82' GS850G project bike

[Hakamisu]

Hey everyone. I just used the Craigslist Barter page and worked my way from an iPod Touch to a 82' GS850. It took me about a 1.5 years, but it worked.

The bike needs a little TLC, well in my opinion a lot. It runs well, and is quite a smooth ride. I think I'm going to tear the whole thing down and go from there.

I have no experience with tearing down bikes, but I am a Aircraft Technician, so I don't think it should be that different, especially with the manual.

Since this is the GS Resource site, I was wondering if there is anything I should or shouldn't do during the tear down and build up. I am a very minimalist kind of person so I was thinking of losing whatever isn't needed and going down to a single Speedo guage.

Any suggestions or comments are very welcome.

Also, money is pretty tight, but I'm willing to save for better options, ie- powder coating frame.

Thanks.

 

[Hakamisu]

So I needed a work bench before I could start, so I threw together one from some scrap wood I had in my garage. and I started some teardown before bed. I thought alot of it was too rusty to salvage, but it's looking pretty good.

Here goes nothing.

 

[Hakamisu]

Here it looks like the previous owner decided to do some of his own wiring

.

 

[Hakamisu]

Gz?

Gz?

Upon perusing the manual, I noticed I probably have a GZ. Is there any way to know for sure. I'm assuming the badges dont change?

Also, is there any major downsides?

 

[eil]

Upon perusing the manual, I noticed I probably have a GZ. Is there any way to know for sure. I'm assuming the badges dont change?

http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_modelchart.htm

Z just indicates the year ('82). For example, mine is a GS850GLT since it's from the 1980 model year. Most people don't bother tacking it on, and just state the year instead. (Looking at my sig, I guess I'm an exception.)

Also, is there any major downsides?

To what?

 

[The Jed]

i love that you basically traded an ipod for a bike, well done sir! there should be a VIN plate on the neck between the triple clamps that will give you the full model name.

 

[Hakamisu]

To what?

Like any vehicle, I thought there might be a downside to a different model number. Ie- Took something away or added something that didn't quite work.

But apparently not, so don't worry about it.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Hakamisu]

Here are a few more tear-down pics.

My In-laws were in town for a few days and I have more visitors coming soon, so not a lot of time. You will also notice the bike crammed in a corner with stuff pilled in a couple of pictures (my garage is continuously offered up for temporary storage) so not always convenient for working on a bike.

In the photo below, one of the previous owners put in a balance line for the forks with a guage (busted) and one rusted shut schrader valve. I think I will be losing that on the build up.

On a side note, I have decided to rebuild the wiring harness (I know, why bother). If you caught my harness rebuild question in the electrical part of the forum it really comes down to "I want to". I have access to Mil Spec wires and connectors and I really enjoy wiring. Also, there are a few things I would like to change (mostly connector spots). As I cannot do everything I want to this bike right away and still get it on the road by next summer, and noticing how inconvenient some of the connection locations are to disassemble this beast, I figured it would be nice to make these changes now.

Love reading input and suggestions, so feel free.

 

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. Hakamisu,

I have my own 850 rebuild thread going. The links below should have some handy information.

If you are here you probably have a 30 year old motorcycle that needs about 20 years worth of maintenance. In the links below you'll find maintenance lists, documentation, wiring diagrams, "how to" guides, vendor links, tips, tricks, and a whole lot of GS goodness. This is your "mega-welcome". Let's get started.

Let me dump a TON of information on you and share some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please Click Here For Your Mega-Welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

More links to helpful threads in the forum:
Help! Your Bike Won't Start
DON'T DO THESE THINGS
Help! Your Bike Won't Run Well
Oh God! Pods!


Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Hakamisu]

R/R excitement

R/R excitement

So, I went out to the cave to do some organizing and try and make some sense of a few electrical "mods" done by some previous owners.

And what do I find, but a replaced R/R. Great, right? Well... see for yourself...

So, I thought at first there was an inline fuse with this "mod", but then realized half way through editing these photos that it was more likely an inline resistor.

Any input would be helpful, not exactly sure what should be done. I figure I can eventually figure it out, but I also figured it might be easier on here. Also, as mentioned, I am going to be re-wiring this mess and will be tidying this up either way.

 

[Hakamisu]

Also just realized I may have added the resistor and battery terminal chunk to the whole thing. Not certain they were connected, it just looked right when trying to figure ou the mess of wires. I guess I should have taken more pictures when stripping it down.

Again, any help would be awsome.

 

[tkent02]

It runs well, and is quite a smooth ride. I think I'm going to tear the whole thing down and go from there.

WTF? If it works why screw with it?
Fix the things the PO scrwed up, maintain it and ride.

 

[Hakamisu]

Because it wasn't maintained. There is rust all over, the engine leaks out of every seal, and the wireing is a fire hazard.

I also got this bike with the intention of a complete rebuild.

It might be hard to believe, but this project is as fun as riding to me. I was an Aircraft mechanic that loved wrenching and I don't get to turn wrenches anymore, so....

WTF? If it works why screw with it?
Fix the things the PO scrwed up, maintain it and ride.

 

[Larry D]

I can understand that wrenching is almost as fun as riding...I enjoy wrenching as well.

My best advise is to hang out here, reference Cliff's site and learn as much as you can about the particulars of your bike. I would help with your electrical questions, but, I'm horrid at electrical issues.

 

[Hakamisu]

Ok, So after some sleep, fiddling around and some research, I found out what the wires for my R/R are and what they're supposed to do. 3 Yellow go to AC Generator, Green Ground (Duh), Red to Fuse (No Change), Black to 12V Ignition Power. So, during my re-build I think I'll just make it a little cleaner looking and all will be ok.

Here's to hoping.

 

[Steve]

Your "resistor" is neither a resistor nor a fuse. :-k

It is a self-resetting circuit breaker.

Nice item to have, but it should be more than 10 amp capacity. The stock MAIN fuse is 15 amps, but it does not have to carry the full output of the R/R. It only supplies the bike with power until the engine is running, then it takes what's left over from the stator output and sends it back to recharge the battery. That circuit breaker is apparently in a direct line from the R/R to the battery, it should be 25-30 amps.

.

 

[Hakamisu]

Your "resistor" is neither a resistor nor a fuse. :-k

It is a self-resetting circuit breaker.

Nice item to have, but it should be more than 10 amp capacity. The stock MAIN fuse is 15 amps, but it does not have to carry the full output of the R/R. It only supplies the bike with power until the engine is running, then it takes what's left over from the stator output and sends it back to recharge the battery. That circuit breaker is apparently in a direct line from the R/R to the battery, it should be 25-30 amps.

.

So, I should keep it hooked to the battery? Just with a bigger self resetting breaker? Or would it be okay to hook it up to the ignition side like some other forums I've read?

 

[tom203]

So, I should keep it hooked to the battery? Just with a bigger self resetting breaker? Or would it be okay to hook it up to the ignition side like some other forums I've read?

The original R/R fed the positive back into harness (so it could power the bike needs with any surplus going to battery)- some PO got befuddled with the Shindengen R/R upgrade and went direct to battery (or so it seems from your pics). As Steve said, you need a 25 amp fuse for this approach; a simple inline fuse is fine- no need for circuit breaker. On my my bike, I split the hot feed from the R/R- I connect to harness and have a 20 amp inline fuse direct to battery positive as backup.

 

[wedoo2]

I am going to comment on your first post about the tear down. I have done many and the best advise I can give is that you bag and tag every piece so you can identify all of it when it comes time to put things back together. Take a lot of pictures as it will help you remember how things reassemble and you won't feel stupid asking why "this doesn't fit". Clean everything, order a bolt kit from Z-1 Enterprises that replaces the old crappy screws with new stainless steel allen head bolts. Very cheap. Buy Suzuki parts when available. Once you start doing this it is addictive.

 

[Hakamisu]

The original R/R fed the positive back into harness (so it could power the bike needs with any surplus going to battery)- some PO got befuddled with the Shindengen R/R upgrade and went direct to battery (or so it seems from your pics). As Steve said, you need a 25 amp fuse for this approach; a simple inline fuse is fine- no need for circuit breaker. On my my bike, I split the hot feed from the R/R- I connect to harness and have a 20 amp inline fuse direct to battery positive as backup.

As I am going to be doing a wire harness clean up/rebuild I will probably work it into the new harness instead of running it straight to battery.