1980 gs1000gt JUST PURCHASED

[Guest]

I Just bought this bike. I love how it feels and its FAST! However after I got home from a long stop and go ride in hot weather and a fresh tank of gas I noticed the rear tire had oil on it. Then I noticed a trail of oil from where I backed it up to the sidewalk, then I noticed a small puddle of oil underneath the oilpan. It looks like its dripping from two bolts under it. Any ideas please?

[Kiwi Canuck]

Clean off the oil with simple green and a pressure washer or hose and then see if you can pin point the source of the oil, some have used flour or talc powder to find the wet spot.

You may have a leaking drain plug or need a new gasket on the sump.

Photos please, of the bike and the area were it's leaking from.

Welcome to the GS forum, I see it's your first post.

[SHEM]

newbie

Thank you for your quick response! Its just weird that last nights ride didn't have any leaks and then today it did. I will attempt to clean and find specifically where. Im planning a 200 mile round trip in a few days. I was thinking of just going and hoping the best. Maybe a oil leak stopper additive?

[SHEM]

pic

you can see where the oil trail followed me backing up

[tkent02]

NO, find the leak and fix it. Who knows what that leak stopper will stop up?

Check to see if there is fuel in your oil. A bad petcock can dump a lot of fuel into the crankcase, if the oil is thinned out enough it may find a new leak when it gets hot…

If there's much fuel in the oil don't run it anymore until you change the oil and fix the petcock.

As far as your trip in a few days, it may be wise to catch up on 34 years of neglected maintenance before trying something like that. Previous owners almost never do everything that they should.

Edit, yeah that pic above looks like thinned out oil to me.

[SHEM]

gas smell

I just smelled the crankcase from the oil filler. It smells like gas. I did just fill 5 gallons in. Do you think this is the reason. Like you said a bad petcock? If so can I safely ride it 10 miles to the dealership service dept?

[tkent02]

No, don't start it at all. Can destroy the engine. How far above the proper oil level in the window is the oil now? Sometimes a couple gallons or more of fuel gets in the oil, bad news.

The leak may fix itself or at least slow way down once proper oil is back in the engine. The petcock is a very easy DIY type repair.

[SHEM]

bummer

Do you know the cost of a new petcock and is it hard to replace myself?

[SHEM]

oil level

Its too dark now to see but I will check the level in the morning

[tkent02]

Petcock is $50ish from Z1 Enterprises. Probably more from Suzuki. Very easy to replace. You will need something to put some gasoline in while you replace it.

[azr]

You will also need a new oil filter and 4 litres of oil. Something else...your front rotors look an odd colour. By chance do you have some pads sticking? and from the picture your front calipers look to be in an odd position, but it might just be the angle of the picture. Either way you should prop the front of the bike up so the front wheel is off the ground and spin the wheel to make sure it's spinning freely, then apply the front brake, the again spin the wheel to make sure the pads are coming off the rotors properly.

[SHEM]

fun while it lasted

Well I enjoyed my two rides. I will have to park it for awhile until I get all the parts and tools. I don't have any. Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it.

[tkent02]

Well I enjoyed my two rides. I will have to park it for awhile until I get all the parts and tools. I don't have any. Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it.

What's your location? There are probably forum members very close that would be happy to help you with the petcock and the oil change, maybe give the bike a good once over to check for any other problems you might not know about.

What azr said about the brakes is very valid, and very important.

[Kiwi Canuck]

You probably have the fuel petcock without the lever, so check it not on "prime" it should be horizontal, (prime will fill the carbs and keep filling the crankcase if there is a stuck float.)

If you do buy a new petcock get a new rubber gasket and 2 new washers as they may need replacing and better to have those parts on hand when you do the job, it only takes about 30 minutes to complete.

There is quite a few basic things you can do yourself if you have some tools and the desire.
It can get expensive to take it to a shop and many shops don't like working on these bikes as the young mechanics have never seen these bikes, or they can't be bothered with them.

Good luck.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Is this your Fuel Petcock?

If so it does have a lever, and you maybe able to purchase OEM parts to repair it, but if $82.00 is not too much for you then just buy a new unit if they old one is not working properly.

http://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d4032af8700230d8b4e9fa/fuel-cock