1981 Kawasaki GPz550: Restoration

[blowerbike]

and the last one..

[Nessism]

I bought two used masters off ebay that turned out to be junk. It's hard to find units that are not corroded inside. In the end I bought a master from an EX650 Ninja. Nice unit. Reservoir angles down a little which looks a little funny with the bars I selected, but think it's okay. Came off a late model bike so no corrosion too.

[blowerbike]

I bought two used masters off ebay that turned out to be junk. It's hard to find units that are not corroded inside. In the end I bought a master from an EX650 Ninja. Nice unit. Reservoir angles down a little which looks a little funny with the bars I selected, but think it's okay. Came off a late model bike so no corrosion too.

so a working/non leaking mc can still be junk?
i only sell junk when i represent it as such.
well i don't want to sell a member here junk thinking it's not.
what should i do?

[Nessism]

so a working/non leaking mc can still be junk?
i only sell junk when i represent it as such.
well i don't want to sell a member here junk thinking it's not.
what should i do?

Take out the piston and inspect for pitting. A good bit of work for a seller, but I don't know any other way to assure the bore is good.

Repeating this story but...sent some guy on ebay as message asking if they would be willing to pull the piston and inspect, and a short time later Joe Whelan wrote me back and provided photos too! Small world, and great service by Joe!

[srsupertrap]

so a working/non leaking mc can still be junk?
i only sell junk when i represent it as such.
well i don't want to sell a member here junk thinking it's not.
what should i do?

The piston comes out pretty easy, the piston is not secured by a snap ring ala GS but rather the white plastic part (14008) which has two tabs that engage the master cylinder housing. Press those two tabs in and everything sort of follows

[blowerbike]

i'll pm you later today.
if you pay for shipping only then we can go from there depending on how it looks inside.
brake fluid is in my top 5 nasty things i hate to mess with in my older years

[blowerbike]

i'm back....
pm sent..

[srsupertrap]

i'm back....
pm sent..

Payment sent . . . cannot beat your fellow GS Forum members stepping up to the plate & helping out in a pinch. There is no place like the GS Resource Forum even when your project is not a GS

I will post pics of the master innards.
Thanks Terry!

[blowerbike]

got it and will ship tomorrow.
hopefully it has a nice bore...for both of us

[srsupertrap]

I received Terry's GPz master cylinder on Thursday but didn't have a chance to have looksee till tonight. The Master came with a good brake lever & hardware



A bit gooey looking

[blowerbike]

no extra charge for the goooo...
how does the bore look?
i could see dark fluid through the sight glass.
when i installed my later model mc i bled the system till it was clean coming out the bleeders.

[srsupertrap]

no extra charge for the goooo...
how does the bore look?
i could see dark fluid through the sight glass.
when i installed my later model mc i bled the system till it was clean coming out the bleeders.

Here are the photos of the bore. Its better than the one I removed but it is pitted also. My original master has more fine pitting damage spread out while this one has deeper pits but fewer of them. The dark blotches are pits. Tough to get a good shot.

[srsupertrap]

I will show my ignorance . . . What's the symptom of using either brake master which has a pitted master cylinder bore? I am taking educated guess it would not sustain brake lever pressure for extended period of time due to seal leakage?

[Nessism]

Not sure what happens with a pitted master.

EX650 master shown on my 750. You can find them in good condition for cheap on ebay. Reservoir angles down more than I'd like but I can live with that.

[srsupertrap]

The EX650 master is good solution. . . unfortunately the EX650 brake hose is mounted 90 clockwise vs. the GPz master. The brake hose between the master & brake junction is braided stainless and it does not rotate a bit.
I do have a 1980 GS1000 square master that I squirreled away a decade ago just in case

Here is a pic of the master(s) after cleaning. Any recommendation on paint? Looks like no primer was applied, just semi gloss enamel & baked