Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hey guys,
Just picked up my first bike and I'm really happy! I bought a 2001 GS500 in the grayish blue color. Really, really excited about it. But I bought it knowing it has a few issues...

I think it needs a carb clean, which I'm going to attempt myself. Here's what it's doing:

If you turn the choke off all the way the idle drops so low that the bike sputters and dies. Giving it any significant amount of choke makes thing want to idle around 2-3k. If I let out the clutch a bit to bring the RPM down it'll idle around 1500, but after the bike is warm it just revvs back up every time. And when it gets hot (after a quick run at freeway speeds) it wants to idle at 5000 until I let it cool down!

Also not sure if this is normal for this bike, but pulling away from a stop sign I have to revv it to 4-5k before I slip the clutch and even then sometimes it'll bog down.

Think it's just dirty carbs? Or do I have a bigger problem on my hands?

Thanks!

id start with messing with ure mixture/idle screws first, and maybe run sum carb clean thru the intake (before you go and take the carbs apart). But definatly adjust ure idle screw first(if its not too hard to get to)

Try the idle speed screw first, then seafoam the carbs. If that doesn't fix things, the carbs will need to be broken down and cleaned.

I don't think there could be much else going on, although I would also check to make sure the intake boots are in good shape and properly seated.

Yeah it's probably just a carb clean. I can't think of what else it could be, the throttle cable seems to move smoothly, snaps closed again when I roll off. When it idles high it's not making any kind of power either, I can still kill it by letting the clutch in. It could just be that this guy has them tuned really poorly too...

is there a good formula for tuning the fuel/air mix? I ordered my clymers manual but haven't gotten it yet... any thoughts appreciated!