Rebuilding my 1980 GS250T here...

[isu2014]

New video from today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0eLrm2eGhM

 

[Guest]

Mate she sounds good... rev's nice and free there too

 

[isu2014]

Thanks! Is it bad to run gasoline with 10% ethanol in these engines? I usually use 89 octane.

 

[Guest]

I won't put it in mine as I've heard of too many people having issues with it going "off" when left for short periods of time.

I use 95 octane minimum in mine, I found our standard 91 octane pings a bit at times.

 

[isu2014]

I try not to use it, but now even our premium unleaded (91 octane) has 10% ethanol. Regular (87) is the only one offered in 100% gas. The highest octane I can get around here is 93 but it's quite a bit more expensive. 89 is the cheapest. So far it seems to run fine if I use 10% ethanol, but I worry about the carbs varnishing up from it.

 

[Guest]

Wow ok, over here standard is 91 octane, and you can get that with 10% ethanol but I avoid it like the plague.

I run 95 as it seems to run best with that, but if I can't get 95 then I'll use 98 before I use 91.

I think with ethanol you'd probably be ok provided you didn't let it sit for any length of time. Aside from the varnishing, if I recall correctly ethanol is more susceptible to absorbing moisture as well, but don't quote me on that one...

 

[isu2014]

98 octane? That's almost race fuel over here! I wish we had that, our turbo and supercharged engines would run much better. Iowa is trying to go to 15% ethanol and if that happens I definitely won't run it in older engines like these. I don't really like running ethanol in my truck either but I regularly use additives to prevent the varnishing and moisture build up, which is correct, as you stated.

 

[Guest]

98 octane's our top of the line fuel, but I find it tends to foul my plugs a bit... mainly because she's way too rich

I possibly just fixed that tonight...

 

[isu2014]

Just spent 3 hours polishing the chrome and paint. Came out very nicely.
Before.

After.

Had some surface rust on the rear fender mainly under the seat.

Polished it up nicely.

My polish of choice. Works wonderfully.

Chester sat and watched me for all 3 hours.

 

[Guest]

Mate that's some nice effort there, good job!

My cats don't go in the garage so I don't get an audience... but one likes to sit at the garage door and yell just so I know she cares...

 

[isu2014]

Thanks! It turned out great, much better than I figured it would for 30 years old. I rebuilt the front brake and cleaned out the old fluid too.

I sold the this past weekend. A petite gal I know was looking for a small, lightweight bike for around town so we made a deal. Now I'm keeping an eye out for another project GS since they are so easy to work on.


Cats are funny. As soon as you leave them they cry for you to come back, but then you come back and they never talk to you. They sleep when your home and complain when you're gone.

 

[Guest]

And I'll be she'll love ridin' it

Cats are funny alright! We get so much entertainment from ours... wouldn't be without 'em for nothin!

 

[isu2014]

Hey Pete, what do you think of this bike? Just bought it.

 

[Guest]

Nice one! Is that a 550? To my untrained eye looks like a late '70's one? I'm not real familiar with the 4's but I like the lines of those headers!

 

[isu2014]

Yep it's a 78 GS550C. They are pretty rare. It doesn't run because it doesn't have spark so the first thing I'm going to replace are the coils I think. Then of course a headlight. And I already contacted the guy that made the 250 seat cover and he's making me a free one!

 

[Guest]

Excellent! Could just be condensors on the coils have died too, not sure if they're replaceable though... and of course the typical points gap/filing etc...

 

[isu2014]

Good call. I think I will order new points and condensers first. That would save about $90.

I'm going to start a new thread for this bike. Should be another fun project. I don't think I will need to get into the engine on this one though. Carb kit, ignition kit, seat cover, and headlight is what I plan on right away.

 

[spyug]

It doesn't run because it doesn't have spark so the first thing I'm going to replace are the coils I think

Very doubtful that it would be coils, they seldom conk out in my experience. More likely the ignitor if its electronic or points and condensors otherwise. If it is points try cleaning them with a bit of sandpaper or a points file first before spending money. It could also be the plug caps as they sometimes get too resistant. I've encountered that on 2 bikes now. Plug caps are only around $7 each so worth looking at too.

Looks like a sweet little bike. Well done.

Spyug

 

[isu2014]

Good call Spyug. Before I investigated much, I assumed the plug caps and condensers were part of the coils. I see I can get everything separate now so I won't replace the coils unless all else fails. I can get new condensers and points for $18 so I'm going for it. I really hate dealing with points so I'll start fresh and then I know they're good.

 

[Guest]

Good stuff mate, will look out for the new thread...