what did you wrench on today??

[Guest]

Last time I checked BassCliff's site Boulevard wasn't there and I'm too lazy too look now...

www.boulevardsuzuki.com will get you to their website and yes you can get OEM parts online

As for what I did today, I made the hole in the front guard to fit the speedo cable guide from the stock guard, temporarily installed the new to me rear footpegs which need some cleaning, and bought paint and some other stuff...

[Tim Tom]

Yesterday I set about replacing my oil pan gasket and little crush washer that goes on the oil plug. Sounds simple enough.

Only problem is the exhaust is in the way.

So I set about removing it.

Now I should mention that my 'garage' is actually the parking deck of my school. And since I like a few blocks away, I had to carry all of my tools with me. Which is very annoying having to carry 100 lbs of tools, new oil, and everything else across campus.

Anyway, complaining aside, I get down to business, and start removing the pipes. Since my outside pipes are welded together at the collector i had to remove the whole system. I was a little leery knowing how easy these header bolts are to break.

I remove the first 7 bolts with no problem at all. I was feeling confident. The last bolt. It's much harder to twist that the others. Crap. I go back to my tool box and then realize that I had left my penetrating oil back in my apartment, a half mile away. Super Crap. At this point I couldn't leave my tools and bike in pieces and go back and get it, I live in Newark, they'd be gone well before I got back.

So I very carefully began extracting the bolt. It was turning, just very slowly. And then... Inevitable. It snapped.

At this point I was very annoyed, I hadn't even gotten to fix the problem yet because the exhaust was still in the way. Well I figured at least know I can get the pipes out. Which by the way is a major pain with only one set of hands. In the future I'm gonna find an assistant.

The rest of the job is easy. Oil pan bolts not a problem, new gasket one, new plug washer on. Everything back together. New Oil. Looks like it doesn't leak to me yet. Cool.

Exhaust back on, (also a major pain by yourself) and then I put the 7 bolts back on.

Ohh yeah that broken stud is next to flush with the head. Not quite sure how exactly I'm gonna remove it, leaning towards drilling a small hole, reverse tapping, and trying to get it free that way.

Two steps forward, one step back. And now for the second week in a row my GS is in Non-Op mode.

Grrrr.


EDIT: I was supposed to be taking an ERC this weekend with my buddy which was why I wanted to fix the leak to begin with. Now I don't think I'll be able to get it back together in time.

[7981GS]

Tim Tom, I had a similar problem with my Goldie project.
As it is nearly impossible to use the search function of this forum, I cannot find that thread.
Anyway, here are some pictures from that thread:











Perhaps you will get lucky and be able to do the same.

Daniel

[honestdon]

Added reflector

Added a missing reflector on the forks at lunchtime. Local bike graveyard dug one up for now charge.
On my happy ride back to work, I pulled out in front of a street sweeper to avoid getting all dusty only to realize too late that the sweeper was there to remove dirt and gravel from a construction project. The back end started to slide out on me, but I had enough sense to keep riding and kept upright.

Lesson re-learned, sometimes the idiot on the road to watch out for is me!

[Tim Tom]

Daniel,

That's a helicoil kit right? I'm hoping to be able to remove the bolt without buggering the threads and re-tapping it. I'm a little leery of drilling into the head.

Thanks for the photo's though. Very clear.

Tim

[jpaul]

Wednesday night I replaced the clutch cable. I have Daytona/Superbike bars on so the stock cable is really too long. Motion Pro wants about $35 a cable for custom length cables, along with a two week wait, which I didn't really want to do unless I had to. I tried the cable for the GS700 E/ES, which appeared to be the closest to what I needed. It fit, but the cable has a 90? bend by the lever, so I had to reroute it a bit to make it work.

[snowmobilejon5000]

I was at a stoplight and all of a sudden my bike jolted forward and stalled. I grabbed the clutch lever again and nothing. Had to change the cable.

[Hovmod]

I was at a stoplight and all of a sudden my bike jolted forward and stalled. I grabbed the clutch lever again and nothing. Had to change the cable.

I was lucky when mine broke. I jumped up on a sidewalk, but there were nobody there. I will replace this one BEFORE it breaks.

[Souske]

Finally got my front brakes back together, all new seals, new lines, new res., new levers, and painted everything. The only problem is the rear looks like poo in comparison.

[jaywelchy]

Worked on my rearsets ... moving pegs up and aft a touch on my 550.

Got my sidepanels done ... trimmed some "fat" off them, so they would sink in nicely and still cover up the battery and wiring.

Was going to go ride .. but no head/tail lights .. nothing, nada. Ok ... just replaced headlight, so started wire chasing. Then "ding" ... my inner voice says to simply check fuses. Yup ... 30 year old fuse. It fell into dust as I pulled it out to check.

Made mental notes on shortening the factory exhaust. Have had plenty of loud bikes with top notch exhausts to roar around on. I kinda like this quiet little 550. But the pipes look too long, so may cut them at the weld joint .. (under the heat sheilds) and shorten them up a few inches. Dunno .... maybe, maybe not.

Ideas overrule common sense....

[BassCliff]

Hi,

It was time for a "large" service this past Saturday. I adjusted the valves, synchronized the carbs, adjusted the idle mixture screws, cleaned the air filter, and changed the oil. It was a pleasant day in the man cave.

Checking intake #4:



Fan setup while doing the carb sync:



Repairing the weatherstripping on top of the air filter cage:



I bought new spark plugs too but the current plugs looked fine. So I'll save them for later. In the spring it will be time for new gear oil in the secondary gearcase and final drive.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Guest]

Sanded the body filler on my tail piece last night... getting so close to being done with it now! One more layer and sanding then maybe some touch up areas if need be...

[MisterCinders]

Got my SS brake lines together, installed and bled.

Started shaping up my new tank with some knee-dents. Still got a lot of bondo and sanding to get them right though.

[Guest]

More body filler, more sanding...

[Dave8338]

Finished painting the West wall of the guest house, did some basic maintenance on the 850 (LOVE this bike), mowed about 1/3 of the lawn (2.5 acres) and packaged up my Fathers' DA sander and have it in the saddle bage of the 850, to mail out on my way to work.

Something about an Early Bird and a legless creature...