• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Signed up to say thanks for the forum tips

  • Thread starter Thread starter OutbackPhil
  • Start date Start date
O

OutbackPhil

Guest
Hi everyone. Just wanted to say thanks for the amazing amount of great info on the forum; I've referred to it to solve a few issues I've been having while I've been building my project GS450. So thanks!

I've seen some beautifully restored GS bikes on here so I'm a little hesitant to share photos of mine, but I bought it for a couple of hundred bucks unloved, not running, cast aside and in a fairly ordinary state. So it was never going to be restored to showroom condition. I ended up going the other way, in fact.



http://


Well a year and a bit later, it's for the better part completed. Its an 81 GS450. Well, for now it's finished anyway. Rewired the whole bike, it now runs a motogadget m-unit to keep things much tidier. Some minor niggles to deal with (some idling issues, and minor electrical gremlins) but it's fun to ride and I'm happy with the project. A couple of times it had me totally stumped! Still unsure of paint schemes, but for now I'm loving the tank patina and the post-apocalyptic look.

http://

Cheers all

Phil
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2031.jpg
    IMG_2031.jpg
    94.7 KB · Views: 0
Gmorning...it's 4am here on the east of the U.S. I got up for potty break...I'm getting old with these bathroom breaks.

That's a rough lookin' little GS you have there. Glad you are finding the info you need to get the Gremlins outta there!

Some of your pics did not show...that's a Photobucket issue. But I did see the attached photo. Continue to update your thread.


Ed
 
Last edited:
Hi Phil and Welcome.
Great to pull one back from the edge.
Many happy miles and safe arrivals.
 
Welcome Phil! Pity Photophucket got you and I can only see the before, but the 450's are great little bikes, still enjoy mine every day and will be hitting the road on it to join the local Kat folk shortly this morning for our regular ride.

How outback is outback?
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Stupid photobucket, I still had an account from years ago and I figured the process of linking photos in was still the same, and it wanted me to pay to be able to do so! Outrageous. Strangely enough tho it came thru ok on the preview post before I posted up so I figured it worked ok. How wrong I was.... Anyway, here's project finished so far. I used the jet settings in particular talked about on the forum and they're fantastic. No flat spots, and starts very easy. The revs take a bit to drop back down to idle tho, which I'm not sure about. Could it be a butterfly sticking?

4C4A6154.jpg
 
Oh and I'm out in Mt Isa Pete. Hoping to return to the south east at some point next year but we'll see how things go
 
That looks pretty cool Phil! Mt Isa hey? Bit far for the moment to invite you to the regular Katana Australia Saturday morning rides :D

As for your idle issues, are your intake boots for the carbs nice and fresh and rubbery? That's a symptom of the common air leaks that happen when they don't seal all that well. Also, if they're the stock carbs, I'd highly recommend adding some sort of support for them attached to the frame rail above as they're quite heavy. I ran mine with pods for a few years and the weight ended up distorting the boots quite badly and they ended up drooping about 20mm lower! That will also potentially result in air leaks as the boots go out of shape.
 
Thanks Pete! Yeah a bit far for now... Good tips on the carbs, makes sense to me. After I've been riding, and pull the clutch in and come to a stop the revs stay up for a bit before dropping back down to the base idle which is fairly low. I sprayed a little carby clean around the boots while it was running and it shifted the idle a bit (not accurately enough to say for sure) but I'll look at some sort of support for the carbs and find some stronger screw clamps. The original ones seem to have maxxed out on their closing diameter.
Cheers
 
It might be a good idea to replace at least the orings behind the boots and maybe even the boots themselves
 
If the clamps for the boots are seeming too big for them, definitely time to replace them. That indicates the rubber has shrunk. My original boots were like that, it was a PITA to get the carbs in and they were definitely causing air leaks as a result. It seems a bit counter intuitive that shrunken intake boots will lead to leaks, but it seems not only are they harder due to age but they also distort enough by squeezing the carbs in that they don't sit well and leak.

As for getting replacements, just go genuine, I don't find them particularly expensive. If you want a good dealer who has good prices and excellent service and don't have a local preference, try Mick Hone down in Victoria. http://www.mickhone.com.au/
 
OutbackPhil said:
Thanks for the replies guys. Stupid photobucket, I still had an account from years ago and I figured the process of linking photos in was still the same, and it wanted me to pay to be able to do so! Outrageous. Strangely enough tho it came thru ok on the preview post before I posted up so I figured it worked ok. How wrong I was.... Anyway, here's project finished so far. I used the jet settings in particular talked about on the forum and they're fantastic. No flat spots, and starts very easy. The revs take a bit to drop back down to idle tho, which I'm not sure about. Could it be a butterfly sticking?

View attachment 53334
Click to expand...

That is nice!


Ed
 
Thanks yeah I'll do both the boots and o'rings I think. Start with the easy stuff!
 
Makes enough sense to me. Especially with the weight of the carbs and pods rattling around, it wouldn't surprise me if that was the source of the leak. I can't really think of anything else it could be. The revs don't stay up, it'll be a couple of seconds or so and then they slowly drop down to idle again. To a less obvious extent it does it when you rev it sitting still, it holds up for a fraction and then comes back down but it's not an issue to me but during a ride it's definitely an issue. I'll check out that site, cheers



pete said:
If the clamps for the boots are seeming too big for them, definitely time to replace them. That indicates the rubber has shrunk. My original boots were like that, it was a PITA to get the carbs in and they were definitely causing air leaks as a result. It seems a bit counter intuitive that shrunken intake boots will lead to leaks, but it seems not only are they harder due to age but they also distort enough by squeezing the carbs in that they don't sit well and leak.

As for getting replacements, just go genuine, I don't find them particularly expensive. If you want a good dealer who has good prices and excellent service and don't have a local preference, try Mick Hone down in Victoria. http://www.mickhone.com.au/
Click to expand...
 
Thanks mate. It's one of those antigravity 4 cell batteries. Based on the info I read (after I bought it mind) 450cc is the largest they recommend to go with this battery, but mine has no issues cranking over and getting it started. Perhaps in a cold climate it might struggle a bit?? I don't know. Mine only needs a bit of choke if it's been sitting for a while. But a couple of weeks rest just crank it and feather the throttle a bit and she's away!

In the battery tray I managed to fit the ignition (an aftermarket simple smaller one), the motogadget m-unit and cables, 4 cell battery, reg/rec, starter solenoid,charging system fuse, and a few joins for the wiring that runs to the back of the bike. The CDI is up under the tank, which I've raised at the back maybe 2 inches, just to neaten that horizontal line flowing from the bottom of the tank through the seat and the frame. I've also put a earth strap/plate on the frame, which the CDI is bolted on to, but also that all the other earths go to. The m-unit earths to the battery directly, but the battery runs out to the new earth strap/plate, to feed all the other earths on the bike. Keeps it all hidden, and I'm not worried about dodgy 36 year old wiring. The wiring on the bike was pretty bad originally, it looked like it'd been repaired a couple of times over the years and had wires scotch-locked to other wires which doubled back into the loom, and I couldn't work out where half of them went.
4C4A6164.jpg
sam000lee said:
More pictures! You did a nice job tucking all the electronics away...what battery fits in that little tray?
Click to expand...
 
4C4A6155.jpg I'll post up a couple of images. Does anyone know a photobucket-style hosting replacement that I can link photos to??
 
4C4A6171.jpg I got the tail light installed into the seat back by a local upholsterer. He did struggle with it, poor bloke, it took him weeks to do it and must have lost a heap of money on what he charged me but I'm happy with it and it neatens up the back end nicely. I wasn't originally going to have a rear guard on it but I needed a front for roadworthy and didn't want stones damaging the battery box so I fitted a rear guard and am glad I did. I think it looks better than no guard.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

peteGSX
1982 GS450 - No Spark
Replies
11
Views
173
peteGSX
peteGSX
DR Payne
1983 GS550E Reporting In
Replies
9
Views
204
Cipher
C
F
Re-inroduce myself
Replies
9
Views
139
Rob S.
Rob S.
acr88_
New Member From Los Angeles, GS750 Restoration
Replies
6
Views
142
salty_monk
salty_monk
G
1982 GS300L Not Running Well
2
Replies
37
Views
661
Guest
G
Back
Top