The 2,298 Mile Wes Cooley

[Vmass]

This was my first bit of progress on the Suzuki in quite some time! It was nice to get something done.

I remember you had trouble with the Apex bolts and angles of the lines. My Apex bolts seem to work fine. I do see that the angle of the MC connector might be a **tch to install. I think I will install the brake line to the MC and then install the MC on the bars....should have a little more leverage that way.

Happy New Year to you as well,

Rich

[SVSooke]

The Apex DOUBLE banjos are defiantly to short,had to have the MC helicoiled because of one.With the single banjo's the Apex ones are the same length as the stock ones.

[Vmass]

The Apex DOUBLE banjos are defiantly to short,had to have the MC helicoiled because of one.With the single banjo's the Apex ones are the same length as the stock ones.

Hmmm..... it worked fine for me at the junction. Two lines with 3 crush washers and no problem. I will use a singe t he MC.

[SVSooke]

Hmmmmmm indeed,the one I got only had about 3 threads into the MC.Maybe he's gotten longer ones now?I hope so those one I got was sa PITA to say the least.

[Kiwi Canuck]

He must have found longer bolts as I let him know they were too short and I'm sure a few others did as well.

Here's what they looked like when I got mine.

[Vmass]

Since we finally have some visible grass, I thought I would do a little work on this bike! I decided to go back and swap out the Apex double banjo on the front junction with an OEM bolt. With the two negative comments about the length, I decided to swap it out.

The bike is looking good. Dash and headlight back on as well as the MC. Only a few more thing to do:

1) Petcock (I have a rebuild kit but will most likely buy a pricey new one).

2) Fill and bleed front brakes

3) Put fairing and front fender on.

4) Fire it up, carb tune it and then............

[Kiwi Canuck]

Hey Rich, I just re-read the entire thread, it makes for a great read and pretty cool to see that you are very close to completion.

When I bled my front brakes, I used the lever bump method, works really well and is easy when you're by yourself, not sure how you do it but I find that bleeding them with the bleed nipple takes way longer uses up quite a bit of extra fluid.

Just as a side note, I was going through some old boxes in my storage and found a journal I used to keep from my racing days.
I was surprised at the details I kept, but one thing that stood out was my fork setup compared to what the manual suggested.
On the '78 GS1000 I ran 15W oil and max 26 PSI, on the "S" I was usually running 31-32PSI with 265ml of Belray 20W oil per fork.

My Canadian factory "S" manual supplement suggests, 11.4 PSI and 259cc of 10W/20 oil per fork leg, the regular manual recommends 259cc for Europe and 241cc for all other markets.

The bike handled really well with this setup, probably helped with ground clearance a little as well.
That is a lot higher than I would have thought we used, so I may try these settings once I rebuild my forks just to see if it feels any better or different.

[Vmass]

Thanks David............ I have a MityVac bleeder I use. Works great and very quick.

No doubt these forks can handle a lot more PSI than the manual calls for. It took some serious pressure to blow out the old seals when I was refurbishing them.

Thanks for the info.

So, the brakes are bleed, fender and fairing back on (minus mirrors). I still haven't ordered a new petcock, as the current one is functional.

I am still struggling with the decision to paint or not. I love the fact that the bike is very original. However, the paint has its flaws including a few dings chips etc.

I will sneak away from the Easter activities later and take a few pictures.

Have a great Easter!

[Vmass]

Before and after shot of the gauges and a few how it sits today.

[Vmass]

Kind of funny and embarrassing.......I have only cleaned and done basic maintenance, what some of you guys would call a weekend has taken me almost 18 months!

Gotta go get the ham cooking.....Happy Easter.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Rich, that has turned out very nice, those pipes look fantastic, what an improvement from when you picked them up.

Hopefully it rides as good as it looks.

Too bad the clock knob is missing on that one as well, I am fortunate to still have both of mine. (edit, just noticed you do have the clock knob on the refinished dash, I was looking at the "before" picture, were did you find that one?)

I was undecided on repainting the Canadian Cooley when I was restoring it as it was less than perfect.

I even purchased the decal set but I have left both the CC and the Boise Beauty original and it was the right decision for me.

Once back together it just seems OK that it's not 100% perfect and I never notice the minor nicks, if it had dents or road rash that makes it a no brainer to repaint.

Maybe just have the fairing redone or is there other parts that need work?

Look forward to a ride report.

David

[Vmass]

Dave,

The pipes worked out great. As you know, the price was right and with couple of days of some elbow grease they look fantastic.

The screw for the clock knob is still available from Suzuki (I have a spare screw if you need it). Paul Miller had the knob. Unfortunately, he only had one.

The fairing has the typical left side scrape. The top of the fender has an ugly ding/flaw on the top, it almost looks like something got caught in between the tire and fender and pushed up. The tank has some chips but is respectable....it's all respectable consider the age. Painting the other one I had was right decision and I think NOT painting this one is the right decision. However, if a certain painter said I am ready to go..... I wouldn't hesitate!

[steve murdoch]

Excellent pics of your great looking S.
Don't think i have seen a similar front photo with the shading. Beautiful.
The matching tie-down is a nice touch.

[Vmass]

Excellent pics of your great looking S.
Don't think i have seen a similar front photo with the shading. Beautiful.
The matching tie-down is a nice touch.

Thanks Steve..... I am not sure why that front shot came out with the shading, I took all the pictures in the same mode.

[Vmass]

The 2,298.7! The bike is running well. Brakes are a little spongy, I will give them another bleeding.

There is something tweaked in the front end, the bottom portion of the fairing hits the tank when turned all the way to the left. I am not sure if it is from when the bike went down on the left side (many years ago) or if it is tweaked from when I reassembled it after rebuilding forks.



















Joe?