'83 850GL Maintenance and other repairs

[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... :crushed::miserable:

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.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

HAHA. Laughing with you, not at you. I’ve dropped my bike 3 times, as I recall, all standing still. One time in the garage, similar to your mishap. One time in a soft dirt/kickstand situation.

The third, and by far the most embarrassing, was at a gas pump. The surface sloped away from the pump pretty steeply. I decided to stay seated on the bike because of the slope, as the bike was roughly vertical on the side stand. I reached for the pump and my right foot came off the ground, the bike fell in slow motion to the right. I just sort of stepped off, quite gracefully actually, which made the whole scene that much more ridiculous in my mind. What gas I did have in the tank ended up on the ground. I went over and picked up the bike, a feat made more difficult because I was downslope. Somehow, I managed it. Went inside and as i started to tell the young cashier about my mishap, a young man comes out of the back carrying a bag of kitty litter. He says “yeah, we saw it, no worries.” He went out and cleaned up my mess. I was so embarrassed I didn’t even get gas. I got on the bike and rode to the next station.

 

[rphillips]

Congrats on what you've accomplished. Great to hear your bike is straightened out, great to hear you're enjoying it as you are. Also great to hear how little damage from the mishap. Also great to hear I'm not the only person to drop a bike while trying to put it on the center stand. The last bike I dropped was the GSX1100G I bought a few yrs ago, only had it a couple of wks., & I never figured what I did wrong. I leaned it up till both feet of the stand were on the garage floor, lifted up on the bike while pushing hard on the stand pedal, and the bike just laid over on the right side. I hadn't been drinking or any thing, still have no clue what happened that day. That bike is the easiest one I've ever had to get up on the stand. Just glad to hear I's not the only one to accomplish this feat.

 

[93Bandit]

HAHA. Laughing with you, not at you. I’ve dropped my bike 3 times, as I recall, all standing still. One time in the garage, similar to your mishap. One time in a soft dirt/kickstand situation.

The third, and by far the most embarrassing, was at a gas pump. The surface sloped away from the pump pretty steeply. I decided to stay seated on the bike because of the slope, as the bike was roughly vertical on the side stand. I reached for the pump and my right foot came off the ground, the bike fell in slow motion to the right. I just sort of stepped off, quite gracefully actually, which made the whole scene that much more ridiculous in my mind. What gas I did have in the tank ended up on the ground. I went over and picked up the bike, a feat made more difficult because I was downslope. Somehow, I managed it. Went inside and as i started to tell the young cashier about my mishap, a young man comes out of the back carrying a bag of kitty litter. He says “yeah, we saw it, no worries.” He went out and cleaned up my mess. I was so embarrassed I didn’t even get gas. I got on the bike and rode to the next station.

Well I'm glad to know I'm not the only one! That does sound embarrassing haha. Oh well, it happens. At least in that gas station story, you have a legitimate excuse for dropping the bike. Parking on a slope is sketchy. I had no excuse in my situation.

This is the second time I dropped my bike. The first time was in a public parking lot at a mall. I was standing by the bike, started it and just dumped the clutch thinking it was in neutral and the bike lurched forward, the peg caught my leg and ripped a hole in my jeans and scratched me good. The bike rode itself several parking spots over and flopped on the ground. Bent the bars, foot peg, broke my brake lever, mirror, and scratched the Ignition cover and fins. I was so mad and embarrassed.

 

[Baatfam]

We could start a thread about embarrassing bike drops....I have several I could share....And I bet I am not alone...LOL..

 

[93Bandit]

Congrats on what you've accomplished. Great to hear your bike is straightened out, great to hear you're enjoying it as you are. Also great to hear how little damage from the mishap. Also great to hear I'm not the only person to drop a bike while trying to put it on the center stand. The last bike I dropped was the GSX1100G I bought a few yrs ago, only had it a couple of wks., & I never figured what I did wrong. I leaned it up till both feet of the stand were on the garage floor, lifted up on the bike while pushing hard on the stand pedal, and the bike just laid over on the right side. I hadn't been drinking or any thing, still have no clue what happened that day. That bike is the easiest one I've ever had to get up on the stand. Just glad to hear I's not the only one to accomplish this feat.

Thank you for the kind words. I do feel accomplished, not that I was able to do the work but that I was able get it completed. Seems like life always gets in the way of doing things I enjoy. I love working on my bike, but I also love being able to enjoy it on the road. It's been a 6 year project and my remaining to-do list is finally shorter than the completed list. It's a great feeling! My rear tire is about worn out so I'll have to replace that soon but otherwise I should be able to put down so miles this year. Still aiming for 5k this season, wish me luck!

 

[93Bandit]

We could start a thread about embarrassing bike drops....I have several I could share....And I bet I am not alone...LOL..

It would seem so! I've only been riding for 6 years, so I'm sure I'll have more stories to tell as time goes on. When the day comes that I have to give up riding due to age, I hope I'll be able to say I only dropped my bike while stationary. If I can say that, I'll say I did well overall.

 

[bwringer]

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

That would be a nope -- if you power them on without having them firmly glued to some sort of heat sink, they'll quickly overheat, turn black, and shrivel up.

 

[93Bandit]

That would be a nope -- if you power them on without having them firmly glued to some sort of heat sink, they'll quickly overheat, turn black, and shrivel up.

Sounds like you're speaking from experience?

 

[Grimly]

That would be a nope -- if you power them on without having them firmly glued to some sort of heat sink, they'll quickly overheat, turn black, and shrivel up.

Oh well, nice to know to not waste money on them.
That gets me back to looking at core heaters.
https://www.mcmaster.com/products/c...ement-diameter~0-50/heating-element-length~4/
Only need to find a PWM controller for them.

 

[93Bandit]

Oh well, nice to know to not waste money on them.
That gets me back to looking at core heaters.

Now that we've come full circle back to heated grips and hand fatigue solutions, my neighbor stopped by the garage today and gave me his cramp buster to try out. I had mentioned to him the other day that I wanted to try one but there are so many options online I wasn't sure what to try. Hope to give it a test run on Friday.

 

[bwringer]

Sounds like you're speaking from experience?

Nah, but I've seen accounts and photos from folks who didn't read the directions, and hooked them up before mounting "just to see if they work".

I consider heated grips a mandatory safety item, and I've installed many sets. It was kinda nice that the last bike I bought, a Yamaha FJ-09, had heated grips from the factory.

 

[93Bandit]

Nah, but I've seen accounts and photos from folks who didn't read the directions, and hooked them up before mounting "just to see if they work".

I consider heated grips a mandatory safety item, and I've installed many sets. It was kinda nice that the last bike I bought, a Yamaha FJ-09, had heated grips from the factory.

Ah gotcha. Good to know!

 

[93Bandit]

First test with the cramp buster on the interstate today. Only rode ~33 miles but I can see the appeal! I'll have to order one after I give it back to my neighbor.

 

[93Bandit]

As I'm getting seat time, I've been pushing my rides longer and longer to prep for a road trip. My right hand is constantly falling asleep and cramping, so I'm exploring throttle locks. There's so many choices online, I don't know where to being. So I tried my own DIY version using a metal coat hanger and zip tie. So far it seems to work OK, but it slips if I hit any bumps in the road. However, if I just rest my hand on the grip, that's enough to keep the throttle steady. It can't remove my hand from the grip for extended periods of time with this throttle lock, but it does allow me to relax my grip which I think will help. I only got to for a short test around the block, so I need to get a few good rides in using it to see if it will actually help or not. Here are a few pictures.

Welp... After testing out my neighbors crampbuster I got online to order one, but then I paused. I thought about it for a moment and realized that yes, the crampbuster allowed me to relax my right grip which is great, but it doesn't let me take my right hand off the throttle to shake out numbness. I also didn't like how much of the grip the crampbuster took up, and I fear it would prevent the end of my grip heater from transferring heat to my hand as efficiently. So I started looking at throttle locks again. I clicked on one I've looked at many times and read the reviews. Much to my surprise, a large portion of the reviews mentioned that they previously had the crampbuster but wanted something that would allow them to take their hand off the throttle for a period of time. Most people seemed to like this throttle lock, so I decided to spend the extra ~$20 and get it instead. As seen in my quote above, I've already experimented a little with a DIY version of this same concept. It worked OK but needed improvement. I enjoy making things myself because I enjoy creating, even if it isn't necessarily cost effective. However, I just want to ride this season and save the tinkering for this winter. I've got a few day long road trips planned, so I needed something now. I've only gone on a short test run of this throttle lock but I must say I like it a lot! Easy to use, low profile, and won't affect the heating function of my grips. Easy to remove and install so I don't have to leave it on the bike if I fear some sticky hands will snatch it up. First impressions it's worth the few extra bucks. We'll see how I feel after my first road trip.

 

[rphillips]

Just something to look at. The old Vista cruise throttle locks, for me, worked well, was way smaller, inconspicuous, and out of the way, but much harder to find anymore than these bigger ones.. just a little flat plastic disc that went between the grip and switch assembly, trying to remember exactly how they were installed.