Twisted crank? '82 GS1100E

[Bert Patterson]

No, I didn't experience it. Just curious.

How many people have actually had this problem? I know they welded it for the late ?82s and the ?83s, but was this more an effect of hard thrashing at the dragstrip or do people actually have this happen as matter of course in normal hard beating on the road?

Was this generally overkill?

 

[woodman]

Not on a GS but I have a twisted one on a big bore 900 {1105} Kawasaki. The vibration just keeps getting worse until you cant stand it. It was from hard street racing from a roll though, no drag strip starts. So far its still going like it was when it was built in 1977, just a little buzzy. One of these days Ill fix it because its getting worse all the time. Got a bad back and dont ride it much but it still hauls pretty good

 

[bonanzadave]

Isleoman and myself.

 

[TheCafeKid]

Sorry if i stompped on this....But i would like to ALSO ask:

What exactly does it sound like/feel like and how did you KNOW the crank was twisted? Did the bike stop running, or just run like TOTAL ass? I can theorize as to what it would be like, but ive never had one do it, nor seen it in person, so im curious as to what to watch for

 

[Baatfam]

Sorry if i stompped on this....But i would like to ALSO ask:

What exactly does it sound like/feel like and how did you KNOW the crank was twisted? Did the bike stop running, or just run like TOTAL ass? I can theorize as to what it would be like, but ive never had one do it, nor seen it in person, so im curious as to what to watch for

Don't know what it runs like, but I know how to check it.
Just use a rod or something to measure the distance from the piston top to the sparkplug hole on #1 and #4...
Obviously, they should be the same...

I heard they could twist from any spirited riding...doesn't have to be drag strip stuff...

 

[rapidray]

HUGE vibration difference & a drop in power, Josh. Ray.

 

[TheCafeKid]

got it. So it will run like total ass, vibrate like hell, and feel like im riding a 550

 

[focus frenzy]

only if it twist bad.

I have seen people discover minor twisted cranks during overhauls.

a minor twist in the crank would make a bit more vibration and reduce power some but might not be noticed by a new owner.

abuse is required to twist them.

 

[maro]

My bike doesn't really vibrate all that bad, but I have NO IDEA if I am at a loss of power as I have never ridden another 1100E

Can I just LOOK to see if it's welded? I've never checked

 

[posplayr]

OK I'll innocently start the mud slinging .

How much twist is tolerable or considered unnoticeable? I need to file this with my cam degreeing accuracy numbers .

With a high performance degree wheel we could of coarse measure this.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=139950

 

[Baatfam]

My bike doesn't really vibrate all that bad, but I have NO IDEA if I am at a loss of power as I have never ridden another 1100E

Can I just LOOK to see if it's welded? I've never checked

You can see it if you pull the clutch basket...
You can also check your crank as I pointed out above....

 

[TheCafeKid]

Maro, look at the date of manufacture on your neck, and also tell us the motor number. Its a good clue as to whether or not you have the mid 82 big end welded crank.

For those interested, Brett sent me PDFs of just about all the Zook articles from the various Cycle mags of the 80s with the 1100s in em. After reading them all (man they LOVED these bikes, all of them proclaimed them King Superbike, even over the more powerfull GPZ1100) it is quite apparent to me, and was even mentioned in a couple of the articles, that Zook did indeed start using the welded pin big end cranks in mid 82.

 

[maro]

says 2/82... which I knew...

however, the PO was a nutball, and could have easily have done this mod, since he had an old yosh, vm33's and stacks on her.

I need to look at the crank.

 

[850 Combat]

On the '82 Gs850G I bought new, I either twisted the crank or bent a rod from a bad petcock and leaky float valve allowing the left cylinder to fill up with gas while the bike was parked at work on the center stand. Hit the starter and it wouldn't crank. I thought battery. Hit it a few more times and it finally cranked, but the problem was hydraulic lock. It still ran fine afterwards. I didn't detect any major loss in power, but there was always a little additional vibration in it afterwards.

Hooray for vacuum petcocks.

 

[bonanzadave]

So it will run like total ass

Mine did. Just a simple roll on the throttle in 3rd. At about 6K it stumbled. That was 1983 and I had about 2000 miles on it. The closest dealer was about 20 miles away. 2 guys in a tiny shop. Parts/sales guy and a mechanic. Took him a week to tell me the bad news and another month to get a crank and change it. I believe he did a good job. The next closest shop was a full scale dealer that had a sweet built EZ drag bike. 60 miles was more than I wanted to risk any further damage.

 

[Bert Patterson]

So does anyone know the date or number after which they welded the crank?

 

[TheCafeKid]

Not exactly...BUT, supposedly anything AFTER June of 82, and with the motor number higher than 14K have a VERY HIGH chance of having the big end welded crank in them.. Bert, you can tell simply by pulling the Stator cover...

 

[Bert Patterson]

Not exactly...BUT, supposedly anything AFTER June of 82, and with the motor number higher than 14K have a VERY HIGH chance of having the big end welded crank in them.. Bert, you can tell simply by pulling the Stator cover...

I may. Always looking for the easiest approach.

She runs sweet, but I'm just curious.

 

[Steve]

Can I just LOOK to see if it's welded? I've never checked

You would have to be able to see the crankshaft to "see" if it's welded, that would require at least a top-end disassembly.

But, probably just as important as knowing whether your crank is welded, is knowing whether you have a problem.
The easiest way is as Baatfam mentioned, just remove the plugs from #1 and #4, use a pencil or wooden dowel to measure the distance to the top of the piston. Compare the two, they should be the same.

I helped a member do a valve adjustment and carb sync on his 1000 a couple of years ago. When we got done, there was still quite a bit of vibration, so I double-checked everything. Yeah the valve clearances had changed, but they all changed by the same amount, so that was not a problem. The carbs were still sync'ed just fine. Moved plug wires, no change. Finally pulled plugs to swap them around, and noticed that the pistons were not the same height. Needless to say, he was not pleased with the diagnosis, but was at least happy to know what the problem was. I have not kept in contact with him to see if he ever fixed it.

.

 

[mriddle]

will it sound like a harley too?

got it. So it will run like total ass, vibrate like hell, and feel like im riding a 550