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82’ GS850g hole in piston help

P

PugNug

Forum Newbie
So I made a mistake. Took my bike out after winter and rode it and blew a hole in piston #2. Stupid, I know, my first bike and I didn’t winterize it properly.

Tore the bike down and I’ve been saving up to get enough money to be able to fix it. I’m wondering what I should do next and was hoping to get some advice from the more experienced folks on this site, it was a great motor that burned a bit of oil but it only has about 11,000 miles on it when I bought it. It ran great before the winter and I put 4,000 miles on it in about 6 months before winter hit.

What I’m wanting to know is should I be looking for a new motor? Or just new parts and replace my pistons, piston rings, all gaskets and rehone cylinders? I’ve never really done a rebuild like this but I have my manuals and a mechanic friend or two.

What should I be looking at price-wise for getting replacement parts, I’ve looked on a few websites and tallied up most of what I need and it’s looking to be around 700$-800$, is that in the right ballpark or is there a cheaper way to get parts? Some websites have some parts and not others, is there a website that has everything? I’ve checked revzilla, partzilla, Dennis Kirk, Motorsport.com, Suzuki parthouse.

Also what years for gs850s have the same parts? Will pistons / rings for another year fit the same / have cross year compatibility?

Sorry for rambling but I’m new to this and just want to ride my baby again, thanks for listening and any help will be appreciated more than you know.
 
Unless you have tools and confidence in your friends and your mechanical abilities, it might be cheaper and easier to replace the engine. In fact, you might consider replacing the entire bike.

You might be able to recoup some $ by parting out the broken bike. Stripping parts is much easier than replacing pistons.

Also, I live well north of you (New York), have never winterized a bike in 50 years, and have never encountered any Spring problems. But I was born lucky. (Also rode through most winters.)
 
Approximately where are you?

Not winterizing doesn't blow holes in pistons.

First figure out what went wrong. A bad petcock, for example, often allows fuel to leak into #2. Or are the intake boots leaking air, leading to a too-lean and too hot condition? Are the valves all OK?

And what happened to the piston chunks? Is the cylinder bore OK, or scratched up?

There's no one website that has everything.

All years of GS850G and GL ('79 - '83) have the same pistons. There are quite a few other detail differences between the '79 and later models, and mid-82 and 83 models had different valve covers and clutch covers.

If your bike is a 1980 or later, then you may well find it easier and cheaper to look for any 1980+ GS850G/GL engine to swap in, or a more or less complete parts bike. It's also possible to swap in a 1980+ GS1000G/GL or '82+ GS1100G/GL/GK engine, although you'll also need the carbs, airbox, driveshaft, and some other details. (Be careful about confusion between the chain drive and shaft versions of the 1000 and 1100.) And of course you'll need to review the condition of any used engine carefully, set valve clearances, etc.

Getting pistons and rings is tough; OEM are NLA, but Cruznimage seems to have them:
www.cruzinimage.net

80-86 SUZUKI GS850 STANDARD SIZE PISTONS SET 69.00mm

-DESCRIPTION-◆10-GS850PS◆ *80-86 Suzuki GS850 Standard Size Pistons Set Aftermarket PistonX4,RingsX4,PinX4,ClipsX4set are included Piston Size: 69.00
www.cruzinimage.net www.cruzinimage.net
Reports from folks who have installed Cruznimage parts are encouraging.
$150 for the set of pistons, rings, retainers, and pins is quite reasonable, but shipping from Japan and assorted charges at the border will hike the delivered price quite a bit.

Gaskets can also be difficult. OEM is best, but supplies have almost completely dried up. The gasket set from Cruznimage could be great, it could be awful; maybe someone with direct experience can chime in.

Overall, you might be better served by looking for an engine, or a parts bike without a title that still turns over.

Perhaps there's someone reasonably near you that has an engine lying around if you post in the "Wanted" section.
 
In my area $700 or so will buy you a good 850 engine in a project bike. those 850's generally go a long time, I think it would be worth looking into a bad looking 850 with a good engine if you can find one. On the other hand that could be another unknown problem child. If you can rebuild it for $700 then you know what you have. Obviously it has low mileage and the rest of it should be in good condition.
Probably you had a carb problem and were totally lean in that cylinder. I use a temp reader and shoot all 4 pipes when I start them up after a slumber, not totally definitive but an obvious hot or cold cylinder well get you delving into it.
 
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