questions on an 83 gs750e

[Anonymous]

:roll: few questions for an 83 gs750e

here goes, i dug the bike out of a few years of storage, cleaned the carbs and stuff but she still seems a bit sluggish any ideas?
next
what should the spark plug gap be?
next
what settings should i set the rear swing arm for normal city riding and occasional rips down the back roads?
next
what is the story of the front forks? is there a sitting for them?
how do i fix one of the posts on the side covers that broke off?
i am new to this bike and absolutely love it so far. also, i was told i can find free service manuals online. anyone know where?

[Billy Ricks]

Plug gap should be.024-.028 inches. Suspension wise forget anything the manual might tell you about set-up. Instead put the bike on its centerstand. At the rear with the wheel off the ground measure the distance from the axle center to a point straight up on the frame somewhere. Then put the bike on the ground with your weight on it. Measure that distance again. The difference in the two measurements is called sag. For a soft ride shoot for about 1.5 inches of sag. For aggresive riding shoot for about 1 inch of sag. Adjust this with the large knob on the left side of the bike. The smaller knob is for damping. Start with that knob at 2 or 3. If the bike pogos and doesn't settle down quickly after the suspension is upset you need a higher number. If it chatters after hitting a series of quick little bumps you need less damping.

Up front do the same, put something under the motor to get the wheel off the ground. Measure the amount of upper fork tube exposed between the bottom of the lower triple clamp and the lower leg. Try to get the same measurements as the rear. Add air or decrease air in the fork to change the sag. You can run the fork without air and add PVC spacers on top of the spring inside the tube to change the sag. Be sure to use a fender washer close to the same size as the inner diameter of the fork if you use this method. Just cut different lengths of PVC tubing to get the sag you want. There is no damping adjuster, all you can do is use a heavier oil in the fork for more damping and a lighter oil for less.

[Anonymous]

where do i add the air?

i have looked and do not see a fitting

[Anonymous]

Billy: Have you installed Progressive fork springs?

Billy:

Have you installed Progressive Suspension fork springs on your GS700? If so, how did you like them, and did they make much of a difference? I am looking at making this change on my 83 GS750ES when installing new fork seals. I think recommended spacer length for this mod is 0.75" but am wondering if I should go longer for my 200 lb. weight + frequent passenger carrying. Thought you might have a feel for a good ball-park spacer length to start with.

Simon

[Billy Ricks]

Katt,
There is a valve on the outside of the left leg just under the lower triple clamp. It should have a cap over it.

Simon,
You should probably start with a 1" spacer and go from there. Just use the method for checking sag I mentioned above. You should probably shoot for 1.25" of sag for your type of riding. I'm using a GSX-R front end now but the Progressive springs were an improvement over stock.