Jdub goes there 1981 650e rebuild

[650Skull]

Your seat.......

 

[650Skull]

Are you going to decal the rest of the bike?

 

[jdub6092]

Are you going to decal the rest of the bike?

I repainted and polished all the emblems and have the fender and fairings prepped and ready for paint. Already have a pint of photospectrometer color matched PPG paint and all of the decals.



Since I found a new tank and dont have any tone matching experience, its almost certain that I'll farm it out to a pro.
Now that the bike is otherwise fully restored and running so well, I'm much less inclined to risk having any regrets.

 

[jdub6092]

Street legal now! So easy in AZ. Brought in my CA title, filled out a short Title and Registration form, and out in 30 minutes. No wait. No emmissions test. We have lots of DMV contractors that charge a small fee so there is no waiting for 4 hours for your number to be called. Well worth it.

Cant wait to go for an extended ride.

 

[jdub6092]

Finally got the bike back from the shop after a two hour job that only took 11 days.

The good news is that it starts right up, idles smooths and has all the power I need with no noticeaeble hesitation The owner of the shop said it was quick, nimble and fun to ride.

This was my threshold for going the next step and getting it painted.

The only minor issues I see are:
blueing of exhaust #1 pipe. Not uniform, but a couple of streaky and blotchy patterns near the head. Could be that I removed too much chrome during progressive sanding.

This what remains. It was a deep blue before I started polishing it off.
It also leaks a drip of oil every once in a while from the drain bolt, but that's pretty much it.
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[jdub6092]

A little surprise after I removed my side cover.
I know it was not like this when I put it on. I guess it could have snapped during riding?

To top it off I see the front wheel was not removed and obviously not balanced. Has the same stick on weights I put on during static balancing and the speedometer pickup is not parallel to the forks. This was in the work order.

No doubt I need to be my own full time mechanic. I got it all the way to running pretty good with my own hands. I could have done this myself for about the same cost and ended up with new tools. Yes, you all told me so and I'm done overthinking things.

 

[jdub6092]

Got a quote for painting. This time it doesn't include a tank and the remaining parts are prepped ( cleaned, stripped, repaired, filled, smoothed) and ready to go. I even supplied the paint and decals.
I think its enough to say that I'll be doing the painting myself.

 

[jdub6092]

While I'm finalizing my painting plans, I decided to check out the charging system.
First I checked the resistances of the regulator/rectifier and sure enough, all were an open circuit in both directions. I noticed a nice big burn mark on the red wire insulator and recall from many years ago having a partially melted fusebox.


To further evaluate the damage, I measured the resistance of the stator wires and all were around 1.1 ohms. When I had the stator exposed several months back, It did not have any signs of overheating. So far so good.

Then I measured the stator/alternator voltages and all combinations measured over 80VAC at a little over 4K RPM.

So it only looks like I need a new R/R.
I have read the stator papers and I know this topic has been covered endlessly, but would just like some suggestions from those who have been through this. Is it acceptable to just replace the R/R? Is Rick's a good choice for replacement? Is the SH775 better? How about a less expensive alternative?

 

[Grimly]

So it only looks like I need a new R/R.
I have read the stator papers and I know this topic has been covered endlessly, but would just like some suggestions from those who have been through this. Is it acceptable to just replace the R/R? Is Rick's a good choice for replacement? Is the SH775 better? How about a less expensive alternative?

SH776 all the way, and it's not expensive to buy a good used one from a reputable powersports breaker. They just about never fail, so used is fine.
See if powersportsnation on ebay has one or two up for sale.
Avoid fakes.

 

[jdub6092]

SH776 all the way, and it's not expensive to buy a good used one from a reputable powersports breaker. They just about never fail, so used is fine.
See if powersportsnation on ebay has one or two up for sale.
Avoid fakes.

I ended up getting an SH775 from Nessism
Works great and runs cool to the touch.
No room for my tool tray now, but at least the battery is charging now.

 

[jdub6092]

Maybe the blueing of exhaust #1 is trying to tell be something and not just a result of reduced chrome.
Went on a 15 minute ride and it blued up again. I ripped the throttle a couple of times but never got beyond 5k or 55 mph. When I took off, it responded really well, but seemed to drop off a little by the end of the ride.
It was hot enough that the steamy clearish smoke rose from the engine. Not a lot, but clearly visible.
I'm concerned that I may be running extremely lean on #1

What should I be looking at?
Compression check?
Valve clearance?

 

[jdub6092]

Compression 1 to 4: 165, 165, 155, 155
Actually pretty impressive.

Spark plugs:
All look perfect. No indication of lean running on #1.

 

[jdub6092]

Next thing to check for exhaust leak.

 

[jdub6092]

Tightened up the exhaust clamp on #1. It was a bit loose and will let it go and see if the splotches stop growing.
Now I'm hearing a sound almost like a playing card in the spokes of a bicycle for those of you seasoned enough to remember. Only happens when I accelerate. Goes away as soon as I let off the throttle.
Any clues as to what this might be?

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Poker or Pinochle? Could just be cam walk? Common and normal. Post a video.

 

[Nessism]

Getting the header pipes sealed to the head can be a challenge. You need new crush gaskets. Loosen the muffler mounts and make sure nothing is binding. First thing to tighten are the header bolts at the head. Only tighten the mufflers after the headers are seated.

 

[jdub6092]

Getting the header pipes sealed to the head can be a challenge. You need new crush gaskets. Loosen the muffler mounts and make sure nothing is binding. First thing to tighten are the header bolts at the head. Only tighten the mufflers after the headers are seated.

I did reuse the copper crush gaskets that had on for about a week when I decided to go the restoration route. They looked pretty good so I figured I could reuse them. I do have a lesser quality new set on hand.

Makes a lot of sense to tighten at the head before the hanger brackets. That's how I originally did it, but apparently didn't torque down enough at the head.

 

[jdub6092]

Decided to take the exhaust off and will change out the gaskets. Noticed all the gaskets had paint on them. Those expanding foam plugs didn't do their job!
Clearly, paint is not a great conductor of heat, but its present on all four and only one pipe was turning blue. Possibly a seating issue?

I have these Athena gaskets on hand that dont appear to have any copper (better heat transfer) and have ordered a copper set from Caltric that look more like OEM.
Any opinions on whether I should install these or wait for the copper ones to arrive?

I have scrubbed off the remaining paint and wire-wheeled/cleaned the exhaust ports and pipe surfaces, so just trying to decide on whether I want to ride today or wait a week.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Those new gaskets in the pic above look just like the OEM ones I’ve always bought from my Suzuki dealer or online OEM seller. I don’t believe there’s any copper in them. If I had to guess I’d say they’re mostly aluminum. They’re supposed to crush, considerably, and as such are single-use.

 

[jdub6092]

Those new gaskets in the pic above look just like the OEM ones I’ve always bought from my Suzuki dealer or online OEM seller. I don’t believe there’s any copper in them. If I had to guess I’d say they’re mostly aluminum. They’re supposed to crush, considerably, and as such are single-use.

Good to know. Looks like I can go for a ride.
I was basing my assumption on the image from Partzilla.

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