1980 GS450 L Rebuild

[moto]

First of all hello everyone. I've poked around these forums before but never posted anything. I have a 1980 GS450 L that has followed me around on several moves and unfortunately got neglected. I originally put it aside due to what i think was a slipping clutch, but after stumbling across this rebuild;

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=158670

I decided to pick it up again. I don't have any really good before pics but you should get the idea from some of these.

 

[moto]

Ok so after some work today this is what it looks like now.

Quick question though. I need some advice on de-greaser and some rust treatment solutions. In the thread linked above the poster used marine clean and it seemed to do a great job. I also stumbled across metal rescue for the rust cleanup, but i would like to hear from the experts here. What do you recommend? Another thought any recommendations on how to refinish the frame? Paint and whatnot?

 

[Flaming Chainsaws]

Simple Green works good to clean stuff up.

 

[Guest]

Welcome to the forums! Glad you find my rebuild thread inspirational too! That's pretty cool and makes it worthwhile if it helps someone else

I've received so much assistance and advice from these forums that I'd like to give something back, so even if it's just inspiring others to persevere then that's 100% fine by me

Anyway, as to the Marine Clean, I'm still using the same tub I mixed up months ago and it's still effective. It's got floaties and crud in it now from all the cleaning I've done with it, but if I put something in there it still cleans... simply awesome stuff.

Note I haven't really used anything else to compare it with though except for some spray degreaser here and there.

Simple green seems a commonly used one on the forums here but I don't think we have that over here in Aus.

I'm not sure about metal rescue, but the only rust treatment I've had to do is some surface rust and the rust on the seat pan.

The surface rust was taken care of with another POR 15 product called Metal Ready that basically converts it to a paintable surface, and for the seat pan I used a local brand (Septone) rust converter which is essentially the same thing as Metal Ready but possibly not quite as good.

Looks like you've got all the fun stuff ahead of you yet, so definitely looking forward to seeing it come together! Do you have any specific plans or just rebuilding back to how it should be?

Also, I'll recommend sticking a g'day thread in the GS Owners forum so BassCliff can find you and give you your mega welcome. That's definitely a worthwhile list of stuff to read through...

 

[moto]

First of all, posts from two heavy hitters here on the forums!?!? I'm beside myself at the moment. =)

I'm hoping to get it back to it's original state. So more of a restoration than a customization i guess. For the tub of marine clean you made up what ratio did you mix? Last but not least i will be sure to throw up a post in the Owners forum. Thanks for the guidance.

moto

 

[Guest]

First of all, posts from two heavy hitters here on the forums!?!? I'm beside myself at the moment. =)

I'm hoping to get it back to it's original state. So more of a restoration than a customization i guess. For the tub of marine clean you made up what ratio did you mix? Last but not least i will be sure to throw up a post in the Owners forum. Thanks for the guidance.

moto

Heavy hitter? Me? Hahaha that's funny right there!

Sorry, couldn't help having a chuckle at that... while I've learnt heaps about my 450 during the rebuild I still consider myself pretty new to the whole bike mechanical thing as it's the first time I've done something like this. Now if you get Steve, Nessism, Rapidray, Chef, or BassCliff (there are others I'm missing too) on here then I'd be saying you've got the heavy hitters on here

Restoration sounds good, I dare say there's less and less of these getting around that aren't customised...

Now, marine clean... I initially mixed it 5:1 which is pretty damn strong so be careful with your skin, it can tingle quite a bit if you get it on bare skin. Any stronger than 5:1 and it will burn! I initially did a 1:1 batch thinking that would do my crankcases real well, but then I read you shouldn't do that strong for alloy so I grabbed the case out with my bare hand and sprayed it down with the hose real quick, but it still stung quite a bit.

This is how my tub looks now:



I've added more water as the level dropped a bit after a lot of use, so it's probably something like 7 or 8:1 now and probably has the efficiency of 10:1, but it still works pretty well.

 

[Flaming Chainsaws]

Some things I noticed. Your clutch perch should be on the right side of the left hand controls. Not that it matters right now. Just pointing it out. What's the story behind all of that wiring hanging out? Are there electrical problems? Is that a 2-1 exhaust? I can't remember if it would need to be rejetted or not.

I also noticed that the bodywork is yellow.

Good to hear you're doing a resto. I will watch this as the 1980 GS450L was my first bike.

Good luck!

EDIT: If you're going to redo the frame, I recommend powdercoat. My local powder coater quoted me at $200 for the frame, swingarm, and all the other little bits on the frame. The price includes sandblasting. But prices may vary from different parts of the world.

If that's not in the budget, Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy also works. But from my experience, it's not so easy to find them so VHT Roll Bar and Chassis paint should also work.

 

[moto]

Thanks Flaming! I was just thinking about what to do with the frame today. Was trying to decide whether to paint it or power coat it. But if powder is the way to go then that's what it will be. Now to just find the $$ . On the wiring, i have no idea. I know for a fact that the bike ran before, i was on it, but it was a rats nest when i started to get into it. That was another question. Can i get a new harness and all the accessories, or am i going to have to just buy the wiring and rerun my own? Just to reiterate i have no idea what the guy before me put it through. Thanks for pointing out the clutch perch ill keep that in mind. Yes on the 2 to one exhaust.

On a side note pete, after careful deliberation i have several gallons of marine clean on order. I'm hoping to pick up a 40 gallon storage tub to soak parts in. A little overkill i know but i figure at that big i can even soak the frame in there

More pics to come shortly. Was hoping to get into it this weekend, but it's the mother-in-law's birthday and apparently the wife and i are going to visit. Wish me luck.


EDIT:
Flaming, some of the wiring is a "custom", sarcastically, ignition switch. The previous owner decided to bypass the one on the bars for some reason. I'm planning on rectifying that also.

 

[Flaming Chainsaws]

Thanks Flaming! I was just thinking about what to do with the frame today. Was trying to decide whether to paint it or power coat it. But if powder is the way to go then that's what it will be. Now to just find the $$ . On the wiring, i have no idea. I know for a fact that the bike ran before, i was on it, but it was a rats nest when i started to get into it. That was another question. Can i get a new harness and all the accessories, or am i going to have to just buy the wiring and rerun my own? Just to reiterate i have no idea what the guy before me put it through. Thanks for pointing out the clutch perch ill keep that in mind. Yes on the 2 to one exhaust.

On a side note pete, after careful deliberation i have several gallons of marine clean on order. I'm hoping to pick up a 40 gallon storage tub to soak parts in. A little overkill i know but i figure at that big i can even soak the frame in there

More pics to come shortly. Was hoping to get into it this weekend, but it's the mother-in-law's birthday and apparently the wife and i are going to visit. Wish me luck.


EDIT:
Flaming, some of the wiring is a "custom", sarcastically, ignition switch. The previous owner decided to bypass the one on the bars for some reason. I'm planning on rectifying that also.

Unfortunately, the wiring harness is no longer available new. But there's always some on eBay or you make your own from scratch.

If you are going to make your own harness, I suggest giving vintageconnections.com a visit.

 

[Guest]

Gallons of marine clean? Cool! You'll be able to clean anything you like in there except I don't suggest bathing in it...

 

[moto]

An update finally. Got this in the mail late last week. Now the fun begins.

I have already started cleaning the frame and i have a sandblaster/power coater lined up. Ill post before and after pics of the frame when i get it done.

Moto

 

[Guest]

Wow that's a lot of marine clean

Looking forward to seeing the result...

 

[moto]

Long time no post

Long time no post

well life got in the way as it always does. Anyways i wanted to post an updated picture of the frame. I found a local guy that did the blasting and powder-coating for a good price. So, without further adu.

I do have a question to throw out. Does anyone know of a good way to shine up the rims and the forks. I've read other posts that say to just buff them out, but i figured i'd ask anyways. My plan at this point is to try to get the tires back under this thing, and the frame mostly back together before i tear down the engine.

Thanks,
Moto

 

[Flyboy]

Welcome back, jeeez we thought you took a bath in all those gallons of Marine Clean and dissolved or something,
Yeah, i know about life getting in the way, oh well good to see you have made some good progress, frame looks awesome, keep up the good work.

Does anyone know of a good way to shine up the rims and the forks

Is this shiny enough?

120 grit wet and dry followed by 320 grit followed by 600 grit all used wet, finish up with a white sewn buff on the drill and some red rouge.
Go check out my build thread in my sig, it is all there in gory detail and pics.

 

[Guest]

That frame looks great!

As for shiny, yes Stan knows how to make stuff shiny

On the other hand I used polishing wheels on my bench grinder to polish up the crank cases... cutting compound with sisal wheel, buffing compound with stitched rag, and then polishing with loose calico... seemed to work ok but that's for a different sort of finish than Stan's forks there...

 

[Flyboy]

but that's for a different sort of finish than Stan's forks there...

Hahahaha, the ultimate diplomat, no it ain't, reason I went my route was, thats all I had.

 

[Guest]

Hahahaha, the ultimate diplomat, no it ain't, reason I went my route was, thats all I had.

Well... you know... hahahaha

I thought you were trying for the brushed look though? Maybe I got confused... wouldn't be the first time!

 

[Flyboy]

I was, and failed dismally

 

[Guest]

I was, and failed dismally

Aaaah... but you didn't fail miserably, you just changed your mind on the finish you wanted

 

[moto]

Flyboy i have to hand it to you, those rims look awesome. Pete thanks for the reply as always. You two have given me some direction. I may also look into getting the wheels sand blasted and the black redone with powder coat. Not sure yet, will have to see what the damages are to my wallet.