Progress!!! 1978 GS1000E Restoration/Performance Rebuild

[chuck hahn]

Do away with the air assists 'ey.

[philosopheriam]

Do away with the air assists 'ey.

You betcha - I always thought the air preload setup was a bit gimmicky.... It doesn't work that well, either.

[chuck hahn]

I sure can tell if ones a tad lower than the other side on my bikes though..they pull to that side. I have done them a few times till i get them as close as i can on pressure.

[philosopheriam]

I sure can tell if ones a tad lower than the other side on my bikes though..they pull to that side. I have done them a few times till i get them as close as i can on pressure.

Replace the springs with a set matched to your weight from Racetech and you won't have to worry about that air preload silliness

[chuck hahn]

Im good...

[philosopheriam]

A quick thank you is in order:

I was having a difficult time finding an original front engine mount bolt (approx 265mm long) as well as a couple original caliper bolts - azr (Rob) stepped up to the plate and sent everything to me!

azr is tops in my book

~philosopheriam

[Guest]

Just read through this entire thread and must say that this is a quality build, congratulations to you.

[Guest]

Glad I had something to offer to this project. I've never heard of MASS products, what does it do for the polished aluminum?

[ShadowFocus603]

I get so excited every time I see an update to this thread hoping it will be a full assembled pic of the bike lol. Looking great as always Anthony.

[philosopheriam]

Glad I had something to offer to this project. I've never heard of MASS products, what does it do for the polished aluminum?

https://www.maasinc.com/

MAAS seems to work well for adding a brilliant shine to aluminum and protecting it, too. Not that expensive, either. MAAS also works well on a variety of other metals.

[philosopheriam]

Howdy!

Progress has been slow due to a bunch of factors - adjusting to a new job, working days vs. nights, back in field service so I'm not 100% sure when I'm getting home every day, etc... In any case, I got my butt in gear today and decided to finish some zinc plating...

In the photo, you will see the caliper bolts and long front engine mount bolt sent to me by azr (Rob). Also, I had to trim the ends of the lower engine mounting bolts - because I am *not* using engine case guards and the bolts originally came with a thick washer from the factory, I found that I had to stack a couple washers underneath each lockwasher to prevent the bolts from contacting the engine case. However, this looks crude to me, so I trimmed the bolts by 1/4" and re-plated the ends. Also, I had to do the same with the upper bolts for the front engine mounts because when they protruded through the mount they were touching the "X" brace that I had added to the front of the frame. So, I trimmed about an 1/8" from each bolt.

IMG_1587 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

In the upcoming week, I am going to get the head bearing races in and hopefully mount the triples.

[Crank]

Pic of everything after baking @ 200F for 1hr.



Just a few more parts left to paint - oil pan, oil filter cover, and oil pressure switch housing

I know this goes back a bit but I want to ask, did you bake those parts in your kitchen oven??
I am assuming that is your dinning room table (and you live alone ).

[philosopheriam]

I know this goes back a bit but I want to ask, did you bake those parts in your kitchen oven??
I am assuming that is your dinning room table (and you live alone ).

Yep! Baked everything in my kitchen oven - told the girlfriend to look in the other direction ��

[Motozen]

Absolutely fantastic! Also, I see that you live in my old stomping ground. Most of my family are still up in the Aurora area. Can't wait to see the finished product!

[philosopheriam]

So, I tried to polish the original lower triple cover and it just didn't look that good - the plastic was graying and the chrome accents were dulled/scratched/faded in several places. So, I did a little garage paintwork...

Scuffed and masked
IMG_1593 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr
IMG_1592 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

Final finish: x2 coats Rust-Oleum gloss black plastic paint and x2 coats Rust-Oleum chrome/silver
IMG_1599 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr
IMG_1600 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr
IMG_1601 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

I scuffed the piece with steel wool and then masked it - the gloss black was laid first. After letting the piece dry for about 5 days, I then masked everything but the raised lines - I used a roll of 1/8" wide 3M painters tape to fit in-between each raised line. I then scuffed the existing gloss black paint to give it a good "key" so the chrome/silver would adhere properly. Two coats of silver, one hour of dry time, and then I removed all the masking tape. I will let the piece dry for several days and then I will put it outside in the sun to make sure the paint cures well.