GS500F 2008 burning oil and trembling

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?

did you buy car oil?

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Originally Posted by matthew

did you buy car oil?

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Nope motorcycle oil. It was in the motorcycle section and it mentions motorcycle on it. The first oil change was at a friends place who had Shell Rotella.

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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Originally Posted by SLaP

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.

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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Originally Posted by Freak

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/2010/0...il-change.html

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

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Originally Posted by Freak

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.

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Originally Posted by Freak

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?