1981 GS4509-E upgrades?

[firexit1A]

I bought a fairly nice 81 GS 450-E. I have ridden GS450-L's and the E seems like it has a fair amount more power? Or is that my imagination. Anyway I quickly came to love this little bike and have decided to make it " cool ". So questions! Where can I get steel braided brake line, after I install the 2 into 1 pipe, is there anything to gain by chucking the oem air box and using pods? Will any GS 500 parts fit the 450 OR will a GS 500 engine bolt in??This is going to be my winter project so I am looking for any COOL ideas!! Or advice!

Thanks,

Brian

 

[Boba]

You literally registered and posted this without reading anything on this website didn't you? There is literally a thread about this exact topic. The thread title is even almost the same.

Before you start modifying the bike, make sure everything is in order. Get it running perfectly, do a leakdown test, do a full maintenance on her from valves, carbs, forks, chain, etc.

And no, the 450L model had the same exact motor as the E and the S. Tuned properly, they all make about the same power and torque with small variations obviously

http://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...de-modification-possibilities&highlight=gs500

 

[Boba]

Some sticky threads that you missed for you below

Try this out, introduce yourself in the GS Owners section and read this first before creating your intro:
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?196338-New-Members-CLICK-HERE!!

Read this, it's about adding pods and pipes to your carbureted motor:
http://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...-Pods-Pipes-Panic!-(Help!-Your-Bike-has-Pods)

How to tune your carbs, this procedure works absolutely great, I would know being that I have the exact same motor and carbs as you:
http://www.factorypro.com/tech_tuning_procedures/tuning_carbtune,CV,high_rpm_engines.html

Browse through just about every link on Bikecliff's website, basically everything is helpful. There is a downloadable manual for the gs450 twin, a step by step procedure that makes rebuilding the carbs incredibly easy (with pictures!), and wiring diagrams all linked in his website:
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

Where to get parts? There's plenty of places but this site has competitive prices and their shipping is nice and cheap. Other sites might come close to the prices but not in the shipping:
www.partsoutlaw.com

Finally, to answer some of your questions directly. Yes, some gs500 parts bolt on and work well with some amount of modification. Specifically popular are the carburetors and sometimes even the camshafts. The website I linked in the previous reply has a lot of information on this.

If you're going 2-1 pipe, you might as well do pods. Be careful with pods, if you buy cheap ones that have a large inner lip, it blocks the top air port on the carburetor inlet and you will never get it tuned right. I personally am a fan of K&N as they don't do this. Or you could screw it all and get velocity stacks.

Once you do that, rejetting WILL BE REQUIRED. Since you have an entire winter to take your carbs apart, soak them, clean them, and replace your gaskets and o-rings, you will have a chance to redo your jets as well. Places to buy jets and o-rings:
Has authentic Mikuni Jets: www.jetsrus.com
Makes o-ring kits specific to our bikes: www.cycleorings.com

Good luck.

 

[tkent02]

500 cylinders bolt right up for an easy 10% displacement increase.

 

[Oldman99]

500 cylinders bolt right up for an easy 10% displacement increase.

Aww, You beat me too it.