My 1981 650GL

[Guest]

The carbs are dipped and clean, and I'm waiting for my Z1 order containing SS socket screws before I reassemble them. So today I tackled the nasty gas tank. Up until about 2 weeks ago the tank had gas from 1993 still inside. It was pretty nasty in there, lots of old gummy gas residue and rust. After some research I bought the POR-15 kit. It was relatively inexpensive and was shipped to my door in 1 day.

This was a long process. The initial cleaning with the Marine Cleaner removed all the gummy crap along with a lot of flaked off chunks of rust. It took a long time to completely clean out all the residue, and it wasn't until I dumped about 40 screws in the tank and shook it that I was finally able to get it clean. I then did the Metal Prep solution, which also removed a lot of rust and left the tank looking pretty good inside. I left the screws inside while this was working and continued to shake it which really helped.

I then secured an old hair dryer into the filler hole and let it run for about half an hour. This really worked well - the tank got hot and dry very quickly. I then blew compressed air inside just to make sure there were no more loose flakes. I then taped everything up again and poured in the sealer. 20 minutes of rolling the tank around on my lap and the floor insured the sealer was covering evenly. I then drained the excess out the petcock opening and set it aside to cure. All in all it was a fairly straightforward process. I followed the instructions to the letter and I'm confident I'll have a good repair. It did take me all morning and most of the afternoon though.

The filler cap will need cleaning, and I'll need a new rubber gasket for the cap. I'm very happy to be done with this messy job and can now move onto tappets and brakes.



Before...


After...

That's duct tape residue on the tank, not POR-15

That's all for now.

Cheers!
K

 

[Guest]

I didn't have much time this morning so I got a head start on checking the tappet clearance. Removing the valve cover proved to be more difficult than expected. Tapping with a rubber mallet got me nowhere. Then the coffee kicked in and I got the brilliant idea to spray PB Blaster around the seam. :idea: I let this work for 15 minutes or so and busied myself with cleaning up the fuel filler cap, which was pretty dirty and rusty inside. When I went back to the valve cover it took 2 quick raps from the mallet and it popped loose. I took the opportunity to confirm the camshaft timing was correct, then removed the old gasket from the valve cover. That's all for today.

 

[tom203]

What fun! Cleaning old gasket off camcover area takes much much longer than the actual valve fiddling.

Tank looks good- just get new petcock (< $50) to go with it!

 

[Guest]

Tank looks good- just get new petcock (< $50) to go with it!

I'll have my new petcock tomorrow - an order from Z1 is waiting for me at detroitmailbox.com. Also getting new brake lines, plugs, oil filters, clutch springs and a bunch of SS socket screws to put the carbs back together with.

 

[Guest]

Nice work there!! I'm always amazed how clean you can get a rusted up tank with the POR 15 process. I've used it on about 5 tanks now with great results...

Like you say, it takes a lot of time to do it right, but once it's done you don't ever have to worry about tank rust again.

 

[Guest]

Thanks hikermikem. It's definitely worth all the time and effort when you look inside the tank. No more rust and sludge.

 

[Guest]

Checking the valve clearance

Checking the valve clearance

Tonight I checked my clearances. It was pretty straight forward, once I got used to using the Suzuki valve tool. It proved to be pretty handy to have. The thinnest gauge I have is 0.04mm and I had three clearances that were smaller. I'll assume 0.03 or less and install a correspondingly thinner shim. I realize the clearance may be 0 or less, so I'll recheck and keep going until they're in spec. Pics for your enjoyment.









Cheers!
K

 

[Guest]

My Z1 order arrived yesterday. Woo hoo! Shiny new parts! I ordered replacement SS socket screws for the carbs, but I goofed. I based my order on basscliff's tutorial, but I forgot his carbs are from a GS850 and are larger than mine. I need 12 more but I'll get them locally. Today I reassembled the carb bodies, but I'll have to wait to gang them because of the aforementioned screws. I didn't set the float heights yet because the hockey games is on (Go Habs!) and it will have to wait until tomorrow.

I also ordered my valve shims today from siriusconinc.com. They're Canadian, have great pricing and the shims will be here tomorrow.


(3) oil filters, (4) plugs, brake lines, banjo bolts, crush washers, petcock, cam chain tensioner gasket, clutch springs and SS socket screws.

Cheers!
K

 

[Guest]

Nice pics and well laid out. Good luck on the resto. Great dealing with Z1 this side of the border. Never been disappointed with them. When I cleaned my tank out I used 4 litres of evaporust, let it sit for a weekend in different positions and it came out clean as a whistle.

 

[Guest]

Well, the valves are now all in spec and I'm ready to reinstall the valve cover. I scraped away all the old gasket from the engine and will do the valve cover tomorrow. I also want to clean up around the plugs before I put the cover on. Tonight I reassembled and bench synched the carbs. They were actually pretty good so not much needed to be done. Pics of the clean carbs below:





That's all for tonight. Gotta go watch the hockey game!

Cheers!
K

 

[Guest]

Valve covers reinstalled

Valve covers reinstalled

I stayed home with my sick daughter today. While she was relaxing in front of the TV I took the opportunity to clean, reassemble and reinstall the valve cover. The exterior was very dirty, especially around the breather cover. The interior had little bits of gasket residue from when I was scraping it off. So I sprayed it with parts cleaner and gave it a good scrubbing in hot water with Dawn (it takes grease out of your way! ). It came out quite well. I blew it dry with compressed air and a hair dryer. I also squirted some oil into the tachometer drive gears. Then I installed the new gasket, set the cover in place and torqued it all down. Now to get the rest of the bike looking this clean!

I hope to install the carbs this weekend and start it up for the first time. It hasn't run since 1993 so I'm really looking forward to it.

 

[Guest]

Plugs in, boots on

Plugs in, boots on

I did a bit more tonight after supper. I removed the rest of the air box assembly so I could wash it before installing the carbs. I also installed the intake boots and new spark plugs. Tomorrow I'm hoping to reinstall the air box and carbs, but I want to wash the air box space before reinstalling. There's more than 21 years worth of dirt in there. I also installed a new oil filter and filled up the oil with Rotella 15W40. I also opened up the fuel sender unit to give it a thorough cleaning. I had previously only cleaned the exterior, but after some reading I decided I'd better take it apart. I'm glad I did - it was full of rust and I don't want to put that back into my freshly restored tank. That's all for now.

Cheers!
K

The very dirty space where the air box sits.


Boots on, plugs in.


The boots with new SS socket screws.

 

[Guest]

Before I reinstall the air box and carbs I thought I'd take care of the brakes. The rear brake master cylinder is much easier to get at without all that plastic in the way. The brake fluid, I'm assuming, is the original from 1981. It may or may not be, but it certainly wasn't pretty when it came out. It was the colour of black coffee, very nasty. The rear bled out very easily but the front was a different story. I encountered resistance a few times when pumping the brake lever, almost like something was plugging the opening. I finally gave one last good squeeze, felt a "pop" and the brake lever was suddenly moving quite easily again. Except nothing was coming out of the bleeder anymore. I think I may have blown something in the front master cylinder. I haven't pulled it apart yet because I'm currently watching my Habs get beat up by the Bruins.
So I may be ordering a new piston and cup set. I'm going to tear down both master cylinders and the callipers and I'll make one order for whatever parts I need.

I also have a clean fuel sender unit now. I soaked it in rust remover over night and it came out clean. The wire connecting the float to the outer portion was kind of weak so I removed it and soldered in a new piece. Tested and works fine. I installed it and the tank is ready go back on the bike. It won't be long until the bike runs for the first time since 1993!

Cheers!
K

 

[ShadowFocus603]

I'm thoroughly enjoying your enthusiasm to get that L running. Keep up the good work but don't rush. You are in the home stretch and I'd hate to see a last minute fumble cost you.

 

[Guest]

Keep up the good work but don't rush. You are in the home stretch and I'd hate to see a last minute fumble cost you.

No worries about rushing. Especially not where the brakes are concerned. I have new SS brake lines ready to go, but first I have to open up the callipers and master cylinders to see what surprises lie inside. I'm expecting some corrosion on the pistons considering the colour of the brake fluid, but I hope it's not too bad.

 

[Guest]

Cleaning up the brakes

Cleaning up the brakes

Tonight was a good night. After I removed the callipers and master cylinders on Saturday and saw the condition of the fluid I thought for sure I was in for trouble when I opened everything up. Well, the insides were dirty, but there was little corrosion and almost none on the pistons and zero on the sides of the pistons. And the rubber was all very pliable and stretchy. No cracks, tears, cuts or holes. I even checked closely with my magnifying glass. So I used a bit of brake cleaner, a bit of Simple Green and some scrubbing to clean them up. For the tight spots a brass brush on my dremel worked very well. I rinsed everything well, blew them out with compressed air and left them to dry. Tomorrow I'll reassemble everything. I'm going to remove the wheels and get new tires put on before the brakes go back on though. Some pics for your enjoyment:

Before:


Before:


Before:


After:


After:


Cheers!
K

 

[Guest]

The wheels came off tonight...

The wheels came off tonight...

Literally. I removed the wheels tonight.

While I have the brakes off I decided to remove the wheels and get some new tires installed. The tires that are on the bike look great and have lots of tread left, BUT they were installed in 1992. I think I'll replace them. Tomorrow I'll take them to a place called Power Cycle in Windsor, Ontario. It's the local Suzuki dealer and he has lots of older bikes in his showroom to look at while I wait.

Taking them off wasn't difficult, but I had to use my impact gun on the front axle nut. That sucker was on tight. And the rear axle required a hammer and a dowel to remove, but other than those things I had no issues. The wheels are dirty but in good shape otherwise. I'll clean and grease the rear drive with some moly grease before reinstalling as well.

That's all for tonight!

 

[Guest]

New needle valves

New needle valves

When I reassembled my carbs I had to adjust all the floats to hit 22.4mm, and I had to bend the tab a bit too much, at least in my opinion. I was suspicious about the springs in the needle valves. They just didn't seem "right" and there was play. I could grab the pin and pull it upwards a bit, like the spring wasn't pushing it all the way. It may be nothing, but today I ordered new needle valves just to be sure. I don't have the carbs back on the bike yet so it's a good time to do it. It's a PITA to remove them and I don't want to do it again if I don't have to.

Cheers!
K

 

[Guest]

It was a long weekend in Canada (Victoria Day) and we had guests so I wasn't able to get much done on the bike. Since my last update I've reassembled the callipers and master cylinders and cleaned up a lot of the dirt that was in the hidden places around the frame. Today I was able to get a bit more done. I reinstalled the air box (that was a chore) and started to work on getting some of the electrical items functioning again. The gear position indicator isn't working for the gears but does show neutral. The speedometer light circuit isn't working either. Other than that, the electrical is good.

I removed the gear position switch, sprayed it with contact cleaner and scrubbed it with some 000 steel wool. I then used a wire to jump from the contacts on the switch back to the engine and all the gear position lights came on. I cleaned the little pin as well and reassembled but I'm still only getting a neutral light, no gears. Strange. It works when jumped with a wire, but not when installed.

I was happy to learn that the starter motor is working fine and the engine turns over without issue. A couple weeks back I squirted some oil into each cylinder before I started cranking it manually while checking valve clearances. So today I did a compression test. The cold results were 148-140-148-150. I double checked number 2 and it is indeed 140. Like I said, these are cold numbers.

I still haven't got my wheels back from the dealer - the front tire was back ordered - so I haven't reinstalled any brake parts yet. And I'm waiting on new needle valves before I reinstall the carbs. The gas tank has a new petcock, the fuel sender is reinstalled and it's ready to go.

Hopefully later this week I'll be able to start it up! A few pics:

Airbox reinstalled


Gauges and bucket apart to deal with wiring and burned bulbs


New battery installed.


Cheers!
K

 

[Guest]

Lookin' good! Those carbs are a real PITA to squeeze back in there. Liberal amount of spray silicone on the rubber parts works good for me (and sometimes a 2x3 for leverage). You didn't secure the airbox, right?