My rebuild thread

[Mr Rogers]

A decent explanation of an o-ring chain, and yes, we are speaking of the main drive chain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-ring_chain
Kerosene is fine for cleaning. (Just wear gloves of some type, rubber, nitrile, etc.) It will clean the side plates and the rollers but not get down into the o-rings.
Do not use gasoline, its flash point is much lower and it IS dangerous to use as a cleaner.

I learn something new every day while i'm on here! ok i'll be sure to pick up some chain lube and kerosene! Because it's probably a good idea regardless since it's probably never been re-lubed.

I'll be back to tell you what i find on the bike.

[Steve]

Kerosene is fine for cleaning. (Just wear gloves of some type, rubber, nitrile, etc.)

I have a parts washer that I got several years ago. Rather than use some sort of commercial "parts cleaner fluid", I put in three gallons of kerosene. Does a great job of cleaning parts, does not hurt the pump, is relatively odor-free while the lid is closed between cleaning sessions. A few months ago, I finally changed the kerosene for some fresh stuff. First fluid change in about 4 years, so it's relatively cheap to use, too, even at current prices of $4+ per gallon.



.

[cowboyup3371]

Something TheCafeKid taught me yesterday was to use WD40 to clean off my chain as it also contains kerosene in it.

[Mr Rogers]

I have a really quick and urgent question!

Does carb cleaner ruin carb gaskets or the carb diaphragm? if i sprayed them with carb cleaner what should i clean them with to eliminate any continuing damage?

I'll try the wd40 on the chain.

[pete]

That might need to be clarified just a bit.

All GS shims are the same diameter, 29.5 mm.

Newer Suzukis have shims under the buckets, and are much smaller, so you can't say "all Suzuki shims are the same size".

Be careful if you go to a shop that also handles Yamaha or Kawasaki. Their shims are 29.0 mm in diameter, very hard to tell the difference.

.

Thanks Steve, yes I should've clarified that statement... I know better

NO NO NO NO
Do not soak an o-ring chain in PB Blaster. It will wash all the grease out from inside the o-rings and the chain will be doomed.
Use kerosene and a nice stiff brush to wash off all the crud. Then some good chain lube or chain wax, not a grease. Whilst it is off the bike, see if it feels kinked anywhere. If it is kinked it is time to be replaced. If it now feels relatively smooth, you are GTG.

Good call KK! Definitely kerosene for that.

I used kerosene to clean everything during my engine rebuild and it has never ever caused me any grief. I don't have a parts washer but I use an old paint brush and scrub it in the chunky bits and it always works.

I buy the 3 litre bottles from the supermarket, dirt cheap and last forever.

I have a really quick and urgent question!

Does carb cleaner ruin carb gaskets or the carb diaphragm? if i sprayed them with carb cleaner what should i clean them with to eliminate any continuing damage?

I'll try the wd40 on the chain.

Yes and yes! Anything rubber will be damaged by carb cleaner, although if you're using the spray carb cleaner you might be ok because it's too weak to be really effective.

If you dip the carbs in Berrymans or whatever, you can kiss all rubber bits good bye, so make sure you remove anything you need to save first.

[Mr Rogers]

Thanks Steve, yes I should've clarified that statement... I know better



Good call KK! Definitely kerosene for that.

I used kerosene to clean everything during my engine rebuild and it has never ever caused me any grief. I don't have a parts washer but I use an old paint brush and scrub it in the chunky bits and it always works.

I buy the 3 litre bottles from the supermarket, dirt cheap and last forever.



Yes and yes! Anything rubber will be damaged by carb cleaner, although if you're using the spray carb cleaner you might be ok because it's too weak to be really effective.

If you dip the carbs in Berrymans or whatever, you can kiss all rubber bits good bye, so make sure you remove anything you need to save first.

Ok so yesterday i got the tires off so that i can get new ones in my local shop on wednesday. I'm going to replace the rear drum brakes once they get here in the mail. and the front brake pads look good but i'm going to replace the brake lines.

I pulled the carbs for the second time and they're being dipped right now.

With the gaskets and diaphragm i sprayed them with carb spray since they were not being dipped. I figured the spray was less damaging and would be alright but i went out this morning and scrubbed them with a little kerosene.

As for the chain... it's really stiff in some spots i'm sure the slowing that i was concerned with was due to the chain being a POS. i'm going to scrub the chain with kerosene tomorrow after i get my tires changed. Do you think that the chain will be saved by scrubbing it down and re lubing? I guess i'll just have to see after i'm done with it.

And one las thing i would like to do before i put the bike back together is check the valve clearances. they only reason i hesitate is that someone once told me that when working on a bike i should only fix one thing at a time.
Right now i feel like i'm doing almost everything at once...

Thanks for all the help!

[Mr Rogers]

So I got the carbs back together and they looks nice and clean. i went to put the choke assembly on the side of the left carb and sure enough the main pivot screw for the choke striped out... So now i'm chokeless until i can figure out a way to fix this.

Any ideas?

[pete]

So I got the carbs back together and they looks nice and clean. i went to put the choke assembly on the side of the left carb and sure enough the main pivot screw for the choke striped out... So now i'm chokeless until i can figure out a way to fix this.

Any ideas?

A thread repair kit will solve that nice and easy, just take your time and make sure you drill straight and don't go too deep. Just go deep enough to fit the thread insert.

Alternatively, you can do what I did and make a bracket so you can use a 'bar mounted choke setup, and that way you don't need the pivot screw at all.



As for worrying about what maintenance to do and doing one thing at a time, well that does make some sense, however more applies to troubleshooting than necessary maintenance.

I'd definitely do the valve adjustments regardless of anything else.

[Mr Rogers]

A thread repair kit will solve that nice and easy, just take your time and make sure you drill straight and don't go too deep. Just go deep enough to fit the thread insert.

Alternatively, you can do what I did and make a bracket so you can use a 'bar mounted choke setup, and that way you don't need the pivot screw at all.



As for worrying about what maintenance to do and doing one thing at a time, well that does make some sense, however more applies to troubleshooting than necessary maintenance.

I'd definitely do the valve adjustments regardless of anything else.

in that picture you've got your choke connected to an old throttle cable or something right? i cant tell quite what it looks like but i like the idea!

Yeah i'm doing more general maintenance than repairs as the bike runs fairly well already. I just want it bullet proof

I'm also having a little trouble with the fact that my bike is going to have to be out of commission for at least four days if i want to do the adjustment because i'll need to order shims or maybe a gasket... maybe my local bike shop though. either way it must be done!

[Mr Rogers]

It's christmas! In april?

Well i got three packages today in the mail, a really great feeling when all i've been thinking about is turning a wrench on my bike...

Unfortunately i've got to put everything away for two weeks while I finish up this semester or i'm going to be crawling over the finish line in pretty sorry shape.

I'll be back soon don't worry. In the meantime if ya'll got any suggestions send em' over!

John

[pete]

in that picture you've got your choke connected to an old throttle cable or something right? i cant tell quite what it looks like but i like the idea!

Yeah i'm doing more general maintenance than repairs as the bike runs fairly well already. I just want it bullet proof

I'm also having a little trouble with the fact that my bike is going to have to be out of commission for at least four days if i want to do the adjustment because i'll need to order shims or maybe a gasket... maybe my local bike shop though. either way it must be done!

Yep you got it spot on, it's my old throttle cable actuating the choke.

I got a later model GSXR left control that has the choke lever on it and made a couple of brackets to allow me to use that choke lever instead of the one on the carbs.

The throttle cable runs into the choke on the left control:



Couple of dodgy videos to show how the adaptor on the end of the choke arm allows the cable to pull it up and then let the springs pull it down again:



The forked bracket on the diaphragm cover acts like the stock throttle cable bracket between the carbs by allowing the nuts on the throttle cable to be tightened down to hold it in place but also provide some adjustment:



And that's how it all hooks up:



I always hated the carb mounted choke lever so was absolutely stoked when that all worked out.

Good luck with the end of the semester!

[Mr Rogers]

I know you guys like photos so here are some of the new tires waiting to be put on the bike... (they're begging me!)


IMG_7030 by John stanford Rogers, on Flickr


I had a quick question about this part here \/

Is this the proper positioning of this spacer? it seems like it should not be hanging like that...


IMG_7032 by John stanford Rogers, on Flickr

here is a picture of the black plastic cover off along with the spacer.


IMG_7033 by John stanford Rogers, on Flickr

[pete]

Looks about right to me, mine doesn't have the plastic cover at all, and that spacer gets held in properly between the fork leg and wheel once the axle goes through.

[bakirkwold]

Yes. Try putting the axle in and see how it looks. But I am pretty sure its right.

[Mr Rogers]

Ok i thought that that might be the case.
Do you guys ever add additional grease to your wheels before you put them back on the bike? I'm cleaning all of these huge spacers and then I was thinking the whole axle setup needed a good coat of bearing grease.

Also as far as cleaning goes what would you use to clean mag wheels?
Just the simple soap and hot water?