1982 Suzuki GS750 TZ

[WrenchWannaB]

Well, away we go with another rebuild/restoration/recover thread. As stated in the title this is a:

1982 Suzuki GS750 TZ
17k showing on the odometer
Complete bike

I bought this bike in October 2010 with the hopes of a quick clean of the carbs and I would be able to ride it until the snow fell. After removing the bowls and shooting some carb cleaner through the jets I rinsed out the tank, hooked up a battery, reinstalled carbs and tank then hit the button. It kicked over, sputtered, ran for a short 30 seconds, and died. Well, there goes riding until winter. I pulled the carbs back out, airbox, tank, and battery. Threw a motorcycle cover, not a tarp, over her and let her sit until this spring finally came.

Some pics of when I bought her, minus the engine guard and rear luggage rack. Busted the bolt holding the left rear turn signal when removing the luggage rack. You can see it dangling there, I will say it is the least of my worries for now.

Plans? Just running and rideable for now ...

 

[zeebob]

love the "T"... got one meself this fall... mine's actually a TD... BassCliff should be along with an official welcome and links to GS wisdom. Please keep us updated with pics and progress reports... for my part... Welcome brother.

 

[WrenchWannaB]

Two posts in one day!

Two posts in one day!

Wow I must be crazy to post twice in the same day, but it's raining and I get tired of cruising Ebay hoping for parts priced right. Thanks for the welcome fellow T owner. Here is the work that has been done so far:

Tank sent for a three week soak at the local radiator shop, semi stripped, and black Rustoleum primered up. Notice I couldn't get the side stickers off but wanted to just prime it to keep the rust away.

Whilst the tank was taking its bath, the carbs and fuel petcock were disassembled, dipped in some Berryman's, and reassembled with fresh gaskets and O-rings. I sync'd up the carbs the best I could but have yet to use a gauge. After they were back together I really didn't want to put them back on, they were so clean!

Airbox was cleaned, sealed, and new stock air filter replaced the old rotten one. Changed the oil and oil filter, used off the shelf Valvoline 4 Stroke 10W-40 that had wet clutch specifically on the label. Judging from the discussions I see on this forum I might hear a lot about my oil choice. Got her back together with a freshly charged battery, new fuel lines, new valve cover gasket after setting clearances, and put the mirrors on just for fun. Turned the key, hit the start button, and we have ignition!! :dancing:

As you can see it is mostly dirty and not a lot of rust here. I bought some used shocks off Ebay since the current are shot and springs heavily rusted. I figure starting on the front end then moving to the rear end to get her road ready. Now for the fun part, the ISSUES:

Idles inconsistant but I figure that is the carbs needing sync'd. I have it at the factory recommended 1500 rpm idle but when I twist the throttle slightly it jumps up, settles at 2000 rpm, then slowly backs down to 1500 rpm. Any ISSUES here that I should worry about?

I let her run about five minutes and she started to smoke out the left side exhaust only. Not a huge plume but as if it is leaking oil from the piston rings. Also the 4th cylinder doesn't get as hot at the pipe as the other three. I have not pulled the plugs to check running condition yet but am hoping if I can find a set of stock rings for all pistons that will take care of the smoke issue. As for the 4th cylinder not as hot I think it may be the carb is still a little dirty. Any thoughts on these?

Lastly, I can't get the bike to shift. I was freaked out at first then I researched the forum and saw that a bike had issues with the sprocket cover rusted to the shift shaft. Low and behold I tried removing the sprocket cover and it wouldn't come off the shift shaft. How can I get this off with blasting it with a hammer?

 

[WrenchWannaB]

It's a keeper!

It's a keeper!

Today confirmed that I will be keeping this bike (even with all of its faults) after I was able to get the sprocket cover off and have a look behind it. It was dirty, pictures to follow soon I promise, but I stuck the shift pedal back on and was able to put it down into first no problems. The sprocket cover was stuck up on the shift shaft due to just a lot of grime and grease build up. Jiggling, wiggling, and some light taps with a mallet over an hour got the cover off. I was pretty spent! Actually my neighbor came outside when he heard the ruckus and did most of the work, he is a mechanic and I guess couldn't help himself. I kept telling him not to worry about it, really I was getting upset he was doing the work as it is not as satisfying when you don't get it done.

Oh well, he did give me some great insight to my running issues. Again I started it up and it would sputter and smoke more than run. He looked at the exhaust, stuck a hand back there, twisted the throttle, and pointed out I had particles shooting out the back. So rusty exhaust goes on the list as well but I have been eyeing those Mac 4 to 1 exhausts anyways.

I did reach my two goals of running and shifting the transmission, so she is title worthy and I will be switching that over to my name officially. Work will probably slow as my impeding move gets closer and closer. I did score some great used shocks off Ebay that I will put on this week, but will probably stock pile some parts and save funds so I can really dig in and get a relatively quick turn around once I get settled in to me new digs. And ofcourse study up on the forum!

 

[Guest]

Man you have got the bug, is now too late for you. Cheering you on from afar T brother.:dancing:

 

[WrenchWannaB]

Rattle Rattle Rattle ...

Rattle Rattle Rattle ...

Yesterday I went home for lunch and decided to let the bike run a little bit. I tried starting her up and she wouldn't fire, so I blew in the vent tubes and tried again. This time she started right up so I am dealing with a fuel issue at the moment. That was not the most interesting part of the day. As she was running, I was standing next to her looking for leaks, oil, smoke, and listening to the valves when all the sudden from the stator cover I heard a pop and rattle. I hit the kill switch nanoseconds after it happened. Flipped it back on, hit the starter, and nothing. No engine turn or anything.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be clear as it is raining right now. Looks like the stator cover is coming off a little sooner than anticipated, but now I will have good pictures of the grimy sprocket and whatever busted behind the stator cover. Hoping it was just the starter chain and nothing else!!