Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Mechanic says its time to let go of '81 GS750EX

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    When was the last valve adjustment? Brake fluid change out? Clean the air filter? Chain and tire condition? Steering head and swingarm bearings? Charging system?

    Preventive maintenance is what keeps our bikes from breaking down on the road. The things I mention here are but a few. It's crazy to just jump on a 35 year old bike and ride without performing the basic maintenance as called out in the service manual.
    Ed

    To measure is to know.

    Mikuni O-ring Kits For Sale...https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...ts#post1703182

    Top Newbie Mistakes thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=171846

    Carb rebuild tutorial...https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac...d_Tutorial.pdf

    KZ750E Rebuild Thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...0-Resurrection

    Comment


      #17
      Perhaps the OP should ask if there are other GSR members living in his area, so that a knowledgeable member can take a look at his bike to determine what is wrong, and then guide him through the maintenance tasks, allowing him to learn.
      Last edited by 2BRacing; 07-12-2017, 01:54 PM.
      1981 GS850G "Blue Magic" (Bike Of The Month April 2009)

      1981 GS1000G "Leo" (Bike Of The Month August 2023)

      Comment


        #18
        Yeah; maybe that sounded a bit too harsh, I admit.

        Re-reading the symptoms; I concur with the majority of opinions here; this reads like a failed petcock. Not a huge task to rectify, can be done on the sidewalk if necessary.

        But in the long term you do have to prepare yourself to do most stuff on the bike yourself, and more importantly, get personal with the bike. This also allows you to order a shop/mechanic to do specific tasks; for which they/he can quote a realistic, if not reasonable price. It is exactly that – and more importantly, the GSR – which allowed me as a complete novice to both riding and vehicle mechanics to start out with a bike that is older than me: I could/can outsource anything beyond my current capabilities/equipment, and do the rest by myself.

        The mechanic was doing you a favor by refusing to dig into the unknown (at least, unknown to him); if instead you'd asked him to adjust the valves, he much more likely would've done it.

        Also, you will inevitably spend more on the bike than its worth; regular maintenance and deprecation* will take care of that (though this is true of any bike).

        *Highly subjective
        #1: 1979 GS 550 EC "Red" – Very first Bike / Overhaul thread        New here? ☛ Read the Top 10 Newbie mistakes thread
        #2: 1978 GS 550 EC "Blue" – Can't make it a donor / "Rebuild" thread     Manuals (and much more): See Cliff's homepage here
        #3: 2014 Moto Guzzi V7 II Racer – One needs a runner while wrenching
        #4: 1980 Moto Guzzi V65C – Something to chill

        Comment


          #19
          Fixing the root cause is easy, just replace the petcock and change the oil. However, I can tell you exactly why the mechanic wanted no part of this.

          If the bike was running on thinned-out oil for a long time, there's no telling what damage was done to the engine internally. In the best case, no serious damage was done and you'll just have to rebuild the engine at 90,000 miles instead of 100,000 miles (to pull figures out of thin air). In the worst case, your pistons and cylinders are shot, crankshaft bearings have spun, and the camshaft lobes are scored. Your engine is probably somewhere in the middle but you won't know where without a complete tear-down and inspection of the engine.
          Charles
          --
          1979 Suzuki GS850G

          Read BassCliff's GSR Greeting and Mega-Welcome!

          Comment


            #20
            There is only one mechanic within 50 miles of me here in Bedford Indiana that will even look at my '79 gs. They just don't want to do the work and then get stuck with a old bike they can't sale for enough money to get what they are owed when the customer can't or won't pay the bill. As frustrating as it is, I understand their reasoning. I even offered to pre-pay a few hundred bucks to get them started, but they didn't want the next guy to be like "but you did his bike".

            Comment


              #21
              Originally posted by eil View Post
              Fixing the root cause is easy, just replace the petcock and change the oil. However, I can tell you exactly why the mechanic wanted no part of this.

              If the bike was running on thinned-out oil for a long time, there's no telling what damage was done to the engine internally. In the best case, no serious damage was done and you'll just have to rebuild the engine at 90,000 miles instead of 100,000 miles (to pull figures out of thin air). In the worst case, your pistons and cylinders are shot, crankshaft bearings have spun, and the camshaft lobes are scored. Your engine is probably somewhere in the middle but you won't know where without a complete tear-down and inspection of the engine.

              The other thing about working on old bikes is that you dont know what else is going to break when you remove parts to get to the initial problem you want to fix. It can sometimes be a massive rabbit hole - especially when replacement parts are NLA or difficult to find.

              I was lucky in that the shop I worked in was also a wrecker (boneyard, breakers, whatever) so we had access to a stockpile of parts bikes to obtain parts from. Even then, when you charge for labour at reasonable rates and parts at below cost people were still thinking they were getting ripped off.
              Current:
              Z1300A5 Locomotive (swapped my Intruder for it), GS450 Cafe Project (might never finish it....), XT500 Commuter (I know - it's a Yamaha )

              Past:
              VL1500 Intruder (swapped for Z1300), ZX9R Streetfighter (lets face it - too fast....), 1984 GSX750EF, 1984 GSX1100EF (AKA GS1150)
              And a bunch of other crap Yamahas....

              Comment


                #22
                Originally posted by hillsy View Post
                The other thing about working on old bikes is that you dont know what else is going to break when you remove parts to get to the initial problem you want to fix. It can sometimes be a massive rabbit hole - especially when replacement parts are NLA or difficult to find.

                I was lucky in that the shop I worked in was also a wrecker (boneyard, breakers, whatever) so we had access to a stockpile of parts bikes to obtain parts from. Even then, when you charge for labour at reasonable rates and parts at below cost people were still
                thinking they were getting ripped off.
                When I bought my GS750EX, I quickly realized the same when my starter clutch started to go out. I drove 2 1/2 hours to pick up a $250 basket case GS750EX as a parts bike. It was low mileage and had great sets of spare on it that paid for itself several times over (starting with the starter clutch assembly).

                Comment


                  #23
                  Parts Bike is where it's at!

                  Buy an identical bike like I did. Spare parts!!!

                  Like was said, other than major surgery, do the work yourself (if you can). Otherwise, set aside a bike fund and find a great bike shop like I did.


                  Ed
                  GS750TZ V&H/4-1, Progressive Shocks, Rebuilt MC/braided line, Tarozzi Stabilizer[Seq#2312]
                  GS750TZ Parts Bike [Seq#6036]
                  GSX-R750Y (Sold)

                  my opinion shouldn't be taken as gospel or in any way that would lead you to believe otherwise (30Sep2021)
                  Originally posted by GSXR7ED
                  Forums are pretty much unrecognizable conversations; simply because it's a smorgasbord of feedback...from people we don't know. It's not too difficult to ignore the things that need to be bypassed.

                  Comment


                    #24
                    Originally posted by posplayr View Post
                    When I bought my GS750EX, I quickly realized the same when my starter clutch started to go out. I drove 2 1/2 hours to pick up a $250 basket case GS750EX as a parts bike. It was low mileage and had great sets of spare on it that paid for itself several times over (starting with the starter clutch assembly).
                    I did the same thing when I bought one of my XJ900's - the guy I bought it from had a 2nd bike which I picked up in the deal.

                    Funny thing was I never needed any spares for the XJ - it never missed a beat
                    Current:
                    Z1300A5 Locomotive (swapped my Intruder for it), GS450 Cafe Project (might never finish it....), XT500 Commuter (I know - it's a Yamaha )

                    Past:
                    VL1500 Intruder (swapped for Z1300), ZX9R Streetfighter (lets face it - too fast....), 1984 GSX750EF, 1984 GSX1100EF (AKA GS1150)
                    And a bunch of other crap Yamahas....

                    Comment


                      #25
                      Brake fluid change out last spring with new hoses installed; air filter cleaned last spring; pulled and replaced plugs last spring; tires replaced in 2012; chain and sprocket in good condition.

                      As for the steering head and swingarm bearings, I haven't checked them. Haven't gone through the charging system and aside from periodically replacing the battery haven't gone into anything in the electrical system.

                      Comment


                        #26
                        Originally posted by 2BRacing View Post
                        Perhaps the OP should ask if there are other GSR members living in his area, so that a knowledgeable member can take a look at his bike to determine what is wrong, and then guide him through the maintenance tasks, allowing him to learn.
                        I'd love that. I've got space to work, and some time but nothing by way of experience.

                        Comment


                          #27
                          You may want to replace those tires again depending on what the date code is and what shape they are in
                          sigpic
                          Cowboy Up or Quit. - Run Free Lou and Rest in Peace

                          1981 GS550T - My First
                          1981 GS550L - My Eldest Daughter's
                          2007 GSF1250SA Bandit - My touring bike

                          Sit tall in the saddle Hold your head up high
                          Keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky and live like you ain't afraid to die
                          and don't be scared, just enjoy your ride - Chris Ledoux, "The Ride"

                          Comment


                            #28
                            Originally posted by SamSeattle View Post
                            Brake fluid change out last spring with new hoses installed; air filter cleaned last spring; pulled and replaced plugs last spring; tires replaced in 2012; chain and sprocket in good condition.

                            As for the steering head and swingarm bearings, I haven't checked them. Haven't gone through the charging system and aside from periodically replacing the battery haven't gone into anything in the electrical system.
                            Did you do this work on the bike? If so, changing the fuel tap and cleaning the carbs is within your skill set.
                            Current:
                            Z1300A5 Locomotive (swapped my Intruder for it), GS450 Cafe Project (might never finish it....), XT500 Commuter (I know - it's a Yamaha )

                            Past:
                            VL1500 Intruder (swapped for Z1300), ZX9R Streetfighter (lets face it - too fast....), 1984 GSX750EF, 1984 GSX1100EF (AKA GS1150)
                            And a bunch of other crap Yamahas....

                            Comment


                              #29
                              And check the valve adjustment, for the love of cod.

                              With parts like this just waiting around, you can keep this bike going:
                              "Thought he, it is a wicked world in all meridians; I'll die a pagan."
                              ~Herman Melville

                              2016 1200 Superlow
                              1982 CB900f

                              Comment


                                #30
                                Originally posted by SamSeattle View Post
                                Brake fluid change out last spring with new hoses installed; air filter cleaned last spring; pulled and replaced plugs last spring; tires replaced in 2012; chain and sprocket in good condition.

                                As for the steering head and swingarm bearings, I haven't checked them. Haven't gone through the charging system and aside from periodically replacing the battery haven't gone into anything in the electrical system.
                                You don't ride much, do you? The tires are probably older than 2012. Check the date codes. You may need to replace them.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X