My "New" 1982 GS650GL: 6k Miles, Trying to Assess Priorities

[Leftie]

The carb kit is already ordered - I figured if I got it I might not need it, and vice versa. ;-) I am also bidding on a complete O-ring kit. It will either cost me less than $20 or near $30 shipped if I don't win and buy it. As for the gaskets, can you tell by looking at the photos I've posted? If not I'll take a couple of the front cam housing.

Now, as for the gas tank. The bike has a fuel filter with a clear housing with a metallic element, and it looks clean. I can't wrestle with a gas tank full of any kind of treatment because of health issues (I could barely carry it 1/4 full), so it's either drain it, install the new petcock, and refill it with fresh gas for now (I can also refill it after every ride) or hire the job out. How do I decide if the tank needs cleaning and possibly coating? I don't want to get into a situation where every step I take produces three more, and the bike is never back together. I haven't actually seen any crud in the gas so far.

 

[tom203]

Your tank needs cleaning/treatment. Can you skip this now and hope that inline filter works? Probably.

As for camcover , here's a pic of my bike- note the camchain tunnel at front. This uses the earlier cover gasket. Later models had an additional cover bolt right in that tunnel area, so gasket is different. Some ebay sellers get it wrong here,so beware.

 

[Leftie]

I don't see any extra bolts on mine. I'll post a better photo, showing the cam area in higher res.

 

[tom203]

Here's a parts fiche of the later camcover- note the extra cover bolt in cam cover at tunnel front. A quick check of ebay offerings showed the wrong picture for the gasket p/n they were selling (no extra gasket hole at tunnel)

http://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d3fdb8f8700230d8b4daea/cylinder-head-cover-f-no-104613

 

[Leftie]

Here's a parts fiche of the later camcover- note the extra cover bolt in cam cover at tunnel front. A quick check of ebay offerings showed the wrong picture for the gasket p/n they were selling (no extra gasket hole at tunnel)

http://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d3fdb8f8700230d8b4daea/cylinder-head-cover-f-no-104613

Dammit - I took two photos, one left and one right side, and BOTH exclude that area. You mean on the left side of that center passage, buttress, whatever..?






In fact, looking at every photo of the bike I have, that area is either blocked by a frame downtube, or isn't in the shot. I'll look at the area tomorrow, when I change the oil.

 

[Leftie]

The bike is out on the garage apron, it's after dark now, and I'm wondering if I should quit for the night...

First, there is no extra cam cover bolt on mine, happily, just the usual...8? No extra one in the spot noted. So I'll get a set from Ebay. If I don't need the cam end seals I'll get Suzuki. If I do I'll get the aftermarket complete set. Opinions?

I got held up an extra hour when I discovered I don't have the strength alone to put the bike on the center stand. I occasionally had this trouble with my 850 too, but this bike is supposedly 90lbs lighter - Geez. Anyway, once my housemate came home and I got it up on the stand, ready for the cold oil & filter change, I rechecked the Clymer manual on changing the front shaft oil. The trouble is, my bike doesn't match the picture. Instead of a small, angled drain bolt in front of the oil pressure or gear position sending unit (whichever it is on the left side, in front of the shaft) I have a BIG drain bolt that faces straight down. It's also about 4" above an exhaust pipe, explaining why this plug gets pulled so rarely. Anyway, I cut a funnel off to try to catch the oil, but I'm only 75% sure that this is actually the drain bolt. I'll post a picture later, but for now I'm searching the site for a photo, and not finding one...

 

[Leftie]

Ok, here are a a few more photos. First the cam covers, then the area where the front shaft oil drain bolt is located. Since I found zero good photos of this, once I know for sure which bolt it is, I'll label the photo (Windows Paint is great for this) and make it available to all who need to find it.







I stopped taking these photos with my smart phone, and used a real (if cheap) camera. It makes a big difference in quality.

 

[tom203]

This part fiche shows the correct suzuki p/n for the gasket. You probably won't need the half moon cam end thingies, as long as you are real careful removing old gasket residue from all cover surfaces.

Personally, I'd just skip removing the secondary drive oil bolt- it connects to main area, so most will fallout main drain. Note the suggestion to use Shell Rotella 15-40 diesel oil. About $14 for 5qt jug.Do not use 10-30 weight auto oil. Of course change the oil filter

http://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d3fdb8f8700230d8b4dae9/cylinder-head-cover-f-no-104612

 

[Leftie]

I was going to use Valvoline Premium 10W-40 motor oil, as it won't be staying in the bike more than a few weeks. When I change it again to get the "cleaning oil" out I'll use either Rotella or one of the motorcycle oils.

Which filter from my Suzuki collection is likely to be less crappy, a Chinese made K&N or a Mexican(?) made Fram "Pro" motorcycle filter? I don't buy Fram as a rule, but once it was all the store had.

I'd still like to know for sure which bolt is the front shaft oil drain bolt.

 

[Leftie]

While I'm waiting for an answer on the front shaft oil drain plug (and I really want to drain that now, because I almost never change oil cold, but this time I'll be able to wrap the whole exhaust pipe in a garbage bag to protect it from oil) I'd like to hear about the folks on this site who rebuild carbs. Who are the two or three best, and roughly how much do they charge? I really don't know if I'm still up to doing that sort of work, now. My hands shake a bit and my memory is going along with my close eyesight. I had a few carbs apart (and even back together!) when I was much younger, but now I'd be safer mailing them off to an expert.

 

[2BRacing]

While I'm waiting for an answer on the front shaft oil drain plug (and I really want to drain that now, because I almost never change oil cold, but this time I'll be able to wrap the whole exhaust pipe in a garbage bag to protect it from oil) I'd like to hear about the folks on this site who rebuild carbs. Who are the two or three best, and roughly how much do they charge? I really don't know if I'm still up to doing that sort of work, now. My hands shake a bit and my memory is going along with my close eyesight. I had a few carbs apart (and even back together!) when I was much younger, but now I'd be safer mailing them off to an expert.

The front shaft oil drain plug is the large one (21 mm spanner) marked with yellow arrow in your photo.



The design of the 650 shaft drive is different to that of the larger engine capacity models, because the 650 does not have a separate secondary drive oil supply of SAE 90 oil like the larger engine capacity models. The 650 secondary drive oil supply is part of the normal engine oil supply.

You will note that the drain bolt is located much higher up than the sump drain bolt. Therefore not a lot of oil will come out of the shaft drain bolt, as most oil will have drained to the sump.

Look in the "GS Parts and Services" forum for members who do carb cleaning. Members "Steve" and "Chef1366" provide carb cleaning service. Not sure how much they charge.

 

[Leftie]

Re: Drain Plug & Carbs

Re: Drain Plug & Carbs

The front shaft oil drain plug is the large one (21 mm spanner) marked with yellow arrow in your photo.

View attachment 46045

The design of the 650 shaft drive is different to that of the larger engine capacity models, because the 650 does not have a separate secondary drive oil supply of SAE 90 oil like the larger engine capacity models. The 650 secondary drive oil supply is part of the normal engine oil supply.

You will note that the drain bolt is located much higher up than the sump drain bolt. Therefore not a lot of oil will come out of the shaft drain bolt, as most oil will have drained to the sump.

Look in the "GS Parts and Services" forum for members who do carb cleaning. Members "Steve" and "Chef1366" provide carb cleaning service. Not sure how much they charge.

Thanks! I was pretty sure that was the drain bolt, but the manual I have shows a different setup (smaller bolt at 45 degree angle) and I wanted to be sure. I also downloaded the GS650G service manual last night, and that shows the right bolt, but the photo is terrible. I understand about the shared sump, but want to get as much oil out as possible, since I'm being told it will definitely be contaminated with gas. Since I'm doing it cold, I'll wrap that whole exhaust pipe in plastic, and let the oil drain for at least half an hour, from both holes. I'll also pour some fresh oil through the open sump, since I got a 5 quart jug of Valvoline Premium 10W-40.

Thanks for the info on carb rebuilders.

The Fram motorcycle oil filters, BTW, seem to be made in India. The overall quality isn't terrible, and they bag the filter, but the metal part was remarkably scuffed looking, as if they reused a casing from a Reject bin, with a new filter element. I'm using the Chinese-made K&N filter, which at least looks the same as the old ones - good.

 

[Leftie]

I got sidetracked for a few days after finding out that the VIN has a typo in it - a "C" in place of the "G" on the plate. Now I have to have a police officer inspect the bike, look at the plate, title and bike, and write a note to the DMV saying they are all the same vehicle. I could strangle the seller, who apparently got a replacement title with faulty and incomplete info. Two wasted hours at the DMV...

Anyway, I picked up a jug of Rotella "T" oil, and have ordered the 16 bolt cam cover gaskets. I also have a new feeler gauge set and shim removal tool. I'm trying to decide if I'm also ordering the half-moon end seals. Sometime in the next few days I'll drain all the oil. If it reeks of gas, I'll put in the Valvoline oil and the Fram filter, start and run the bike a few minutes, then drain and refill again, using the K&N filter and Rotella oil. IF the oil in it now seems ok, I'll use the Rotella oil and K&N filter and do just one drain and fill. I'm putting the gas tank on hold until Fall. I'll install the new petcock, and watch the fuel filter closely. As for the carbs, the listing says "professionally rebuilt" so I'll wait until the valves are done, then take the bike for a real ride, and see how the carbs really are. I may have just been feeling 'Early 80s Cold-Bloodedness' on the one short ride I took.