Top 10 Newbie Mistakes

Nice thread. I picked up my bike and did a full 12 k mile service plus sealed air box and new filter but I still have a lot of work to do. Thats ok that is why I bought the bike to learn some thing and enjoy. Thanks Gs resource dudes and gals.

[Charlie G]

So what's with the petcock and #2 cylinder plug-fouling correlation?

Vacum is drawn off the #2 carb. Sometimes when the petcock takes a dump, fuel flows back into this vac port in the carb, into the cylinder and even into the crankcase.

cg

One of the most common tech calls we get is in regards to carburetion because the bike runs like pooh.

Invariably, John Q. Caller has NOT checked his ignition system to determine it's overall health. And when asked if his valves are within spec we typically get the "yup, they seem pretty good" for an answer.

I suspect I can direct them to this thread a thousand times and they'll still go chasing after carburetor ghosts.

MAKE SURE YOUR IGNITION AND VALVE TRAIN ARE HEALTHY BEFORE CHASING CARBURETOR ISSUES!!!!

So what's with the petcock and #2 cylinder plug-fouling correlation?

[GSXR7ED]

Number 10

Oh god I love this thread. I laugh the entire time I'm reading it... and cry at the same time. Lol I'm pretty much guilty of every single newbie mistakes except #10. I bought my GS because I knew I'd have to fix it. I did cave twice though and took it to a shop, one for a tire change and one for a valve adjustment because working on my engine scared me. silly.

REFERENCE:
10) Buying a 30 year old motorcycle because it was cheap without any mechanical knowledge and no interest in learning. Paying a shop to work on your 30 year old motorcycle is not advised unless you have lots of money to spend and know for a fact that they are trustworthy.



Looking back, I considered an older bike because I was interested in doing a rebuild. Not knowing about GSR, things looked as though I was going to rely on the "Bike Shop". Well, I'm fortunate in that I was able to get the following done without paying 2Xs what my bike was worth:


Carbs-Installed by shop
Inlet hoses-Installed by shop
Compression Test-Done by shop
Brake pedal-Installed by shop
Clutch Cable-Adjustment/cotter pin installed by shop
Front turn Indicators-($20EA)-ordered/installed by shop
1 Air Filter-($10) ordered/installed by shop
Tightened/secured air cleaner case cover-by shop
Tightened instrumentation panels (speedo/tach)-by shop
Replace 1 bolt; right side exhaust bracket and 1 screw for right side CAM cover-by shop
Tank and seat-Install by shop

All in all I spent about $1K CASH for: 1.) the Bike, 2.) Annual Insurance, and 3.) Maintenance Repair. With the 2-yr registration and DE tax, add $80. My goal was to get it roadworthy and start enjoying the bike. Since I have the bike at home now, I can do the maintenance myself utilizing BassCliff's Website.







Ed

my newbie mistake

sloppy clutch lever, poor contact at the interlock inductor. My first road test was today 2-20-13!

Oh god I love this thread. I laugh the entire time I'm reading it... and cry at the same time. Lol I'm pretty much guilty of every single newbie mistakes except #10. I bought my GS because I knew I'd have to fix it. I did cave twice though and took it to a shop, one for a tire change and one for a valve adjustment because working on my engine scared me. silly.

[GSXR7ED]

Thread in my statistics...so I can reference it. #10 stuck out at me for some reason. Probably because I wanted a cash-only bike purchase and I know just enough to get acquainted with the task at hand.



Ed

Ha! I broke one of my float posts before I bought a proper punch. luckily the Suzuki shop near me had a whole mess load of Mikuni's in the attic. Was able to get a carb body for $18

[pete]

Ha! You think you got it bad? How do you think I learned this stuff! If you ain't failing, you ain't trying.

It's only a "mistake" if you something wrong twice.

Well said Ed! I'm still learning...

[Nessism]

I'm definitely guilty of all the original 10 and subsequent.

Sorry

I might be on the tail end of this one, but if I could add one:

Thinking you know how an engine & electrical system works when you don't.

I am definitely guilty but glad to learn!

I apologize for my newbfulness!

Ha! You think you got it bad? How do you think I learned this stuff! If you ain't failing, you ain't trying.

It's only a "mistake" if you something wrong twice.

I'm definitely guilty of all the original 10 and subsequent.

Sorry

I might be on the tail end of this one, but if I could add one:

Thinking you know how an engine & electrical system works when you don't.

I am definitely guilty but glad to learn!

I apologize for my newbfulness!

[tkent02]

20-50 might be better in the hot weather, but 10-40 is good enough. Two valve GSes don't have lubrication problems with any weight of oil, unless there is a problem. (See Spyug)

I ran the **** out of my 550 in SC, all of my friends had bigger bikes, it was summer some of the time, and I used 10-40 because I didn't know jack about oil back then. Years later at 120,000 miles we rebuilt the top end because it leaked so bad, but all of the mechanical parts were still within service limits.

Car oil now days is missing some of the special ingredients that Rotella or motorcycle oils have, but it probably won't hurt for one oil change, especially if you don't leave it in there forever.

Many prefer Rotella T 15W - 40. Heavy enough for warm weather, light enough for cold, at least where you live. Diesel compatible, no Energy Saving stuff, high shear strength (for the tranny gears). Dino oil, so not as expensive as synthetics.

10-40, alright. What if I told you I lived in SC, and it is about to be summer, when temperatures are usually ~95 F and humidity is really high as well. I know ambient temperature can help determined which grade of oil to use. I used to use 10-30 in winter and 10-40 in summer, or maybe the other way around hehe. Do you know which is more suited to high temp?

and what about this:

8) Using the wrong oil and/or gasoline. Auto oils have less zinc and phosphorus (high pressure additives) than they used to since the EPA has mandated reductions to protect catalytic converters. Motorcycle oils are fine but expensive, and even motorcycle oil has reduced additives these days. Diesel engine oil is cheap and contains lots of high pressure additives appropriate for our engines. Shell Rotella oil is even certified for use with wet clutches if that makes you more comfortable, although just about any diesel oil is fine. As for fuel, Suzuki calls for use of Regular gas. Using Premium provides no positive benefits for your bike and is more expensive.

should I use shell rotella diesel then?

[tkent02]

Rotella in every bike and every car I own, it is good stuff.

Your 10-40 car oil will be fine if it doesn't have the energy conserving label on the jug.

That stuff makes the clutch slip.