'82 GS550L - Senior Project (Father/Son) Rebuild

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

you guys are inspiring me to do a complete rebuild of my bike!!

Do It! This project has been SO much fun! Dont get me wrong its a LOT of work but this is absolutely my passion and I love motorcycles! This bike, when I'm done with it, will definitely be the Coolest one in Columbus Georgia! I'm glad I have sparked the interest I have in motorcycles, in someone else! If you do decide to rebuild it, please post a link in this thread and i will GLADLY follow you! Thanks for your post!

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

Getting the paint booth ready. The mentors' son went to school for auto body work, and is coming over this weekend for a crash course in painting. Or maybe we'll just rattle can bomb it.

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

Paint!

Paint!

Painting.

 

[JEEPRUSTY]

Stylin'! ow keep them pictures coming its cold outside.

 

[Guest]

Awesome. Your son will cherish these memories.

 

[Flyboy]

Awesome guys, you really have something good going on there.
no advise from the peanut gallery here, you guys seem to have it all worked out, keep the updates coming, good work.

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

How do i replace my fork seals

How do i replace my fork seals

These are my forks. I need to replace the fork seals and oil, but i have NO CLUE how. I have a service manual but my forks look nothing like the ones in the book! Can Anyone Please help me? thanks guys!

 

[cowboyup3371]

Have you found the path to enlightenment on Basscliff's site yet?

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/cbsaunders/gs/Fork_Seal_Replacement_GS850GT.pdf

 

[Steve]

These are my forks. I need to replace the fork seals and oil, but i have NO CLUE how. I have a service manual but my forks look nothing like the ones in the book! Can Anyone Please help me? thanks guys!

Your forks are not as different as you think.

The first thing to do is to bleed any air pressure that might still be in the forks. Then open the drain screw (the little bolt in your first picture) to remove any oil that might be left in there. If you reverse the order, you might have some interesting spray patterns on the far wall.

In your last picture, the one with the air valve, you need to push that whole plate straight down with a deep-well socket that fits over the valve (probably a 10mm socket), then remove a small retainer ring from around the edge. Once the retainer is removed, the plate with the valve will be pushed out by the fork spring.

In your second picture, you need to remove that Allen-head bolt. There are different techniques for this, including a "special tool" or an impact gun. If you have an impact gun (air or electric), you might try to loosen the bolt (but not remove it) before loosening the top cap. If you don't have an impact gun, you will need a "special tool". Some have had luck with jamming a broom handle down the fork tube to hold the damper assembly, others have made a tool from all-thread rod and a few nuts. If I remember correctly, a piece of 7/16" all-thread rod, with four nuts, will do the job for you.

.

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

Your forks are not as different as you think.

The first thing to do is to bleed any air pressure that might still be in the forks. Then open the drain screw (the little bolt in your first picture) to remove any oil that might be left in there. If you reverse the order, you might have some interesting spray patterns on the far wall.

In your last picture, the one with the air valve, you need to push that whole plate straight down with a deep-well socket that fits over the valve (probably a 10mm socket), then remove a small retainer ring from around the edge. Once the retainer is removed, the plate with the valve will be pushed out by the fork spring.

In your second picture, you need to remove that Allen-head bolt. There are different techniques for this, including a "special tool" or an impact gun. If you have an impact gun (air or electric), you might try to loosen the bolt (but not remove it) before loosening the top cap. If you don't have an impact gun, you will need a "special tool". Some have had luck with jamming a broom handle down the fork tube to hold the damper assembly, others have made a tool from all-thread rod and a few nuts. If I remember correctly, a piece of 7/16" all-thread rod, with four nuts, will do the job for you.

.

This is GOLD! We've spent hours on BassCliff's site, and looked at all the different permutations of the forks in the Service Manual (since it covers ALL GS550s), and none of the photo match the forks we have.

I've seen several "takes" on the "Special Tool," too - but they all assume you can actually get into the forks, and we couldn't get the air valve off.

THANK YOU! TheGSResources comes through AGAIN!

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

Fits and spurts, spurts and fits.

Quick question:
The engine is out of the frame, and the local "guru" got the broken bolts out of the head (two exhaust, and one from the valve cover). He's not as good as he thought he was - only one of the exhaust bolts came out clean (with the weld-a-nut-to-the-stud trick). The other he apparently went ahead and drilled out, then heli-coiled.

Oh well ... too late now.

Disclaimer up front: I know (now) that we broke THE CARDINAL RULE and started the teardown before we had the engine running. Too late to do anything about that now.

So here's the question: before we put all the time in the world into prepping and painting the engine and covers; before we install new primary rotor, clutch goodies, etc.

Does it make sense to get it back together enough to actually run, then take it back apart to paint, change the stuff that needs changing, and the reassemble?

Or should we take the leap of faith and do everything we think needs to be done, in the hope that the "bulletproof motor" will actually work, once it's all together?

I know the engine spins. But that's really all I know.

Is there ANY way to bench-test the engine before putting it all back together? Is it's possible, is it worth the effort?

[flameproof nomex suit on. I know we should have got it running first.]

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

We've been FRAMED!

We've been FRAMED!

Sorry for the photo quality in some of these - I'm using my phone nd Tanner's iPhone.

Prepping the frame: Wire wheel (another new toy tool I got to add to the collection). This is before he decided that gloves are a Good Idea.

and sandblast (another new toy tool I got to add to the collection)
picked up a $29 sand blaster at Tractor Supply Comapny, and a 50 pound bag of Black Diamond media. Managed to recover probably 30 pounds of it and screen it back into the bucket.

There were a couple of weeks between blast and prime, so Tanner had to knock the rust back off the frame. Fortunately, it didn't take too long.

and prime - we went back and forth on the type of primer, and finally settled on self-etching primer. The stuff goes on VERY thin.
Tanner masked off all the necessary bits. We had a couple thousand coffee filters on hand (don't ask) so we used those to stuff all the threaded holes and pivot points.

A little hands-on training from our local expert ...

I didn't get any photos of the primer going on - we only have one respirator, and the primer is NASTY. "For sale to and use by perofessionals only." Says so right on the label.
and ready for paint - once it dries.

and paint - Tanner opted for Chassis paint, in the traditional semigloss black. With our expert guiding and helping avoid mistakes, four coats went on - thin coat, then thicker coat... wait ... thin coat, then thicker coat.

and ... wait for the paint to cure.

 

[Guest]

Wow, looking really nice. Great job guys.

 

[Johnny Drummond]

looking good so far!how did Tanner find out that gloves would be a clever move?(I'm being a bit of a smartass asking that-after you get those wires picked out of your hand once or twice you learn!!!).As far as the engine goes I used an old steel table frame that was lying around to mount the engine when I put the GSX engine into my GS,you just need a couple of bits of scrap steel to make mounts for the bottom engine mounts and exhaust,attach the carbs and airbox(propping if needed), the coils and the ignitor pack and battery>johnny

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

Painting some tins

Painting some tins

So it's been a LONG time since I posted an update ... here, for your reading enjoyment, some recent work, with photos.

Tanner decided he really like the "Blackout Chrome" look from the spray cans at Auto Zone. So everything that WAS chrome is going to be "nickel black." The paint's slightly translucent - enough to hide most flaws in the chrome, but still has a unique look.

The blob in the back is the engine - safely wrapped (we hope) in a plastic bag.

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

Engine Covers - nah, we don't like that color anyway

Engine Covers - nah, we don't like that color anyway

We had a false start with the engine covers - a coat of blue that Tanner didn't much like

(and that got splashed with a bit of Aircraft Stripper while doing a different part - lesson learned!

Strip'em down and start over!

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

Engine Prep and paint

Engine Prep and paint

So we tried wire wheels, sandpaper flappers, steel brushes - and there were still LOTS of spots where the old finish just wasn't coming off ... and was ugly besides.

So the covers go back on, and after checking that all the holes are plugged, the whole engine got a coat of environmentally friendly stripper.
Hit some of the rough spots with a wire brush

Power Wash it down

Mask off the covers

Stand it on its head (and wire it to the Workmate so it doesn't fall off)

And two light coats of VHT Header primer, and three or four coats of VHT super-high-temp flat black...

And I've fully realized just how crappy my cell phone camera is.

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

Gas Tank - seal the inside, de-dent the outside

Gas Tank - seal the inside, de-dent the outside

We started with the POR-15 Gas Tank Sealer Kit, and discovered that the PO had tried to use a sealer of some sort ... but it was coming loose.

So we got a POR-15 Heavy Duty Gas Tank Repair Kit, which came with tank stripped that's suspiciously like Aircraft Stripper.

Whatever it was, it stripped the old gunk off ... and with a little agitation with some gravel thrown into the tank, all the old "sealant" came off.

I'd read about removing dents with a heat gun and dry ice, so off to the local Publix (grocery store) to buy some dry ice

After about an hour of heating and cooling, we allowed the gas tank dents to win.

So ... Por-15 metal prep, ready wash, and sealant ... I thought I had photos on my photobucket library ... but I guess not. Take my word for it - the inside of the tank is sealed, and gorgeous.

So on to the dents
Before the prep work

Clean, but still dented

And a couple of smaller dents

Bondo is my buddy!

Some etching primer ...

And blue metal flake duplicolor

Including a deliberate thumbprint on the bottom of the gas tank

 

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

Repairing a cracked side plate

Repairing a cracked side plate

The side plates are always broken, arent' they?
This one was held together with bad bondo and electrical wire
Sand, scrape, and wire wheel the old epoxy/bondo/whatever back down to original plastic

Shape some metal repair mesh to fit ...

It's self-adhesive ...

Bondo's your buddy!

And this is the inside, unseen bit so no time wasted on making it pretty ...
Still some sanding to do on the pretty side, and some painting ... but the plastic is FAR stronger than it ever was before.

 

[GateKeeper]

nice job guys....

now if that side panel is ABS, you just needed to get some acetone, a few LEGO blocks mix together make a slurry, and put it where your crack is would have probably been easier and faster, and typically just as strong as it would have fused itself together

You can get plastic pipe in the plumbing section of Home Depot and the like and plastics distributors will carry sheet stock. Chop up the plastic and add it to acetone (use a glass container to mix it in) and let it sit and dissolve. Stir it in to mix and use as you would for any other glue. To make it thicker add more plastic and or more acetone to make it thinner. The best consitency is to have it flow like cold honey.

and a good thread on the procedure

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=194787&highlight=abs+slurry



your way works just as well....

.