My Very Own Project Bike. 1983 GS1100G.

[Hughmoris]

Let me preface this thread, and project, and admit that I know next to nothing when it comes to working on bikes. I've always enjoyed riding the hell out of them, but I've never been able to do any wrenching besides changing the oil.

Ok, now that we have that out of the way.

I just purchased a 1983 Suzuki GS1100G. Here are some vitals on it:

-I am the 4th owner
-59,000 miles
-New Clutch
-New Tires
-Two sets of carbs. Owner told me the originals were fouled up, so he picked up an extra set and put a kit on them. I've yet to verify this.

Previous owner complained about the bike having a very rough idle, say below about 3800RPMs. He fired the bike up for me when I came to pick it up, without having the airbox on. Bike started right up, but was VERY rough at idle. Gave it a good amount of throttle and engine perked right on up.

Now, that is about all the information I have on this bike. I am hoping that with my service manual, and your knowledge that I can get this thing running right.

 

[Hughmoris]

Ok, now that we know a little history, here are my initial concerns and suggestions. Any and all inputs and opinions are appreciated.

-My goal for this bike is to make it mechanically sound, for minimum cash. I am working off a poor college student's budget.
-I tried to find a list of some sort that recommends all the things that should be checked and looked over on an older bike. An "Idiots Guide To Bringing A Bike Back To Life" if you will. Is such a list just wishful thinking?
-Were do you recommend I start? I am thinking about putting the airbox on, and cranking it up and seeing how it runs. What adjustments can be made with the bike intact to see if I can fix the rough-idling problem, or should I go ahead and just remove the carbs?
-Also, whats a list of tools that I should have handy? My tool collection consists of a Craftsman Ratchet set, and thats about it.

I know I'm in way over my head, and many of my questions will be utterly trivial but I figure everyone has to start somewhere.

 

[Nessism]

spaced saved for first series of questions...

In the Technical forum we are here to help you. So the question is...how can we help?

Regarding the carbs make sure you tear them down completely and replace all the various o-rings (link to clean up article is found on the GS Resources home page). Also, change the intake tube O-rings since they are sure to leak unless they have been changed lately. Lastly, check the valves and adjust as needed. Many people neglect this critical maintance since it's a pain in the rear and requires changing shims (you will need a special tool).

Good luck.

 

[MissFabulous]

It should run much better with the airbox on. These bikes do not like running with the airbox off.

Odds are good that you will need to clean (disassemble and dip) the carbs (remove o-rings and boots/rubber parts first) but in the mean time, you might be able to clean a little of the gunk out of them by running some Seafoam through the tank. Add a few ounces to the gas (and your exhaust will be smoky while it burns gunk out) and spray some carb cleaner in it, too. This is a quick, temporary fix and not a good replacement for a real, complete cleaning, but you might see some improvement enough to get you through the season and then take them apart later. The old schoolers to this can have carbs apart and reassembled in a day, but some of us are a lil slower at these things.

Tools:

- Impact driver (great for stuck screws)
- As many 10 mm sockets and wrenches as you can find, several other metric sizes - stock up
- voltage meter (multimeter)
- quality screwdrivers
- a few angled socket adapters can be helpful
- breaker bar is nice to have
- my favorite - magnetic tray for screws and whatnot
- PB Blaster lubricant spray is also your friend - helps pre-loosen some of those old rusty (or not) fittings.

Try to get the best quality you can afford, as cheapo tools can end up stripping what you're trying to remove. that said, I've gotten lots of tools dirt cheap at Big Lots and am trying to be really careful while I upgrade. Sometimes they have quality there too though. Harbor Freight (dot com) can be great for cheap tools, but they're usually junk and you have to wait a long time to get them.

Down the road you'll want more things - feeler gauge for the valves, compression checker (these are cheap) and more and more, but let the addiction to acquiring new tools come on its own. No need to rush that :-D It will happen.

Just start with some simple things. Study the manual, do some cleaning on the bike, put the airbox back on and get to know where things are. All of the projects seem really intimidating until you get into them. Frustrations come up, but that is where these folks come in and save the day. Study the manual, search here for answer then ask a lot of questions, in that order and you'll get it all worked out.

 

[rustybronco]

It should run much better with the air box on. These bikes do not like running with the air box off.

start with this.

 

[Hughmoris]

I've been reading thru old tech threads all night in an attempt to keep myself from working on the bike at midnight. A question though before I start plugging away in the morning:

-Currently my entire air box is off. I checked in my service manual and I couldn't find anything detailing how to put the sucker back on, just how to clean the filter. I searched some old threads, and basically just found that this thing can be a pain to put back. Any words of advice for handling it? Any lines or anything I need to hook up when I put the box in place?

 

[aosmith]

2 words... rubber mallet and on another subject if you need an impact wrench consider an electric one, even if it's from harbor freight.

 

[txironhead]

The only advice I can give you on the airbox issue is try to keep the swearing from waking up the neighbors. There is no "tried and true" quick fix, those things are a serious pain to put back on. A little Astroglide, KY or Vaseline on the inside of the boots may help. If you think that's wierd, wait til you hear about using Tinactin to find an oil leak. We improvise here. Also, before you put the airbox back on check the lid seal to make sure the foam is good. If not, you need to replace the foam or find another way for it to seal properly.

You apparently already have the most important tool you'll ever need on this bike: the manual. If you get a chance to snag a factory Suzuki Shop Manual do so, those are the best, but a Clymers, Haynes, etc. will do.

You'll need lots of 10mm sockets and wrenches as Miss Fabulous said, but 14mm comes in handy, too.

A hand impact driver is a must if you ever have to remove any of the case screws. Slightly tighten them before trying to remove them, it'll keep the majority of them from breaking off. Apparently ordering the correct "Japanese Philips" helps too, there's links here for those if you do a search. The most important advice on any screw: USE THE CORRECT SIZE! This is especially important if you have to tear apart the carbs, those little brass jets and fittings love to strip out if you use the wrong size screwdriver.

Welcome to motorcycle mechanics. You're starting out nearly the same way I did, except my first bike ('85 Honda Shadow 700) wasn't running and had been sitting under a tree for seven years. It was a lot of work, but I put over 30k miles on that bike and had a blast. Take your time, listen to the advice of the guys here, get all your parts as clean as possible and in no time you'll be giving other people advice about working on their bikes. And I know all about budgets, including the price of the bike I only had about $550 total invested in that Shadow, including paint.

 

[chiphead]

-Currently my entire air box is off. I checked in my service manual and I couldn't find anything detailing how to put the sucker back on, just how to clean the filter. I searched some old threads, and basically just found that this thing can be a pain to put back. Any words of advice for handling it? Any lines or anything I need to hook up when I put the box in place?

The 1100G has one of the easier airboxes to put back on. Make sure you connect the breather tube from the top of the engine breather cover to the fitting on the top front of the airbox. The airbox also has a drain hose that should be routed down through the cast boss on the RR part of the engine case. The carbs also have two breather hoses that get routed up and over the top of the airbox then down through the holder on the RR airbox case. Take you time and don't lose patience. It's not bad at all as long as your airbox boots are not dried and hard.

 

[Hughmoris]

I've just took my first steps on this project.

The air box was already off, so I decided to open it up and take a peek at the filter. When I got it open, cake-crumb looking gunk fell out, which I am assuming is a deteriorated gasket/s.

The filter unit itself has a gasket on the top (or bottom, don't know which way is up yet) that was 3/4's gone so I am going to scrape the rest of it off with a razor and try the weatherstripping route to replace it.

Any words of warning going the weatherstrip route? I read some old threads on it, so I think I have a gist of it.

 

[Hughmoris]

I think Im about ready to fire it up for the first time since I put on the airbox.

Quick question though.

I took off my fuel tank for the first time today. After I put the airbox on, i went to put the tank back and I have one line from the tank thats not connected to anything.

On the left side of the tank I have my fuel line and vacuum line(?) connected to the on/res/prime valve. On the right side I have a free hanging line. Where does it go?

 

[txironhead]

Is the end of the line connected to the tank or is the line just clipped to the bottom?

 

[Hughmoris]

I don't have the tank sitting in front of me, but let me see if I can remember the setup. On the bottom of the tank...

Left Side:
Fuel Valve, and the black/yellow &black/white electrical cables.

Right side:
Some piece of metal attached to tank. A breather of some sort I'm guessing. I had a hose connected to it, but I couldn't find anything to connect the other end of the hose to.

Also, I keep reading that the carbs have two vents, but I can only find one. I looked all over but didn't see it.

At the end of the day, I am a little discouraged. The bike ran no better or worse than before. Putting the airbox on didn't fix the problem with stalling out as soon as it starts to idle. Hopeful thinking I guess.

 

[txironhead]

The carburetor vents are located between carbs 1 & 2, and carbs 3 &4. The hose under your tank may have been hooked up to the 3&4 vent.

Sounds like you may have a vacuum leak. Spray WD-40 around the intake boots and see if the idle changes. If so, you need new intakes and/or o-rings.

If you do need to rebuild your carbs, it's really not that devastating. There's a really good pictoral walkthrough in the garage section here, literally step by step. You may not even need to buy anything other than carb cleaner and o-rings.

Don't get discouraged. The fact that the bike runs at all is a big plus in your favor.

 

[Dave8338]

On the left side of the tank I have my fuel line and vacuum line(?) connected to the on/res/prime valve. On the right side I have a free hanging line. Where does it go?

It is a vent line..it should be routed up over the carbs and retained by a rubber coated bendable clip at the rear fender liner.