GS500 turns over but not starting

[Guest]

Hello,About two years ago, my 2004 Suzuki gs500f stopped starting after letting it sit for 3 weeks in the summer. Unfortunately, I was unable to do too much troubleshooting as I was in the process of moving. After moving a few times and having a newborn child, I was unable to do much with the bike.

I now have time to work on the bike. I purchased a new battery after my old one of 5+ years. I am able to get the bike to turn over (engine), but not start. I have come close once or twice, but only for a second or two. I sprayed some starter fluid in the spark plug to see if that helped, and it did not. I also replaced the spark plugs 2 years ago during my initial but limited troubleshooting.

While taking the bike apart a few days ago, I noticed a few things:-The tube going to the gas tank was broken off, and the opposite end towards the floor was clogged.-The gas had a yellow color to it-The airbreather was clogged(See photos below for more visuals)

Before I start replacing things, could my issue be the two clogs? Or could it be something else? Any advice would be immensely helpful.

Thank you.


EDIT: The tube that is blocked is not the same cable that is going to the gas tank. I just found this out. Have no idea where it goes.


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[eil]

I don't know what all the tubes are on that bike but if you have two-year-old gas in the tank, that'll do it.

So, troubleshooting is the process of elimination. You need spark, compression, and fuel. With those three things, the engine has to run.

Start with a good, well-charged battery and make sure you have spark on both cylinders. If you have a compression tester, this would be a good time to check compression as well.

If the carbs were sitting with fuel in them for the past two years, they likely need to be taken apart and cleaned thoroughly. There are guides for this on the net for pretty much every set of carbs ever made, but the process is generally the same on all carbs: disassemble completely, dunk everything except the gaskets and rubber bits in carb cleaner, clean all jets/ports with spray cleaner and fine wire, reassemble.

If you've done all of this and the engine still doesn't run, then you missed a step or found the only motorcycle ever made that doesn't obey the laws of physics.

Once you get the engine running, strongly consider getting the bike caught up on all of its regular maintenance as well before being tempted to ride it: fluids, valve clearance, chain lube, tires, etc. I find that putting these items off makes me more likely to let the bike sit longer than it should.