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79 1000l Engine rebuild

  • Thread starter Thread starter Machine
  • Start date Start date
M

Machine

Guest
Hello all,

After creeping on these forums for a long time, (awesome forum btw) I finally decided to post some pictures of my own basement mess.

Quick rundown, this was my first bike, $500 when I was 19 years old. Put 40 000kms on it for 3 seasons (I know, I rode it EVERYWHERE) I loved it even though it never quite ran properly above the 7000k rpm range. When I progressed to my modern bikes, I never had the heart to sell it. I moved 3 times and its heavy as $hit bulk came with me each time.

Now I have the resources and the commitment to bring it back to life. The pic attached was the last season I rode it.


image[7].jpg
 
The bike had a few issues. The drive sprocket had come off resulting in damaged threads on the output shaft, rings were washed out, and the clutch was grabbing oddly. Heres the case after everything is apart.

I was beyond belief of how good a shape the motor was in besides the aforementioned. Im a machinist by trade so I was able to measure everything and found absolutely nothing out of spec.



image[6].jpg
 
The components are half done cleaning. Some worthwhile pictures:


image[4].jpg
 
Jugs painted and lightly honed.


image[3].jpg


I bought what I thought was reasonable from the local suzuki shop. ($80 for each piston ring set??? Are you kidding me????) But I bought most of my parts from cmsnl.com . Cant say enough good things about that site. I think I ordered what would have cost me $2500 locally and I paid $700. It was all genuine suzuki stuff too; oil pump, timing chain, rubber tank mounts, blah blah.
 
Last edited:
Nessism said:
Small tidbit of advice, only use OEM Suzuki gaskets. Aftermarket gaskets like the green Athena kits are downright criminal. Save your money.
Click to expand...


Awesome. Thats what my stealership sold me...

Of course I immediately ran down to inspect the quality of the gaskets. I understand the head gasket not being OEM and suspect, but can you expand or link me to some more info on these kits and what in particular fails?
 
????????????????

Did it just melt?

I dont understand how ANY gasket material would break down so quickly... Ive used a cardboard milk carton as material in the bush that lasted years for an alternator cover. Is this just their gasket material, or all rubber seals as well? valve stem seals? Exhaust seals?

Thank you very much for saving me a great many tears.

My next question is how do I find all the required gaskets without spending $1000?
 
Ebay is a good source for OEM gaskets. A lot of them cross reference between different GS models. For example, the same head gasket is used for the 850/1000/1100 8V engines. This website fish has crappy prices but a great user interface...http://www.alpha-sports.com/suzuki_parts.htm
I have an OEM gasket kit for a shaft drive 1000 I might be willing to part with if you can't find what you need.

The Athena gasket material is too soft for a base gasket so it extruded out of place. Lots of bad press for the valve cover gasket too. The other pieces seem okay, but I'm not positive. OEM is a safer bet.
 
My rule is: Stock engine build, stock SUZUKI gaskets. High performance build, Cometic gaskets. PERIOD! I am an engine builder & do NOT have leaks with my builds.
Ray.
 
I agree completely, as my own experience tells me the same story. OEM from japan is always top quality, everything else is substandard. My only puzzlement is that my dealership sold me this kit and made it sound like OEM gaskets for this bike were not available at least not from them. I accepted them as an approved substitute but Im glad I was corrected.
 
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