'83 850GL Maintenance and other repairs

[Grimly]

Thanks to my heated and insulated garage, bike work in the winter is cozy and fun.

Yep, it makes a huge difference.
Prior winters, I'd used a simple electric oil-filled heater to get the inside temp to around 16degC and it was wonderful, when the outside temps were just around zero - we don't usually get much colder than that around here, but recently... brrr...
Anyway, with the price of electricity going sky-high this year, I've bought a Chinese Diesel Heater (Eberspacher copy) for the workshop, and should be able to heat it for half the price next winter.

[93Bandit]

Yep, it makes a huge difference.
Prior winters, I'd used a simple electric oil-filled heater to get the inside temp to around 16degC and it was wonderful, when the outside temps were just around zero - we don't usually get much colder than that around here, but recently... brrr...
Anyway, with the price of electricity going sky-high this year, I've bought a Chinese Diesel Heater (Eberspacher copy) for the workshop, and should be able to heat it for half the price next winter.

Interesting, hope that diesel heater works out better for you! I've got a natural gas line in the garage, T'd off the main line for my house furnace. I bought a used Modine natural gas heater and hung it from the ceiling. Wired a cheapy thermostat to it and keep the garage at 50F 24/7. When I want to work out there, I bump it up to ~65F. Fortunately my garage is insulated well enough that my monthly gas bill didn't go up too much. It's well worth the added cost to keep it heated. Keeps all the tools from freezing which is nice on the fingers.

Before you guys think I'm a softy, I've done my fair share of automotive repairs out on the driveway during a Blizzard. Now that I'm spoiled, I'm taking full advantage of it.

[Admiral Beez]

It works fine. There's a slight difference in how quickly you feel the heat, but after five minutes they're both toasty anyway.
Here's a sample set for something to look for...
https://www.remotemoto.com/articles/...otorcycle-kit/

The bar heater market seems to be flooded with rectangular heat pads, but I wonder if they can be curled up and inserted internally.

I'm thinking of adding heated grips to my GS650G. What brand/model did you buy?

[Grimly]

I'm thinking of adding heated grips to my GS650G. What brand/model did you buy?

On the XJ, it's a pair of Oxford grips, but the internal ones on the GS, the maker is long gone and I haven't found a replacement set for when they eventually peg out.
I had an eye on Polly snowmobile heaters, but they seem to have stopped making the internal ones they used to advertise. Found an old-stock pair but was too late and the seller pulled them.

However, there are available some industrial core heaters, which is all they are and I'll be going down that route, since the control is nothing more than a series / parallel switch.

[Admiral Beez]

On the XJ, it's a pair of Oxford grips, but the internal ones on the GS, the maker is long gone and I haven't found a replacement set for when they eventually peg out.
I had an eye on Polly snowmobile heaters, but they seem to have stopped making the internal ones they used to advertise. Found an old-stock pair but was too late and the seller pulled them.

However, there are available some industrial core heaters, which is all they are and I'll be going down that route, since the control is nothing more than a series / parallel switch.

The ones with the external box don't interest me. My bars are already cluttered enough.

[93Bandit]

Man, I need to get back on this. Been so dang busy. I'm Running out of time before riding season!

[93Bandit]

I'm off work this week so I had some time to wrench on the 850 today. I made new Earls brake lines and installed them, as well as flushed the old fluid out of the masters and calipers. I cut one old line open and it actually look fine inside, but it was past time to replace them anyways. The fluid was nasty though, had a dark rusty tone to it, kinda like maple syrup. The fluid in the front calipers was partially dirty. I think I may need to rebuild the calipers at some point due to how bad the fluid looked. I fear the piston is started to rust. The brakes have worked fine since I've owned the bike and have never leaked, so I may be able to get another season out of them.

Here's the bowl I collected the old fluid into. Pretty nasty, good thing I finally changed it!


Here's one of the old lines cut open. Doesn't look to bad to me, but I know they're beyond expired so good to replace and now I don't have to worry about them failing.


New front lines installed! Please pardon the dirty state of my bike. I ride some dirt roads due to where I live, and I've gotten caught in the rain. Unfortunately I'm not the best at keeping my vehicles clean. I loathe cleaning in general, so it gets neglected more than it should...


New rear line installed. I thought this line would be a major pain to replace since it is routed through a tight hole/passage through the swing arm. However, rotating as I pulled the banjo through it came right out.


Next I think I'll rebuild the cam chain tensioner. I had time today but lost the motivation to pull the tank and carbs off. Maybe tomorrow morning I'll feel spunky enough to get it done.

Pictures to follow once I sit down at my PC...

[93Bandit]

Fortunately I woke up this morning with an almost unnatural sense of motivation lol. I'm still a young guy (29) but a lot of days I seriously lack energy and motivation to do things. It's not laziness, it's somehow different but I'm not sure how to describe it. I've always been a hard worker and a go-getter so this "feeling" is unnatural for me. I digress...

Anyways, with this invigorating sense of motivation, I ran to the garage before it vanished and took the tank and carbs off the bike to access the cam chain tensioner. I pulled it off and rebuilt it. I thank past-me for ordering all these parts 7 months ago in preparation. I usually order parts as needed when working through a project. See what needs replaced and make a list to order. This approach is fine, but it often delays progress. This time I ordered everything I could possibly need to do these jobs and gotter-done.

Here's the filthy dirty engine case and tensioner. It's hard to tell, but all the oil leakage on this side of the engine is from the tensioner. I soaked the engine case with degreaser while rebuilding the tensioner.


This thing is definitely leaking and in need of a rebuild.


Freshly rebuilt tensioner. It still looks dirty because I didn't repaint it, but I assure it's squeaky clean and has fresh seals. Fortunately the 30mm nut wasn't stuck so I was able to replace the large inner O ring as well. I used my solvent tank to clean this thing which is another reason I'm glad I was able to do a full tear down. I wanted to ensure all the solvent was removed from the internals before rebuilding. That solvent could damage the seals and cause lubrication issues. Pardon the cardboard sacrificial jaws on my vice. I need to get some plastic ones...


Reinstalled tensioner and cleaned engine case. I didn't get every ounce of dirt and grime off the engine, but I cleaned it as best as I could with engine degreaser, paper towels and a screwdriver. Someday if/when I pull the engine for a rebuild I'll do a more thorough job. Good enough for now.


All back together with rebuilt tensioner and new brake lines.

[93Bandit]

Got some warmer weather today, 49F. So I took the 850 out for a quick "round the block" to test the brakes and get it hot to ensure I fixed the oil leak.

Brakes are definitely less mushy! The levers are touchy compared to how it was with the original lines. I think I got a minor performance upgrade using the Earls brake lines rather than replacing with OEM rubber lines. When I got home I double checked all the fittings for leaks and did fine the block where all 3 front lines T off each other was wet, so I snugged those banjo bolts and cleaned it off. We'll see if that did it. If not, I've got some extra compression washers to try again. All my compression fittings are dry which was my main concern!

Oil leak appears to be fixed and I got the tensioner rebuilt and installed successfully which is great. I was a little intimatintimated by it but the job was easier than I expected.

All in all, I think the work I did was a success. Still need to check the valves before too long.

[93Bandit]

As luck would have it, as I started to enjoy the riding season the clutch started slipping. I checked my records and I installed new OEM clutch springs ~4k miles ago when it started slipping before. The new springs solved the slip for a while, but now it's slipping again and too much to enjoy the bike. Slips in all gears under moderate throttle. The clutch cable is adjusted correctly and I use the correct oil, so I think it's time for new clutch friction plates.

I took the clutch plates out and measured all of them. I measured thickness at 4 spots on each plate, 12, 3, 6, & 9 oclock.
Spec per the OEM manual for the frictions is 0.106-0.114" with the limit being 0.094", and steels spec is 0.080" with no limit specified.
My clutch plates measured the following:
-The friction plates measured 0.107-0.109", most being 0.107".
-The steels measured 0.075-0.077", most being 0.077".

So my frictions fall within spec, although all are at the low end. All the steels are below spec, but only by ~0.003". None of the steel plates are scored or look worn. Only one plate has 3 areas of discoloration due to heat which you will see pictured below. Also, I dried off the frictions well and gave them a close inspection. They definitely have a shine to them so I think they are glazed. I also noticed that when wiping the oil off them the friction material was flaking pretty heavily and felt somewhat brittle in places. See pictures below.

Here's the only steel plate showing signs of overheating. It's not warped and still has a smooth even surface so I will be reusing it.


Here's a few pictures of the frictions. You can see the shinny hard surface.




Here you can see where some of the friction material flaked off.


Also, when I took the clutch plates out I noticed the basket was loose. Come to find out, the basket hub nut was very loose, the only thing holding it on was the washer. So I need to take that apart to see why it came loose. Hopefully there's nothing damaged/badly worn and I can just retorque it.



I think between the age of the clutch, the brittle friction material, all the plates measuring at the low end of spec and the glazed appearance, I am going to opt for installing new friction plates. My biggest fear is the material being so brittle, I don't want that coming apart and contaminating the engine, clogging oil passages etc.

[93Bandit]

While I had the bike down for clutch repair, I figured I better check the valve lash. It's been ~6k miles since I last adjusted them, and I think the service interval is 5k miles so it's due anyways. Last time I adjusted them I think I had to reshim all but maybe 1 or 2 valves. This time I lucked out and only cylinder 3 intake and exhaust need adjusted. The exhaust was tight and intake loose, as expected.

Also while having the valve cover off and trying to work towards my no-more-oil-leaks goal, I decided it was time to address the broken tach drive. When I first bought the bike 6yrs ago, I had to replace the tach cable. Being unfamiliar with the bike, I though I had to remove the tach drive assembly in order to remove the cable. It was so caked in grime I didn't realize the cable just threads into the drive housing. As I tried to gently pry the drive assembly out of the head, I busted it in half. Not knowing what it would entail to fix and being in a hurry to get the bike back on the road, I decided to clean the area and use some RTV to seal it up temporarily. Fortunately the bolt tab did not break off so I was able to reinstall the exterior portion of the drive assembly. The RTV actually kept it leak free for ~6yrs but it's been leaking badly again. With some patience, heat and a little persuasion, I was able to get the tach drive assembly out of the head. Unfortunately in the process I ruined the gear shaft, so I won't be able to reuse it. I thats OK anyways though, since the old seal has worn a groove into the shaft. My goal is to fix what I broke and prevent oil leaks, so reusing the worn gear would only result in an oil leak. My oil complain is how expensive that assembly is! With the housing, gear and 2 seals the total comes to $80! Oh well, half of it is my fault for breaking the housing. Live and learn I guess. Here's a picture of the broken tach drive.



I am leaving on vacation next week, so I won't be able to get new parts installed for a few weeks. It's a real shame, the weather is beautiful this week, but I didn't want to put off these repairs any longer.

[eil]

I did something similar on my '80 850GL years ago... Those tach gears and housings were quite plentiful and cheap on ebay at that time, maybe no so much anymore? If you went the used route, make sure the gear you bought has the teeth going in the right direction. Suzuki used the same style of gear on the 2-valves which have the gear under the camshaft, and the 4-valves which have the gear over the cam. They look the same but are not interchangeable, ask me how I know.

[93Bandit]

I did something similar on my '80 850GL years ago... Those tach gears and housings were quite plentiful and cheap on ebay at that time, maybe no so much anymore? If you went the used route, make sure the gear you bought has the teeth going in the right direction. Suzuki used the same style of gear on the 2-valves which have the gear under the camshaft, and the 4-valves which have the gear over the cam. They look the same but are not interchangeable, ask me how I know.

I did see them on ebay, but most I saw weren't that much cheaper than new so I opted to buy once cry once. I did not know there were two different gears! Thanks for the heads up, hopefully I got the right one! I ordered it from partzilla along with some other parts and used the OEM PN so I think I'll be OK.

[93Bandit]

I finally finished the repairs/maintenance I started a few weeks ago. I installed the new EBC clutch frictions, installed the near tach gear drive, finished the valve adjustment, and wired in my new pressure brake light switch.

Boy howdy, the bike pulls hard now! The new clutch bites good. I think it's been slipping ever since I bought the bike because I never remember it pulling this hard before. It's so much fun to ride, like a brand new machine.

I need to change the gear oil and will need a new rear tire soon, but other than that I think I can finally say the bike is ready to put some miles down this season without anything to fix. My goal is to ride 5k miles this year, I don't know if it'll happen but I'll give it my best effort. The most I've ridden in a year was ~1,600 miles so I'm reaching for the stars with my goal.

[93Bandit]

Not really maintenance related, but wasn't sure where else to post this. I probably shouldn't say this because it's embarrassing, oh well. I took the 850 on a short ride this evening. It was cool and overcast, my favorite riding weather. When I got home, I pulled into the garage and shut the bike down. Hopped off and started to put the bike on the center stand. Not sure how it happened, but while trying to rock the bike up onto the center stand, the bike leaned too far away from me and I wasn't able to catch it... I dumped my bike, in my garage, while stationary...

There are definitely more physically damaging ways to dump a bike, but I can't think of any more pride damaging ways to do so... Fortunately I put the crash bar I pulled off my 750 on this bike, and it saved the handle bars and other bits from getting bent/damaged (again). Those of you who bash the crash bar, it's worth it! I'm glad I put it on my 850 instead of tossing it in the scrap pile. I almost took it off when working on the bike because it's in the way sometimes, but I ended up leaving it on. Good thing I did! I think this experience has solidified my desire to keep the crash bar.

Other than this mishap, the bike is running GREAT. It's so much fun to ride. I giver the WOT every time I ride, multiple times. It's so much fun to thrash it.