'80 GS550E. Thanks folks, this forum is superb!

[Guest]

I made a boo-boo... when I converted the 550 to the 673, I obviously had chance to fix up a few things while it was apart. The clutch endfloat/rattle was one of them. I knew there was play there, wasn't really sure how to get rid of it until I read Greg T's post about machining down the clutch hub. After getting that sorted, there was still an annoying churning sound at low revs.

I was actually going to drop the flywheel off while the crank was out to check the starter clutch, but my "universal" puller didn't have an M14 x 1.5mm thread. If I'd have looked carefully at the time, I would have noticed the bolts being slightly loose through the flywheel itself. But no! I thought it would be ok as I hadn't noticed any issues before.

On Friday I picked up a flywheel puller, and today I whipped the alternator cover off. I could actually see the bolts moving when I moved the back of the starter clutch! Long story short, I took it off, cut new bolts because the old ones were wearing away, and refitted and Loctited them. I've also paint marked the end of the bolts so it's easy to see if they ever come loose again by whipping off the cover. I've just put it together again and fired it up. Bliss!

It sounds bloody great! Thank you to all of you legends for sharing your massive knowledge.

[jimhickcox]

Congratulations on finishing your swap! I'm just starting the same process and it seems like most of the folks who've done it aren't active users here anymore. Do you mind if I hit you up when I inevitably start running into weirdnesses?

[Guest]

Of course, go for it. Check my blog too, everything I do is posted on there.

[jimhickcox]

Thanks. My biggest worry right now is base gasket thickness. Did you make one, or just use one from a kit?

[Guest]

Used the one in the kit.

[salty_monk]

I agree with you 100%, this is by far the best resource for these bikes