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I?m posting this here instead of in the General Discussion forum or Technical forum because, well after all, it?s really a GS Story, or more like a saga! Plus, it?s along story, and I didn?t want to clog up the other forums with my ramblings!
As many of you regular GSR posters/lurkers/guests/members may recall, I ?rescued? a 1979 GS1000L, about a year ago. I got it as sort of a ?pig-in-a-poke? trade for an old beat-up snow plow truck. Little did I know at the time, what I was in for. In hindsight, knowing what I know now, maybe I should have let it die a natural death, and maybe I should have found another GS more suited to my riding style and ergonomics (?L? models look cool, but the standards have larger fuel tanks and are more comfortable for longer rides). But then again, I wouldn?t know this stuff if I didn?t get my GS in the first place.
I?ve been ?restoring? my GS with extraordinary help from an old friend named Tom Brady whom I?ve known for over 20 years, and a new friend named Kevin Conner who works part time at the motorcycle shop where I brought my bike a week after I acquired it last year.
Tom is the guy who, when I stopped by his house with my bike on my pickup truck one day this Spring (for unrelated reasons) to ask a simple question about fuel and air screws, took it upon himself, on zero notice, without my asking, to rip the carbs off my bike and rebuild them from spare Mikuni carb banks he had ?lying around in my dad?s barn?, and fit me up with K&N pod filters, all done on the tailgate of my pickup truck. After this carb work, I was astounded at the power of the GS1000 engine. You guys with the mid 80?s 1150 engines must be nuts with power!
Kevin has updated my bike by replacing the old points-style ignition with an electronic ignition from a later-model-year GS, rebuilding my front forks, sending my gas tank out for cleaning/steaming/etching at a specialty shop (at a professional discount) and replacing one of my carbs that had been horribly butchered by a previous owner (this was done prior to the Tom Brady carb rebuild described above).
During the course of my GS restoration, I?ve run into most of the problems cited in the GSR Technical forum: electrical problems, carb problems, shock/fork problems, valve seal problems, etc. I?ve slowly, steadily worked my way (with the help of these guys and the GSR members) to resolving the problems. I?ve read the Technical forum, read the Stator Papers, replaced my stator and regulator/rectifier with Electrex units, cleaned electrical connections, replaced frayed wires, etc.
Most recently, in spite of my rookie-mechanic heroics, and my friends? assistance, it has become obvious that I needed a new wiring harness and needed to replace my valve seals. So Kevin said he?d keep an eye out for a wiring harness for me at the shop and at the many motorcycle swap meets he goes to, and Tom said he?d help me replace the valve seals. The general idea was that this stuff would get done over this coming winter.
Well, Lo and Behold! A couple of weeks ago, a guy comes into the motorcycle shop where Kevin works part-time, and he?s got a 1981 GS850GL and he wants a quote for some repair/maintenance work. You know where this story is going: The shop gives the guy a $1200 quote, and the guy sh*ts his pants. He says ?no way, what?ll you give me for the bike in trade for a new one?? So anyway, long story short, Kevin ends up with the bike for $300 (He just wants it for the engine and some miscellaneous parts). Kevin calls me up and says he?s got a deal for me. If I pick up and transport the 850 and bring it to his house for him, together with my 1000, he?ll swap the wiring harness and any other electrical components as needed, for $100. Yahoo, no brainer, done deal!
So last weekend, I get both bikes to his house, and he puts me to work dis-assembling the 850, while he starts on my 1000. A few hours later, we?ve swapped out nearly every component of the electrical system, from just behind the headlight to just in front of the taillight, including handlebar switches, gauges, coils, fuse box, directional lights, the works. It was amazing to watch/help Kevin work. There is absolutely no way I could have done this myself. He even threw in a nice sissy bar and luggage rack combo and highway bars, that came off the 850. All for a C-note (although I was so happy, I gave him a big tip plus bought lunch and a 30 pack for him for the rest of the weekend)! Now, I?ve got sorta the best of both worlds, the venerable, reliable 8-valve late 70?s GS1000 engine, with early 80?s electronics.
Now comes the Sudden Service part of the story, which is the topic of this post. I?m in the noise control business, and sometimes I have to work at night (to evaluate and resolve ?things that go bump in the night?). I had to work last night from about 8 PM to 4 AM, so I took some time off from work during normal business hours yesterday and today. It was raining yesterday, and my wife and kids were out of the house, so I decided to screw around with my bike (I call this ?Quality time with Suzi!?). I called my friend Tom (who was also home because it was a rainy day, and he works outside as a mason, by trade; he?s a mechanic as a hobby) to ask another stupid question or two (just like before, when he rebuilt my carbs, but that was not my intent).
Next thing I know, Tom is at my house, and we?re ripping the bike apart again! But this time, it?s not just the carbs. This time, off go the seat, tank, carbs, exhaust, valve cover, and head. Out come the cams, valves, springs and keepers, and pistons. I went from a wonderfully rideable enjoyable bike that smoked just a little at cold start and occasionally during deceleration, to a pile of parts on workbenches and in boxes and in sawed-off plastic milk jugs, in about an hour!
The valve seals are clearly shot. They are rock hard and some are cracked. Almost surely, they are the reason I?ve been blowing blue smoke out the exhaust during deceleration (thank you New England GS riders for pointing this out to me on our rides together). But just replacing the valve seals is not good enough for Tom. Noooo! No Siree! He says, ?Hey if your gonna get into the motor like this, ya might as well do the rings. He says no way he?s going to put this thing back together and then find out I?ve got a broken ring or two. (Turns out the rings and cylinder bores were fine, but once the rings are disturbed/moved ?ya gotta put new ones in?.)
So here?s where I?m at: I ordered a $97 full engine overhaul gasket set including new valve seals and a $137 set of rings for 4 pistons from Suzuki (probably should have gone to Bikebandit). My wife is going to flip out when the credit card bill comes in the mail. The parts will be here this weekend or early next week. I?ve carefully scraped all the carbon off the pistons and all the gasket material off all the head and valve cover mating surfaces. Next week, Tom and I are going to whack the whole thing back together. Tom says he?s going to lap the valves, and that everything else looks ?really good inside the motor".
By the time I?m through with this d*mn bike, It?ll be a practically new 25-year old GS! I?ve also got about triple the money into it, than it is ?worth?, even with the sweet deals I?ve been getting on parts and labor, never mind my own free labor.
Ah, the joys of motorcycling. Hope you enjoyed my long ramble today (I?m on my 5th cup of coffee as I write this)!
As many of you regular GSR posters/lurkers/guests/members may recall, I ?rescued? a 1979 GS1000L, about a year ago. I got it as sort of a ?pig-in-a-poke? trade for an old beat-up snow plow truck. Little did I know at the time, what I was in for. In hindsight, knowing what I know now, maybe I should have let it die a natural death, and maybe I should have found another GS more suited to my riding style and ergonomics (?L? models look cool, but the standards have larger fuel tanks and are more comfortable for longer rides). But then again, I wouldn?t know this stuff if I didn?t get my GS in the first place.
I?ve been ?restoring? my GS with extraordinary help from an old friend named Tom Brady whom I?ve known for over 20 years, and a new friend named Kevin Conner who works part time at the motorcycle shop where I brought my bike a week after I acquired it last year.
Tom is the guy who, when I stopped by his house with my bike on my pickup truck one day this Spring (for unrelated reasons) to ask a simple question about fuel and air screws, took it upon himself, on zero notice, without my asking, to rip the carbs off my bike and rebuild them from spare Mikuni carb banks he had ?lying around in my dad?s barn?, and fit me up with K&N pod filters, all done on the tailgate of my pickup truck. After this carb work, I was astounded at the power of the GS1000 engine. You guys with the mid 80?s 1150 engines must be nuts with power!
Kevin has updated my bike by replacing the old points-style ignition with an electronic ignition from a later-model-year GS, rebuilding my front forks, sending my gas tank out for cleaning/steaming/etching at a specialty shop (at a professional discount) and replacing one of my carbs that had been horribly butchered by a previous owner (this was done prior to the Tom Brady carb rebuild described above).
During the course of my GS restoration, I?ve run into most of the problems cited in the GSR Technical forum: electrical problems, carb problems, shock/fork problems, valve seal problems, etc. I?ve slowly, steadily worked my way (with the help of these guys and the GSR members) to resolving the problems. I?ve read the Technical forum, read the Stator Papers, replaced my stator and regulator/rectifier with Electrex units, cleaned electrical connections, replaced frayed wires, etc.
Most recently, in spite of my rookie-mechanic heroics, and my friends? assistance, it has become obvious that I needed a new wiring harness and needed to replace my valve seals. So Kevin said he?d keep an eye out for a wiring harness for me at the shop and at the many motorcycle swap meets he goes to, and Tom said he?d help me replace the valve seals. The general idea was that this stuff would get done over this coming winter.
Well, Lo and Behold! A couple of weeks ago, a guy comes into the motorcycle shop where Kevin works part-time, and he?s got a 1981 GS850GL and he wants a quote for some repair/maintenance work. You know where this story is going: The shop gives the guy a $1200 quote, and the guy sh*ts his pants. He says ?no way, what?ll you give me for the bike in trade for a new one?? So anyway, long story short, Kevin ends up with the bike for $300 (He just wants it for the engine and some miscellaneous parts). Kevin calls me up and says he?s got a deal for me. If I pick up and transport the 850 and bring it to his house for him, together with my 1000, he?ll swap the wiring harness and any other electrical components as needed, for $100. Yahoo, no brainer, done deal!
So last weekend, I get both bikes to his house, and he puts me to work dis-assembling the 850, while he starts on my 1000. A few hours later, we?ve swapped out nearly every component of the electrical system, from just behind the headlight to just in front of the taillight, including handlebar switches, gauges, coils, fuse box, directional lights, the works. It was amazing to watch/help Kevin work. There is absolutely no way I could have done this myself. He even threw in a nice sissy bar and luggage rack combo and highway bars, that came off the 850. All for a C-note (although I was so happy, I gave him a big tip plus bought lunch and a 30 pack for him for the rest of the weekend)! Now, I?ve got sorta the best of both worlds, the venerable, reliable 8-valve late 70?s GS1000 engine, with early 80?s electronics.
Now comes the Sudden Service part of the story, which is the topic of this post. I?m in the noise control business, and sometimes I have to work at night (to evaluate and resolve ?things that go bump in the night?). I had to work last night from about 8 PM to 4 AM, so I took some time off from work during normal business hours yesterday and today. It was raining yesterday, and my wife and kids were out of the house, so I decided to screw around with my bike (I call this ?Quality time with Suzi!?). I called my friend Tom (who was also home because it was a rainy day, and he works outside as a mason, by trade; he?s a mechanic as a hobby) to ask another stupid question or two (just like before, when he rebuilt my carbs, but that was not my intent).
Next thing I know, Tom is at my house, and we?re ripping the bike apart again! But this time, it?s not just the carbs. This time, off go the seat, tank, carbs, exhaust, valve cover, and head. Out come the cams, valves, springs and keepers, and pistons. I went from a wonderfully rideable enjoyable bike that smoked just a little at cold start and occasionally during deceleration, to a pile of parts on workbenches and in boxes and in sawed-off plastic milk jugs, in about an hour!
The valve seals are clearly shot. They are rock hard and some are cracked. Almost surely, they are the reason I?ve been blowing blue smoke out the exhaust during deceleration (thank you New England GS riders for pointing this out to me on our rides together). But just replacing the valve seals is not good enough for Tom. Noooo! No Siree! He says, ?Hey if your gonna get into the motor like this, ya might as well do the rings. He says no way he?s going to put this thing back together and then find out I?ve got a broken ring or two. (Turns out the rings and cylinder bores were fine, but once the rings are disturbed/moved ?ya gotta put new ones in?.)
So here?s where I?m at: I ordered a $97 full engine overhaul gasket set including new valve seals and a $137 set of rings for 4 pistons from Suzuki (probably should have gone to Bikebandit). My wife is going to flip out when the credit card bill comes in the mail. The parts will be here this weekend or early next week. I?ve carefully scraped all the carbon off the pistons and all the gasket material off all the head and valve cover mating surfaces. Next week, Tom and I are going to whack the whole thing back together. Tom says he?s going to lap the valves, and that everything else looks ?really good inside the motor".
By the time I?m through with this d*mn bike, It?ll be a practically new 25-year old GS! I?ve also got about triple the money into it, than it is ?worth?, even with the sweet deals I?ve been getting on parts and labor, never mind my own free labor.
Ah, the joys of motorcycling. Hope you enjoyed my long ramble today (I?m on my 5th cup of coffee as I write this)!
) if you get really keen do the combustion chambers and the ports too.
Somehow I new I shouldn't reply to that, but did anyway.
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