81 GS550T Full Rebuild...In Ohio

[cowboyup3371]

Still Going At It

As noted some time ago my tank and side covers still need sanding to remove the heavy orange peel. In fact, my friend and I have discussed possibly taking the tank back down to primer and reshooting it once the weather warms up some. With that, this project is still not finished in my mind as there are lots of other things I wanted to upgrade/fix on the bike. I still have a new license plate bracket to add, a Polaris R/R to purchase and install, plus some other minor changes to make.

Among them, I wanted to replace my airbox and upgrade the fuse block I installed two years ago. The fuse block works great but I don't care for the lack of flexibility when it comes to adding accessories like my horns. So, I chose to purchase an Eastern Beaver fuse block which had been an option two years ago but not possible due to cash flow at the time. Fortunately, I had the spare change this payday to order one on Jan 7th and received it this morning. Yes, that's three days shipping (shipped 8 Jan) from Japan to Ohio !!!



After taking some measurements of the fuse block and the available acreage on the old airbox, I started in on thinking of how I'll modify my new airbox to fit it. I bought this new airbox to correct one error I'd made previously by drilling holes through the box instead of just making a bracket. I also wanted the top bracket inside the airbox that properly holds my air filter cage instead of the jerry-rigged setup I'm using now.



After making some measurements, I found using the lower bracket results in the fuse block sitting 1 3/4" from the airbox while the upper bracket pushes it out an additional quarter inch. As I have 1 1/2" from the airbox to the master cylinder and hose, I'd rather use the lower bracket as a mounting point. Plus, using the upper bracket would have put the fuse block too close to the solenoid.



So, I pulled the upper bracket off and will finish cleaning it up once I get it back to the garage:



I also have roughly 3 1/2" from the master cylinder to the reservoir to fit this 2 1/4" wide box in.



My plan will be to mount a 1/4" thick or smaller plate to the lower bracket and then mount the fuse block to that. I'll also place a fairly good sized piece of foam (sticky on one side) to cushion the upper portion and prevent it from flopping against the airbox. In my head, I believe everything will stay correctly. I also intend to move the relay to a better position next to the fuse block and use an actual connector (I have a spare) instead of what I'm currently doing. In my head, this means I should be able to clean up the wiring and make it easier to find what I need.

[cowboyup3371]

Beep Beep!

Took advantage of the good weather today by installing my new horns with the help of both young ladies. After routing the new power wire through the wire loom, we set to terminating it on the fuse block then adjusting the wiring on the socket for the relay. Instead of trying to solder them together, I chose to use bullet connectors between the existing wiring and the socket. I then mounted the horns in the lower holes on the frame and the relay above with a mending plate as I didn't want to drill out the mounting hole on the relay. They sound much louder and better than the stock horn so I'm sure they'll at least catch people's attention.

The fuse block (Cheyenne is getting better with her pictures but she didn't zoom enough to clearly see the new circuit):



Bullet connectors on the relay socket wiring:



Finished Product:



Here's how they sound. Click on the picture to play the video; Photobucket seems to have distorted the video compared to how it played from the computer itself



I'm hoping to ride tomorrow but they are forecasting for rain so I'm not sure if it will happen.

[cowboyup3371]

I don't know if it needed it or not but I broke each head bolt free and re-torqued to 19 foot lbs. I also ran through a few of the other bolts tonight to re-torque them as I'm going to try to take advantage of our projected good weather on Saturday. At least try to get a little bit of a ride in

[cowboyup3371]

The horns have two terminals each so I think my drawing reflects what you said Steve. I'll give it a try and see how things go.

Thanks for confirming my suspicions Greg.

[Steve]

Too late and too lazy to analyze your drawing, so I will just ask a quick question: are there one or two terminals on the new horns?

If there are two, use your stock horn wire to terminal #85 on the relay, connect #86 to ground. Connect #30 to your fused power wire.
Connect #87 to one terminal on each horn. Ground the other terminal on each horn.

If there is only one terminal on the horn, half your work is already done for you. Connect all the relay terminals as above.
The horns are grounded through their bodies, so you don't need the separate ground wire.

.

I'm going 10 amp on my relays for the 750 and 1000's new horns.Have to get a fuse holder for one of them though,your post reminded me so thanks

[cowboyup3371]

I picked up new Wolo DISC horns today from OReilly's Auto Parts to replace my "choked duck" stock one.



Although the snow finally left, we've had a good dousing of rain the last couple of days and my friend's dirt driveway was very muddy. So while Charmayne worked on her oil change, I took time to draw out my planned wiring for them and determine what other parts I'll need (have the relay already). I figure I'll put the relay above the horns on the front of the frame and both sitting right below. I'll also need to find a good connector for weatherproofing.

Here's the updated sketch for the fuse block showing the horn relay wiring. Any thoughts as to what size of a fuse I should use (I'm thinking 10A)?

[cowboyup3371]

Ha Ha...so Stan, is that GoPro in the mail to me for Christmas then?

I didn't do a video, sorry

Floggings and lashings I say.

[cowboyup3371]

I didn't do a video, sorry

After reading all of this thread, I seem to have missed the link to the bike's maiden voyage video.
Could someone tell me where to find it or post a link please?

To funny, I was in Miamisburg for a few years as a kid. Dad was stationed in Dayton, that was the last time I remember him owing a bike.

Great looking rebuild, I love the color!

[Dogma]

You're going to get a variety of opinions on retorquing the head. Plenty of leftover opinions from 80-year old gasket designs, I'm sure. I like the plan of checking until they stop loosening. That reminds me-- It's been almost 4,000 miles since I put mine back on. I need to remember to do that at my next valve check / fluids change. New fuel and vent hoses. Tires. Etc.

[cowboyup3371]

Thank you guys, I really appreciate the words. I fought myself for quite some time in the beginning of which way I wanted to go but I really do like the way it looks. I think, as there's some re-work I have to do with the tank, I'll give it some time to see how well it sits with me over the next few months until spring time.

I'm extremely happy with the way the pipes turned out - they were ceramic coated by Aesthetic Finishers north of town and for a good price. I need to call them to ask how to polish them again but they look great.

What's the next step for re-torqueing the head? I read something about 500 miles but am not positive since that's going to be awhile from now?

[Sci85]

Damn Scott, that motor looks like it just came out of the crate, awesome job.
I agree with Dogma, you need to break the solid colour on the wheels with something, maybe a contrasting pinstripe around the rim, in a light sky blue maybe.

Agreed. I added an orange one to my otherwise black rim and it made all the difference in the world.