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My '79 GS850

  • Thread starter Thread starter RadRacer
  • Start date Start date
Rebuild kits for all master cylinders and calipers are on their way, along with stainless brake lines :cool:. I also ordered new carb boots and bowl gaskets. I already have the o-rings and am slowly working on cleaning the carbs.
 
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Carbs are done and the bike is running. Cylinder 3 now fires! But, it's still on the lean side; some slight popping at idle and hesitation on take off (only in gear; RPMs jump fine in neutral). Looks like it's time to check the timing and valve clearances.

I pulled my tach cable out, to see if it was the reason my tach wasn't reading right; cable looked good and spun freely. So, the fact that both the tach and the speedo are affected, I'm thinking my gauges are sticking. I'm gonna try spraying some WD-40 into the drives and hope that frees them up; otherwise, I'll be looking into another set of gauges for it.
 
You're on the right track on the instruments, but use Deep Creep or Tri Flow instead of WD 40

Take the gauges off and tip them so the connections are pointing up. Squirt a bit of lube in, then wait 5 minutes or so and give it another squirt. Leave it that way for a couple of hours and reinstall

If that doesn't work, you may have to open them up, clean and lube the gears with a very light grease
 
Got all the lights wired up today. Still waiting for brake parts.

I sprayed some Boeshield T9 into the instruments. It's a penetrating lubricant. So far, no change. Hoping I don't have to take them apart, but it's starting to look that way.

Put my bar-end mirrors on. Nice to actually be able to see behind me! Hoping they hold out, as I like the look of them too.

She's getting closer to being ready:cool:
 
Took her for her first real outing Saturday. Rode up to Daytona for bike week! She did great going up there; rode nicely, plenty of power, good brakes. Coming back though, one of my coils dropped out. Managed to limp her home; a 130 mile ride on just 2 cylinders! Will start troubleshooting the coil later this week, but I"m thinking of just biting the bullet and going with a Dyna system.
 
Wish I someone knew this. You drove right by me. You could have stopped by my house and picked up a used coil. If you still need one let me know.
 
RadRacer said:
Took her for her first real outing Saturday. Rode up to Daytona for bike week! She did great going up there; rode nicely, plenty of power, good brakes. Coming back though, one of my coils dropped out. Managed to limp her home; a 130 mile ride on just 2 cylinders! Will start troubleshooting the coil later this week, but I"m thinking of just biting the bullet and going with a Dyna system.
Click to expand...
There's plenty of used GS coils on ebay, almost all will work.
PS: Taking that shower curtain rod off the front end will help the looks, even in FL.
 
That bike has points, if it is stock. They could be worn, or it could have a bad condenser. Take a look before you decide on the coil. The wires are long enough for you to switch the 1&4 plug wires with the 2&3, and you can switch the wires from the points on the low tension side of the coil. If the same two cylinders are dead, it isn't the coil, it is upstream of the coils. If the other two cylinders are dead, it is the coils or plug wires.
 
RadRacer said:
Took her for her first real outing Saturday. Rode up to Daytona for bike week! She did great going up there; rode nicely, plenty of power, good brakes. Coming back though, one of my coils dropped out. Managed to limp her home; a 130 mile ride on just 2 cylinders! Will start troubleshooting the coil later this week, but I"m thinking of just biting the bullet and going with a Dyna system.
Click to expand...

Where are you at bro, i was there on the sporty!
 
portdave said:
Wish I someone knew this. You drove right by me. You could have stopped by my house and picked up a used coil. If you still need one let me know.
Click to expand...

No big deal; I managed to get it home at about 10:30 that night. I've already got a used coil for replacement, if needed. Thanks for the offer though.

Buffalo Bill said:
There's plenty of used GS coils on ebay, almost all will work.
PS: Taking that shower curtain rod off the front end will help the looks, even in FL.
Click to expand...

Shower curtain rod? Am I missing something...??

850 Combat said:
That bike has points, if it is stock. They could be worn, or it could have a bad condenser. Take a look before you decide on the coil. The wires are long enough for you to switch the 1&4 plug wires with the 2&3, and you can switch the wires from the points on the low tension side of the coil. If the same two cylinders are dead, it isn't the coil, it is upstream of the coils. If the other two cylinders are dead, it is the coils or plug wires.
Click to expand...

It's a stock ignition system, so yes, points. We pulled over at a gas station on the way back, and found something strange: we could short one of the points and cause the bike to run rough (expected). But the other point, we could short with no change in how it ran. That makes me think that coil is the issue, or possibly plugs (brand new, but not NGK) or wires. Went to try and troubleshoot it more Tuesday, and all 4 cylinders are firing now! Hard to troubleshoot something that's working fine; I'm thinking it's a heat related issue now.

thebrandonbeezy said:
Where are you at bro, i was there on the sporty!
Click to expand...

Didn't know you were in Vero man, or else I would have invited ya to ride with us! Could always use a new riding buddy, hit me up sometime. I'll PM you my #.


Once I get her running right again, the forks are going to get a good rebuild. It's a never-ending project :P
 
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Finally got around to working on the bike again. Turns out a condenser went out on me. Replaced both of them and the points, and did the best I can to set the timing (had to mess with the gap a little), and now she's running good again.

She lost her parking spot though, and now sits in the driveway, uncovered. I need to get a cover for it; I rode it the other day and the rear brake lever has rusted to the point it doesn't move.
 
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