Rebuilding my 1980 GS250T here...

[Guest]

Even if you can't find original shields, making them should be easy.

Either bend some metal to suit or get a piece of steel pipe the appropriate diameter and cut it in half so you have one for each side.

I can't remember how they affix but probably some nuts welded on the inside will do the job, and then just get the whole thing chromed.

No worries on the tip... I used Athena gaskets on mine (except the bottom end) and the valve cover and breather cover gaskets just constantly weeped even though everything was torqued correctly etc. Only fixed it by replacing with genuine.

 

[Guest]

Try putting 'suzuki 14791-11410' into a search engine - you may be lucky!

 

[isu2014]

Installing these today... From a GL300. Just need to mark and drill mounting holes.

 

[Guest]

Looks like they'll do just nicely...

 

[isu2014]

Forgot to post pics of the finished exhaust heat shields. Turned out decent.

Now I'm working on the gaskets.

Got to this point and now it's time to do some reading so I take this apart correctly. Always easier to put things back together if it was dismantled properly.

 

[Guest]

Good job, those shields look like they belong there

Those gaskets look genuine too, good call!

 

[isu2014]

Good job, those shields look like they belong there

Those gaskets look genuine too, good call!

Thanks. I thought they turned out nice for $15.

I am waiting on 1 more gasket for the head but will get it put together when it comes in. All in all, it was a good progress. Work was cancelled due to the blizzard we had (10" of snow), so instead of being lazy like all the other employees probably did I accomplished something.

The snow:

 

[bwringer]

Just something I noticed earlier: you can remove the airbox by popping the fender loose from the frame. This allows you to move the fender down and back which allows the airbox to move back, up, and out.

Nice bike! I did a good bit of work on one of these lil' boogers last summer, and really enjoyed the test rides. Tried to grab it for my wife, but the owner didn't want to sell.

 

[Guest]

Good one! Yeah if I get time off work I usually try to do something productive, like dismantling the old bicycle wheels on the little Ducati project yesterday on my first day of leave.

I like your friend in the corner too, and we have a water bowl just like that... haha

Oh, and someone left their lights on...

 

[isu2014]

Just something I noticed earlier: you can remove the airbox by popping the fender loose from the frame. This allows you to move the fender down and back which allows the airbox to move back, up, and out.

Nice bike! I did a good bit of work on one of these lil' boogers last summer, and really enjoyed the test rides. Tried to grab it for my wife, but the owner didn't want to sell.

I actually tried that but the box is wider at the front than any of the frame tubes. I even turned it sideways and stuff, no cigar. I gave up.

Thanks! I like it for a good Suzuki starter project. There are a couple GS450's for sale on craigslist right now so I might need to get another bike if the price is right.

Good one! Yeah if I get time off work I usually try to do something productive, like dismantling the old bicycle wheels on the little Ducati project yesterday on my first day of leave.

I like your friend in the corner too, and we have a water bowl just like that... haha

Oh, and someone left their lights on...

Thanks. I didn't work very hard at it so it took all day just messing around, but everything was pretty straight forward and should be easy to get back together.

That's Chester in the corner, he's a bengal. Very nice cat. He likes running water so those water bows work well.

And that's my truck warming up and the lights come on with the remote start.

 

[Guest]

Good stuff, Chester looks pretty happy there... haha

 

[isu2014]

Got it all put back together and running like a champ. Kinda cheated on the the timing so I saved a little time there. I have all the parts ordered that I need to get this finished.

Going to look at a 1980ish GS550 on Saturday. I plan on getting it for my next project. The guy wants about $200 and all the parts are included and in good shape.

 

[Guest]

Glad to hear it! And a 550 for the next project for $200? Man I wish we could get them that cheap here!

 

[isu2014]

The guy actually got the bike for free so I'm shooting for $100 but it has a good title and all that, some parts are in a box though so it needs put back together. It has one of those super plush king/ queen seats that I'm not fond of so that might need to go.

 

[Guest]

Awwww man... free??!! Sheeesh! Good luck!

 

[isu2014]

Awwww man... free??!! Sheeesh! Good luck!

I passed on the 550 for sale. The clutch didn't disengage and the engine had moisture in it. Not about to get into something like that.

 

[Guest]

Ok that'd be a lot of work!

 

[isu2014]

I was mainly concerned about having to open the cases on a 35 year old bike. Most times the screws strip. I know it needed clutch work, cylinders honed, new rings and gaskets, and the cam chain was complete rust...

 

[isu2014]

It's been nice in Iowa so I've ridden the bike some.
Here's a little video of the megaphones with no baffles after I got it tuned nice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUnKRDncikU

 

[isu2014]

Finally received my seat cover from Thailand and got it put on. Also put on a new throttle cable. I took the carbs off to check the jets and see if it was rejetted, I can't figure out why it won't run nice with the baffles in the exhaust.