1981 GS450E Rebuild

[Guest]

Looking great pete, not long now!

Cheers Woodsy! Just wish it was closer...

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

Yup I reckon so, time to start looking and compiling a new parts required list too.

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

Cheers Scott, I'll check out eBay first and I have to scour wreckers here for a seat and rear mudguard, so I'll add a master cylinder to the list.

Will let you know if I'm not having any luck though

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.

Yeah the last bits are the big ticket items like exhaust, suspension, paint, tyres, etc. and currently experiencing budget cuts which ain't helping. That should be sorted soon though, just a big bill pay period at the moment sucking the $$$ up.

As to the covers, head back to post 373 and go from there for the details.

But in a nutshell, I have a sisal wheel, stitched rag wheel, and loose leaf calico (I think that's what it's called) wheel and cutting, buffing, and polishing compound.

I paint stripped, cleaned, degreased, etc. then cut, buffed and polished.

They're still a bit cloudy as I think I got the buffing compound too hot, but they're good enough for what I want.

After the bath, I just went over them by hand with Mothers mag and alloy polish.

And yep the 323 is a wagon. In fact that particular one is the "Deluxe" wagon that has the slightly higher roof and has the 1500cc engine as opposed to the 1400cc engine.

It's got somewhere around 350000kms on it and still goes well as the housemate drives it to work and back every day. It's either got a blown head gasket or a crack in the head at the moment though as it's tending to leak water into the oil, although the housemate took it to a mechanic who put some gunk in it and it's no longer leaking.

It is a great little car and if we didn't have another two I'd be tempted to take it off the road and do it up again.

 

[Guest]

Got to Bunnings this morning to get some paint for the study and picked up some nuts and bolts while I was there for the electrics and some longer bolts for the choke cable adaptor seeing as the existing ones will be too short with the extra spacer.

I also dropped into Repco to try for a helicoil kit with no luck (they were on special for $28 but no Repco store has stock dammit), but I did pick up a blade type inline fuse holder to replace the glass one as well as some 6.3mm round crimp connectors.

I also did a bit of a tidy on the workbench today while waiting for the study paint to dry as waiting for paint to dry is like, well... waiting for paint to dry

Nothing actually done today though except search fruitlessly for a suitable master cylinder on eBay and some other places. Looks like a wrecker is going to be the only solution there and no one has replied to my master cylinder thread also which is surprising as I thought surely someone would've found a replacement for a single disc master cylinder at some point...

 

[Guest]

Ducked down to the garage for a quick trip tonight, not much actually done though.

Here's the stuff I picked up yesterday:



Nothing terribly exciting there...

Took the carbs off tonight and if you look closely, then imagine the ball end of the throttle cable is slotted through the choke cable adaptor there, you might be able to see that there's really no clearance between that and the allen bolt from the diaphragm cover.



I need to re-drill a couple of holes in the various plates and spacers now as the longer bolts I got are slightly larger in diameter than the others and I didn't get all the holes lined up quite right, so the bolts don't slot through as easy as they should.

One thing I neglected to do tonight was pull the clutch inspection cover off again so I can get my housemate to pick me up a helicoil kit again.

On another note altogether, looks like there's two master cylinders available that might be ok as alternatives, one from a CBR250R MC19 which had a 1/2 inch piston, and one from a Yamaha R1 which has a 14mm piston.

I'm not sure which way to go, although the CBR250R should give me a bit more pressure with some extra lever movement compared to stock.

I'll update my other master cylinder thread to see if there's a bite there as to which way I should go, but not one single reply to that thread so far so not holding my breath...

 

[Guest]

So, after ChicagoBob mentioned MikesXS, checked it all out and I've ordered a 13mm piston bore master cylinder tonight. Comes complete with brake light switch and banjo bolts so I just need to worry about the caliper and a braided steel line.

Called the dealer today to check on prices for the caliper bits and pieces I need, and it was going to end up a bit over $133

Checked out Boulevard Suzuki, same parts will be about $US56, so guess where I'll be ordering them from? Even including postage if it's still $20 like last time it'll be less than half price. I might even add a new throttle cable to the mix as I need one of them also due to using the old throttle cable on the choke.

So, speaking of the choke, I enlarged all the holes tonight and sat the adaptor back on the choke shaft to check the clearance again:



As you can see, even with the choke fully open, there'll be plenty of clearance now.

I then went around and enlarged all the holes in my electrics tray:



I mounted everything up, and as you can see I completely screwed up the bolt length for the centre of the heatsink as it's actually about 4mm thicker than the edges, so I used some other bolts for there. I can trim those down and they'll be fine to use instead:



Plenty of room for the harness to run down the left side and also for the ignition circuit to fit in the centre there.

So while I'm waiting for the brake stuff to get ordered and arrive, I can pull the carbs apart and the clutch lever off and get them painted up with the POR 15 Blackcote. I'm going to leave the carb bodies as they are and paint the diaphragm covers and float bowls along with the bracket that joins the two together. I'll paint the choke cable adaptor also.

I'm not sure what to do with painting the caliper yet. The POR 15 guy said Blackcote might work, but it will potentially get too hot for it. I have yet to try to locate caliper paint locally, but 1 spray can of that would be heaps to do the job if I can find some.

I also still need to check out that stripped thread and get it fixed.

 

[Macguyver]

Snazzy!

Snazzy!

Wow Pete, everytime I check in on your thread there is something new! Great job on the ignitor, BTW.

You should be able to use any brand caliper paint, they are usually $5-$6 a can. I would think the blackcote should work too since most paint is rated for 250 degrees anyway, and I can't see the calipers getting that hot unless you are mashing the brakes on constantly. Then again, it won't take you long to get from stoplight to stoplight will it?

The bike is coming along great Pete, keep up the great work!

 

[Guest]

Wow Pete, everytime I check in on your thread there is something new! Great job on the ignitor, BTW.

You should be able to use any brand caliper paint, they are usually $5-$6 a can. I would think the blackcote should work too since most paint is rated for 250 degrees anyway, and I can't see the calipers getting that hot unless you are mashing the brakes on constantly. Then again, it won't take you long to get from stoplight to stoplight will it?

The bike is coming along great Pete, keep up the great work!

Cheers Mac!

The ignitor is far from proven beyond idle yet unfortunately, but I won't know until I get my exhaust sorted and try for that first 15 minute run again.

I'm going to have to duck up to the local auto store and see what caliper paint they have. Normally they carry Septone (local brand) and 3M stuff, so surely one of those will have caliper paint!

Thanks again Mac, I just wish I was as close to on the road as you are...

 

[landshark]

I will try to find the link to where i bought my braided lines from, very cheap and lot of the guys here have used them.
Unfortunately, over here the earls lines are very expensive in comparison.

 

[Guest]

I will try to find the link to where i bought my braided lines from, very cheap and lot of the guys here have used them.
Unfortunately, over here the earls lines are very expensive in comparison.

That'd be awesome.

I saw a price somewhere for $64 a line, but I can't find where that was now...

The other problem with Earls lines over here is that they won't get me past a safety certificate either I don't believe...

 

[Guest]

First effort tonight was to get the sprocket cover off and check the thread in the top inspection plate hole:



Saved myself $50 and some grief as I don't have a thread issue with the hole :dancing:

I tried the allen bolt from the bottom hole in the top hole and it threaded in just fine. Looked closely and there's slightly different markings on each allen bolt and the threads on both look good, so I just grabbed another one of the spares that was in the packet from Z1 and used it, and all good. No stripped thread issue after all

I then ripped off the left control so I can glue the cable tie bits on. You can make them out blue tacked on in this pic:



Then I pulled the instruments back off.



The bulb in the tacho is blown, so that needs replacing, and I'm contemplating doing a LED replacement on all bulbs in there so I never have that problem again.

I'll have to hunt down the details of the brightness of the LED's to replace them with, some of them get quite expensive.

I also pulled the clutch lever off.

I need to get the dremel out and smooth all the edges of the bits of metal I've made up for the choke adaptor and electrics tray, and then I can get started on preparing all the necessary bits for paint.

I'll try to track some caliper paint down also.

 

[landshark]

I got both my front lines shipped from the states or UK(cant remember) for AU$60 total.
Cant find the link yet.

That'd be awesome.

I saw a price somewhere for $64 a line, but I can't find where that was now...

The other problem with Earls lines over here is that they won't get me past a safety certificate either I don't believe...

 

[SVSooke]

Got mine here http://cgi.ebay.ca/SUZUKI-CUSTOM-ST...rcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19c51bbebf Link to the single line.Have up to 4 line`kits`.Nice lines.

 

[Guest]

Wow they're both some good prices!

I did find that HEL lines are just over at Brighton and even though they don't list my exact model, it seems their single lines are about $54 which isn't too bad.

I've got to wait until the Mikes XS master cylinder gets here first anyway to see what sort of banjo I need etc.

 

[landshark]

Got mine here http://cgi.ebay.ca/SUZUKI-CUSTOM-ST...rcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19c51bbebf Link to the single line.Have up to 4 line`kits`.Nice lines.

Thats the same place that i used. I guess they came from Canada?
If you go to his store and buy a 2 line kit, specify your sizes and what banjo angles you need it will be cheaper for you.

 

[Guest]

Had a good look at that listing, and the lines he uses are DOT and SAE approved, so that should be safe for a safety certificate.

Also, I only need the one line for the front of mine, so dirt cheap at $US21.95 and with the current Aussie dollar value, that's probably $AU20.00

Big question... what colour am I gonna paint my tank and mudguards and should I match the line colour to them? Plenty of time to think about that...

Unfortunately I haven't heard back from Boulevard Suzuki yet so I haven't actually ordered the caliper parts just yet.

 

[landshark]

If you find the right guy to do your roadworthy you shouldnt really need to worry about the lines being approved.

 

[Guest]

True indeed, and I'll definitely have to look for the right guy, especially given my ignition situation...

 

[Guest]

Well, it's been too long since I got anything done. Long weekend on call and a few days off work mean no time on the bike... oh well.

I did get a couple of incredibly minor things done over the last couple of days, but really nothing I would class as progress.

Got the bits of cable tie glued onto the left control to stop it spinning round the 'bar:



They seemed to stick ok but I've got it back on the 'bar now to make sure they stick properly to the curved surfaces.

When I painted the study over Easter, I ripped down the white board that was screwed into the brick so I could reuse it in the garage.

Got it mounted the other night and scrawled a to do list of sorts.

Walked in tonight and realised how much mess I'd made and how little bench space I had left.



That's the white board up on the wall, and I also discovered a second desk lamp floating around that's now mounted up on the right there which has given me a 100% improvement on work bench lighting. If I could just move the one and only flouro in the garage I'd be laughin'.

My scrawled to do list on the white board, along with a fix list, buy list, options list, etc.



And I then committed a bit of a tidiness which has given me a much better working area:



I managed to get myself some 3M caliper paint the other day so I can do the front caliper and caliper bracket:



I'll need to stick them both in the BBQ again once they're painted as it says not to expose to solvents until they've been baked at 200 degrees celcius.

Then I cable tied a couple of bits of the main harness that I can secure, unfortunately most of it is waiting for me to get some electrical odds and ends sorted.



Before I can finish securing the rest of the main harness, I need to smooth all the edges of the electrics tray and get it mounted, extend the starter solenoid lead, and work out what I'm doing for ground leads.

And the last thing for tonight was to pull the carbs partly apart to get the diaphragm covers, float bowls, and the brackets off so I can start preparing them for paint.



I need to smooth the choke cable adaptor for the choke shaft before I can paint all those bits too.

Also, I haven't heard back from Boulevard Suzuki about my caliper parts yet even though I emailed my order through almost a week ago, not sure what's going on there.

My master cylinder is on its way from Mikes XS also, so it'll be here long before the caliper parts, although at least I need to paint them and stick 'em in the BBQ first.

 

[Guest]

Not a lot done tonight because I remembered I still have my wife's old PC sitting around doing nothing, so that's a perfect source for a 12v power supply to test the LED brightness with.

I realise I could do a voltage divider with my old laptop power supply, but that requires extra brain power to work out, and a ready to go 12v supply is so much easier.

So, my obsession with micro ATX mainboards and small form factor cases meant I lost quite a bit of time getting the power supply out. I did all the correct air flow assisting anal retentive cable management inside the case with round IDE cables, velcro wrapped around bundles of wire to minimise the mass, all that stuff, so it was a real PITA getting it out.

Anyway, out and on the bench:



And yep that's a jumper lead across two of the ATX connector pins there to force it to turn on. Forgot how to get it to turn on without being connected to a mainboard so had to Google the old trick.



Anyway, I at least got as far as dismantling the gauges again:



I had a quick go with 12v across the gauge backlights for the speedo and tacho, and amazingly enough both lights turned on. No idea why the tacho light wasn't working but it is now... typical

Oh well, come this far, so will keep going with replacing the bulbs with LED's.

Still no word from Boulevard Suzuki either as yet, but I'll be patient a bit longer.

 

[Macguyver]

It looks like progress is sure and steady Pete, keep it up and you will be ready in no time!

You have to love 12V power supplies eh? I have one running my HHO torch, one I built into a custom speaker/in dash CD/radio/amplifier box I built, and a couple extra sitting around in dead computers for spares.

They are just too handy to throw out!

Great work Pete, I always enjoy checking in on your thread!

 

[Guest]

It looks like progress is sure and steady Pete, keep it up and you will be ready in no time!

You have to love 12V power supplies eh? I have one running my HHO torch, one I built into a custom speaker/in dash CD/radio/amplifier box I built, and a couple extra sitting around in dead computers for spares.

They are just too handy to throw out!

Great work Pete, I always enjoy checking in on your thread!

True indeed Mac! I always tend to keep old power supplies unless they die, but I did sacrifice a lot of old stuff about 4 years ago when we moved to this house, so I was lucky I'd replaced my wife's PC not too long back.

As to my progress, well it's going far too slow for my liking at the moment. I wanted to be on the road by the end of the year, but I can't see it happening...