78 GS 750 Rebuild

[Sam 78 GS750]

A few shots of the paint booth. Nailed some 1X3 boards to the rafters, and gorilla taped some plastic sheeting together. Added a couple of furnace filters, and a box fan. Then I used the box from my air compressor and some industrial velcro for the door. I cut up an old broom handle and rigged that up to hang parts from. Built it around the existing light hanging from the ceiling so it was well lit inside.

20170805_130303 by samL9, on Flickr

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[Sam 78 GS750]

Speak with the words of this "power seal" where does one buy such things

I got it straight from the manufacturer's site, but bike bandit, and I think Amazon have it too...

http://wizardsproducts.com/motorcycle-power-seal-8-oz/

[Sam 78 GS750]

...and some more

Fitting the gears
20171209_172755 by samL9, on Flickr

and the shift forks, etc.
20171216_181711 by samL9, on Flickr

Forgot to order one %^$%^&@! seal, so I had to stop here...
20171209_172910 by samL9, on Flickr

Finally came in, and got the cases together.
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[Sam 78 GS750]

Also got the head assembled.

After paint
20171130_192001 by samL9, on Flickr

Rigged this up from an 8" C clamp and a O2 sensor socket. One of countless tips and tricks I've picked up from this site over the years...
Should have JB welded or bolted it up, but I just kind of awkwardly held it together to compress the springs and get the keepers on the valves. It did the job...
20171223_182920 by samL9, on Flickr

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aaaaand done.
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[azr]

Nice build, really like that you're doing it all yourself. Great setup for painting and plating.

[Sam 78 GS750]

Nice build, really like that you're doing it all yourself. Great setup for painting and plating.

Thank you. I have farmed a couple of things out...some welding on the frame, getting the valve seats cut and head decked, and powder coat on the frame and other bits. Other than that, it's all me... I'll probably send some stuff for chrome plating. I'm only set up for zinc. I looked into a chrome setup, and it's way to expensive to make it worth my while.
I keep going back and forth on whether or not to paint the tank myself or get it done. That's a bit different than a rattle can on the engine or wheels...

[thebrandonbeezy]

May i ask, did you have the head decked? I need to have mine done and not sure how much i should go

[chuck hahn]

Wizards Power Seal is available online or at any Pilot Truck Stop in the US. Just google it.

[thebrandonbeezy]

Did, and ordered haha

[Sam 78 GS750]

May i ask, did you have the head decked? I need to have mine done and not sure how much i should go

I did have the head decked, but not sure how much... the guy at the machine shop didn't specify...

[Sam 78 GS750]

Bit of progress last night, and a bit of a snag...
Got the pistons in, and put a cross hatch on the cylinders. I ripped the base gasket trying to get it put together though, so engine assembly is on hold until a new one comes in. I ordered 2 just in case.

[Sam 78 GS750]

Made some really good progress lately. Engine's almost ready to go back in the frame, and I almost have a rolling chassis. Just need to pick up my wheels from the shop where the tires are getting installed. Super excited right now!

Cylinders masked off for deglaze/cross hatch.
20180112_175308 by samL9, on Flickr

Engine as she sits now. 2nd attempt on installing cylinders and head. Ripped the base gasket on the 1st attempt... Had to wait close to 3 weeks for an "in stock" gasket to ship. Showed as "preparing order" the whole time. 2nd order in a row from Partzilla where this happened. I need to find a new parts source. It's ok, because I just shifted my focus to the chassis until it came in, but it's annoying. Don't list something as in stock and "ships within 24 hours" if that's not the case. Either way, I definitely could have used 5 more hands to drops the cylinders on the pistons.
20180127_180517 by samL9, on Flickr

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...and the frame. I'm finding myself doing a lot of sanding, filing, and thread chasing to get stuff to fit right with the powder coat, but it is what it is.
20180127_173059 by samL9, on Flickr

In other news, I went to John at Cycle Passions for the tire mounting on the recommendation from a couple of members here. He hasn't even done the work yet, and I'm already super thrilled with him. He handled my rims like they were precious diamonds or fragile and rare dinosaur eggs. He took one look at them and knew the work that I put into getting them to look like they do. I'll be going to John for anything I can't/won't/don't have the tools to do myself.

[LarsKroghStea]

Great work

[Sam 78 GS750]

Thanks Lars. It's a labor of love...

[Sam 78 GS750]

Have a few new pics...

For the engine, got the cams in and a few more bits and pieces on there...
[IMG]20180215_182026 by samL9, on Flickr[/IMG]

I'll be pulling the cam chain tensioner off at some point and polishing it up a bit.

I think I got the valve timing right, but the 3 arrow looks off. Was hoping some ppl could verify. Below pics were taken at 1-4 TDC

Exhaust Cam
20180215_181903 by samL9, on Flickr
Hard to see from this angle, but at eye level the #1 arrow is parallel and flush with the gasket surface.

Intake Cam
20180215_181820 by samL9, on Flickr
This is 20 pins, counted and recounted, and then recounted again... It looks to be advanced, but...

The notches on the cam ends line up perfectly...
20180215_181951 by samL9, on Flickr

I think I'm good, no strange noises or resistance when turning over by hand...