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My bike called for 500 miles...not every 500, but after the first 500. When I opened it up, I found the valves were not well adjusted. I think it is a cost-cutting measure at the factory. They rough them in and count on the service dept to set them properly on the customer's dime. Of course, there is probably some wear as well... but the amount of error I found couldn't all be wear.

As for the ex500... did all of this happen right after you switched to reserve?

The way reserve works on those tanks is that there are two drain points, one at about the lowest point the manufacturer could manage, and the normal one an inch or so higher. If the previous owner always kept the tank full and never switched to reserve, stuff may have collected in the "reserve" part of the tank. It isn't a problem until you need the reserve... at which point that stuff gets sucked into the engine.

A lot of that "stuff" is water (which is heavier than gasoline)... it can be from condensation, it can be from the gas pump, or it can be rain or wash water leaking in.

It is a good idea to switch to reserve for 20 miles or so every time you fill the tank. That drains off the nasty stuff while there is only a little bit of it that the engine can pass without problem. Just remember to switch it back.

Hrm, that could be it.

Also, another question. The previous owner tried to..."re-cream" the interior of the tank to keep it rust free. Apparently he ended up in coating the entire interior of the tank with a purple looking substance which appears to not want to come off at all. Think that could have caused some problems in the fuel lines as well?

It looks...nasty to say the least. But it didn't look like it would flake off and go through the engine. I could be wrong though...

That stuff is sloshing compound intended to seal the inside of the tank, almost like painting the inside... if it was done right it can look ugly but good. If it wasn't done right it could be peeling up and getting into the carbs.

It is evidence that the tank may have been rusting... which is evidence that it may have been collecting water for one of the reasons I mentioned. and when you switched to reserve you sucked that water down.

You can remove all guesswork about what lies in the hidden recesses of a fuel tank with an inexpensive product called Kolor-Cut. Marinas can probably be a good source or a yacht supplier. Comes in a tube and the product looks a bit like oily peanut butter. Put a little on the end of a thin stick, coat hanger or straw and probe the lower portion of the gas tank. If there is ANY water present the product will turn a bright scarlet red. Gas stations that have good standards will regularly use this product when they "dip" their underground storage tanks. This stuff will give you an absolute "yes" or "no" with regard to the presence of water.