Another Aussie GS rebuild - GS1100G

[JimmyR]

Just out of curiosity this morning I put the pod filters that I have on the bike. I had taken the airbox off and just wanted to see what the pods would look like. Well WOW. They look so much better on this bike! I probably shouldn't have done this! It really is the look I want. But I also don't want to spend months fine-tuning the carbs just to get the bike to run properly. Sigh.

I have had so many "bike experts" warn me not to run pods. I'll use more gas, get lumpy response, no good for bad weather (like that worries me!). But damn they look good! Really, I wish K+N would make some pods with more restricted airflow so I could get the response of an airbox but the looks of pods! I even emailed them but I suspect they thought I was nuts. Now - how can I measure airflow so that I can mod these pods to act like an airbox?

 

[Guest]

Well... you know my opinion already Same economy as the stock airbox and exhaust for me, had no issues in the rain, and the 2 to 1 brought out some midrange I never had before...

However, fine tuning... yeah I still got some of that to do!

 

[JimmyR]

Well I think I might just go to the pods, but first to get it registered. The whole engine bay is so much more open and lean with the pods.

Today I did more tidying, tried to bleed the bloody brakes to no avail, that sort of thing. I made some straps out of aluminium to hold the cables inside the battery box. Pics tomorrow!

 

[Guest]

Well I think I might just go to the pods, but first to get it registered. The whole engine bay is so much more open and lean with the pods.

Today I did more tidying, tried to bleed the bloody brakes to no avail, that sort of thing. I made some straps out of aluminium to hold the cables inside the battery box. Pics tomorrow!

Get her running right with the airbox first so you have a nice known solid baseline to start with.

I ended up strapping my lever back to the handle bar overnight because I couldn't get it to bleed properly. When I checked it in the morning, problem solved, no more air in the system.

 

[JimmyR]

Well fingers crossed on the brakes! (mutter mutter mutter...)

You know when I put the pods on - and I haven't even tightened the clamps - I just thought that's what I want. I'll have to do it. But yes, I will get it running with the airbox first and may experiment with either stuffing the pods with foam or blocking the flow a little somehow. I really don't care about getting tons of power - it's an 1100 so I'm sure it's fine. Again - I'll take some pics tomorrow.

 

[Guest]

Well fingers crossed on the brakes! (mutter mutter mutter...)

You know when I put the pods on - and I haven't even tightened the clamps - I just thought that's what I want. I'll have to do it. But yes, I will get it running with the airbox first and may experiment with either stuffing the pods with foam or blocking the flow a little somehow. I really don't care about getting tons of power - it's an 1100 so I'm sure it's fine. Again - I'll take some pics tomorrow.

Good luck! Hahaha... don't worry, I'm sure you'll get 'em nailed

You know you can always just get a Dynojet kit right? Maybe not the cheapest option but will allow you to use your pods and have a good baseline to work with... they have both stage 1 and 3 depending what modifications you've done.

Hard to come by for my little 450 but I reckon it'll be easier on the 1100 as they should be far more common.

 

[JimmyR]

Pics - new straps on the battery box:

Here I hope you can see what I'm on about - I love the space around the engine. It's very much the look I am going for. I am looking forward to the day I can lop off the lump at the rear end of the frame.

 

[john82q]

Well if looks are everything, youre geting there.

The whole hard to tune thing with pods, is owing to CV carbs, so if you really want pods on, and bike that runs well. Then youll have to lash out on some flat slides, or other old fashion carbs.

Or thottle bodys, and a micro squirt,, but some round here would scream heresy!

 

[Guest]

Jimmy, I like the space also... mind you the 450 is a whole different world when it comes to the airbox. There was no way it was going back in... I don't have double jointed fingers or double as a contortionist circus act...

Well if looks are everything, youre geting there.

The whole hard to tune thing with pods, is owing to CV carbs, so if you really want pods on, and bike that runs well. Then youll have to lash out on some flat slides, or other old fashion carbs.

Or thottle bodys, and a micro squirt,, but some round here would scream heresy!

John that would be some tasty stuff indeed, especially on the 1100...

 

[JimmyR]

Yeah I was thinking about lashing out for some Mikuni RS36 carbs if I go for pods. I'm kinda leaning that way. I'm just not very cluey about carbs. I will need to learn a lot to set them up but hey - I can learn!

Looks are pretty much everything in this build, although I wouldn't make the bike uncomfortable. As it is the bike is very comfy to sit on and I think will be great to ride. All along I have wanted to shed as much stuff on the bike as possible without causing myself hassle. Ie yes I will have indicators, mirrors, etc. But hopefully in as inconspicuous a way as possible. I think I have to make the bike I set out to make rather than water it down.

 

[Guest]

Yeah I was thinking about lashing out for some Mikuni RS36 carbs if I go for pods. I'm kinda leaning that way. I'm just not very cluey about carbs. I will need to learn a lot to set them up but hey - I can learn!

Looks are pretty much everything in this build, although I wouldn't make the bike uncomfortable. As it is the bike is very comfy to sit on and I think will be great to ride. All along I have wanted to shed as much stuff on the bike as possible without causing myself hassle. Ie yes I will have indicators, mirrors, etc. But hopefully in as inconspicuous a way as possible. I think I have to make the bike I set out to make rather than water it down.

I think some RS carbs might be a little overboard for my 450 so I'll persevere with the CV carbs as much as I can. If I can sort the bogging off idle I reckon I'll be pretty happy.

Definitely stick with doing what you want with the bike, don't water it down or you'll just end up disappointed...

 

[landshark]

You dont need to change the carbs, just buy the dynojet kit after it is running properly with the airbox, then swap to pods and put the kit in. It is more expensive than just buying needles and jets, but it will save you sh1tloads in time and hair pulling.

 

[JimmyR]

OK thanks!

BTW there seems to be a heap of guys in Qld here. I guess it's a good place to ride. I wonder what the stats are of bikes per capita in the various states? I reckon Qld would come out on top!

 

[Guest]

OK thanks!

BTW there seems to be a heap of guys in Qld here. I guess it's a good place to ride. I wonder what the stats are of bikes per capita in the various states? I reckon Qld would come out on top!

Of course there are, that's just coz we're awesome though

Hahaha just kiddin...

I reckon you'd find a higher per capita elsewhere because most people up here now seem to be more interested in 4WD's with air con, but I reckon we'd rate highest in use due to the winter temperatures and how rideable year 'round it is

 

[JimmyR]

We have our share of bloody 4WDs here in the west too. A couple of years ago one of the local papers had a story about which cars were most popular in each area of Perth. Apparently the more upmarket the area the higher the ownership of 4WDs. The writer enjoyed writing "The roads of Peppermint Grove (our nob hill) must be amongst the worst in the state as the rate of ownership of 4WD vehicles is one of the highest in the state."

We have a lot of Harleys here. Must be all the CUBs. Except I have one and I'm no CUB.

Anyway, tomorrow Gavin the bike dude is coming around to help me. I am hoping that once he has helped install the new cam chain and tensioners and timed the ignition for me I might just have a running bike. Then I just need to get the brakes working and put the original front lights and clocks on and I can get registered.

I have the carbies on the coffee table tonight while I check a few things. I also have a very cool wife!

 

[Guest]

We have our share of bloody 4WDs here in the west too. A couple of years ago one of the local papers had a story about which cars were most popular in each area of Perth. Apparently the more upmarket the area the higher the ownership of 4WDs. The writer enjoyed writing "The roads of Peppermint Grove (our nob hill) must be amongst the worst in the state as the rate of ownership of 4WD vehicles is one of the highest in the state."

We have a lot of Harleys here. Must be all the CUBs. Except I have one and I'm no CUB.

Anyway, tomorrow Gavin the bike dude is coming around to help me. I am hoping that once he has helped install the new cam chain and tensioners and timed the ignition for me I might just have a running bike. Then I just need to get the brakes working and put the original front lights and clocks on and I can get registered.

I have the carbies on the coffee table tonight while I check a few things. I also have a very cool wife!

Yeah I get what ya's sayin'... gets like that around here too

Sounds like today could be a productive day! Fingers crossed...

And yes, your wife is cool! I can tell that from here... hahahahhaha

 

[JimmyR]

Yay! Gavin the bike dude came around today and we changed the cam chain - yes it was necessary - checked all the shims on the tappets and tweaked some carbies. Also finally got the front brakes sorted and set the timing on the Dynatek ignition.

So all I need to do now is put some (temporary) reflectors on and maybe put the stock headlight and indicators on and get it registered. BTW Gavin the bike dude says he can get the bike running fine with pods for me, so pods it is.

No pics because the bike looks like hell right now! The original black tank looks terrible after I have gotten used to the "new" browny/red one. Also, I have removed all the tank tabs on the red tank and have a new tab welded underneath it so I can use my smaller seat. I WILL take pics of that for you. I intend to paint the underside of the red tank in matt black primer. When I mod the frame I'll weld another bolt onto the crossmember under the tank to bolt it to.

 

[Guest]

Awesome! So the plan is rego then finish the modifying? Cool, can't wait to see

And seriously, pods aren't that big a deal as long as you take the time to re-jet properly... says me who keeps whinging about bogging off idle because he hasn't spent the time to properly re-jet yet

I'll do it soon I promise ok? Probably take a day off work I reckon so I can rev the crap out of it while the neighbours are at work...

 

[JimmyR]

Oh, and the pipes sound great. They're not too loud at all but have a lovely growl. So not only do they look cool... Gavin the bike dude reckons it won't be so difficult to set up the pods with the stock carbs. Just a bigger jet here and there apparently...

 

[Guest]

Oh, and the pipes sound great. They're not too loud at all but have a lovely growl. So not only do they look cool... Gavin the bike dude reckons it won't be so difficult to set up the pods with the stock carbs. Just a bigger jet here and there apparently...

Nice! And rorty is the word I use for my pipe... growl's probably another good word for it

If yours is like mine, you can adjust a washer in the baffle there to get a little less restriction and a little more noise too, although I'm happy with mine the way it was and have left it alone.

And yes, one of the tricks with jetting apparently is a well designed pipe... Tranzac's are well designed pipes