1st day working on the 81 gs750e

[Stikman]

Only had two goals today:

1. Remove fairing and reinstall stock headlamp and turn signals.
2. Remove all 3 calipers.

Fairing came off easily. Reinstallation of stock lighting went well too, with one exception. Plug from motorcycle is male and plug on back of headlight is, get this........male! Simply put female plug on bike I suppose, unless I can find a female to female adapter. Not sure if they exist.

Calipers weren't too much of a problem, as the front ones were already hanging loose. Spent an hour getting one of the bolts out that attach to the fork. Some ding dong cross threaded it. Now I have a stripped hole in a discontinued part. Are there aftermarket calipers available for this bike? This is the part number:
SKU: 59100-44840
HOLDER, CALIPERS RH
This is where it is stripped:

Or are there calipers from other bikes that will fit the 1981 GS750EX?
I may try the ol' tap and die set, but I'd rather just find a couple of replacement calipers, as these are very rusty looking throughout. The rear caliper didn't look too bad, will need rebuilt though. I read somewhere that if there's any evidence of rust on a motorcycle chain, it would need replaced. Does a little surface rust on the side of the chain automatically mean that it needs replaced?

[jwhelan65]

What side is it? I may have one.

[Stikman]

It's for the right side. I think if I could get this piece, I'd be fine. I think that they might rebuild alright. When I order the rebuild kit, I think I could order the bolts too.

[Nessism]

Make sure you get a caliper hanger from a bike with a leading axle fork, the caliper hangers are different from a straight fork caliper hanger.

Rebuilding calipers is not difficult. Only had part is if you have excessive wear inside the caliper sliding pins and in the caliper bore of the hanger bracket. Replace parts as needed. And use caliper grease on those sliding pins, not regular grease since it's not high enough temp.

Good luck,

[Stikman]

I'll have to do a little research and see which calipers are compatible. Thanks for your assistance.
Update:
Looks as though any of these models will work. I shouldn't have too much trouble.
GS750E (1980)
GS750E (1981)
GS750L (1980)
GS750L (1981)
GS850GL (1980)
GS850GL (1981)
GS850GL (1982)
GS850GL (1983)
GS1000GL (1980)
GS1000GL (1981)

[Stikman]

Haven't posted in a while, but I'm here everyday. I ended up finding the caliper bracket on a well known auction site for around 10 bucks. Not too worried about putting the calipers back on now. No need to put brakes on a bike that doesn't move. I plan on going with stainless steel lines anyhow. I'll put it all together at once. I hooked up a car battery about a week ago to see if it would turn over and.........nothing, not even a click from the starter. Yesterday, I realized, while reading, that maybe the clutch lever needed to be engaged in order to start it. It turned right over! Maybe if I added a little gas, it'll start.

1. Add gas
2. Turn petcock to prime, then reserve
3. Pull choke
4. Turn key and push start button
5. Won't start
6. See gas leaking all over the ground

Okay, not so exciting. Floats must be stuck. So, I remove carbs. (Gonna be fun puttin' 'em back in) They are bad! Black and green and yellow and gooey. Good thing I have access to the "Carb Cleanup Series"
It'll give me something to do for a while. I'm not in too much of a hurry. It appears as though the pilot jet plug melted in the old fuel and turned into a tar like goo. Surely the carb dip will take care of it all. Headlight plug still stumps me, as far as how to plug male into male. I guess I'll have to "straighten" it out. Blinkers don't blink either, but probably just a relay. I'll keep fiddling around and update sooner or later. Thanks for the help guys.