connectors will not work well, so repair or redo them as needed. But soldering it is the wrong way to do it. But I'm going to bail off of this thread because I'm obviously not going to be able to help you. Do what you like. This is what the "ignore list" is for.

crackin

Quote from: mr72 on July 23, 2018, 05:24:14 AM

The same as you, probably. I have added and removed exactly such a silencer from my own GS muffler numerous times. It has no effect on the way the bike runs, power, nothing at least that is detectable by riding it.
So none.
I cut suzuki's merge collector out of the header and custom made a 15 degree merge collector and it was night and day. That pressed collector suzuki use is lined with perferated metal and looks like a mini expansion chamber. It's total rubbish and hinders engine performance.
No matter what i do to it, it's still a GS
It's not how fast your bike is, it's how long you are prepared to hold the throttle on.

mr72

Quote from: crackin on July 23, 2018, 02:11:19 PM

So none.
I cut suzuki's merge collector out of the header and custom made a 15 degree merge collector and it was night and day. That pressed collector suzuki use is lined with perferated metal and looks like a mini expansion chamber. It's total rubbish and hinders engine performance.

Yeah, I thought we were talking about a silencer in the end of the muffler. Apparently you can't read what I write, and you prefer to just argue and show off about how awesome your bike is. I'm not interested.

Beelzeboss

Quote from: mr72 on July 23, 2018, 05:41:07 AM
Quote from: Beelzeboss on July 22, 2018, 03:47:00 PM
With the hanging idle, it hangs sometimes and then sometimes it idles at 1500, sometimes it idles at 1000 and ocassionally it idles so low it dies. It seems completely random but if I close the idle screw it dies every time.

Is it fully warmed up in these conditions? If you adjust everything correctly and then try to run it with the engine cold (or partly cold) and no choke it will most likely die, every time. If you get it dialed in and everything is working right then (in my experience) it should idle at around 1200-1400 rpm when it is very warm (half hour plus of riding through gears in hot weather), and it should idle without choke after about a mile or two of riding but maybe as low as 800-1000 rpm, hard to say since the tach basically jumps from 500-1000 when it does this. But it should run, maybe require an occasional tap of the throttle if you are sitting a while at a stop light.

If it has inconsistent idle speed, that's probably caused by too much air bypass. Throttle plate stuck partly open at idle will cause irregular airflow and this air doesn't pick up fuel unless the slides are up (and they're not, at idle, or not supposed to be) so the idle mixture will vary and the idle speed will vary accordingly. If too much air leaks in then the mixture will go too lean and it'll stall. If you open the throttle stop enough to get it to lift the slides then it'll idle at like 1500-1800 rpm and it will be an erratic idle since there is so much variance in vacuum that it'll move the slides a lot. We'd call this "hunting idle". But the carbs are intended to idle with the throttles closed.

If it won't idle at all with the throttles closed then either the pilot air orifice is clogged or some fuel passageway is clogged leading to the pilot jet, or the pilot jet itself is clogged (which is very likely), or the pilot mixture is set way too lean due to a combination of jet and needle adjustment.

And of course a gross vacuum leak can cause all of this too, or exacerbate it. You can't debug carb issues with vacuum leaks.

So if it were my bike, and BTW I've had this range of problems with mine so I am speaking from direct experience, I would pull the carbs, tear them down, clean then thoroughly, clean the air and fuel passages you can get to with a gauged wire for the orifice size (I use old guitar strings...), replace ALL o-rings, replace the pilot jets, and then put it all together and start over tuning like it was just off the assembly line. If you want a detailed walk-thru you can find it on my blog:
https://joshkarnes.blogspot.com/2017/09/fixing-common-gs500-carburetor-issues.html

Quote
The muffler has a 14mm bore through the entire thing, it's definitely a massive restriction and is affecting power output.

You know this because you dynoed it, right?

You're saying that little hole is smaller than 14mm?

Quote
I'll be fitting a stock can that I have in the garage this week. I'm not looking for extra power, but stock levels would be nice. At the moment I'd say it puts out about 30hp.

Again, did you dyno it to learn this? With all of the carb problems you report, I'd be surprised if you can get half the power that the bike is intended to make. My guess is if you have a gross vacuum leak, then you never get the main jets open because it is vacuum that lifts the slides. You have a vacuum leak it means not enough can be generated to move the slides, so the bike will run very, very lean once you get past about 1/2 throttle and about 6K rpm. The rest of the rev range it'll just run very lean, due to leaking extra air. Fix that first, then worry about whatever hp tuning, which is a fool's errand, but anyway...

The stock muffler will be fine. I think it has a baffle in the end of it too, doesn't it?

Quote
These crimp connectors are not standard and very poorly done, as evidence by the fact that my headlight went out randomly this morning, then wiggling the connectors/headlight made it all come back online (sort of). I don't trust the crimps that the previous owner put in, they look hella dodgy. I'll try and get a pic later, but they are definitely responsible for the headlight going out and I'll feel much better soldering it all together.

My point is crimp connectors in general are the correct way to join wires in a motorcycle or automotive electrical system. Improperly crimped connectors will not work well, so repair or redo them as needed. But soldering it is the wrong way to do it. But I'm going to bail off of this thread because I'm obviously not going to be able to help you. Do what you like. This is what the "ignore list" is for.
Wow, calm down mate.

I'll investigate the ignore function, honestly never had to use it before but you really seem like an unpleasant individual.

Beelzeboss

#12
Quote from: crackin on July 23, 2018, 02:56:30 AM
Quote from: mr72 on July 22, 2018, 04:49:36 AM
This has no effect on power, just noise. You are not going to find any extra power in exhaust mods.
That is incorrect, there is HP and performance enhancement to be found in the exhaust. But you also need to open up the intake of the bike too. The GS is desinged to be commuter, thats why it has a commuter type exhaust system. Open that thing up and the engine feels totally different.
I know this from my own experience, what experience do you have to make such a statement?

Welcome to the forum Beelzeboss from a fellow Aussie.
That can looks like something off a two banger not a four banger. It reminds me of what was in my old RD's.
The stock baffle is shite too mate, the are restricted up the @$$hole. You can modify it, but its so god damned heavy its really a waste of time.
I got mine from megacycle engineering, but thats in melbourne. Probably to far away for you but they are great baffles and reasonably priced. Postage wouldn't be all that much. Check them out on the net. Ken (the owner) is a great bloke to deal with and I can't say enough about his exhausts.
Thanks mate! I'm sure you're right about the stock muffler but it's what I've got available and I'm not keen to spend any more money on the bike than I absolutely have to. I've got another bike which due to our licencing laws I'm not allowed to ride for another 5 months, so if I can have this one last that long without significant depreciation then I'll consider it a success... and considering it cost me $1,000 with rego I think I'll be fine :icon_lol:

I am trying so hard to avoid modifying the bike, it's very much my nature to tinker with any vehicle I own haha. I've done engine swaps on my previous 2 cars and currently drive an LS1 swapped S13 Silvia which I did all the work to and is fully street legal.

crackin

#13
Quote from: Beelzeboss on July 23, 2018, 09:37:25 PM
Thanks mate! I'm sure you're right about the stock muffler but it's what I've got available and I'm not keen to spend any more money on the bike than I absolutely have to. I've got another bike which due to our licencing laws I'm not allowed to ride for another 5 months, so if I can have this one last that long without significant depreciation then I'll consider it a success... and considering it cost me $1,000 with rego I think I'll be fine :icon_lol:

I am trying so hard to avoid modifying the bike, it's very much my nature to tinker with any vehicle I own haha. I've done engine swaps on my previous 2 cars and currently drive an LS1 swapped S13 Silvia which I did all the work to and is fully street legal.

I totally understand that you don;t want to spend coin on this bike. And thats cool, not many people do because they don't see any potential in a GS.
Just stick the stock exhaust back on it if you can, and hopefully it will improve a little.
If the bike has been sitting around for a while the carbs will be clogged with dried up fuel and it causes all kinds of issue's. If you are up to it, give the carbs a good clean out and set the float hight.
You can bypass/remove that vacuum petcock all together with an 8mm inline fuel tap. The trick is to run the fuel tap from the reserve outlet of the tank. You block off the main outlet with a short piece of fuel hose with a plug in the end of it, or buy one of those blocked fuel line thingies. Then you simply run the outlet of the fuel tap directly to the carbs. You do lose the reserve function but you soon get used to watching your KM's on the trip meter and just fuel up after 150 to 200KM's.
No vacuum needed, just remember to turn the tap off when you park it up.
Thats my set up on my bike but apparently i'm not allowed to talk about my awesome bike. :icon_rolleyes:
No matter what i do to it, it's still a GS
It's not how fast your bike is, it's how long you are prepared to hold the throttle on.

crackin

#14
Quote from: mr72 on July 22, 2018, 04:49:36 AM
You are not going to find any extra power in exhaust mods. 

I'm pretty sure i can read ok pal.
Quote from: mr72 on July 23, 2018, 02:23:45 PM
Quote from: crackin on July 23, 2018, 02:11:19 PM

So none.
I cut suzuki's merge collector out of the header and custom made a 15 degree merge collector and it was night and day. That pressed collector suzuki use is lined with perferated metal and looks like a mini expansion chamber. It's total rubbish and hinders engine performance.

Yeah, I thought we were talking about a silencer in the end of the muffler. Apparently you can't read what I write, and you prefer to just argue and show off about how awesome your bike is. I'm not interested.
I'm not going to argue about how awesome my bike is, because it is f%$king awesome. :flipoff: So what if i'm proud to have the fastest GS in Australia. That was my goal and I achieved it. Other bikie's used to laugh at me, but they don;t any more, I laugh at them. :laugh: At least I don't talk rubbish about things I know absolutely nothing about and mislead people with stupid statements.
Put your man bag on your little parcel rack and go for a ride to get some bread and milk. :icon_eek:
No matter what i do to it, it's still a GS
It's not how fast your bike is, it's how long you are prepared to hold the throttle on.

Beelzeboss

Quote from: crackin on July 24, 2018, 01:47:31 AM
I totally understand that you don;t want to spend coin on this bike. And thats cool, not many people do because they don't see any potential in a GS.
Just stick the stock exhaust back on it if you can, and hopefully it will improve a little.
If the bike has been sitting around for a while the carbs will be clogged with dried up fuel and it causes all kinds of issue's. If you are up to it, give the carbs a good clean out and set the float hight.
You can bypass/remove that vacuum petcock all together with an 8mm inline fuel tap. The trick is to run the fuel tap from the reserve outlet of the tank. You block off the main outlet with a short piece of fuel hose with a plug in the end of it, or buy one of those blocked fuel line thingies. Then you simply run the outlet of the fuel tap directly to the carbs. You do lose the reserve function but you soon get used to watching your KM's on the trip meter and just fuel up after 150 to 200KM's.
No vacuum needed, just remember to turn the tap off when you park it up.
Thats my set up on my bike but apparently i'm not allowed to talk about my awesome bike. :icon_rolleyes:
Thanks mate, I'll keep that in mind if my current petcock fails too. I've put on one of my spares and it seems to be running a lot better. I also lowered the idle a bit which has fixed the hanging issue.
It's not that I don't completely see the potential in a GS, I have an R6 shock I'm planning to fit and if I didn't have another bike already I'd be fitting progressive springs, heavier fork oil, finding a fairing to put on it, probably making an exhaust from scratch, and a whole heap of other things besides. I just have too many projects at the moment and not enough time / $$$ :icon_sad:

I did fit the stock muffler and the bike has significantly more top end than before, and seems to run more smoothly.



My new chain and sprockets also arrived.



I'm just waiting on front pads and that, along with some wiring, should be all the bike needs to reliably see me through to 2019!

gregjet

Glad you did the chain and sprockets. It looked like it was just ridden and not overly maintained.
Pretty common with bikes like GS500's caus you can. They will play commuter with pretty much stuff all maintenance for a very long time, because they are low stress motor. I have seen a few. A good bit of clean and renew and you have one of the most reliable easy to live with bikes around ( OK maybe the carb float needle O ring is a pain).
That nature makes them brilliant for easy no fuss touring, especially as they were fitted with a tank that actually makes them viable for Aussie distances.
Have fun.

crackin

#17
Glad to hear you made some more power with the stock exhaust, that's great news. Although exhaust mods do nothing to this machine if you listen to some people. :2guns:
Is that an endless chain or does it have a joiner link? I can't believe how stretched that chain is. Stock GS's can't stretch chain's, can they? :dunno_black:
The bike looks way better with the stock baffle than it did with that trumpet.
If there is a bunning's store in bathurst, which i'm sure there is, you can get a rubber grommet from them that fits that side cover hole perfectly. :thumb:
Get some bar end mirrors and your good to go. Those mirrors give the bike and "Mickey mouse club" look. Get rid of em.
No matter what i do to it, it's still a GS
It's not how fast your bike is, it's how long you are prepared to hold the throttle on.

Beelzeboss

Quote from: gregjet on July 25, 2018, 12:49:49 AM
Glad you did the chain and sprockets. It looked like it was just ridden and not overly maintained.
Pretty common with bikes like GS500's caus you can. They will play commuter with pretty much stuff all maintenance for a very long time, because they are low stress motor. I have seen a few. A good bit of clean and renew and you have one of the most reliable easy to live with bikes around ( OK maybe the carb float needle O ring is a pain).
That nature makes them brilliant for easy no fuss touring, especially as they were fitted with a tank that actually makes them viable for Aussie distances.
Have fun.
Cheers mate, I'm really enjoying the fact that the bike just goes and goes without any real risk of being left stranded :D

Quote from: crackin on July 25, 2018, 04:26:36 AM
Glad to hear you made some more power with the stock exhaust, that's great news. Although exhaust mods do nothing to this machine if you listen to some people. :2guns:
Is that an endless chain or does it have a joiner link? I can't believe how stretched that chain is. Stock GS's can't stretch chain's, can they? :dunno_black:
The bike looks way better with the stock baffle than it did with that trumpet.
If there is a bunning's store in bathurst, which i'm sure there is, you can get a rubber grommet from them that fits that side cover hole perfectly. :thumb:
Get some bar end mirrors and your good to go. Those mirrors give the bike and "Mickey mouse club" look. Get rid of em.
Thanks mate, haha the standard exhaust is SO much better, that other one was choking it up so badly.
The new chain has a joiner, I've used them before :) the old one was just worn rather than stretched, I think. I tensioned it twice in one week and by the middle on the next week it was way out of spec again - definitely on it's last legs.
I'll pop into Bunnings and check out a plug, it's a bit disconcerting seeing that little bolt whirring round haha. Bar end mirrors are on the list but for the moment, being just my commuter/tourer, these mirrors offer pretty good visibility.

Yesterday I did some much needed maintenance on the bike - front brakes and chain



I just realised I didn't take any pics of changing the front rotor or pads... just imagine a fresh rotor and set of pads on the front wheel :P

Then I took the rear wheel off and busted the chain with a grinder.



While I had it all apart I also took the opportunity to fit an R6 rear shock which I have left over from a previous project



It's a triple adjustable unit with about a 10% increase in spring rate over the stock shock. Fits right in the stock location with a bit of fiddling.



New chain and sprockets were next





All done!



The R6 shock is noticeably stiffer but not uncomfortably so. It seems to have much better damping and I haven't played with any of the adjustments yet... I don't really know where to start so I'll probably check the default R6 settings and set it at that.

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