Ok I've about had enough of this bike!!! 94 500R engine is LOUD I understand that these motors are louder than most but thisthing sounds like its going to throw the piston out of top. Dealer says its normal. HAHHAHAHA Ok so he's my new problem drove the bike over to a friends house and adjusted the valves. Rode bike home about 10 miles no problems. Got up to go to work next day bike wont stay running with out the choke on and is running like crap no power. Book says could be valves, head gasket, carbs,and I forget what else. Why if it was running fine would it over night mess up? Oh and who said these bikes were easy to work on? HA I love the bike when its running but I for see a Honda in my future if this keeps up.

 

It's a 94 it's going to have some problems. And did you check your idle screw??? turn it all the way in and then 1.5 turns out (i think)

If its not this then you problably adjusted the valves wrong if it idle'd fine before.

 

Technically, you can only call a bike a 'lemon' if you buy it NEW, and have problems with it. You can't necessarily say that about a 14-year-old bike that has probably been ridden by and worked on by guys who didn't know what they were doing, (who consequently went on to get Hondas after this bike.)
So you adjusted the valves...
~Are you certain you set the clearances correctly? Some common mistakes made by internet blow-hards are setting the clearances using the STANDARD (SAE) feeler gauges instead of the METRIC feeler gauges. This can make an engine noisy as you describe.
~Are you certain you set all four INTAKE valves to the INTAKE clearances and all EXHAUST valves to the EXHAUST clearances. Don't laugh, a trained, professional mechanic made this mistake on my father's Concours once. This his beloved Concours was simply wearing out, my father was planning on selling that bike after I'd finished; but after I'd adjusted his valves correctly, he said it felt like a new bike and he subsequently got another 30,000 miles on it.
~Did you synchronize the carburetors correctly? An imbalance here can make the bike run poorly and even make it fail to idle correctly.

I'd take the bike to a dealership and let them listen to it, re-adjust the valves if they feel it's necessary, ask them to synchronize the carbs, and ask them if you can listen to a newer 500 running.

I dare you to buy a 14 year old Honda, let someone (who doesn't know what they're doing) make adjustments to it, then complain on a Honda forum, while threatening that there's a Yamaha in your future if they can't figure out what the problem is based on your minimalist description, when the whole thing is probably due to your own error.

Good luck, however it works out, whatever bike you end up buying.
Peace!
-CCinC

 

Checked the valves AGAIN lastnight they are right. I have taken it to the dealer to let them listen to it. They are the ones who said it was normal. I asked to hear a new 500 run they refused which I thought was alittle odd. I have had 3 other HONDAs with very little problems and I found they are much easer to work on if you have to. I will drag it up to the dealer today to have the carbs checked as I dont have the proper tool to do this. But I dont think they are the problem since it was running fine and no adjustments were made to them. Not really knocking Kawasaki but, for the year I have owned this one it has been nothing but one problem after anouther. I know its a old, used bike but come on. For the time and money I have dumped in this one I could have gotten a new one. Which is what I probly should have done.

 

Yeah, it sounds like it.
I once owned a HONDA Superhawk which is a fun bike, fast bike and a beautiful bike, but also a disposabike. After 47,000 miles and meticulous miles, both cylinders had worn egg shaped and all compression was lost.
I'd probably buy a Guzzi or even a Buell before I'd buy another Honda.
-CCinC

 

you dont have a screwdriver and an allen wrench? its not very hard to get the carbs out, and a

it wont stay running without the choke? my money would be on clogged pilot jet in the carbs. when you put the fuel line back on the petcock, its very possible that a piece of rubber gets sheared off and gets into the carbs. it sometimes gets lodged into the float valve, but its possible that it can get in anywhere.

id clean the carbs, and make sure that you can see light through the pilot jets. also backflush the fuel line from the float valves and see if anything comes out of there.

also, kinda shady they wouldnt start a new one for you.. whats that all about? if i were you, id go back and pretend i want to buy another brand new one, and try to get them to start it that way.

2.5 IMO

 

Thanks for the replay dragknee. I dont have the merc. thing to sync the carbs. I droped it off at the dealer today I just dont have the time or effert to put in this bike anymore. Summer is here and I'll probly be spending most of my free time on the water now anyway.

 

for future reference, you can make one with some snapple bottles and clear tubing. id think if you didnt really mess with the sync screw, and didnt take the carbs off the rack, just took the float bowls off, they should be in the same sync they were before.

also, a quick way to check them on the bench, not perfect, but gets em close, is to check the throttle openings with a feeler gauge.

 

Turned out to be a bad coil. Good news is it didnt cost me anything as they droped my bike and put a small crack in the front fairing.YAY!!!!! Hopfully no more problems out of this thing and I can make it though the rest of the year then upgrade. Thanks for the help Dragknee.