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GS500 problems

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 7:40 am
by TKDean
I v been riding my gs500 more and more. yesterday it started to stall on me. its weired, when im on my primary fuel source ill go to about 5000rpm disengage the clutch to up shift and the engine just dies. this doesn't happen when on my reserve fuel. and yes i do have fuel in my primary. Any ideas on what this can be? It also has a hard time coasting at idle. if i release the clutch in 1st it wont ride smoothly it'll jerk. This happens regardless of fuel source.

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 8:34 pm
by BlackTalon
If you have a Suzi GS 500, there´s a great place to talk to other riders and ask for advice if you run into a problem:

www.gstwins.com

lovely bike, I ride on myself. Good luck.

P.S: sounds like you have a problem with the automatic fuel petcock. The vacuum membrane hardens over the years and doesn´t let enough fuel through at high rpm, a problem older GSs are notorious for.

P.P.S.: By "primary" I assume you mean the "PRI" position on the petcock. PRI doesn´t mean primary, it means "prime". The petcock is vacuum operated and shuts down the fuel flow when the engine isn´t running so your engine doesn´t get flooded if the needle valves in your carburettor don´t function properly.

The problem with this is that if you run your float chambers dry, you can´t start the engine again which means you can´t generate the vacuum to flood the chambers again to start the engine. A vicious circle, so to speak. That´s what the PRI position is for, it circumvents the automatic lock and lets fuel through even with the engine standing still.

Never leave the petcock in PRI if the engine isn´t running !!!!

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 4:11 am
by TKDean
Thanks for the advice but i didnt mean the prime. i meant the on position. it stalls in the on position but runs fine in the reserve.

Thanks though and i did just sign up at gstwins thanks.

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:12 am
by Johnj
So it sounds like your petcock is messed up. You should be able to get a rebuild kit or just buy a new one.

Image

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:16 am
by TKDean
How much does that usually cost?

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:25 am
by BlackTalon
Ok, I misunterstood you, that changes matters a bit. Sounds like a clogged up line or something, then. I´d take the petcock apart first and see if you can detect any obvious problems.

Buying a new one isn´t going to be cheap, I´m afraid....triple digit zone, I´d guess...ebay is a good source for parts, the GS has been around for years and years, people are constantly selling parts from wrecked bikes.

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:14 am
by Johnj
I have no idea...try looking it up at bikebandit.com or Google.

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:34 am
by TKDean
all right thanx for all your help guys.