Brilliant!
Brings a few questions: When searching for pistons to use in unusual race engines, do you have to have assorted pistons on hand, so you can measure their fit?
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what did you wrench on today??
- Thread starter chuck hahn
- Start date
Brings a few questions: When searching for pistons to use in unusual race engines, do you have to have assorted pistons on hand, so you can measure their fit?
Wow! Quite an interesting job.
Initially search by bore size needed. I've got a couple of service data books which have bore and stroke dimensions - and some guessing followed by internet checking. Then elimination by gudgeon pin size. Suzuki pin circlip part nos have the pin size as the last two digits so it's possible to work backwards to the pin dia. The early GSXR400 pistons came from a local wrecker with rings in very good condition. They're about 4mm taller than the FZR ones which worked with the 4mm plate under the barrel sealing the unused side. The valve cutaways had to be moved closer together which I did by hand with a die grinder.
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Thanks, I've been considering a vintage race bike and wondered what to do if it needed new pistons.
I thought this kind of a search might turn up alternative options, and yeah experience would help.
ddaniels
Forum Sage
Fired up the Fizzy yesterday and balanced the carbs. Starts on choke (starter circuit) now like it should but I can't get it to rev very high at all on the choke. With the "choke" lever fully on it's only revving up around 2-2.5K rpm. Weird. I guess I should just quit complaining about it.
Came out of the supermarket on Friday and was greeted by a small pool of oil under the GS. That damned valve cover gasket leaking - again.
That's been about 1000 miles since the rebuild and it was leaky from one side about 300 miles ago, but I sorted that.
Took the valve cover off, which of course meant the fairing bracket wouldn't allow it to come out to the side, so off with the fairing and its bracket, total pain in the bahookie. Still, once started, easy done.
That's the valve cover gasket that was in the NE engine set. On examination it's gone a bit hard and shiny, but I couldn't see any damage or indentations where the leaks were coming from - nor on the metal faces.
Cleaned everything up and fit a new one tomorrow - I have a couple of so-called Vesrah ones, but they arrived in plain packaging, so I'm not sure what they are. There's another one I bought a couple of years ago, which came from the same source as the previous known-good one at the same time, so I might fit that instead. I don't recall if that was OEM or not, but I do recall buying quite a few spares from the London Suzuki Centre at the time, so it might be one of the good ones.
Hey-ho; just occurred to me it might be a good time to fit the front springs, too. May as well, with the fairing off.
That's been about 1000 miles since the rebuild and it was leaky from one side about 300 miles ago, but I sorted that.
Took the valve cover off, which of course meant the fairing bracket wouldn't allow it to come out to the side, so off with the fairing and its bracket, total pain in the bahookie. Still, once started, easy done.
That's the valve cover gasket that was in the NE engine set. On examination it's gone a bit hard and shiny, but I couldn't see any damage or indentations where the leaks were coming from - nor on the metal faces.
Cleaned everything up and fit a new one tomorrow - I have a couple of so-called Vesrah ones, but they arrived in plain packaging, so I'm not sure what they are. There's another one I bought a couple of years ago, which came from the same source as the previous known-good one at the same time, so I might fit that instead. I don't recall if that was OEM or not, but I do recall buying quite a few spares from the London Suzuki Centre at the time, so it might be one of the good ones.
Hey-ho; just occurred to me it might be a good time to fit the front springs, too. May as well, with the fairing off.
Hayabuser
Forum Mentor
Finally got around to fixing the oil leak on my Katana today... it had only been sitting on my workbench waiting for me to get to it since September. :cower:
Generator cover is dry as a bone now, only needed to adjust the gasket so part of it wasn't folded inside of the housing. Four months for that?!? It took me less than 1/2 an hour to fix! Man I suck...
Anyway, it's alive! :dancing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH98ui1n9Yw
Generator cover is dry as a bone now, only needed to adjust the gasket so part of it wasn't folded inside of the housing. Four months for that?!? It took me less than 1/2 an hour to fix! Man I suck...
Anyway, it's alive! :dancing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH98ui1n9Yw
The little FZR has an oil leak from the cam cover too...I knew it had a leak but hadn't managed to track it down until I saw a drip yesterday.
Front right corner of the cam cover - the unmodified end. Room's so tight that it'll be easier to drop the engine to have a look.
Not sure why it's leaking there. It's a rubber insert in a channel so it really shouldn't. If I find there's a drainage problem I think I can
add an external drain without too much trouble.
Got the tacho working. It blips to 10 grand on the stand smoothly. Won't idle below about 3 grand. Not surprising given there's next to no crank weight, a big inlet cam and big carbs.
Fuel pump to sort before a test ride. And a customer bike to sort first...
Front right corner of the cam cover - the unmodified end. Room's so tight that it'll be easier to drop the engine to have a look.
Not sure why it's leaking there. It's a rubber insert in a channel so it really shouldn't. If I find there's a drainage problem I think I can
add an external drain without too much trouble.
Got the tacho working. It blips to 10 grand on the stand smoothly. Won't idle below about 3 grand. Not surprising given there's next to no crank weight, a big inlet cam and big carbs.
Fuel pump to sort before a test ride. And a customer bike to sort first...
After cleaning off the residual oil from the top and front, I was happy to see no new oil joining it.
Then got on with fitting the coil relay mod I've been meaning to do for years.
Relay 1 is for the aux lighting, relay 2 is the coil / ignitor feed.
I'm happy that it now starts with the slightest stroke of the button.
![coil-relay-mod-02.jpg](http://[URL="https://ibb.co/3W3MBdg"][IMG]https://i.ibb.co/2P9sghG/coil-relay-mod-02.jpg)
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But I think I might need to fit a longer Single Point Ground bolt soon.
Then got on with fitting the coil relay mod I've been meaning to do for years.
Relay 1 is for the aux lighting, relay 2 is the coil / ignitor feed.
I'm happy that it now starts with the slightest stroke of the button.
[/IMG]But I think I might need to fit a longer Single Point Ground bolt soon.
My old kill/start/throttle needed to be changed out to a push pull throttle, I drove down to my local ebay supplier and found a 6 wire Yamaha kill/start that had to be converted to the 3 wire GS system. I'm no electrical whiz so it took a couple of hours but I finally got it figured out.
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When I was picking up my new kill/start switch I noticed they had '84 GS1150ef up on the table. A complete restoration, everything was broken down to the last bolt, sand blasted, powder coated, polished, clear coated. Nothing has been left untouched. I don't think they ever looked this good new. I'll go back next week to check the progress.
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Funky *@%^$*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$e, but it works great.
ddaniels
Forum Sage
Interesting...and clever.
Got these installed today. Didn't have to remove the legs at all, just slotted in nicely from the top, with pre-load that might be usable enough. The springs weren't listed for the 850 or 1000, but I'd chosen a set to upgrade the 1100ES, which has a small factory fairing, so erring in the right direction.
Old springs that came out were an unknown set that came with the GS1000 fork legs, but were definitely tired.
Old spring measurements: 3.8mm thick, 13.75" long, with a 5" spacer.
New spring measurements: 4.52mm, 15" normal coil + 4" close-spaced coil, 19" long.
The acid test was shoving it off the centre stand and pulling it back on again. Happy to find it was about the same (maybe even slightly easier) as running the old springs with max air pressure (about 20psi), but that's with the fairing off.
Preload is probably ok, sag isn't properly measured yet, but pointless just now as the fairing is still off.
However, I'm relieved that it works. I wasn't sure if I would have to cut springs shorter or not. If it ends up that I have to cut the close-wound coils off and put the spacers back in, then so be it. Now I know where I am with a starting point.
I ended up choosing Wilbers as the price was right, and straight-rate springs over here are more difficult to find for the GSs, and where they can be found, aren't very cheap. I'd have bought Sonic, but the shipping and duty doubled the cost.
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cool invention would eliminate a lot of cursing, won't help put on a tire that refuses to inflate and go back on the bead. I was defeated by a Battlax that I struggled with for two weeks, finally I gave up and took to a local shop to install, it was a humbling experience.
Wired my YZF R1 kill/starter into the GS, wouldn't start hmmmm. Different set up than the GS k/s switch but thought I had it all figured out. No power anywhere, wth!
I started it up fine before I remove the carbs. I sit and stare stumped as to what could be wrong.
Check battery, good
Tranny in neutral.
Checked fuse box, twice.
Checked my new wiring, all tight.
Checked everywhere for lose connections found one by the air box, it had come loose when I removed the air box when I still intending to go with pods. Better, now the instruments light up but still no ignition.
Search some more and I find another connection that had come loose, not what I was looking for but now the horns work again.
Check wiring for power to switch, yup good there.
Sit and stare some more, consult the schematics again, remove new yamaha switch and hook up the oem kill/start, still nothing! Look at schematics some more.....hmmm it's gotta be something stupidly simple.
I decide to quit and start over tomorrow then it hit me, dummy!!!! I forgot that unlike my CBX needs the GS needs the clutch pulled in to start!
LOL fixed:clap:.
I started it up fine before I remove the carbs. I sit and stare stumped as to what could be wrong.
Check battery, good
Tranny in neutral.
Checked fuse box, twice.
Checked my new wiring, all tight.
Checked everywhere for lose connections found one by the air box, it had come loose when I removed the air box when I still intending to go with pods. Better, now the instruments light up but still no ignition.
Search some more and I find another connection that had come loose, not what I was looking for but now the horns work again.
Check wiring for power to switch, yup good there.
Sit and stare some more, consult the schematics again, remove new yamaha switch and hook up the oem kill/start, still nothing! Look at schematics some more.....hmmm it's gotta be something stupidly simple.
I decide to quit and start over tomorrow then it hit me, dummy!!!! I forgot that unlike my CBX needs the GS needs the clutch pulled in to start!
LOL fixed:clap:.
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it can be a brute, alright. and the BT45s were tight fits on my 650.....for me, the solution is always bead-soap and MORE AIR! I cringe, but it's what works, even with my tiny air-compressor.
..yes it's pretty ugly what I made there..a tire rim, a long bolt through a table, and some scrap junk from my heap. So I've used it 3 times with good result..the POINT of it was , if I try to use the lever-under-wall trick or similar, my entire wall lifts! so I was using wood-clamps to squeeze the tire off and that's even uglier. Burque ? had good results with the fancy MotionPro tool but ..I'm tight about the price+shipping if I can make something..
(I wonder if I couldn't use a spare car tire ON the rim? it'd be a better cushion...I'll try it on the rear)
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