GS1100G Road Runner Project

[londonboards]

First Start Up After Carb Rebuild

First Start Up After Carb Rebuild

Well she started after the 2nd jab even though it was only on 2 cylinders at first:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcN2MbdMcgk

Greetings

 

[Charlie G]

Nice to get an update and hear the engine roar. Cheers!

cg

 

[londonboards]

Yeah good spot Age. I thought that it would be a good thing to do to stop anything falling down the plug holes. But rookie mistake (no. 32) is that when you turn the engine over to line up the cam lobes, the piston hits the upside down sparkplug. This bends the sparkplug connector and damages (marks) the piston.

Door and knob springs to mind!

Greetings

 

[londonboards]

Nessism - Ha ha. I had not realised I was drinking a bottle of First Brew for my first start up!

Greetings

 

[londonboards]

New Cam Gasket and D Plugs

New Cam Gasket and D Plugs

So after doing the valve clearances and to try and stop the oil leak, I get a new cam gasket and D plugs.

See: My GS1100 G Road Runner Blog - Cam Gasket

Check all the surfaces.

and put it all back together will some gasket compound around the oil leak area. That did the trick.

 

[londonboards]

Exhaust Bolts

Exhaust Bolts

I wanted to see what was going on with this selection of exhaust bolts the PO has installed.

See: My GS1100G Road Runner Project - Exhaust Bolts

This is what I took out:

See the grey sealing cement which came out. Some one was trying to plug the holes. No wonder it sounds like it's blowing!

Compare this to the set I took out of my other GS1100:

You can see the problem is that the bolts are only biting on the last few threads. They should be seated further down the bolt holes. Why is this .....

..... extra large flange spacers don't allow the bolts to seat properly.

These and the bolts are going to have to be replaced at some stage.

 

[londonboards]

Why Don't My Brakes Work?

Why Don't My Brakes Work?

I thought I should have a little investigation to see why the bike was not stopping:

And look at the carnage a PO had inflicted on these poor pistons:

So a good clean up, new rubbers and lube and away we go.

Greetings

 

[Nessism]

Missed this before...

You are measuring to the wrong spot on the float. You need to measure to the bottom of the step, not the top.

Doing a great job overall. Love the photos.

 

[hampshirehog]

Richard, the RSPCA will be after you - turfing all those animals living in your brakes out of their home......

Are the pistons salvageable? You can tidy up the ends - as long as you don't take off too much material. It's gouges and pits on the walls that turn them into fishing weights.

 

[eil]

Those calipers... wow! What kind of a PO uses corn meal instead of brake fluid?

 

[londonboards]

Nessism - From the picture above, I was taking a reading from the right hand side of caliper. So in this case it shows a considerable gap, which I closed up by bending the tab.

I agree the photo suggests that I am happy with the measurement (if it was taken to the left of the caliper) which shows it would be spot on.

I should have posted this picture:

Thank you for pointing that out. It's nice to know that someone is taking that much interest and is willing to help me out.

Greetings

 

[londonboards]

Hampshire - Thanks for that. Indeed I am releasing little critters from all over this bike!

What do you think about this brake piston:

Greetings

Richard

 

[londonboards]

Eil - Yes I have no idea what has caused all that. My guess is that it is brake fluid that has congealed along with corroded calipers.

But the good news is that underneath it all I still have serviceable parts.

Greetings

 

[Guest]

That piston is corroded in the area which passes across the piston seal. There is a possibility that it will damage the seal and allow brake fluid to escape from the system. I would replace it. You might want to consider stainless steel parts.

 

[Nessism]

Those pistons are junk. Time for new ones.

Oh, and good news about the float height. You are doing nice work.

 

[Charlie G]

Following along still. I agree on the great photos. Nice to have these guys here to coment on your work. That's the one thing that makes working on these bikes possible for me.

cg

 

[GateKeeper]

Great post and all but.....

do make the pictures a wee bit smaller, say 800X600

this will still give you good sized pictures but will not have them so wide that one has to scroll sideways on the page to see the entire pic...

just a thought...

.

 

[londonboards]

Gatekeeper - yes you are right. In those last few posts I took copies of the wrong size photos. Sorry about that.

My other GS1100G (My Dad's Bike) came from Burlington, Ontario. We bought it new there in 1985 from the Suzuki dealer on the South Service Road just off the QEW. Now being restored!

Greetings

 

[londonboards]

Do I Replace Those Brake Pistons?

Do I Replace Those Brake Pistons?

It seems like the sensible thing to do. Just replace the pistons. And as it happens I do have the pistons "in stock" as I have bought some for my other GS1100G project. I would prefer not to use those as they cost me nearly $100 and I am having to reign in the spending (it's totally outta control!!).

And if you read the tutorial on Bass Cliff's site, he has re-used pistons in a worse state.

Oh dear what should I do?

 

[Guest]

I think there's a difference between some surface rust and the sort of pitting shown in your photos. Personally, I would play safe and fit new. Quite apart from the safety aspect, it may save you having to strip the caliper again after a short time.

I notice you priced the last set in dollars - is there no UK supplier you could use?