GS500F 2008 burning oil and trembling | GTAMotorcycle.com

GS500F 2008 burning oil and trembling

Freak

Freak

Well-known member
Just got my bike a month back. Changed the oil to Synthetic, changed the oil filter as well. Changed the air filter to a K&N. Changed front and rear brakes. The back tire is almost bald, Will be putting a new one this week. At approximately 940 Km the engine was showing almost empty on oil. I bought a Mobil1 off Canadian tire 19$ and put in 600ML. Just waiting to see if it happens again. Any idea why would it be burning oil? Would a thicker oil Help? It says 10W 40 on the oil Cap.

Also on the highway, any time I go above 110 it starts to tremble. MaX speed is 200, i dont see why a 500cc would act like this, I can imagine it trembling at 180Km/h but at 110....:(. Also the 5th gear maxes out at 90Km, is this normal?

Thinking of taking it to the mechanic. Any idea what could that be?
 
Were you checking the oil level through the sight glass while the bike was upright (not on side stand), turned off and sitting for at least ten minutes?

When you did the oil change originally, how much oil did you fill it with?
 
SLaP said:
Were you checking the oil level through the sight glass while the bike was upright (not on side stand), turned off and sitting for at least ten minutes?

When you did the oil change originally, how much oil did you fill it with?
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No i wasnt checking the oil level(stupid of me i know). I checked the oil level on double stand, when it was off and not running. i already made the mistake of checking it on a side stand and ended up over filling it before i changed to synthetic. My friend filled it up who is a previous owner of GS500F as well, i didn't check it then. But as far as i can remember he filled it to F and showed it to me. I did the oil 3 weeks back i think and drove 940Km after that. Felt the bike was a bit rough, ended up checking the oil stick to see how the oil is doing and Damn!, it was almost empty.

Also i didnt know the bike cant be put into gear until the side stand is removed :rolleyes:. OMG was i freaked out.
 
and when you checked the oil and noticed it was almost empty, was the engine running?
 
gs500s have oil dipsticks, not sight glasses. There's lots of little things that could be the problem. Do the easy stuff first.

--Check oil on the centrestand after the bike has been off for a few minutes (wipe the dipstick first, put it back in without screwing it down--check the manual to be sure).

--Check tire pressure.

--Are front/back axle nuts tightened?

--Are the handlebars loose? What about the steering head?

--Are the sprockets aftermarket? Is the chain properly tightened/slack?

A gs500 with stock suspension starts getting a bit vague over 110 km/h. The engine is old tech and really starts to vibrate abover 120 km/h, IIRC.

Get a service manual and register at GSTwins.com. The forums there know them inside and out. Unless it's been changed, you can put the bike in gear on the centrestand, just put the sidestand up AND BE CAREFUL. Suzuki may have added a centrestand switch after 2002 to prevent this.
 
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You sure it's burning oil ? Are you getting blueish smoke out the pipes ? If you're going through a couple of litres of oil in 940 km - you would look like a crop duster, going down the road. Maybe didn't get the sump full, on initial oil change ? As for why it's burning oil (if it is) - worn rings, or worn valve guides. How many kms on this bike ? Generally, if it's rings, it smokes more on hard acceleration - if it's guides, it smokes on decel. A thicker oil may make a slight difference, but if you 're going through as much oil as you indicate, you'd need a 90W gear oil to make any difference and you don't want to do that.
Trembling ? Kind of a crap shoot, without riding it - tire balance ? - sloppy forks ? - some part of your suspension getting loose ? You're right - it should get well above 110 and stay smooth.
5th gear maxing out at 90 kph isn't normal. Are the rpms still climbing when this happens ? If so, it's your clutch.
Good luck getting it sorted.
 
Freak said:
My friend filled it up who is a previous owner of GS500F as well, i didn't check it then. But as far as i can remember he filled it to F and showed it to me. I did the oil 3 weeks back i think and drove 940Km after that. Felt the bike was a bit rough, ended up checking the oil stick to see how the oil is doing and Damn!, it was almost empty.
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Was the bike on the center stand (double stand), off for 10 minutes, when your friend checked the oil level and also when you checked it again.

Do it yourself. That way you know for sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0qaR37f00w

http://www.everydayriding.org/2010/05/gs500-oil-change.html

http://www.gstwin.com/oil_change.htm

Freak said:
Also i didnt know the bike cant be put into gear until the side stand is removed :rolleyes:. OMG was i freaked out.
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It happens :)
 
Oil - If it's burning a significant amount of oil, you'll be able to smell it and see it in the exhaust. Also check the ends of the exhaust... a light soot is normal, but if it's a greasy black soot then that's another indication it could be burning oil.

Tremble - I know it's hard to tell, but if it's more of a vertical shaking it could mean that your wheels are out of balance. If it's more of a side to side tremble then check the steering bearings. Put it up on it's centre stand and check the front steering head for play.
 
Freak said:
Also on the highway, any time I go above 110 it starts to tremble. MaX speed is 200, i dont see why a 500cc would act like this, I can imagine it trembling at 180Km/h but at 110....:(. Also the 5th gear maxes out at 90Km, is this normal?
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Get your friend (who had the GS) to ride it, see what he thinks before bringing it to a mechanic. Perhaps it's just you being new?
 
The GS is a notorious oil burner... I remember reading that Suzuki says anything up to 1 litre/2000km is acceptable. You said 940km on the engine? T.O cycle told me to wait until my engine was a bit more worn in (I had 5000km on it at the time) before I made the switch to synthetic. I don't know if that's a truth or not though

I haven't read all the posts, so sorry if I repeat some stuff here.
- How do you check your oil? the "proper" way is to be sitting on the bike, on level ground, holding it straight up with your legs. You shouldn't check it when it's on the centre or side stand
- Did you take into account that you switched your oil filter when you filled it up after the change?
- You said you put a K&N air filter on it.. did it come with a restricter? If it didn't, you'd need a rejet, and would currently be running pretty lean, which might account for it's odd behaviour

If you'd like me to take it for a spin, or look it over, just give me a shout
 
tricky is right, you can also read about GS500 oil burning on GStwin forums. On my '06 I used to add about 500mL (semi-synthetic) every 2000km or so.
 
matthew said:
and when you checked the oil and noticed it was almost empty, was the engine running?
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Nope, standing still for 10 hrs. I got off work and just thought i should check the oil( I should do it more often).
 
I've taken my GS500F up to 195km/hr and it didn't tremble at all.

As for burning oil, mine is doing the same... it's just how they are. I put a 20w50 oil in (as per suggested by many GS500F owners and GSTwin, if its burning too much oil) which seems to have helped.

As for 5th gear, it should go way over 90km/hr. It should max out way over the speed limit. Does 6th gear max out short also?
 
Doug Tait said:
You sure it's burning oil ? Are you getting blueish smoke out the pipes ? If you're going through a couple of litres of oil in 940 km - you would look like a crop duster, going down the road. Maybe didn't get the sump full, on initial oil change ? As for why it's burning oil (if it is) - worn rings, or worn valve guides. How many kms on this bike ? Generally, if it's rings, it smokes more on hard acceleration - if it's guides, it smokes on decel. A thicker oil may make a slight difference, but if you 're going through as much oil as you indicate, you'd need a 90W gear oil to make any difference and you don't want to do that.
Trembling ? Kind of a crap shoot, without riding it - tire balance ? - sloppy forks ? - some part of your suspension getting loose ? You're right - it should get well above 110 and stay smooth.
5th gear maxing out at 90 kph isn't normal. Are the rpms still climbing when this happens ? If so, it's your clutch.
Good luck getting it sorted.
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The bike has approx 24000Km on it now. I changed the oil to synthetic at 22903KM and put 950Km(23853KM) on it after i changed it from regular oil. Also I dont take it above 6000RPM. 6000RPM on 5thgear seems pretty high to me guessing from the rumble it produces, i usually change gear btw 4000-5000 RPM. on the 6th gear at 6000RPM it goes 120Km/H.
 
Sabex said:
I've taken my GS500F up to 195km/hr and it didn't tremble at all.

As for burning oil, mine is doing the same... it's just how they are. I put a 20w50 oil in (as per suggested by many GS500F owners and GSTwin, if its burning too much oil) which seems to have helped.

As for 5th gear, it should go way over 90km/hr. It should max out way over the speed limit. Does 6th gear max out short also?
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The max i did was 165Km/h on my way to Scarborough from Whitby. Buddy you need to check my bike out before i spend a fortune on it.
 
I was the one who changed the oil. I think it may be due to not topping it up after the oil +filter change. I filled it up to "F" and left it as is after starting the bike. I'm sure a good portion of that oil goes into the filter mechanism. It's something like 1/2 a L that would run through it so it would seem as if there isn't as much oil as originally filled.
 
People, if you're so 'adventurous' and start doing something to your bike, at least download the SERVICE MANUAL for your bike.

GS500:
Oil Change: 2.6L
Oil Change + Filter: 2.9L
Overhaul Engine: 3.2L
 
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