1982 GS300 Project - Where do I start

[hjacobmiller]

Hello All,

I wanted to start a thread to get some input about where I should go next in my GS300 project.

For those who have been following my other thread, I am by no means a motorcycle mechanic, but I have painfully and slowly learned a lot about the "problem child" bike I picked up a few months ago. The GS300 is a rare bike that shares a lot of parts with other bikes which seemed to be more popular than the GS300. After scouring the internet for GS300 information, I was led to the GSR where patient awesome members have helped me bring a non-running hunk of rust into a unique and fun commuter.

Here is what I started with:

Here is where I am at:

I hope to do something really interesting with this bike, as there are not many of them out there from what I understand. I'd like to use this thread to bounce ideas of others and also to share what (little) I have learned about this bike.

I don't like the bulkiness of the seat or the tupperware airbox set up.

My first instinct was to cafe it out, but I like the original shape of the tank and I also don't have the classic spoked wheels or suspension. I like the clean and simplicity of a cafe, but I don't think it would work with this easily.

A bobber-style is too grungy for me, and I don't think I could show up to my office job on a rat-rod inspired cruiser.

My ultimate goal is to have a custom commuter that shines like hell and is sporty and clean.

My current inspiration is a 50's era Chevy Bel Aire. I love the look of this car and I think this is the general direction I want to go:

This is going to be a long process, but I look forward to all the input and learning that will come along the way!

 

[Guest]

Ok love the inspiration... that's pretty much my dream car, a '50's era Chevy...

Anyway, seats aren't hard to do, I shaped the foam for mine myself and got it covered professionally, but if I was to do it again I'd give it a go myself.

The photo you have there of the 300 makes me think your bike would lend itself to the "brat" style or something along those lines. Doesn't have to be ratty, but essentially it would mean a minimal seat (probably single seater) and ditching the airbox and side covers in favour of pods and an open triangle. The battery would need to be dealt with somehow, maybe a small Shorai (expensive) or maybe just make a nicer battery box for it...

Have a peak at post #538 in this thread to see what I mean, I love this bike:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=185709&page=33

 

[razor02097]

Here is the post Pete was talking about.
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showpost.php?p=1655363&postcount=327



I would go slow on the project. If you are riding it while working on it then IMO it would be best to do things in chunks. If all the mechanical is out of the way I would say work on the seat first.

 

[hjacobmiller]

I definitely have been thinking about tackling the seat first. Although I have no idea where to begin.

I was thinking something LIKE this but not this exactly:

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=7890.10

I don't think I would follow the lines at all, but I like how he is tucking things away and bringing it in.

I definitely thought about switching to pods - don't I have to re-jet carbs though?

 

[razor02097]

I definitely thought about switching to pods - don't I have to re-jet carbs though?

How come? You just like the look? Not sure how much more air flow you would get with pods. You would likely still have to rejet and figure out what you want to do with the crankcase breather hose.

 

[razor02097]

One nice thing about these GS300's is the fact they really don't need new parts to properly maintain them. The only fluid is oil and the only consumables are brake shoes and spark plugs and oil filter. That was one factor that pushed me into the final buying decision for my 300. It's up to you but I think that is something to keep in mind when modifying and upgrading things...

 

[hjacobmiller]

Mainly the look and it cleans up underneath the seat. I know they don't really add anything power-wise, and honestly with the 300 I'm never going to get a whole heaping lot of power anyways.

The breather tube - just stick an in-line fuel filter in the end and zip tie to frame underneath the tank?

 

[razor02097]

Better run a line down below the motor just in case you do have blowby you don't want an oily mess maybe just make a oil catch tank like Pete did.

 

[hjacobmiller]

Better run a line down below the motor just in case you do have blowby you don't want an oily mess maybe just make a oil catch tank like Pete did.

Yeah I'd have to look into it more. Again I don't know a whole lot so I'd have to look and see what to do.

I think that is further down the road. I'd like to get a decent seat started first.

 

[hjacobmiller]

So I got a little bored and decided to draw up (in MS paint lol) a couple ideas of what I was thinking. I know this is a long way off, and trust me, this is WAY brighter of a blue than I was thinking, but here are a couple of ideas I came up with.

Pete - that is a great bike! I took a couple cues from that and came up with this:

I wouldn't want to keep the side covers, but I couldn't get what I was looking for without getting them to match the tank. Or I might just make some sheet metal ones and hide the electric goodies somewhere else...

I also messed around a little with the idea of a bullet shaped tail. Kind of cafe but a bit different. If I went this route I would think about pulling the turn signals up tighter into the frame.

I definitely like the idea of keeping both fenders. They are both in excellent condition and give it the retro look. I know a lot of people don't like chrome, but for that 50s look they're great.

Here is what I have on the frame to work with for creating a seat pan. It ain't purdy -

 

[Guest]

If you do decide to do it, then try to keep everything on the frame intact if this is your first go at it.

If you start cutting things off and change your mind, there's no going back.

I was able to reuse the tail piece bracket and mould my new tail piece over it with steel rod and mesh, so I didn't have to modify the frame and could retain the stock seat lock.

 

[hjacobmiller]

Totally agree. My thought would be to start out using another old seat pan (buy for cheap) and then just shave that pan and mold the seat to my liking.

Update: Bought an old seat pan and it should be here next week. Currently waiting on sprockets and chain. I swear nobody ever has anything you need in stock.

 

[razor02097]

I end up getting 99% of my parts mail order. The only dealership that has Suzuki close by is a joke. They might carry spark plugs and oil filters but everything else for a bike older than 3 years will have to be ordered. Were you getting new tires?

 

[hjacobmiller]

I end up getting 99% of my parts mail order. The only dealership that has Suzuki close by is a joke. They might carry spark plugs and oil filters but everything else for a bike older than 3 years will have to be ordered. Were you getting new tires?

Yeah, mail older is definitely cheaper too. I am so impatient thought.

Tires I will probably hold off on as the ones are decent enough for my little riding around town for the rest of summer.

Probably when I really start getting into the full rebuild/project over this winter I'll look into buying some nicer tires. Maybe some big fat white walls or something :lol:

Do you know where in Pete's rebuild thread the breather tube mods you were talking about are? I have looked but I couldn't find it.

Where did you source all of your jets and carb stuff from?

 

[razor02097]

Yeah, mail older is definitely cheaper too. I am so impatient thought.

Tires I will probably hold off on as the ones are decent enough for my little riding around town for the rest of summer.

Probably when I really start getting into the full rebuild/project over this winter I'll look into buying some nicer tires. Maybe some big fat white walls or something :lol:

Do you know where in Pete's rebuild thread the breather tube mods you were talking about are? I have looked but I couldn't find it.

Where did you source all of your jets and carb stuff from?

For the breather question... check here
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=194851

I bought all every replacement part from Suzuki except for the O rings which I got from cycleorings.com... The main jets are 115 and the pilot jets are 17.5 you don't have to get SGP like I did but I'm trying to keep my bike as original as possible.

 

[hjacobmiller]

So imagine this

http://www.motorcyclebestbuys.com/image_gd/imagevp.php?94400043061000117_1.jpg

Mixed with this:
http://forums.joe.to/viewtopic.php?f=152&t=54578

That is what I'm thinking... I saw an awesome roadking that the guy had stripped down and chromed the begezuz out of with a retro paint job and that is what I'm hoping to do.

That is a long way off though. My first step is to get rid of the airbox. I'll start looking into what Pete did for an oil catch can and go from there.

Rejetting I guess is inevitable to run pods. Does anyone know a good place to learn about rejetting for pods? I've read go two sizes up, but I don't know entirely what that means.

What should I start looking at to get an idea of how well my engine is actually running?

What I have done so far concerning the engine:

Changed oil & filter
Changed spark plugs
Cleaned carbs
Checked cam chain timing and adjusted valve clearance.

 

[Guest]

The cheapest way to get your carbs dialled in with pods is to do throttle chops... run it for a bit at whatever throttle opening you need to check, then simultaneously hit the kill switch and pull the clutch and coast to the side of the road where you can check the plugs.

Being CV carbs they have to be tuned from the main jets down as all fuel circuits use the mains I believe.

You can also get a Gunson Colortune from the UK which you put in instead of your spark plug and can see the colour of the flame. Yellow is rich, deep blue is spot on, white blue is lean.

The catch with the Colortune is you should be doing the readings with the engine under load, which would probably require the bike on the centre stand in top gear with someone riding the back brake while you open the throttle to the different openings.

The next option is either a wideband analyser or a few dyno runs, both of which start getting expensive.

For more information, www.motorcyclecarbs.com has some rules of thumb and so forth, www.iwt.com.au has a good diagram of how the fuel circuits interrelate, and of course BassCliff's site has a wealth of knowledge.

I'm still intending to get a wideband tuner as there's a mob here in Aus that makes a DIY one, but that's been delayed for the moment.

With the crankcase breather, all you want is something to catch the blow by so it doesn't make a huge mess. I just used what I had lying around and all I had to buy was hose fittings and a breather filter...

 

[hjacobmiller]

The first thing I have to do now is get a r/r

After seeing what Razor had going on I decided to go check mine and lo and behold it is fried.

I tested the battery with the bike off and it was 13.1 V but turned it on and tested the battery leads while idling : 17+ V

No riding this week for me either

I figured I might as well order an o-ring kit from cycleorings, new bowl gaskets, as well and start looking seriously into this pod filter idea.

Pete, thanks for the links! Good reading and I understand a lot more. Although I am still not sure where to start. Do I get bigger jets and than start doing the plug chops, or put the filters on and then do the plug chops?

If I'm in the carbs to replace o-rings and such I'd like to get the jet situation figured out too, but I don't know which order to go in.

 

[Guest]

The first thing I have to do now is get a r/r

After seeing what Razor had going on I decided to go check mine and lo and behold it is fried.

I tested the battery with the bike off and it was 13.1 V but turned it on and tested the battery leads while idling : 17+ V

No riding this week for me either

I figured I might as well order an o-ring kit from cycleorings, new bowl gaskets, as well and start looking seriously into this pod filter idea.

Pete, thanks for the links! Good reading and I understand a lot more. Although I am still not sure where to start. Do I get bigger jets and than start doing the plug chops, or put the filters on and then do the plug chops?

If I'm in the carbs to replace o-rings and such I'd like to get the jet situation figured out too, but I don't know which order to go in.

Bugger! Although best to find it now than *after* you fried the Dynatek and other electrics

Not sure how close your carbs are to mine, but all I have to do to change pilot and main jets is drop the float bowls as both are in there.

I haven't tried it yet but I should be able to get the slides and needles out by just taking the tank off too.

To do it "properly" you would make sure how it's jetted at each throttle opening now, then put the filters on and do it again. That way you have a good baseline.

When I eventually go the wideband path I'll be doing that. I'll pop it on, go for a run with logging turned on, come back and review then start making changes.

Only change one thing at a time of course...

 

[hjacobmiller]

Pete - do you remember that suggestion you made about me painting the junction box and how the starter solenoid grounded there?

I think my r/r may be OK but not properly grounded - I think I am saying that right

I moved the ground (b/w) ring terminal from the r/r from where it originally bolted to the junction box to underneath the starter solenoid bolt (I had scraped off all the paint where the starter solenoid mounts). From that starter solenoid bolt I ran a wire to the negative terminal of my battery so that there would be a connection between the starter solenoid bolt and the battery (- side).

My thought is if the connection between the ring terminal from the r/r and the stater solenoid bolt is no good the r/r wouldn't have a way to shunt the excess.

Can I move the r/r (b/w) ring terminal to the negative terminal of my battery? That would make it sure it had a way to shunt right?

I could have also zapped the r/r when I put the battery back in. My positive lead touched the frame after I had connected the negative lead from the engine and the positive lead was connected to the battery so I got a spark and blew my inline fuse.

The only reason I think the r/r could be bad is because of when I put the battery back in I blew that fuse and got some spark due to my carelessness. Didn't get shocked - I would rather get shocked than pay $80 for a new r/r