1980 GS850 G - The green machine

[SushiStalker]

Hi All

Picked up a 1980 GS850 G with 30,000miles on it from a friend. It needs alot of work but after finding this site and BikeCliff's. I'm ready to tackle it.
I've tinkered with small engines and done some basic car work, bu nothing on bikes. So there is going to be a learning curve.

This is probably going to be a long rebuild, time and budget will dictate the progress.

Bikes been stripped down to the frame, motor and wheel. Motorcycle jack is on the BUY list, to complete the tear down.

Originally the bike had cases, velorex sidecar, full fairing. here's a photo from 92 looking polished and ready to go. Unfortunately that's all long gone and all I have is the bike.

Current state

Couple of ?'s for the pro's

All 3 caliper seem to be seized, they are currently bathing in PB. Next stop will be the grease gun. If that doesn't work I'll be hunting Ebay and CL or options.

Master cylinder on the front is done also, plastic res. is brittle and nasty.

What are some of the better or compatible options I should be looking for?

Also what type of shocks are these? Anything special?

Tubes are alittle pitted toward the top.

Rear's are Koni, and in the photo it got a telefix brace that is still on just minus the label.

Thanks in advance for the replies, I'll post more as I go.

 

[7981GS]

WOW! What an undertaking!
Those upper fork tubes look close to the worst that I have ever seen.
You really have some work to do.

Daniel

 

[SushiStalker]

Yea well metal kinda rust's up quick here in the northeast, living a few miles from the ocean doesn't help either with the salty air.

 

[Guest]

Looks like you've got the makings of a great bike there. Those forks aren't that bad, as long as the pitting is up high you've got nothing to worry about. The front forks are nothing special, someone has just installed an air line to the other shock so you only have to fill one side with air and it 'should' equal out to the same PSI on the other side as well, a typical mod they used to do. Now a days it's typical to replace those worn out front fork springs with progressive springs and then you don't have to deal with air in the forks at all. Your front master cylinder is all replaceable with OEM stuff if you want or just get a good used one, they're cheap either way. That fork brace is a nice item as are the Koni's, totally rebuildable. I think you're going to be surprised at how little it is going to cost you to get her back together and running dependably. And welcome to the site.

 

[G. Bruns]

You can pick up a new front master cylindr reservoir for about $50 at Z1Enterprises. I found a lot of parts for my 850 there and PartsnMore.

 

[SushiStalker]

You can pick up a new front master cylindr reservoir for about $50 at Z1Enterprises. I found a lot of parts for my 850 there and PartsnMore.

+1 on partsnmore
30 sec. and I found it. $33

 

[SushiStalker]

Start on the carbs today, cleaned off as much of junk as I could in a lasagna pan before I broke them down, Inside were pretty clean

And put some time in at the wire wheel, clean up various things(bowls, caps, shifter, brake, foot pegs) If I can't clean it with the wheel, it will most likely get painted.



3 out 4 are pretty good.

One ugly duck on the right Close up

Pilot screw head was stripped pretty bad on this one also.
Tried my worst to get it out but even the micro thread on the wall were done. Looks like I be needs 1 carb. or carb body.

Local CL has guy parting out a 81 GS850G.....waiting on a text back.


Next step some more cleaning and rebuild kits

 

[7981GS]

Coming along nicely except for the pilot jet.
I bought a tap to clean-up the threads on those. It was about $4.00 and I had to special order it.
No charge for the shipping so, it was priced fairly.
I follow the same rule: If it doesn't look good enough after the wheel, paint it and ride it!

Keep at it, they WANT to work again!

Daniel

 

[SushiStalker]

Picked up a set of carbs and a Airbox for $60 today from CL's, came off a 81 GS850 carbs looked exactly the same, except the one side they have MIKUNI and a full KOGYO. Original Carb on my bike you can only make of the "K" of KOGYO. Look like it's just a different mold but the same model.

? Where are the Model numbers/identification marks on these carb's?
I can barely make out some print toward the top.

Anyway
And I ran into the same problem....pilot screw would just not move. Hit it with PB, tapped it a few times, hit with the PD again, put a torch to it for, 3hrs later no luck. So at this point the screw head was looking pretty sad. Wasn't too concern I have 3 extra carb's now.

I started to drill it out thinking I was going to go the extractor method. But I stopped and took a breather before doing any more damage.

Did some internet research, and found a method of hacksawing down and creating a new groove for the screwdriver.

more PB, a tight fitting screwdriver with a vise grip for added torque....yahtzee

Should have done this on the original carb o-well lesson learned. Now I have few more spare parts.

Hopefully I have enough thread to tune it once I rebuild. If not I'll figure something out to fill the gap.

 

[Good Times]

I guess there's more than one way to skin a cat.

 

[Nessism]

The plugs circled below are not supposed to come out...but sometimes they don't listen. When confronted with a similar situation on my carbs I used JB Weld to reattach them to the carb body. Also, Suzuki used some small washer like flat O-rings on top of those plugs so make sure the float bowl seals properly. You might want to fabricate something if you lost the sealing washers or if they are in bad shape.

 

[Guest]

Hey Ed, I'm about to put my carbs back together and a couple of those plugs are falling out on mine. I was hoping to just put the oring back in and the gasket over top and that would be that but is it necessary to JB weld them back in? I'm guessing you just put a thin film of JB around the side of the plug and pop it in?

 

[JimmyR]

Once I had my carbs all pulled apart I got the bodies, float bowls and caps cleaned by a local carb specialist. He dips them in various acids and they come out looking almost like new. It was only after this that I could get my carbs to work properly. And they looked a heck of a lot better too.

 

[SushiStalker]

I'm back to resurrect my build thread.

Replaced the clutch springs, steering bearing & race's(that was fun), rebuilt the carbs. Polished up the covers.

Picked up wheel bearings, and complete set of front calibers with pad's master cylinder & SS lines off 82 gs1000(master cylinder has cup style res.)


Teared down the front forks today, made the special tool out some threaded rod and 19mm(1/2") nut's....looks like I have progressive springs upfront also.

Going have to order the golf cart/motorcycle coil compressor for the rears.
That and rebuild kits for both the front and back.



Yes I know I'm missing a screw on one of the carbs, and the bands. Searching for nicer hardware. I would like to swap out the screws for allen's

There a little dusty

I'm torn paint of polish the lowers.....did quick polish on one.

Bofore....

current state..

 

[Good Times]

Hey hey, you're doing good work there. She's looking MUCH mo better. You can get you as Allens for the carbs at stainlesscycle.com .

 

[oldgsfan]

Wow that motor looks fantastic! Your bike's really coming along nicely.

 

[SushiStalker]

Went with the polish over paint.
My little variable speed grinder is going to need some new brush's after this rebuild.

Seals don't look bad, oil was green. Anybody know the make of green fork oil? Quick search came up with FOX.

I replaced the stem valve, holding on to the old one rubber seal dosen't quite look the same. Now I'm on the hunt for some brass air fitting to match.

What should the shock air pressure be?
I thought of putting a mini gauge on it. Just for looks

Saved alot of time with Peel Away. I used in my house on some old shellacked moldings. One took 20 or 30 min and the clear coat came right off. Saved alot of wire wheel time. Did a test spot on caliper and within a few min I could see metal. Seems a lot safer then Tal-Strip.

I have my three go to liquid restore solutions.

Rust = Evapo Rust
De-greaser = Pine Sole
Paint = Peel Away