1981 GS450E Rebuild

[Guest]

Pete, the brake lever looks exactly like mine. I'd say it's OEM.

If you don't feel like rebuilding the master cylinder, they are available for $35. My master cylinder is brand new with new brake lines . Two finger braking.

Is yours a slightly brown colour? My brake and clutch levers are different colours, and the clutch looks more OEM to me... but maybe it's the other way around and the brake is the OEM?

Where did you score a master cylinder for $35? I've looked on all the parts fiche's and the best I can do is get a new piston and cup set and new reservoir etc., and those will cost well over $35.

 

[Flaming Chainsaws]

Is yours a slightly brown colour? My brake and clutch levers are different colours, and the clutch looks more OEM to me... but maybe it's the other way around and the brake is the OEM?

Where did you score a master cylinder for $35? I've looked on all the parts fiche's and the best I can do is get a new piston and cup set and new reservoir etc., and those will cost well over $35.

Actually my brake lever is sort of brown with a purplish tint to it. I repainted it black now. My clutch lever is black. Hmmm....

Found it on eBay. It was NOS and OEM. Also complete.

Here's an aftermarket one.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FRON...6778943QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

I guess I got lucky and found an OEM one . They have some kits available.
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_tr...450+master+cylinder&_sacat=See-All-Categories

 

[Charlie G]

Pete,

These photos of your brake parts are impressing upon me the need to tear into my brake systems.

cg

 

[Guest]

Actually my brake lever is sort of brown with a purplish tint to it. I repainted it black now. My clutch lever is black. Hmmm....

Found it on eBay. It was NOS and OEM. Also complete.

Here's an aftermarket one.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FRON...6778943QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

I guess I got lucky and found an OEM one . They have some kits available.
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_tr...450+master+cylinder&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Hmmm... not sure.

I know mines been dropped a few times over the years going by scrapes and things, so maybe both of our brake levers are after market?

As for a master cylinder, I'm not real keen on an after market one from eBay as I don't know where it came from. Kits may be ok, but I'll probably stick with a dealer here or get them shipped from Boulevard Suzuki again.

http://s594.photobucket.com/albums/... and Brakes/?action=view&current=IMG_2417.jpg
Pete,

These photos of your brake parts are impressing upon me the need to tear into my brake systems.

cg

If you're not sure on the state of them Charlie, I'd definitely do it. Not something you want failing in the middle of a ride...

 

[landshark]

Pete, do you have twin calipers or single?
The reservoir i have looks like yours(so measure it and let me know), it has been fitted to the bike, but i took it off and i am now running an radial master cylinder.
If you have twin discs i maybe able to get another radial for you.

 

[Guest]

Mine's just a single disc up front, so I'll give it a measure tonight and let you know.

Is this just the reservoir or the master cylinder as well?

Either way, it will be a great help if it fits

 

[Guest]

Ok, measured it up tonight.

Reservoir is 70mm long x 37mm wide x 30mm deep without the lid.

The circular bit that seats in the master cylinder is about 27mm diameter.

If you're talking about the whole master cylinder as well, then according to my manual the bore of the cylinder should be about 14mm

Other than measuring that up, got nothing else done tonight...

 

[landshark]

I'll measure the reservoir tonight for you, I dont think the whole thing will suit as it is off a twin caliper, but the reservoir might?

 

[herostar]

That master cylinder is gross!

If you're already buying new brake parts, why not do the big-rotor swap that's fairly common on the bigger bikes. I think all you need is the larger rotor, an adapter plate (from someone on the forums here, or homemade if you're mechanically inclined), and the new caliper. We can do the same swap as the dual-rotor front bikes, but just with a single rotor.

I'd have to do a little digging to get the specifics, I just remember this option from when I was redoing my brakes last summer...

 

[Guest]

I'll measure the reservoir tonight for you, I dont think the whole thing will suit as it is off a twin caliper, but the reservoir might?

I did the Babbitts Online search and looks like the reservoir is the same for heaps. Part number 59687-45100:

GN400T (1980)
GN400T (1981)
GN400TX (1980)
GN400TX (1981)
GN400XT (1980)
GN400XT (1981)
GN400XX (1980)
GN400XX (1981)
GS1000G (1980)
GS1000G (1981)
GS450E (1983)
GS450ET (1980)
GS450ET (1981)
GS450ET (1982)
GS450EX (1980)
GS450EX (1981)
GS450EX (1982)
GS450EZ (1980)
GS450EZ (1981)
GS450EZ (1982)
GS450ST (1980)
GS450ST (1981)
GS450ST (1982)
GS450SX (1980)
GS450SX (1981)
GS450SX (1982)
GS750E (1980)
GS750E (1981)
GS850G (1980)
GS850G (1981)

So I dare say it's the right one.

There's no part number for the cylinder, but the piston and cup set only seem to fit 400/450's mainly with a few of the larger single disc models, so I'd say you're right that the cylinder will be no good.

That master cylinder is gross!

If you're already buying new brake parts, why not do the big-rotor swap that's fairly common on the bigger bikes. I think all you need is the larger rotor, an adapter plate (from someone on the forums here, or homemade if you're mechanically inclined), and the new caliper. We can do the same swap as the dual-rotor front bikes, but just with a single rotor.

I'd have to do a little digging to get the specifics, I just remember this option from when I was redoing my brakes last summer...

You got that straight! Disgusting...

I'll have to look into the rotor swap. If it means I need to make brackets and things it's probably beyond my capability though and I wouldn't be confident doing that for something to do with something critical like brakes.

I also need it to pass a roadworthy certificate.

However, definitely worth looking into, time for some searching around over Easter.

 

[Guest]

I tried to update this last night, but my internet connection turned to crap, so I had to bail out.

Anyway, missed a couple of things with the front brake.

Pulled the seal out from the caliper piston:



It's a bit hard, so definitely needs replacing.

The diaphragm seems to have gotten into better shape sitting on the bench, so John's suggestion may work yet:



And I pulled the metal bracket off the reservoir cover to clean them up:



So onto the rear drum. When I did the paint on the back wheel, I broke the glaze on the lining and shoes, but didn't adjust it.

First I located this spring:



That belongs here:



And put it on:



That explains why the brake lever didn't feel right.

There's a bolt hiding under that spring to adjust the lever height, which I adjusted as per the manual for now, 20 - 30mm below the foot peg.

Now the adjustor bolt on the rod to the brake actuator is nowhere near right and pushing on the brake lever doesn't even come close to engaging the shoes on the liner:



Wound it in quite a way so there's about 20 - 30mm of lever movement to engage the brake:



With the brake on hard it's still well within the wear marks too.

I'll fine tune the adjustments once I can get on a ride it, but at least it works now.

Next, onto the clutch lever and cable.

Hung the cable up to lube while I started on the lever, turns out I have a little shelf at the perfect height:



I just used WD for the moment, should be good enough to make sure the cable's ok. It's not frayed or anything and looks and feels good after the lube job.

 

[Guest]

One grungy clutch lever that is definitely different to the brake lever:



I'm not concerned about the mismatch, and if I do the whole scrambler thing with the hand guards, they'll be hidden anyway.

Dismantled it for cleaning:



All cleaned up including a nut I found in my cleaning tub that must be from the master cylinder/brake lever somewhere:



And reassembled for now but will needs some grease before use:



If I end up painting the master cylinder etc. then I'll paint the clutch bracket as well as they're both missing paint, and I might copy FC and wire wheel and polish the brake and clutch levers yet.

 

[Flaming Chainsaws]

The color of your brake lever looks just like mine. Then my clutch lever is black. I don't know if it's OEM or not but it is really strange why Suzuki would mis-match the colors of the levers.

I will need to do some brake work as well. No need to clean my cylinder though. I just have to flush the old fluid, add new fluid, then bleed it. It's really spongy right now!

 

[Guest]

Yeah it's quite weird, but I like your idea of wire wheeling and polishing... or maybe just wire wheeling.

Definitely bleed that brake! I did it when I first got mine, the fluid was disgusting.

Put a new braided line on your to buy list too.

 

[Guest]

Had a very frustrating couple of days, thankfully not bike related.

I was going to paint the study over the Easter long weekend, however it turns out we don't have enough paint, and seeing as we have to buy paint now, we decided we'll paint it some colour other than white.

Of course we haven't decided yet and now everything's shut until Tuesday, so it ain't getting done.

Anyways, I decided to do something about the left control from the GSX600F being loose on the 'bar.

I had a look around in the garage and saw a bunch of cable ties. Perfect!

Cut two short lengths off one of the small ones:



For now, I blue tacked them to each side of the lower part of the controls to hold them in place while I mounted them back up to the 'bars. If it works, I'll glue them on instead.



Worked like a charm!

Screwed it up properly and it's now tight on the 'bar and doesn't move at all. I can rotate the choke lever and use the indicators and headlight switch and horn all without having the controls rotate on the 'bar.

I'll find some good glue (we have some in the garage somewhere) and glue them on permanently.

Then I figured I'd mount up the clutch cable to make sure the clutch works smoothly and isn't binding or anything like that.

First of all, slight side track and put my shiny new counter shaft sprocket on:



It's only finger tight for the moment and I'll torque it up properly once I get the new chain mounted etc., but plenty of time for that.

So, sprocket cover off and ready:



Clutch cable mounted to the clutch actuator:



Sprocket cover back on:



Cable mounted to the lever:



I adjusted for free play then and got it pretty right, then took the inspection plate off to adjust the clutch set screw:



And discovered that I've done the lock nut up too tightly when putting the clutch actuator back together in the sprocket cover, so when I try to undo it, all it does is actuate the clutch. I'll have to pull it off and pull it apart again to loosen it all up. Bugger.

The good news is that the clutch feels just like it used to and isn't stiff or notchy or anything like that.

 

[Guest]

Got some daylight time on it today, not very much but a little.

So, time for the bad stuff first...

I wanted to give it a bath and get all that oil off and see if I could see a leak, so I put the clutch inspection cover back on and discovered that I've managed to strip the thread in the top hole. I have absolutely no idea how I've done that as I've only done those ones up reasonably loosely given I haven't had the clutch cable in or sprocket or anything until the other night. Weird and frustrating as that'll be another thread to fix...

Anyway, I've sprayed WD in the front master cylinder nearly every day this week to try and free it up so I can get the piston out, but nothing I did today got it to budge. I can't seem to get a grip on it with pliers and I don't have vice grips small enough to get in there. I tried compressed air but it just will not move.

As a last resort, I figured that given the brake wasn't on when it got pulled off, there should be at least a couple of mm's movement available back inside, so I got a big screwdriver and hammer and managed to knock the piston back down the cylinder a couple of mm's. That wasn't easy either.

I then looked real close at what it left behind on the cylinder, and it's pitted corroded crap on the cylinder walls, so I believe that means the master cylinder is probably not worth persevering with.

Anyone have any other bright ideas on what to do other than look for a replacement?

So, after those disappointments, I wheeled it out in the sun, pumped the tires up so I could move it around a little easier, and had a better look at my choke cable adaptor on the carbs.

Turns out I really will need an additional spacer in there as it still just hits the bolt on the diaphragm cover, so I quickly made one up:



It's amazing what a difference using power tools makes! Being quiet at night with the hacksaw and hand drill, that sort of thing was taking me probably 20 minutes to half an hour. Not being quiet today with the hacksaw and using the power drill made it 5 minutes work, and half that time was changing drill bits and moving it in the vice...

Anyway, I couldn't see a particular source of an oil leak, although the front bolt on the head (the upside down one) had oil sitting on it. Most of what I saw could be attributed to the excess from having those bolts out of the head while cranking and letting the oil run down the fins etc. Fingers crossed that's all it is, but I won't really know for sure until I get to start it properly again.

So, finally I got to give it a bath today and touch up the polishing on the crank case covers and foot peg brackets:



And yep, that's my trusty ol' Mazda 323 in the background...

 

[Woodsy]

Looking great pete, not long now!

 

[SVSooke]

That is looking good.Probaly best to get a "new" master though.

 

[cowboyup3371]

Looks good Pete. If you want, I'll hit the local junk yards for a new master here.

 

[Flyboy]

That is looking good Pete, you have mad good progress, it is always amazing how the last little odds and ends take about as long as the whole restoration.
Those engine covers look wicked, what was your process on them?
I hope your leak is nothing more than some spillage, but judging by the rest of the bike, I am sure that motor is buttoned up good and tight, and there shouldn't be a problem.
Is that Mazda a station wagon version? We only got the hatchback and sedan versions here, first time I have seen a station wagon, damn good little motor cars, near indestructable engines, I did part of my apprentiship on them.