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Head problems

  • Thread starter Thread starter MiketheBike
  • Start date Start date
M

MiketheBike

Guest
I have a 1980 GS1100EX which I haven't had very long. It came in a terrible state and I'm slowly working through all the stuff that is wrong with it. When I was checking the valve clearances I noticed that the intake cam lobe was badly chipped. I managed to find a good used one and installed it. When I was ready to reinstal the cover I noticed that the gasket I ordered would not fit. I have now realised that the cylinder head is off another model (which would explain why the cylinder head is black and the rest of the motor is silver). Going by the old gasket that came off it, I am figuring that the head is off a 1983 GS1100E. Now I am worried that the inlet camshaft, which was off a 1980GS1100 may not be compatible. The part numbers for the 1980 and the 1983 are different but they look the same to me. The motor was running O.K. prior to this (although with some other problems which I am pretty sure is in the carbs). The engine turns by hand with no problems or noises. Does anybody know if this is going to be a problem? Right now I have no idea whether the engine was running '83 cams or '80 cams or what.
 
MiketheBike said:
I have a 1980 GS1100EX which I haven't had very long. It came in a terrible state and I'm slowly working through all the stuff that is wrong with it. When I was checking the valve clearances I noticed that the intake cam lobe was badly chipped. I managed to find a good used one and installed it. When I was ready to reinstal the cover I noticed that the gasket I ordered would not fit. I have now realised that the cylinder head is off another model (which would explain why the cylinder head is black and the rest of the motor is silver). Going by the old gasket that came off it, I am figuring that the head is off a 1983 GS1100E. Now I am worried that the inlet camshaft, which was off a 1980GS1100 may not be compatible. The part numbers for the 1980 and the 1983 are different but they look the same to me. The motor was running O.K. prior to this (although with some other problems which I am pretty sure is in the carbs). The engine turns by hand with no problems or noises. Does anybody know if this is going to be a problem? Right now I have no idea whether the engine was running '83 cams or '80 cams or what.
Click to expand...

The black heads are a little better and there is quite a bit more lift in the cams, it only causes higher acceleration.
not to worry
 
Greetings and Salutations!!

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. MiketheBike,

I just stopped by to greet you properly. Lots of good resources in the links below. :)

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'. :D

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

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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! :D

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!


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Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
To Posplayr. Thanks for your rapid response which saved me agonising over the weekend and researching the internet. To BassCliff. Thanks for the warmest welcome and the shear wealth of information which I will now read for the rest of the weekend.
 
What Posplayr said. Also the '83 models had a 20 bolt valve cover so it sealed much better than earlier models . An '83 head , cams and cover is ALL good...
 
Thanks guys. You are right. The cover has 24 bolts. I've ordered a cam cover gasket for an '83 GSx 1100E. I'll let you know if it fits.
 
You may wish to check the part number on the remaining cam. There probably won't be an issue with running a 1980 intake cam and a 1983 exhaust cam, but it would be nice to know exactly what you have.
 
O.K. So the cam cover gasket arrived and it fits perfectly. Not only that, it looks like a much better gasket then the one Suzuki supplies for the 1980 model. This one has a tiny bead that runs round the gasket and around each hole, on both sides. Its not a silicone bead but actually part of the gasket itself. (70 bux) Anyhow at least now I know that the head is off a 1983 GS1100E or ES(D)

Been thinking about what the Koolaid Kid suggested. So the lobe hieght on the intake cam that I bought is 1.364" THe lobe hight on the intake cam I took out is 1.376". Does that marry up with an '83 head? The exhaust lobe is 1.362" (which is 10 thou bigger than the max spec. stated for the 1980) does this sound like an '83 exhaust cam? Maybe I should take the '80 cam back and see if they've got a decent '83 intake cam?

While I am sorting out the cams, Maybe I should try to determine the piston size as well (72 or 74mm) before I start pulling the carbs apart?
 
You think it has a big bore kit in it? All 1100s were 72mm.
Throw those cams in and ride it! They will work fine.
 
If you bought the cam locally I would certainly check with them to see if they have an 83 intake they would swap for.
Just a thought.
 
whoa whoa whoa, did you say 70 dollars for the cam cover gasket? if so, you need a new source for parts....
 
To Chef1366 - What i was thinking was, if some previous owner changed the head from an '80 to '83 head as a go fast mod, then he may have bored the cylinders to take the '84 74mm pistons (capacity went from 1074 to 1135 that year). I'm no where near up to speed on the history of these things but my reading so far indicates that Suzuki claimed 100HP on the 1980 model but 124HP on the 84. That's a lot of extra horses to get with just a few cheap used parts. If that's what happened, I'm keen to keep any extra performance and knowing the engine capacity will give me a better feel for how the carbs should be set up (which I haven't got to yet).

As for getting on and riding, that was my original plan. I bought this bike so that I could take my old Harley off the road and do some long overdue maintenance and upgrades. But now I've decided to take the advice given and take a bit of time getting the essentials right.

As for the price of the gasket, yeah it was about double what I expected to pay but I guess that's what you get if you want genuine suzuki and you buy it through your local dealer and want it tommorow. Don't forget, I'm in Australia and the dealer was surprised that they had one in the country! And I mean there was one so don't bother ordering 2.
 
ah, australia. i wondered. quite a few gs'ers under there, welcome to the forums!
 
You can't put the 84 pistons on the 80 crank since the wrist pins are different. You would have to switch the entire crank which is what I did to an 80 engine for an 84 wiseco kit.
Unless there they were still selling the 80-83 GS1100s there in 84.
 
See, just more good information all the time. I'm learning by the minute. Thanks Chef.
 
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