macjaffa

Just to add...I've seen people describe the chain measurement in two ways.  One is taking it from where it sits naturally, pushing up and then measuring....that is the measurement.  The other is to push it down, measure, then push it right up and measure...and THAT is the distance (the aimed for inch).  I did the first...so....that would mean my chain tension is okay, would it not?   In which case...I can leave the adjuster as is...at the moment.

Aaaah, 

I left the stupid wheel lock on (it's not stupid, I am)...and bent the bolt on my chain adjuster.

I am looking for a replacement, although the part is apparently discontinued...but I have some second hand on eBay I could grab...after Christmas ....a few questions:

1)   The part looks the same as in the earlier GS 500's...is it actually the same as the earlier GS?

2). My chain is too tight.  On the sidestand it has about .5/.7 inches of play (if I push it up from the middle).  While waiting for the part...I've had the bike three months...I assume it has always been a bit too tight, but I didn't realise.  Still...now I know...is it okay to ride?  Because...

3). Until I replace the part in the pic...I can't loosen the chain.  I believe that to loosen the chain I need to turn the nut anti-clockwise..  I might get half a turn out of this bolt...do you think I should?  Would the bolt snap?

4). I take it I have to completely remove the back wheel to replace this part?

As always...thank you for any help.  

12 hours ago, Pie man said:

Don't worry, I've been riding constantly for over 35yrs (and still know nowt) I currently ride a KTM. I'm scared to take my earplugs out, god only know what I'll hear.  

haha...like putting glasses on half way through a date.   Ignorance is bliss  

Thank you.  Everyone here has been very reassuring.

3 hours ago, iangaryprice said:

I can't hear anything to be worried about. I have a GSX600F sometimes in low speed stop/start I get what appears to be "clutch chatter", doesn't seem to ba an actual fault with my bike, I just learnt to avoid the revs/gear/clutch use that causes it.

Thank you!  I have to acknowledge that after jumping on the bike recently, after 10 years away (and was not very experienced then) I am still learning.  That I should work on better use of the machine, rather than think there's something wrong, is a good point.

27 minutes ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

I can't hear anything there that sounds odd.

No?  That's good.  I am quite happy to accept that I am overly listening and being "Aaaaah" about every little noise.  Thank you...you're very attentive to noobs in the pitstop area...is very appreciated!  

Hiya, 

Can anyone reassure me about this noise?  I don't hear it all the time, and I may just be getting a little paranoid about every whir, clunk, band and shimmy...but...3.5 seconds in and you'll hear it.  My chain tension is bang on an inch (pushing up from the middle, when on sidestand).  The clunk (after the whir in the video) may have been me changing gear -which would make sense as I was slowing- but the whir sound makes go "Wha?"

Or am I needing to chill out?

Thanks!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cLnslYLTkE3pl3DoCe0BFyqnPT8A2AEY/view?usp=sharing

Hi, soo...update....end of term came and I was finally able to get another look.  Thank you for your help.  I borrowed a battery charger and it roared into life...it seems that it was sitting for a long while, with start ups now and again, and no running time.  

However, you are correct...the oil overfill was a lot....it was rectified without too much riding, but I do think I need to go and check all that you mentioned...and clean the air filter.  There are just knocks, whirrs and shimmies that I am hearing...but maybe I'm being paranoid.  

I took a test ride today, with my go pro on...there's a little clip that caught a sound that worried me...I should start another thread, perhaps...but...at 3.5 seconds you'll hear a whir and clunk...and then again after.  I don't think the clunk is me changing gear...may have been...but the whir?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cLnslYLTkE3pl3DoCe0BFyqnPT8A2AEY/view?usp=sharing

Thanks!  I'll check that...I have some "How to" vids on getting to that, so I'll have a crack. 

Thank you!

AAAARGH.

So, my 2004 Suzuki GS500f is not starting.  As I was sorting my front sprocket/circlip situation, it has only used for a little 5 mile ride around town in about a three week period and so I expected it to struggle to start a bit last Sunday, when it had not been started for a week.   It has been another week to today.  The ignition switch is turning the engine, there is power and sometimes it starts up for a second and then shuts off.  The battery was draining because of the attempts, but I don't think that was the actual issue.  I hooked it up to the car (car was turned off) and it would occasionally start up and shut off.

I thought it would be good to change the spark plugs.  When removed, I saw they were black, which is apparently not a good sign....eeek.  This didn't fix the problem; IF it starts up, it immediately shuts off.  

I know that I overfilled the oil at one point (weeks ago) and did do a little riding...then I realised what I'd done and emptied the oil back to a good level.  However, I'm wondering if I've caused an issue and this is the outcome?  I've read that there can be froth in the air filter and I'm wondering if this leak (shown in pics) is a related issue?  Would this cause a switch on and shut off situation?

The oil overfill has not presented a problem at the time or since...but the bike has been unused for a few weeks.

Any ideas or guidance are really appreciated.  I'm no mechanic!

Thanks!

Hi, 

Sorry for no update or reply...has been so crazy....

I meant 50,000 on the clock, btw, sorry.

I replaced the circlip and it seems snug...it was tighter than the one that fell out, so I don't know if it was just worn but the new one seems better.  I took a ride into town and back and it all seemed fine...no click or clunk!  I planned to ride it around town for a few miles and then to take the case off and inspect, just to make sure it's all okay...the chain looks okay even after having locked the wheel.  I think. Eeek.

And yes, the chain did look dry...I have a scottoiler on there but wonder if that's not doing its job?

The bike now won't start...but I'll start another thread for that...but thank you for all the help and thoughts!

Thanks to both of you...

...so, I will go and take the casing off and have another look, haha, getting faster at it now!  If I recall, the sprocket would fit quite tightly onto the splines -I had to get it really nicely aligned for it to slide on...and then it seemed to do so like a nice 'click' into place; it wouldn't rotate.  However, the sprocket can be easily pulled off and has a little bit of side to side wobble -if I hold either side and push back and forth.  I have read that this is normal, for chain fluctuation?  And the mech guy said it should have a bit of play.  As for the circlip...that is weak and can just be pulled off.

So, perhaps it was just the circlip had become weak, dislodged and fell off...the sprocket has been wobbling and nudging the clutch...and eventually fallen off. 

So, if the splines seem solid and a sprocket and circlip replacement makes it all seem fine...am I not supposed to change the chain (and rear sprocket) with the front sprocket?  The chain experiencing a complete lock and jam up may have been messed up...although on visual inspection it looks okay. 

This is an old GS500f with 250,000 on the clock...for use until next summer-ish.  But I'd like to live until the summer.  Safety is main thing.

Thanks

Hi, 

I'm so sorry for not replying...has been such a horribly busy time...bike problems and a car MOT failure in the same week...and I almost died.  

So, the oil overfill was taken care of...I didn't ride again until I got hold of a syringe to drain some out...it wasn't that much, it was okay...but lesson learned there.  Sorry Mississippi, yes it was motorcycle specific oil. 

Regarding the click from the clutch... ...

A local who helps out with bikes told me it may well be a broken tooth on the sprocket or perhaps something got in -some debris from the road- and just needs to be taken out.  So, I took gear shifter off, took off the casing and peeked inside at the front sprocket...the idea being that something could be caught there and be pulling on the clutch mechanism...and a little round thing fell out.  Like a round paperclip.  Being a donut (noobs be killin' themselves), I didn't think that little round thing looked like it belonged and assumed that was the debris from the road.  

I sent a photo of the sprocket and the round thing to the 'advice guy'...saying I figured that was the debris...also that I noticed the front sprocket can have a little wobble.  I was told the sprocket should have a bit of movement.  What wasn't said, however, was that the little round thing was not debris from the road...it is a little clip that holds the sprocket on.  I didn't connect it in my head (noob)...I gave my (incorrect) assumptions to a mechanic...and got a thumbs up.  It's not his fault...it was free text advice, bless him.....but....

....I'm just about to join the motorway, doing about 15mph as I had slowed for traffic lights ...and BANG....the chain locks, the wheel seizes and I'm almost going over the handlebars.  

I honestly feel so lucky that I hadn't made it 200 feet ahead where I would have accelerated onto the motorway.  

The AA guy made a makeshift clip out of twisted wire and followed me as I rode slowly home.  

What had happened was that the clip had come off and the sprocket was on a slant or wobble...rubbing against the clutch mechanism....exactly the right theory but that it wasn't debris from the road, it was the sprocket clip. 

I now need a sprocket and chain set.  But, this is only worth doing if the output shaft is okay...

Does this look okay?  Any thoughts? 

Thanks.  

Hi, and thanks for the reply. 

It's semi 10 - 40, which is recommended.  But yes, I think it definitely has too much oil in it...it's clearly over the line.  

In that instance, I believe I should drain some oil, clean out the air filter....and maybe change the spark plugs?  They may have oil on the tips now?  

After looking at a picture of the front sprocket, where the clutch cable goes into the engine, I did wonder if there's something caught (perhaps in the chain..I've looked but can't see all of it) and intermittently tugging at the cable...is this a possibility?  It feels like a tug on the lever. Or is this a noob thought?

As for the clutch oil, I'll look into getting some, thanks. 

Hi everyone!

I hope you can help, please.  I'm back on the bike after 10 years in a car...and on a 2004 Suzuki GS500f.  It's quite high mileage (about to go to 50,000), but it was well looked after by the PO and I needed a 'back to biking' bike and a cheap commute.  He replaced the clutch cable just 500 miles ago. 

However, the first time I checked the oil since having the bike, it was pretty much out and dry...I know...my bad, I should have checked as soon as I got it.  I put more oil in (semi, 10-40) and I do know that I've put a little too much in...but I now wonder if I should have drained some out.

Yesterday I went to ride and the clutch felt odd....as I start riding there is a click coming from down in the bike and I feel it through the clutch lever...I'm pretty sure it's actually moving the lever too.  I can clunk a few gear changes, but it's all uncomfortable and I just circled around the block and parked up. 

I did wonder if someone knocked the bike over as I'm sure the clutch lever wasn't a bit bent, as it is now, but I don't know if I'm making that up and imagining it.  No other signs of a drop.

Any ideas what this is, please?  When finding out what oil to put in, I did read somewhere that putting too much in can be detrimental...I honestly thought I'd lose some  anyway and have checked it regularly...not lost any.  Is it just too much in the clutch system?  Can I undo the drain plug and let some out and do it back up again?  

Thanks for any thoughts.