1980 gs450 project, oh boy

[MLow]

Another pic showing my slack wires. How can I get that stuff more organized?



And some pics showing the dim high beam problem I still can't solve.

LOW beam.


HIGH beam.

I took those pics with very low exposure to show the dramatic difference. The low beam illuminates well rode around in the dark and could see well. It's aim and shape are right on. The high beam however is only shaped the right way, hard to tell from pic, it has the correct shape in that it illuminates a higher angle up but the brightness is much less. Pretty much useless.

Any ideas? I swapped bulbs with a known good one off my ninja, I cleaned the switch contacts, I checked the wiring was good. I even reversed the wires and wired the low beam to high and vise-versa with no effect.

Is there just something odd going on here and I need to do relays?

 

[Guest]

There's a bunch of wiring normally tucked into the headlight bucket... ugly but how they do it from the factory. Unless you plan on doing something a little more fancy like shortening the loom up there then that's about the only thing you can do. Aside from cable ties etc. of course.

As for your high beam, definitely weird.

Which switch contacts have you cleaned? On mine, the headlight switch is on the right control, the high beam switch is a part of the indicator switch on the left control. If you haven't cleaned both of those up, go to it... only thing I can think of right now...

 

[MLow]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vehicle-H4-90W-Headlight-Lamp-Cable-w-Relay-Yellow-for-Motorcycle-/350869934227?_trksid=p2054897.l4275

Look like a good price, but I have to wonder about the quality of the relays...

Should be good enough to try, and if the relays are bad/go out the sockets/wires they come with should let me just plug in a higher quality relay.

What do you think?

I'm thinking that the switches I got for whatever reason are not good enough for the high beam wattage but ok for the lower watt low beam.

The other thing I'm thinking about doing is using LED's for the indicator lights. Highbeam, oil, neutral, and turn. I'm missing 2 of the bulb holders and their wiring. So I figured I may as well make a little set of led's with resistors to work at the 12-15v that the R/R runs at.

I think that the R/R is close to going because it puts out pretty high 15v. But not over what the service manual says is acceptable. At 5000rpm it's like 15.25v. Which seems high but that's what the manual says is close to normal and not over what is suppose to be replaced.

I haven't checked for the stator output. I'm not sure what the normal range for that is.

I'm thinking I might put the license plate vertical off of the axle or something.
With a mount plate like this.

Looks like this.

Maybe not, because it might **** off local LEO's. But just a thought. Since the Texas law says plate must be readable from 200ft. They might get me for not having a light on it, or it being too hard to read from 200ft. I need to get a sheet of steel to make a "fender" under the seat to protect the airbox and electronics. Might as well use the rest of the steel to fashion a license plate mount.

 

[Guest]

They should be ok I think. My stock switches are fine running my H4 bulb though...

I dunno how your laws work over there but here you really need it at the back and illuminated to avoid any issues.

 

[MLow]

Yeah your probably right. I see the a lot here though.

As for the switches, the only ones I could find were off a year later model. Maybe that model came with relays? The wires are heavy gauge though.

 

[jeffasaurus2]

Maybe already covered but have you tried cleaning all the contacts in the switches yet? I've used the aerosol spray from auto stores for contact cleaning and its done a pretty good job of removing buildup. Maybe something to try?

 

[MLow]

Yeah the problem I think is cause it's an 80 and the switches are from later year. So I think they used relays in later years not sure.

Those switch contacts have never been cleaner I swear. Alcohol(isopropyl), cotton swabs, and compressed air saw to that.

 

[MLow]

Wow ok so I lost a huge post. Probably for the better I just rambled anyways.

I got my vermon plate and registration in the mail. Waiting for the real registration tag, they just sent a temp tag and paper for now promising my real one will follow in a matter of 1-2 days. Took a week from my proper submission. First one was the wrong tax amount.(go figure)

I fixed my headlamp. I wired the connector wrong. It really doesn't matter how you wire it if you want light to come out, not for long though haha. Wire it right and it happily puts out tons of light. It even switched from low to high properly. Imagine that, all I had to do was wire it right...

It just needs a bracket to mount the plate on to, and an inspection sticker.

I don't know what I'm doing here so I'm going to go to a trusted bike guy who does inspections and see what happens. I scoured the Texas Traffic Codes so I know the basics I think. But it's all in the air with a project bike I guess, just gotta see what they find.

 

[Zahg]

Awesome, glad to hear Vermont is still doing this...I just mailed mine out on Monday.
Not sure if you can get it inspected with out of state plates, think I read that you can only get a ticket for no inspection in the state the bike is registered anyways...Don't quote me on that though, I'm not 100% sure. Call and ask first I guess.

 

[MLow]

Awesome, glad to hear Vermont is still doing this...I just mailed mine out on Monday.
Not sure if you can get it inspected with out of state plates, think I read that you can only get a ticket for no inspection in the state the bike is registered anyways...Don't quote me on that though, I'm not 100% sure. Call and ask first I guess.

Called and asked, your welcome .

Told him it was out of state and he said on top of the inspection sticker they give you a special form filled out to take to the dmv for your in-state registration.

So yes you will spend a chunk of change, double dip on the tax.

Called the tax office, she said bring insurance, id, registration, and special form from inspection. That gets your in-state plate and registration...for a fee but of course. Grand total $170 from what I can tell. $640 nada price but Texas don't care, she said $90 flat fee from out of state. From there I'm assuming it's a simple fee away from a title. I don't know I haven't gotten that far. I'm still trying to get it in shape for inspection.

Bad news though, one of the 3 bolts holding on the rear combo light snapped, deep in the rear combo light. Going to look at the parts fische to see what can be done about it. I was this close....

 

[MLow]

Epic. So it's a plate in there. #35727-44130

Not bolts. Maybe I can fashion something to pass inspection but that's a tough one. I might have to go with an aftermarket tail/stop/plate light setup. We'll see. I'm still trying to crack it open, the phillips head screws are rust-welded in.

 

[MLow]

Ended up turning the back of the combo light half to pry out the metal plate, and squeeze in 3 bolts with washers.

It's holding pretty darn good. Bike passed inspection(which was silly fast). And I rode it to work and around town and it was just splendid. I was having to hold myself back because it has new tires but I really wanted to dive into corners and rev it out. But I managed to keep safe.

The inspection was like, a visual look at things quickly. Then he asked for my key and checked the headlight(high/low), stop light with both brakes individually(both switches have to work), horn, then he got on and played with the front brakes. When I say that I mean he rolled a little then held the front brake in. Did that a few times then gave me an odd look, looked at the disc. And he said something like "man i forget how far we've come in brakes". He recorded the odometer reading and...that was pretty much it. Later I asked what he meant about the brakes(after he put the sticker on) and he said it felt a little lacking. Said I should really look into it, clean the disc, change pads. That it should grip a bit more, but it wasn't dangerous at this point.

So I think i'll take his advice because well... He seemed a really honest dude and I think it was an honest suggestion as a rider not inspector.

Anyways, my vermont permanent registration should come in the mail soon. Then I won't be far off at all from a title and complete legal status.

Parts still missing off the bike are rear fender and turn signals(and relay). So I think over time as I get a little more money I will tackle those things. But for now, I mean she's pretty much done....

I'll update this thread with pics of her "complete" when I get her washed off tomorrow. Kind of like completing the story kinda with pretty pictures. And yes, everyone at work was admiring her. The motorcycle inspector urged me to take her to the vintage bike rally here when it comes.(hehe) I don't really think it's a vintage bike but it certainly seems to be getting positive attentions from all kinds not even bike people.(from work) About how just darn neat and classic it looks. And it's a joy to ride so we all win. Thanks guys for all the help and the suggestions.

 

[Guest]

Good news, glad to hear it!

As for the front brake, I upgraded to a braided steel line and rebuilt the caliper. My master cylinder was stuffed so I got a new one but you should be able to rebuild yours if necessary.

If it still has the original rubber hose up front, then that's going to be the main source of your issues. Suzuki say replace them every 2 years...

 

[MLow]

I tested it a couple times and it seemed safe. Didn't lock though. I'm guessing that it's safer if I can make it lock. But at the same time less safe...if you know what I'm getting at.

I'll clean the disc.. That's something I didn't do. I flushed the fluid. Maybe then I'll get something(a kit?) to rebuild it, and new pads. Suppose next step would be a new line?

As is it grabs quite good, not as good as my ninja but close. I just assumed it was the single caliper making it less grabby. But I will take all the advice I can get. If you think it should grip more then I'll put some money aside next paycheck in a week.

 

[Guest]

If it's got a rubber hose on there, then that should be the very first thing to replace.

No way to know if it's 30 years old or not but there's a good chance it is and it will be stuffed. The rubber hoses expand under pressure and will compromise your braking ability. A new braided steel line will not do that and will make a good improvement.

If the master cylinder and caliper are ok then no need to rebuilt them, just a good flush should have sorted them out.

 

[jeffasaurus2]

Congrats on having everything back together, and, somewhat, legal!

My two cents, Stainless Lines made a world of difference on my 450. Rebuilt the caliper at the same time so no idea how much of an impact that made in conjunction with the lines, but they were noticeable together.

I've recently upgraded to the saltymonk disc conversion. Only one side, but it makes an enormous difference! The newer rotor and twin-pot caliper make a noticeable difference over stock braking.

 

[MLow]

Alright so it is rubber hose, so I will look into that as a safety thing to prioritize on replacing.

Something I did notice, maybe it was a tad windy today but not very. Was that at 50+mph the handlebars seems to have a little bit of a wiggle from time to time. Mostly when accelerating. So lets say I get out of the merge lane and give it a bit of gas. The front does a little wiggle. Not too terrifying but something I was thinking about nonetheless. It was certainly enough to make me not want to continue accelerating for fear of it developing into a tank slapper or something. Goes away on deceleration.

Also I gave the brakes a pretty good test when a light changed to yellow unexpectedly. So "they work", in that they certainly applied enough force for my to think I might start skidding soon. But all was well, just a bit of a test I guess.

All in all it's good stuff but I figured I'd bring up the wobble/wallow thing. I have noticed that on my ninja the last time I rode it a few days ago. It was a lot colder that day than normal, like 20 degrees colder than normal, and the back had a good amount of wallow. Which stayed for the whole ride pretty much. Give it a bit of gas and it gets worse. Just a very rubbery not planted feeling in the rear. Now with the GS it kind of feels the same but in the front .

I am starting to think that I am cursed lol. I am a lightweight guy and I have my suspicions that it is preload setting wrong on both bikes. However I am not sure how to adjust forks for preload....

Finally I have noticed that the left side of the engine is noticeably cooler than the right. The fins, the pipe. Cool enough to almost rest my hand on. While the right is blisteringly hot. My first thought goes to carb sync. But I looked and kind of am confused about how to do that on this bike.

Thanks all for the suggestions, I'll look into doing a steel braided line, cleaning the disc, replacing pads, flushing again. Also I will do some research on the saltymonk disc conversion. But I feel like they are already pretty good. Still can't hurt if it's not an expensive mod to ensure I have the best tools to save my life one day, if not the ability . I have made my ninja's rear skid a few times.

I am still waiting on the permanent registration from vermont, then I will go try to get the title/plate for Texas.

 

[Zahg]

Finally I have noticed that the left side of the engine is noticeably cooler than the right. The fins, the pipe. Cool enough to almost rest my hand on. While the right is blisteringly hot. My first thought goes to carb sync. But I looked and kind of am confused about how to do that on this bike.

When you cleaned the carbs, did you remember to remove the needle jets?
I forgot on my first go-through and also had my left cylinder only firing half the time if that... Had to pull the carbs again and clean them out with carb spray, a tooth brush, and q-tips. Also put some seafoam into the tank to help that extra bit.

 

[MLow]

Seafoam, have it sitting in the garage and didn't even think of that. Yes I completely disassembled the carbs and soaked everything tiny and metal overnight. Blasted everything, all the nooks and crannies, channels. Those carbs are damn near spotless. Set the float heights, made sure the jet sizes were stock.

So really i'm just hoping it's a sync thing. I mean my ninja was really off sync bad and it took like 30 minutes to warm up it was crazy. Synced the carbs and bam, sucker heats up in 2 minutes. I'm having that same issues with warming up taking a while. IE; can't take choke off for like 5 minutes. Once it's warm it's good to go though. Doesn't have anything funny going on with throttle, hanging, bogging, or anything like that. It is a slight bit rough, but again, not any worse than my ninja in low rpm(also a side-by-side twin) when it was out of sync.

 

[jeffasaurus2]

A vacuum sync would probably help, I use this set-up with great success.

Regarding warm-up, when its colder, say < 45F out, it easily takes ~4-5 minutes idle with choke to get it warmed up properly. From what I understand this isn't uncommon.