1980 gs850g restoration

[Guest]

A little over a week ago, this was supposed to have been a GS1000G restoration thread, but while pulling the heads I discovered I had been sold a GS850G with GS1000G side covers. That's another story, but I'm proceeding with at least putting new gaskets in, valve shim adjustment, and carb cleaning. Paint and likely a custom tail cowling will follow eventually.

Here she is as purchased for $500 and a $100 delivery fee:

 

[Guest]

Here it is with the upper end of the motor stripped down.

Here are some shots of the pieces parts. Note the abundance of oil on everything....it was leaking badly. The lower gasket between the cylinder block and crankcase looked pretty bad....hoping that's the major cause.

 

[bbjumper]

Base gasket leaking like that is fairly common with the 850. Don't forget the tach drive and cam chain tensioner and valve guide seals while your at it.

Been my experience, if all of the gasket, orings and seals replaced will keep your gs dry and clean and running for longer than you probably will.

 

[Wingsconsin]

My GS850GL had similar leaks (not quite as much oil) when I got it last fall.
Over the winter. with the help of a good friend, we replaced the entire gasket set as well as rebuilt carbs
and all the other things like valves, valve seals, etc.

Now my 850 will likely run for quite some time for me. I LOVE my 850 and one day you too will learn to love this bike
The 850 , once properly set-up , is one of the legendary reliable engines from the era. With minimum maintenance it will just keep going...

Today she looks like ...

 

[Jmanor]

My GS850GL had similar leaks (not quite as much oil) when I got it last fall.
Over the winter. with the help of a good friend, we replaced the entire gasket set as well as rebuilt carbs
and all the other things like valves, valve seals, etc.

Now my 850 will likely run for quite some time for me. I LOVE my 850 and one day you too will learn to love this bike
The 850 , once properly set-up , is one of the legendary reliable engines from the era. With minimum maintenance it will just keep going...

Today she looks like ...

Inspiring, picked up a 82 1100GL and doesn't run but turns. It has been sitting for many years so trying to restore it. Looking at what you have been doing and where you are now with it, makes me believe it can be finished. been reading on the forum, no only do they look good but are great engines. Do you have a pic of when you first got it? Thanks for the motivation.

 

[Guest]

That's pretty! (and inspiring.....sigh....some day!)

 

[Guest]

While waiting for all my gaskets to arrive, I've been spending time cleaning the oil/grease off everything. Took a glance inside the head, and noted that the back side of the #2 exhaust valve looks white compared to black on others. Should I be concerned? It also happens to be the same cylinder that has a header pipe that was crushed to about 50% air flow.....would that be an assignable cause?

 

[sinkankan]

Small tip for the wary.
Be careful and check the new gaskets when they arrive for the tappet cover, the one I got in the Suzuki gasket set, had two holes that didn't line up on the two front bolt holes. And it didn't have the right o-ring for the final drive. It was the correct part number on the packet, but no matter which way you flipped it it was wrong.
I'm having to get parts dealers to confirm with a hard yes/no that it's the correct part after a major stuff up with a handle bar switch. (Still ongoing)

 

[Big T]

While waiting for all my gaskets to arrive, I've been spending time cleaning the oil/grease off everything. Took a glance inside the head, and noted that the back side of the #2 exhaust valve looks white compared to black on others. Should I be concerned? It also happens to be the same cylinder that has a header pipe that was crushed to about 50% air flow.....would that be an assignable cause?

Most likely a tight valve in need of adjustment

You should pull all of the valves and check the seats, get everything cleaned up and post up some pics. you need to install new valve stem seals anyway

 

[Guest]

Most likely a tight valve in need of adjustment

You should pull all of the valves and check the seats, get everything cleaned up and post up some pics. you need to install new valve stem seals anyway

Thanks...I'm pretty sure the valve seals got replaced when the PO replaced the valve cover gasket, as there were used ones in the gasket kit he bought. I do plan to check the clearances and adjust as necessary.

 

[Guest]

Progress as of October 30th, 2014

Progress as of October 30th, 2014

Progress as of October 30th, 2014:

I've been spending the last week or so cleaning and painting motor parts while waiting for all the gaskets and O-rings to arrive. Now that they're here, I've managed to get the cylinder block back in place. Kind of a PITA, but with some finesse, patience, and multiple attempts, it's in place. I used band clamps to help hold the rings in place. With the cold weather setting in, and the kid's basketball and musical seasons in full swing now, it'll probably be a slow go from here on, but I'll do what I can and will post updates.

 

[Guest]

Got the Heads in Place

Got the Heads in Place

I managed to get the head gasket and O-rings in place last night. It's not tightened down yet, but I have the chain fed through it, the crush washers in place, and it's about ready.

 

[JTGS850GL]

Maybe it's just me but I would think that, if I went through all the trouble of tearing down the engine, I would have taken the time to paint it up nice and even. Seems like you rushed painting the head a bit. It is your bike though so do as you wish.

 

[Guest]

Maybe it's just me but I would think that, if I went through all the trouble of tearing down the engine, I would have taken the time to paint it up nice and even. Seems like you rushed painting the head a bit. It is your bike though so do as you wish.

The pics are large, and taken up close with a fairly high res camera under bright flash. Things looks different standing 8-10 feet away under normal light than the pics do. It's true that I didn't take much time to make the hidden areas as pretty.It probably won't look new, but once the covers, pipes, and carbs are all back on, it'll look much better. The primary goal was to stem the oil leak, but some cosmetic improvements are logical and nice to have too.

 

[Nessism]

Replacing the valve stem seals should be considered mandatory unless you know for a fact that they have been done recently. Replacing the intake boot O-rings too. As far as gaskets are concern, hope you are using OEM parts. At least the base and head gaskets. While the top end is off it's a good time to replace seals in the tach drive and cam chain tensioner. It's just a little extra work, but it will provide lasting peace of mind.

Good luck and keep going...

 

[Guest]

It's been quite a while since I updated this thread, and since so many of you folks have been so helpful, I figured I owed you an update!

Truth be told, I haven't spent as much time on the 850 this year as I had hoped....life, family, work, and time with my current GS750 all seem to get in the way. Nonetheless, I did get the shim replacements installed, got it back together earlier this summer, only to run into snags getting the air box on. A different air box with intake boots that were in much better shape seemed to solve that issue, and it slipped right in place. I've had it fired up briefly a couple of times, which was very encouraging to a newb like me who's never really delved this deep into a motor before. I still need to look closely for air leaks, as it seems to be running pretty lean. I took it for a short ride around the neighborhood, but it's no where near as smooth as it should be.

I also needed to replace the choke cable, but that was pretty easy and not very costly. It still needs a lot of cosmetic TLC, and hopefully some real paint at some point. I slapped on a crude coat of flat black for several wrong reasons....so it would more closely match the registration description of my '79 GS750, who's plate I borrowed while tooling around the neighborhood (let's keep that one between us, ok?!) ;-). I'll update with more pics as things progress. For now, the most recent pics I have is of the motor, carbs, and air box after installing them.

Thanks again for all the guidance from so many of you here.