Reelthing wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:05:I bet on junk fuel (drain it and look for water seperation) or the slide is sticking - have you had the carb apart?
That too, is where I would start. You know the ignition is working so fuel is where to begin. Drain the bowl on a small jar and look. Then pull the bowl off. Begin checking jets and floats.
I've had the same GS500 in my garage twice this week. He had water, rust, paint chips and metal shavings in both petc0cks, in both bowls with one float valve plugged and the main jets were clogged. The first time it was here, I just cleaned the carbs. Ran good for a couple days.
The second time, I picked him up on the side of the road. He tried to drive it here. Then I had to drain his tank, remove and disassemble both petc0cks (they work in series), remove all jets and blow everything out.
Now, I've got a container with some nasty looking gas, a bunch of rust and some little "water balls" rolling around the bottom. If this doesn't fix it, he may have to seal the tank.
I did get a good long test ride on the 2004 GS500 though