GS1100G Road Runner Project

[londonboards]

Carb Synchronisation

Carb Synchronisation

Did my first ever carb synch today.

As it turns out the no. 1 cylinder problems were all caused by a lack off synch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-iHNyp1Lss

The good news is that all the plugs now look the same. This was the no. 1 plug before synching:

and the no. 1 after synching:

She now runs super sweet and pulls like the proverbial.

 

[Charlie G]

Well that's good news.

cg

 

[Nessism]

Bikes looking awesome!!!

How does the rear wheel spline look? Best to carry a spare if the original gold type is still installed. Don't want to get stranded on the road somewhere.

 

[londonboards]

Clutch Check Up

Clutch Check Up

Best to look over the clutch. It was slipping slightly in the higher gears when the throttle was cranked just after changing gear.

It turns out the springs were on the limit:

I checked out the plates at the same time and they were all good:

Off to Belgium next weekend. Should be no clutch slippage now!

Greetings

 

[londonboards]

Nessism - so if I carry a spare drive shaft with me, would that be the spline you are talking about?

Where does it shear? On the drive shaft or in the wheel hub?

Greetings

 

[Nessism]

Nessism - so if I carry a spare drive shaft with me, would that be the spline you are talking about?

Where does it shear? On the drive shaft or in the wheel hub?

Greetings

Problem is the driven spline that bolts inside the rear wheel. Starting some time in 1981 the spline material changed, or maybe the heat treatment, and the splines are too soft. Early splines were black colored and durable. Bad splines are gold colored. They typically strip out somewhere in the 20-40k mileage range. The current factory service part is silver colored and has good durability. You need a high moly grease too, to lubricate the parts. Honda sells a special grease called Moly 60 or something like that. A lifetime supply costs same as a good six pack.

Edit: read this thread for more spline info...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=212949
and...
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=189260

You done good work my friend. Keep going...

 

[londonboards]

40 mile round trip goes well

40 mile round trip goes well

She didn't let me down. We completed a 400 mile trip to Belgium without a hitch.

Here are all the pics:

Trip to Bruge

On the Channel Tunnel crossing train:

 

[londonboards]

Still got the rattle

Still got the rattle

Rattle around the clutch area is still pretty bad after the engine warms up so there are 2 possibilities (well probably more but 2 obvious ones):

1. Cam chain thrashing about - tensioner seized / not working
2. Clutch back plate springs rattling around.

I took the cam chain tensioner off and cleaned it up today. I managed to do it with taking the carbs off. Bit fiddly but it can be done.

The knurled knob on the tensioner was seized so I loosened it off and cleaned the whole thing up - thanks to bwringers tutorial. Put it all back and the noise is still there. At least I have eliminated something.

Next job will be to switch clutches from my other GS1100G project and then get new springs installed on this one.

Greetings

 

[Fester]

Nice bike makes my old girl look................old

 

[Charlie G]

Rattle around the clutch area is still pretty bad after the engine warms up so there are 2 possibilities (well probably more but 2 obvious ones):

1. Cam chain thrashing about - tensioner seized / not working
2. Clutch back plate springs rattling around.

I took the cam chain tensioner off and cleaned it up today. I managed to do it with taking the carbs off. Bit fiddly but it can be done.

The knurled knob on the tensioner was seized so I loosened it off and cleaned the whole thing up - thanks to bwringers tutorial. Put it all back and the noise is still there. At least I have eliminated something.

Next job will be to switch clutches from my other GS1100G project and then get new springs installed on this one.

Greetings

I was meaning to ask if the PO had the tensioner set screw locked down so it wouldn't work. Be sure to let us (me) know what you find out about this rattle.

cg

 

[londonboards]

Clutch Still Rattling

Clutch Still Rattling

Did a complete overhaul of the cam chain tensioner and I can now rule that out as the noise culprit.

So next job is a complete clutch strip down.

 

[londonboards]

December Ride Out

December Ride Out

Before I do the clutch strip I decided on one more ride out before the winter really sets in.

Went to meet the others at the Suzuki Owners Club - Kent Section monthly meet at the Blue and White Cafe.

 

[Charlie G]

Beautiful pictures! I'm frozen in snow here.

cg

 

[londonboards]

The Dangers of Salt

The Dangers of Salt

Didn't realise what a disaster salt is to the unprotected pieces of metal on our lovely bikes. I think I have learned my lesson. After driving on salty roads and leaving the bike in a warm dry garage for 2 weeks it looked like this:

Washing it all off just leaves the tarnished metal showing badly:

I think this is a lesson for me. Either protect the metal with a paint or clear coat or wash it every time you take it out in the winter.

Greetings

 

[londonboards]

Still Got a Clutch Rattle

Still Got a Clutch Rattle

So I'm going to switch this clutch basket with the one from my other GS1100G Restoration Project. This other bike we have had from new (1984) and we know that it has exactly 18,000 genuine miles on it. So the theory is that it can't possibly be as worn out as the one on this Road Runner project which has had a new speedo and I estimate has around 35,000 miles on it at least.

Here they are side by side:

Both have rattling springs (the heavier ones only) but the one on the left which is from Dad's bike (the Restoration Project) has about half the movement or rattle as the one from the Road Runner project. So if the springs are the cause of the noise, then it should be reduced by this switch.

I have also bought a replacement rubber cushion which might also be a cause of noise. The old one is very hard and bent out of shape. This apparently reduces the rattle between the oil pump gear and the clutch basket (outer hub).

I put it all back together. Torquing the hub nut with the bike in 5th gear, an 18 inch breaker bar and a rubber mallet:

Reused the old tab washer in a section that was not previously bent as I am supposing that this clutch is going to have to come off again sometime soon:

And the net result is; the noise is worse! Listen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ItnewFLGX3c

Greetings

 

[londonboards]

Ride to Church and Oh No Not Charging!

Ride to Church and Oh No Not Charging!

It was a lovely day on Sunday. Temperatures up to 16 or 17 deg C. So the bike came out and we went for a spin in the lovely Kent (UK) countryside. I always wanted to stop and look at the church at Godmersham so I thought I would pay my respects.

I was very lucky that this church was at the top of hill. After driving for an hour and stopping for 10 minutes, I went to start the bike and ..........

SCREAM !!!

The battery was almost dead. Oh no not the dreaded stator / regulator / rectifier problem. I managed to roll down the hill and start the bike before I hit the main road by putting it in 2nd gear and bumping it. And furthermore, I managed to get the 5 miles home without it cutting out on me.

A huge feeling of dread engulfed me; I was finally going to have to read the Stator Papers. Anything electrical gives me a headache. This was not going to be very much fun.

 

[londonboards]

Visit to the Stator Paper Pages

Visit to the Stator Paper Pages

I started on the Stator Tests (click to enlarge):

All I could get on this set of tests was a steady 13.4 volts when engine off and the same when it ran - whatever revs it was at. So I went onto section B of the Stator Tests:

I am not a proficient multi-meter user (much prefer the old ones with a gauge) so I get confused with settings, which holes to plug the leads in, which is + and which is - and the difference between a reading of 1 and a reading of -1. I couldn't get any readings to work on this test so I immediately assumed the stator was toast.

I am privileged to own 2 Suzuki GS1100Gs so my reasoning went that I could at least switch stators or use the other one as a test rig. So I took them both out of their motors.

The one on the right is original (I know because I have had the bike since new) and the one on the left looks like it has a different (replacement?) type of stator installed.

And I did all the tests again. Testing both of them in succession.

Having not got readings like this whilst the suspect stator was on the bike, I was surprised to find that all the readings were around 0.9 which is well within the prescribed range 0.5 to 2 ohms. Don't know why it wasn't looking like that when it was on the bike. Perhaps I had the wrong multi-meter setting or I wasn't getting a good connection.

So now it looks like the stator is OK. I would still like to see the thing kick out some volts when it was running to completely convince me though. Before I put it back in I will move onto the regulator/rectifier.

 

[hampshirehog]

Did you check you had a good earth to the electrics plate Richard? I've seen a good few GSs that are dead on the starter button, pulled off the side panel and wiggled that plate and they start.

 

[londonboards]

Did you check you had a good earth to the electrics plate Richard? I've seen a good few GSs that are dead on the starter button, pulled off the side panel and wiggled that plate and they start.

That has got to me my next step. Go through the connections one by one. And test the regulator/rectifier.

I hate electrics. Just want to do spannering!

Greetings

 

[tatu]

Maybe this will help you with some ideas if you need to replace the reg/rec if you need to. we can soon fix this.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=197078