khansmith said:
Thank you for the warm welcome Joel. I appreciate you answering my plea for assistance.
There is a long list of items that I need to have performed on the bike to get it safe for spring road trips ranging from easy to relatively comlex. Here is my list:
I find GS bike engines as simple as old car engines to work on.
Looking section by section:
Tune Up:
- Plugs and wires
- Oil change and filters
- Valve adjustments
- Lube chain
Plugs are easy, get a set of NGK in the same type that's in the bike, gap them, swap them and you're done in ten minutes.
Wires are glued into the coils if you still have the originals; are the wires visibly in bad condition? Coil replacement takes about 20 minutes including taking off the gas tank. I'd inspect the coils by inspecting how the spark looks in your plugs, take a plug out, let it rest on the engine block, and make sure it sparks. If you see a nice blue sparking, then your coils should be okay.
Oil change takes about 1/2 hour with warm oil. Up on centerstand, unscrew the drain bolt, drain oil, take the filter cover off the front of the engine and drain the oil there, replace filter, oil up the new o-ring, button it up, fill engine with oil.
Lube chain just means buying chain lube and spraying it on...
Fuel System:
- Carb syncronization
- Carb jetting (new 4 into 1 system installed)
Is this the Vance and Hines system, or another? Rejetting takes lots of time to get right. If it says in the instructions that rejetting shouldn't be needed, you might want to avoid the headache...
Carb synch takes a synch tool and took me about two hours, not including taking off the gas tank. But I'm very slow.
I haven't had to service my carbs, but you can read all about it in many threads here in the tech forum.
Brake System:
- Need new set of front brake rotors (seem warped but can't find them ANYWHERE)
Ouch. Can you feel the brakes vibrating through the handlebars when slowing down?
Can you measure the lateral ruout? Up on centerstand, weigh down the back or prop up the front, secure the bars pointing straight ahead, rotate the wheel with a runout gauge pressed against it, or a pencil tip held in some kind of vise, and observe the gap. If the brakes aren't really warped, you'll know and save the big hassle...
Oh, and what's the condition of the brake pads, if you pull one of the front calipers and inspect, do you see the wear-indicator notch still there?
- New brake pads (front/rear)
- Brake fluids replaced
Easy job, though it'll take a few hours. Order new pads (regular EBC ones), remove each caliper, force the old pads apart, remove old pads (it's good to have a manual for this, and use parts diagrams from places like
http://www.alpha-sports.com/suzuki_parts.htm), put in the new pads, bolt the calipers back on.
Then bleed the brakes. I use a clean glass peanut-butter jar with a few inches of brake fluid in the bottom, and some clear plastic tubing down from the bleed nipple, resting in the fluid in the jar so air doesn't get back into the system. Open up the top of the reservoir, squeeze brake, pour fluid in the top, don't expose the bottom of the reservoir (!), repeat until the fluid runs clear and there's no bubbles, then do the other side, button it up and test. Then do the rear brake.
Engine Block:
- Front seal mid block is leaking oil around stud/fastener (believe requires engine removal)
I'm not sure which exact location you mean here. I have had a small leak at the side of the head gasket which was cured by loosening and retorquing the head bolts. I just replaced the tachometer drive gear and seals in the head, its above the #2 exhaust port on my engine, it was leaking onto the exhaust pipes which made smoke and smelled bad.
I am worried about time due to learning curve (not much experience with bikes) as I am about to start a major auto project in the next 3 weeks. However, I would like to get your thoughts on the list above regarding how much time you think I would have to spend doing the above work on my own.
Thank you for your time and effort.
I find GS bikes easier to work on than cars... without much bodywork in the way, many things are very accessible, and Suzuki had plenty of room for everything, unlike modern cars.
You're welcome!
Joel
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