1983 gs1100e need help with wheel and tire situation

[adam83]

Hi, Im new to the GS1100 and I need some education on wheels and tires, heres my situation.

I have owned my 83 gs1100ed for a few months now. I had not owned a Suzuki previously, and was unaware that my bike came with tubes in the tires. I recently found this out after trying to figure out why my tires kept losing air pressure on a weekly basis. Looks like someone who previously owned the bike did the tubeless modification to the wheels (ground down the valve stem seat on the wheel and added tubeless tires. I wouldn't mind this mod, and would happily run tubeless tires, if my wheels didn't leak air. But my wheels do leak, and I'd like to find a solution. Its time to replace my tires anyways so id like to address all at once. What are my options?

I dont mind running a tube setup, but will that even work since the PO modified the wheels? How would I 'restore' the valve stem seat to run tubes?

Or is there a tubeless wheel swap option that doesnt involve modifying the bike? Are there wheel that are a direct swap that run tubeless tires? Are there aftermarket wheel that are a direct swap into my bike (preferably ones that fit the look of the bike)?

Im including some pics of my current front and rear setup

 

[Rob S.]

I would assume '82 wheels would swap right in. '82 & '83 shouldn't be too hard to acquire. Just keep checking here.

 

[bwringer]

Two things are possible, perhaps both at once.

Unless there's some grievous damage to the wheel, the leak is almost certainly at the valve stem.

1) How well was the conversion done? Get the tire off, remove the valve stems, and look. The right way involves using a counterbore and pilot to machine a perfectly flat area on the inside and using a metal motorcycle valve stem. It needs to be flat so that the rubber sealing washer on the inside can sit flat and form a good seal. The inside of the wheel is curved from the factory.

Each element of this is important -- it's best to use a motorcycle valve stem (same diameter throughout) instead of one intended for a car (fatter diameter at the base. so that you don't have to drill out the hole; you want to remove the minimum amount of metal. I can't tell from the photos which one you have, but it mostly looks like a motorcycle valve stem.

Some conversions have been done with a burr or grinding stone, which doesn't leave a very flat surface. I've also seen this attempted with two rubber washers, which is pretty unsafe.

You also have to install them with the right amount of "squish" so that the rubber washer is not over-compressed or under-compressed.


2) How old is the valve stem? If there's any doubt, or if you've removed them, or if they're more than about five years old, replace them. The rubber sealing washers deteriorate over time, and are not re-usable. The motorcycle valve stems (NTH 90426) at Napa are inexpensive and excellent quality.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NTH90426

Most moto shops will stock "Bikemaster" valve stems, but they tend to cost a lot more.


Valve stems for cars are fatter at the bottom. If someone's already hogged out your wheel, then you'll need this type. I can't see for sure what you have in the photos; the forum gallery doesn't seem to be working right. But I think your bike is wearing motorcycle valve stems.

This is a valve stem for a car:
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NTH90416


Finally, if you want to go back to tubes, you don't really need to change anything. Just take out the metal valve stems and install tubes. It would be a good idea to make sure there are no sharp edges in the metal where the cutting was done, smooth out any edges, and perhaps add a square of duct tape to make sure the tube doesn't contact any edges. If the hole was hogged out for a car valve stem, then you'd want to install bushings:
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NTH90125

 

[Baatfam]

Listen to Brian, he knows....You need to take off the tire and look.

This is stock front 1100E rim



This is the same rim modified

 

[adam83]

Thank you for the great info. I will have to take the wheels off and look.

If I'm able identify and fix the leak, and continue with tubeless tires on tube wheels, is there any reason to fear going hard in the corners? I read some people were nervous about pushing the bike in turns with this setup

 

[rphillips]

Hard to diagnose without "knowing" where it's leaking. Time for some soapy water. May be just the valve core needs tightened or replaced or possibly the seals, on the stem, aren't squished tight enough. Tighten the lock nuts on the stem just a little. Just me, I've always ran tubeless on Suzuki cast wheels, most not marked tubeless so far, not a problem. That's just me, Not say'n it'll work for you.

 

[rphillips]

I don't know how to do links, but there is a thread here at GSR from back on 12/7/20, titled "tube or tubeless tyres for 1980 Suzuki's?, that's probably worth your time reading.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

/\ Here's that thread that rpillips mentioned. I had put a lot of info in this thread, and got a lot of help from the other folks who have already chimed in here.

https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...-1980-suzuki-s

 

[adam83]

I read the entire thread. It seems like people's concern was that if that inner ridge wasn't on the wheel, a sudden deflation could be much more dangerous. I didn't see any mention or concern that driving the bike aggressively or leaning hard in a corner would carry any added risk or danger of tire failure.

I'll have to get my wheels off and find out where I'm leaking from as a first step. I need new tires, and some of the balancing weights fell off, so no matter what I'm talking these tires off and then I'll see how well they did the modification, and probably replace the stems while the wheels are bare. I think I'd like to stick with tubeless tires for sheer ease of replacement. As long as I don't have to worry about the tire slipping on the wheel while driving/cornering hard, I can live without the inner ridge on the wheel.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Adam, I don’t think you’ve said, but is the word TUBELESS printed on your rim?

 

[bwringer]

Adam, I don’t think you’ve said, but is the word TUBELESS printed on your rim?

It did not -- the '83 GS1100E came with tubes and tube-type wheels from the factory, so tubeless on these is always a conversion. Shafties got tubeless first, for some reason.


One point to reiterate is that if someone is not 1,001% comfortable converting to tubeless, or staying with tubeless on a bike that's already been converted, then go ahead and install tubes as Suzuki intended.

There is no one right answer here; do what gives you the most peace of mind and confidence. If you do decide to convert, there is a right way to do this and many ways to get it wrong.

 

[rphillips]

Is there a reason finding the leak wouldn't be the "FIRST" thing to do? Before removing, dismounting or anything. Also, did any Chain drive GS's ever have Tubeless stamped on their wheels? I know Suzuki started the tubeless in 1980, the newest chain drives I've had were 2 GS1150's, one an "86" but don't remember if they were tubeless or not.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

rphillips, both original wheels on my bike have TUBELESS embossed on the wheels. I know there are many others. Once tried to find out, out of mild curiosity, which models/years went tubeless at what point. I got bored and gave up, decided I didn't really care.

 

[dorkburger]

1150s are tubeless, and an 1150 rear wheel is a bolt on as far as I know, and a half inch wider. Front is different (16" rim)

 

[rphillips]

Yep, I've never understood how Suzuki could have got tube, tubeless thing so inconsistent. Like you, I've tried to find out when & how, but I don't think anybody knows. My new, off the show room,1980 GS1000G had tubeless front but rear had a tube. You'd think by the time they had the newer style wheels, like on my "83" GS1100E, all would be tubeless, but no they still came with tubes. Not for sure, as they've been gone for a while, but thinking my "85" & "86" GS1150's came with tubes, but had been converted before I got them... Also reading that thread again, I noticed Ed said the early Suzuki tubeless wheels didn't have the bumps, to help secure the tire, that the later ones had.

 

[rphillips]

dork, I's thinking you'd know for sure about the 1150's... Didn't the rears on the 1150's come in two different widths?

 

[dorkburger]

Hmmm.. Now that you mention it, I think the 84 had a 3" rear wheel vs. the 3.5" on the 85-86. Both of my 1150s (current and past) and the parts bike are all tubeless, and marked as such on the wheels

 

[adam83]

Adam, I don’t think you’ve said, but is the word TUBELESS printed on your rim?

No, the wheels do not have that printed on them.

 

[adam83]

Is there a reason finding the leak wouldn't be the "FIRST" thing to do? Before removing, dismounting or anything. Also, did any Chain drive GS's ever have Tubeless stamped on their wheels? I know Suzuki started the tubeless in 1980, the newest chain drives I've had were 2 GS1150's, one an "86" but don't remember if they were tubeless or not.

I agree that I need to find the leak first. I just wasnt clear enough in my response earlier. I will be taking the wheels off regardless because the tires are too old and I need to replace them, so regardless the wheels are coming off, and the first thing I'll do when they are off is identify the source(s) of the leaks.

 

[adam83]

I would definitely be interested in a wheel swap, if I could even locate 1150 wheels, but it seems going from a 19" front wheel to a 16" front wheel would require other changes up front