Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hi,

This is my first post on this great forum and unfortunately I start with troubleshooting. I got my 2001 GS500 with 300 miles on it couple weeks ago and it was running great. Yesterday I started the bike as usual with choke help, let it run a minute, but as soon as I un-choke the bike stopped. Now the bike starts with choke only. Another strange thing - when the bike runs (with choke ON) and I start using throttle it stops… I’m going to bring the bike to dealer, but I’ll be appreciated if somebody has any input.

Thanks!

It sounds like it's not getting gas to the carbs. I would check to see if you are getting gas from the petcock first. You can do that by pulling a hose from the bottom of the petcock and see if gas flows. If there is an inline filter, check that to see if it is clogged. When a bike only wants to run when on choke, that indicates it is running lean and not getting enough gas. Is it possible you picked up some water when you re-fueled ? Also make sure you have gas in the bike, that may sound stupid, but if it is low on gas, the reserve may not be working. Keep in mind that some bikes are just naturally cold blooded and a cold start usually needs choke followed by a good warm up session. XS

You've probably got some goop in your carbs idle circuits if it only idles with the choke on. That would indicate that the idle circuit isn't delivering enough fuel to keep the bike idling without the enrichening circuit (choke).

An indicator that this might be the problem is that you have a 2001 bike with 300 miles on it. Unless you bought it new out of the crate, it seems likely that someone may have left it sitting for a long time, allowing the gas to deteriorate and gum up the carbs.

The antidote for this is usually a very thorough cleaning of the carbs.

yeah man those carbs will be in bad shape. you can disconnect your fuel line from the tank and run a concentrated carb cleaner or fuel stabliiser through then and see how it is

Guys,
Thank you for response. The bike was running great for couple weeks, but I was not using it in the past 2 weeks. I stopped by the local dealer today and they told me the same thing - carbs problem (bad gas or water).

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!!!!