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1981 GS850G preparing for road trip

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    #16
    I think the header pipes are made of doubled skinned thick pipe so are unlikely to cause you problems. The rest as you say will just be a sorry rusting mess, despite your inventive welding fix. When they next blow through, I think your best bet would be to cut off the silencers and use some after market universal replacements.

    I love what you are doing. I wanted to ride to Rome in my fortieth year. I'm 54 now, still haven't got to Rome. Good luck with your plan.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    GSX400FX - very broken and in boxes; on its way to recovery after burning out a valve and being hidden away in my own garage for 28 years.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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      #17
      Originally posted by Noreg View Post
      Is the €1000 exhaust original? If I could get that for mine Id be thrilled.
      I think I saw something like that in ebay when looking for GS850 exhausts, but can't find it anymore. The cmsnl.com seems to list some items as "imperfect alternative" whatever that means... Not original of course.

      -81 GS850G
      -82 GS450

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        #18
        Originally posted by LeT View Post
        I think the header pipes are made of doubled skinned thick pipe so are unlikely to cause you problems. The rest as you say will just be a sorry rusting mess, despite your inventive welding fix. When they next blow through, I think your best bet would be to cut off the silencers and use some after market universal replacements.

        I love what you are doing. I wanted to ride to Rome in my fortieth year. I'm 54 now, still haven't got to Rome. Good luck with your plan.
        Yeah, I'm just hoping the chromed outer skins hold together for the duration of the trip. My budget is minimal
        Thanks for the encouragement! For your 55th you should definitely ride to Rome
        -81 GS850G
        -82 GS450

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          #19
          Does anybody know where to get a new steering column lock? It isn't quite the standard style which has a brass tab. This one has what looks like a round steel bar.
          steering lock.jpg
          -81 GS850G
          -82 GS450

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            #20
            Bought a pair of old Craven side boxes for the bike for 55€. Made in England. They are nice and slim so they don't stick too much out sideways and they have locks (must!). They may outdate the actual bike by a decade or two but I like the classic look. Plan is to make a mounting bracket for them which will extend back and make a grille on top of the rear fairing for a tent and other stuff. Then paint boxes to bike colour.

            craven_bag.jpg
            -81 GS850G
            -82 GS450

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              #21
              Originally posted by Juke Nukem View Post
              Bought a pair of old Craven side boxes for the bike for 55€. Made in England. They are nice and slim so they don't stick too much out sideways and they have locks (must!). They may outdate the actual bike by a decade or two but I like the classic look. Plan is to make a mounting bracket for them which will extend back and make a grille on top of the rear fairing for a tent and other stuff. Then paint boxes to bike colour.

              [ATTACH=CONFIG]61481[/ATTACH]
              Those are classics.
              I had a pair on an ex-Police BMW, and was grateful for their slimness through the traffic. You can get a surprising amount of stuff in them, too.
              ---- Dave
              79 GS850N - Might be a trike soon.
              80 GS850T Single HIF38 S.U. SH775, Tow bar, Pantera II. Gnarly workhorse & daily driver.
              79 XS650SE - Pragmatic Ratter - goes better than a manky old twin should.
              92 XJ900F - Fairly Stock, for now.

              Only a dog knows why a motorcyclist sticks his head out of a car window

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                #22
                Originally posted by Juke Nukem View Post
                Does anybody know where to get a new steering column lock? It isn't quite the standard style which has a brass tab. This one has what looks like a round steel bar.
                [ATTACH=CONFIG]61431[/ATTACH]
                You must have a lock that is different than what we have here in the USA.

                Our steering lock is incorporated into the ignition lock.

                .
                sigpic
                mine: 2000 Honda GoldWing GL1500SE and 1980 GS850G'K' "Junior"
                hers: 1982 GS850GL - "Angel" and 1969 Suzuki T250 Scrambler
                #1 son: 1986 Yamaha Venture Royale 1300 and 1982 GS650GL "Rat Bagger"
                #2 son: 1980 GS1000G
                Family Portrait
                Siblings and Spouses
                Mom's first ride
                Want a copy of my valve adjust spreadsheet for your 2-valve per cylinder engine? Send me an e-mail request (not a PM)
                (Click on my username in the upper-left corner for e-mail info.)

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                  #23
                  Originally posted by Steve View Post
                  You must have a lock that is different than what we have here in the USA.

                  Our steering lock is incorporated into the ignition lock.

                  .
                  That's interesting. Well there are always these small differences between Europe & US.

                  Yeah these work so that the handlebar is turned to extreme right and then that whole thing pushes in to a slot in the steering axle and then it's locked. Apparently with enough force it breaks though but may discourage some potential bike thieves.
                  -81 GS850G
                  -82 GS450

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                    #24
                    Originally posted by Juke Nukem View Post
                    I think I saw something like that in ebay when looking for GS850 exhausts, but can't find it anymore. The cmsnl.com seems to list some items as "imperfect alternative" whatever that means... Not original of course.

                    https://www.cmsnl.com/products/imper.../#.Xx_Nlp4zZaQ

                    It says it has dents, its in the picture. They are fairly minor.
                    GS1000G 1981

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                      #25
                      Today I started to diagnose the charging system more closely as per the instructions in my manual. I made a new grounding directly from the R/R to battery negative - no effect. Then did the no-load test and measured the AC voltage between the different disconnected cables from the stator. At 5000rpm all were well over the 75V limit mentioned in the manual so the stator seems fine! Will install a new R/R next.
                      -81 GS850G
                      -82 GS450

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                        #26
                        I bought a really cheap Chinese R/R from ebay (did I mention my budget is close to zero). Its cables are pretty good looking (thicker gauge than in the original) and the potting looks very good. I didn't want to start cutting the wire harness of the bike, so I took the connectors from the old R/R along with a length of cable, and soldered them carefully to the new unit. I also extended the ground to go directly to battery negative. Lo and behold, charging now works! Voltages are according to manual. This is excellent, fixing the charging was worrying me a lot. Hope the cheapo unit lasts.
                        rr.jpg
                        -81 GS850G
                        -82 GS450

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                          #27
                          Well, since you went cheap, you might want to obtain a handlebar mounted volt meter to monitor the charging. You can find them with USB outlets to charge your phone, or run a Go Pro,etc
                          1978 GS 1000 (since new)
                          1979 GS 1000 (The Fridge, superbike replica project)
                          1978 GS 1000 (parts)
                          1981 GS 850 (anyone want a project?)
                          1981 GPZ 550 (backroad screamer)
                          1970 450 Mk IIID (THUMP!)
                          2007 DRz 400S
                          1999 ATK 490ES
                          1994 DR 350SES

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                            #28
                            Originally posted by Big T View Post
                            Well, since you went cheap, you might want to obtain a handlebar mounted volt meter to monitor the charging. You can find them with USB outlets to charge your phone, or run a Go Pro,etc
                            Thanks, I had a plan to rig a sat nav to the handlebar and that could also provide power for it.
                            -81 GS850G
                            -82 GS450

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                              #29
                              Twice now has the leaky fuel petcock (and flooding carb) filled my engine with petrol. The local well equipped bike parts shop had a TourMax brand replacement petcock in stock. It was 39€ and immediately available so I went for it. First thing I noticed was that it is missing the selector lever completely. On closer inspection the bolt spacing is also wrong, 50mm instead of 44mm. Double fail, super annoying. I would really like to get rid of the vacuum system, so maybe I'll try to do that right away instead of trying to fix the existing system first. I know about the Pingel replacement. It's a bit expensive but it might be I'll have to get it anyway.
                              petcock.jpg
                              -81 GS850G
                              -82 GS450

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                                #30
                                Why get rid of something that works very well? Buy a new petcock from Suzuki and be done with it
                                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"

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