New GS - Need help

[glenncarpenter]

Hello all!

I've just bought a fairly clean GS850G, an '81 - it's the third of its kind I've owned and probably about the eighth GS.

My question is as follows. The bike needs some TLC to get running properly, and I'm currently in the process of going through the valve adjustment and cylinder head torque, and when I went to pull my manual off the shelf for specs, it turned out I no longer have one!

Does anybody out there have a manual they can reference real quick for some basic tune-up values? The critical things I need at the moment are torque for the cylinder head nuts and the valve clearance specs. I have the shim tool and a box full of shims all ready to go.

Thanks greatly in advance for any help. I've been GSless for some time now but have never found a bike that equaled the "G" models for all-around goodness. I'm really looking forward to getting this new-to-me 850 in good trim and on the road.

- Glenn Carpenter; Golden, CO

[mike_of_bbg]

Valve clearance is 0.03-0.08mm. Picture guide on BassCliff's site with the proper cam positions for the measurement procedure. Shop manual there too which should have the torque specs you seek.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

[glenncarpenter]

Thanks for the valve specs! I'm going to start with that while the manual downloads from that website. Great link by the way. (Why doesn't this sort of stuff seem to come up on Google searches!?)

- Glenn

[Guest]

Download a manual here:

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

Valve clearances are the same for both intake & exhaust, .03 -.08 mm (.001" - .003")

Cylinder head nut: 27 ft/lbs
Cylinder head bolt: 6.5 ft/lbs
Cylinder head cover bolt: 6.5 ft/lbs

[glenncarpenter]

Excellent, thanks for the torque spec. That range does ring a bell.

By the way, when I test rode this bike it was not firing on #1 at all. The plug was wet with gas so the obvious thing to hope for was tight valves. Sure enough, I had to go down three full steps on the intake to get it within the specified range. I'm crossing my fingers that'll solve the problem.

Thanks again for all the help - though by all means, further replies are welcome!

- Glenn

[Guest]

Check the spark plug cap on the non-firing cylinder.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. glenncarpenter,

As you have been told, you'll find lots of GS850G lovin' on my website. Here's my very own "welcome thang" for you...

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[BassCliff]

(Speaking of my website...)

(Why doesn't this sort of stuff seem to come up on Google searches!?)

Well for one thing, the proper search terms help. If you search for "bikecliff" you'll find my website on the first hit. If you search just for "gs850g" then you won't see my page referenced until page 56 of the search results. But you'll see Mr. bwringer's page referenced on page 14.

Please feel free to help yourself.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[glenncarpenter]

Just want to thank everybody again for the assistance. BassCliff you have a great website there, and thank for the "welcome" link. Lots of good info there as well. I'm going through this bike to get it road-ready and have new tires, Progressive fork springs, and a few other items on hand to set it up the way I like these bikes. So far everything on it looks generally un-molested aside from the specific issues I noticed when I bought it. No stuck fasteners or messed-with wiring or any of that type of stuff that makes some bikes a nightmare. The valves were WAY out of spec, however, and the head bolt torques appeared to be inconsistent as well, all indicating a bike that has been used but not maintained. Good news is these bikes are tough and I expect no problems when I get it all sorted out. Knock on wood.

I put over 100k miles on my first two GS850s (between the two, that is) and although I've gone through lots of bikes since then I haven't found anything with the combination of comfort, handling and lack-of-miscellaneous-annoyances I found in the GS-Gs. I'm really looking forward to getting this one on the road.

By the way, this site has improved greatly since I last was a member years ago. The amount of GS-specific information, the websites linked in this thread, and the quantity of postings on this forum are seem far better than before. A welcome improvement as these bikes are getting old and without a knowledgeable user base they will be getting more difficult to keep running at their peak.

That's all for now.

- Glenn