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GS850 for a bottle of Whiskey

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Guest

Guest
Hey all,
Glad to find a GS forum. I'm over on the SOHC4 forums too for my '73 Honda CB500. But very happy to find a good community for this bike.
Last year I managed to pick up a 1980 GS850 for a bottle of whiskey. Yep, owner just wanted it out of his garage. Don't worry, I gave hime a nice $100 bottle.
It's just been sitting since, but plan to get moving on it soon.
In fact, just stuck a battery in it yesterday, and shot some carb starter in it, and it popped a few times. Very encouraging.
30,000 miles on it and leaky gaskets, so I'm thinking about tearing it down to replace gaskets and rings.

Looking forward to all the knowledge from the forum!
 

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Got it last yr.??? I guess we can't blame ya for waiting till you found this place to get started on it. Now you've found us, yes it's time to get things going. Oh Yeah,.. Welcome... & good luck.
 
Got it last yr.???
Yeah, wasn't quite sure what direction I wanted to go with it. Plus I picked up a Vulcan 900 about the same time. Other projects plus work.
Now the days are longer, and I want to spend more time wrenching in the garage. So, it's a good time to get started.

Thanks!
 
Ha, a GS850 is a VASTLY superior machine to a CB...of any type.

Welcome and good luck with your projects.
 
Well, though I may disagree with Ed about GS850s being superior to, say CB900Fs, I will definitely say hello and welcome!
 
You'll find the main leaky gasket is the one at the base of the barrells, usually from the left rear. Once that starts leaking, there's no option but to wait until you can do it (or do it right away if you like). It's a leak that slowly appears, doesn't get any worse for ages, then gets worse and you have no choice. Almost guaranteed to leak anytime between 30 to 50k miles.
To replace it involves a complete top end strip and it's wise to give the bores / rings a check and titivation if needed. Also the head - new valve stem seals and grind in the valves. To do any less is a foolish waste of time.
The drawback to this approach is the cumulative cost of a gasket set and maybe rings, but that's what money's for.
Re-assemble with Hylomar sprayed on the base gasket and head gasket too (that's what I do anyway).
The BIG upside, is once this is done you probably won't ever need to take it apart again.
All other sources of leaks can be fixed from the outside, so easy-peasy.
 
I was just sitting here questioning Ed's comment to myself. I really like my "CB" 1100F a lot....Tho it does have a couple of drawbacks.
 
You'll find the main leaky gasket is the one at the base of the barrells, usually from the left rear. Once that starts leaking, there's no option but to wait until you can do it (or do it right away if you like). It's a leak that slowly appears, doesn't get any worse for ages, then gets worse and you have no choice. Almost guaranteed to leak anytime between 30 to 50k miles.
To replace it involves a complete top end strip and it's wise to give the bores / rings a check and titivation if needed. Also the head - new valve stem seals and grind in the valves. To do any less is a foolish waste of time.
The drawback to this approach is the cumulative cost of a gasket set and maybe rings, but that's what money's for.
Re-assemble with Hylomar sprayed on the base gasket and head gasket too (that's what I do anyway).
The BIG upside, is once this is done you probably won't ever need to take it apart again.
All other sources of leaks can be fixed from the outside, so easy-peasy.

All fantastic advice Grimly! Thank you.
Since it's 30,000 I was leaning towards doing a full top end rebuild anyway.
 
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