PARTS List for Rebuilding 1980 GS850G Brake System

[Darin Jordan]

After searching and searching, and never really being able to find anything comprehensive, I took the steps to gather all the parts I want/needed to completely rebuild and refresh my brake system on my 1980 GS850G.

I figured I'd hopefully give a little back to the GS Resources community and maybe this would help someone else here, so here are the parts I have ordered, which should be here this week. I ordered everything from Z1Enterprises.

NOTE: I opted for the full Stainless Steel fittings and hoses.

Brake Lines and Fittings: STAINLESS

QTY PART NUMBER DESCRIPTION
​

2 GR44516-10 Brake Hose 3/8" CRUSH WASHERS (10-Pk)
4 GRPB592-03C Brake Hose S/S 10mm STRAIGHT BANJO FITTING
4 GRPB593-03C Brake Hose S/S 10mm 35 DEGREE BANJO FITTING
6 GR992-03-31C Brake Hose 10mmx1.0 Single BANJO BOLT S/S
1 GR993-03-31C Brake Hose 10mmx1.0 Double BANJO BOLT S/S
1 GR83318 Brake Hose 833, Clear Coat 18" w/S/S Swivels
2 GR83319 Brake Hose 833, Clear Coat 19" w/S/S Swivels
1 GR83333 Brake Hose 833, Clear Coat 33" w/S/S Swivels
3 GRSB7100 Speed Bleeder 7mmx1.00 (Pair)
​

Brake Lines and Fittings: CHROME

QTY PART NUMBER DESCRIPTION
​

2 GR44516-10 Brake Hose 3/8" CRUSH WASHERS (10-Pk)
4 GR592-03CH Brake Hose 10mm STRAIGHT BANJO FITTING
4 GR593-03CH Brake Hose 10mm 35 DEGREE BANJO FITTING
6 GR992-03-31CH Brake Hose 10mmx1.0 Single BANJO BOLT CH
1 GR993-03-31CH Brake Hose 10mmx1.0 Double BANJO BOLT CH
1 GR80318 Brake Hose 803 Series, S/S 18" Clear Coated
2 GR80319 Brake Hose 803 Series, S/S 19" Clear Coated
1 GR80333 Brake Hose 803 Series, S/S 33" Clear Coated
3 GRSB7100 Speed Bleeder 7mmx1.00 (Pair)
​

MASTER CYLINDERS

1 KL32-1083 Front Master Cyl Rebuild Kit
1 KL32-1097 Rear Master Cyl Rebuild Kit
1 KL32-1425 Rear Brake Caliper Rebuild Kit
2 KL32-1434 Front Brake Caliper Rebuild Kit
1 KL32-8059 Master Cyl Reservoir Kit
​

BRAKE PADS

1 MAVD306 Rr Brake Pads VD306 Kevlar / Carbon compound
2 LAFA51 Brake Pads EBC FA51 Suzuki
​

​

 

[Darin Jordan]

By the way... this is on a generally VERY stock GS850G... standard bars, etc...


I'll update this thread as I progress on the project to update any parts that I needed in addition, or that I ordered that were incorrect.


Maybe I'll even post a picture/tip or two.

Thus far, the biggest issue has been getting the pistons out of the caliper, but I managed it without any damage. Cleaning the caliper (Rear at this point) takes some time and is tedious, but I got it cleaned up and painted with some brake caliper specific gloss black.

More to come...

 

[rustybronco]

Don't forget to inspect the front caliper brackets and slides. Mine are giving me troubles...

 

[eil]

Appreciate the info.

One point of interest: most of the members here will recommend OEM brake rebuild kits over the aftermarket K&L ones. Z1 will even order them for you if you ask nicely.

 

[bwringer]

Appreciate the info.

One point of interest: most of the members here will recommend OEM brake rebuild kits over the aftermarket K&L ones. Z1 will even order them for you if you ask nicely.

Yep. The KL kits are dangerous krap.

And you don't get a new piston, like you do with OEM kits. Just a few ill-fitting counterfeit seals.

And they're expensive.

No idea why anyone buys that junk.

 

[Darin Jordan]

No idea why anyone buys that junk.

Only because some of us don't know any better... we order what's listed on Z1 or ??

If they are such crap, I'm curious why Z1 wouldn't just stock the OEM stuff as well, and give us a choice?

Generally, I would choose OEM were it an option.

Came home from work yesterday to a bunch of boxes full of components. Time to get to work.

 

[Steve]

If they are such crap, I'm curious why Z1 wouldn't just stock the OEM stuff as well, and give us a choice?

They don't stock OEM stuff for the same reason that NONE of the other vendors stock OEM stuff. :-k
Their warehouse isn't big enough.

ANY of the vendors that we recommend and use here have to order parts from the main Suzuki warehouse(s), then re-package the parts and send them to you. THAT is why any parts order will take about two weeks to get to you.

Z1 is a great place. Keep in mind that most of what you see on their website is IN-STOCK and ready to ship, but very little of it is OEM. They will be happy to order OEM parts for you, but it will take about the same two weeks as everybody else, and it may not be quite as cheap as the others. I think that because they are not an authorized Suzuki dealership, their discount is not as good from the warehouse, so they can't quite compete there. Most of what they show is high-quality stuff. Evidently, some have had problems with it and prefer not to do it again.

Generally, I would choose OEM were it an option.

It is almost always an option.

.

 

[Darin Jordan]

I suppose I could return all the seal kits I bought, but the pistons on my calipers cleaned up and polished up just fine, so I'm not really concerned about those. They are as OEM as it comes...

If I feel that the seals aren't acceptable quality, I'll re-order.

 

[srg]

One point of interest: most of the members here will recommend OEM brake rebuild kits over the aftermarket K&L ones. Z1 will even order them for you if you ask nicely.

Are there OEM "kits" or do you have to just order all the parts from the fiche individually? I've seen all the master cylinder and caliper parts on the fiche, but not any reference to a "kit."

 

[eil]

Are there OEM "kits" or do you have to just order all the parts from the fiche individually? I've seen all the master cylinder and caliper parts on the fiche, but not any reference to a "kit."

Not sure if they do this for all GS models, but most fiches I've seen have a "piston set" for calipers and "piston and cup set" for master cylinders. Comes with pistons and all internal seals needed to renew a caliper or master cylinder. I believe you can usually order the parts individually as well.

Example: http://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d4008bf8700230d8b4e2ec/front-calipers

Example: http://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d4008cf8700230d8b4e2ed/front-master-cylinder

External seals like reservoir seals and brake bleeder caps typically have to be ordered separately.

 

[Darin Jordan]

Would it be possible for someone here who is critical of the KL Caliper Repair kits to describe to me exactly what the issue is with them? I'd like to know what issues I'm watching for.

I rebuilt the rear caliper last night and everything seemed to fit fine. However, if there are issues I should be concerned with, I'd like to know what those might be.

 

[bwringer]

Would it be possible for someone here who is critical of the KL Caliper Repair kits to describe to me exactly what the issue is with them? I'd like to know what issues I'm watching for.

I rebuilt the rear caliper last night and everything seemed to fit fine. However, if there are issues I should be concerned with, I'd like to know what those might be.

1) They're expensive for what little you get. About the same or slightly more than the OEM kits.

2) They don't come with a new piston, as the OEM kits do. I've seen unusable corroded pistons come out of calipers less than five years old. Unless you've already disassembled it and found no corrosion, why would you want to risk trying to re-use an old piston from a 30+ year old caliper?

That right there is enough, isn't it? You're paying about the same money for far less content. But there's more.

3) The seals very often don't fit right. You already got lucky in that you were able to re-assemble your caliper and it presumably doesn't leak.

But the other part of seal fit is the amount of retraction. One little-considered function of caliper seals is that their elasticity pulls the piston back a tiny bit (maybe .01mm or so) so the brake pads don't drag.

I've found that aftermarket seals usually get this wrong. The pads either retract too much (leading to some truly thrilling moments while you frantically pump the brake lever) or they don't retract enough, and cause the brake pads to drag and overheat.

Sometimes, you get lucky and your brakes work fine after a rebuild with aftermarket seals. If this is true in your case, congratulations -- you beat the odds by a lot, especially because you found a usable original piston.

And sometimes, the OEM kits are NLA, so shoddy imitation parts are all you can get and you just have to make do.




I honestly don't know why reputable vendors stock these, at least in the cases when OEM kits are available.

There is certainly a demand for them, mainly because so many people don't bother to see whether OEM parts are available and reasonably priced, and they aren't thinking ahead enough to notice that the kits don't include a new piston. There's certainly the convenience factor, too -- people like the idea of a kit that's in stock rather than rummaging through fiches and waiting a week for OEM parts.

It's also remotely possible that K&L has very recently improved their quality levels. It's been about five years since I last encountered an ill-fitting, incomplete K&L kit, and I won't bother with K&L kits again unless there are absolutely no other options. They still don't include pistons, so they're undeniably a very poor value.

In the end, it's your bike and your skin, blood, and bones on the line. Do what you think best.

 

[Darin Jordan]

1) They're expensive for what little you get. About the same or slightly more than the OEM kits.

2) They don't come with a new piston, as the OEM kits do. I've seen unusable corroded pistons come out of calipers less than five years old. Unless you've already disassembled it and found no corrosion, why would you want to risk trying to re-use an old piston from a 30+ year old caliper?

That right there is enough, isn't it? You're paying about the same money for far less content. But there's more.

3) The seals very often don't fit right. You already got lucky in that you were able to re-assemble your caliper and it presumably doesn't leak.

But the other part of seal fit is the amount of retraction. One little-considered function of caliper seals is that their elasticity pulls the piston back a tiny bit (maybe .01mm or so) so the brake pads don't drag.

I've found that aftermarket seals usually get this wrong. The pads either retract too much (leading to some truly thrilling moments while you frantically pump the brake lever) or they don't retract enough, and cause the brake pads to drag and overheat.

Sometimes, you get lucky and your brakes work fine after a rebuild with aftermarket seals. If this is true in your case, congratulations -- you beat the odds by a lot, especially because you found a usable original piston.

And sometimes, the OEM kits are NLA, so shoddy imitation parts are all you can get and you just have to make do.




I honestly don't know why reputable vendors stock these, at least in the cases when OEM kits are available.

There is certainly a demand for them, mainly because so many people don't bother to see whether OEM parts are available and reasonably priced, and they aren't thinking ahead enough to notice that the kits don't include a new piston. There's certainly the convenience factor, too -- people like the idea of a kit that's in stock rather than rummaging through fiches and waiting a week for OEM parts.

It's also remotely possible that K&L has very recently improved their quality levels. It's been about five years since I last encountered an ill-fitting, incomplete K&L kit, and I won't bother with K&L kits again unless there are absolutely no other options. They still don't include pistons, so they're undeniably a very poor value.

In the end, it's your bike and your skin, blood, and bones on the line. Do what you think best.

I guess we'll find out when I finish buttoning this up (hopefully tonight). If they bleed out find and don't seem to leak, it sounds like that will be a bonus. I'm doing the back first, so if it doesn't function correctly, I'll ship back the front kits and order the OEM stuff.

Thanks for taking the time to lay this out.

OH, and the pistons were in great shape. Smooth and shiny...

 

[Darin Jordan]

OK, Brake upgrade Done...

All of the parts I ordered worked out well, with two exceptions:

1) The Speed-Bleeders probably should all be the Long Length. The short work in the fronts, but leave little room for error, and won't work in the back.

2) The rear brake line length I specified (as measured correctly per Goodrich's instructions) are about 1", maybe 2", longer than necessary. Routed and looks fine, but has a bit more slack than necessary up near the master. No biggie.

Otherwise, all of the parts fit and are functioning as expected. Need to bed in the brakes to get the full effect of the improvements, but so far it feels better than it was.

NOW, I just need to determine if the new gear-oil leak at the rear gear-drive assembly (coming out between the hub and the gear/diff housing), is a damaged inner seal, or if it's just residual oil that resulted from me R&R-ing the rear wheel. Since option 1 is hard/expensive to resolve, and option 2 is easy, I'm guessing it's option 1...

 

[Wingsconsin]

I must be incredibly lucky
I have used K & L caliper rebuild kits for many calipers over the past 3-4 years and they have all worked out just fine...

1996 GL1500 - 3 sets
1992 GL1500 - 3 sets
1982 CX500 - 1 set
1980 GL1100 - 3 sets
1985 Honda V 4 bike (my sons friends bike)
1983 GS650GL - 2 sets
1983 GS850 GL - 2 sets
1980 CX500 - 1 set

I think that is all of them so far....

But I am very methodical about caliper cleaning, rebuilding - including a dip in the ultrasonic cleaner
And if it isn't perfect I do it over... But so far , so good ...

 

[Darin Jordan]

But I am very methodical about caliper cleaning, rebuilding - including a dip in the ultrasonic cleaner
And if it isn't perfect I do it over... But so far , so good ...

Everything fit well on mine as well, but I too spent a TON of time cleaning and making sure everything was spotless and in "as new" condition before going back together. Perhaps their quality was improved?