A complete beginner's complete rebuild.

[Etchasketch]

As a complete beginner I intend to learn a lot about motorcyles, how they work and how to restore/maintain them. I inherited my grandfathers motorcycle a while back and have decided to get it back running. To learn the most I can in the shortest amount of time I have decided to strip down the bike to the frame, clean and polish the peices, replace what needs to be replaced then reassemble it. As a beginner I will need a lot of advice and I will run into a lot of hiccups. That's where you guys come in. (Don't worry im not too lazy to use the search tool and will do so before i pose any questions.) In return I will document the entire process the best I can, and since i have so much free time on my hands I'm hoping to provide a fairly constant stream of updates etc. So without further ado, let's begin.

Here are all the attachents my nono still had on the bike, don't intend to put them back on when im done as i like the look of the bike without them.

Removed the airbox, not in the best shape but nothing a little weather stripping wont fix, but ill get to that later.

Removed the carbs, dirty! I have ordered new orings and will capture the full disassembly and cleaning later.

Here's the bike! ( the valve cover is off as i was doing a valve clearance adjustment, which after i reassemble the bike i realize i will probably have to redo.)

PS - - - a MILLION thanks to bikecliff and everyone who wrote articles on his website, including the one on how to post pictures. They are too great for words.

 

[Hornswaggle]

Welcome aboard and thanks for posting your rebuild thread! Good luck with it and you'll have plenty of expertise around here for any problem you run up against.

 

[mike_of_bbg]

Unless you're planning to disassemble the motor and maybe grind the valve seats, you probably don't have to do another valve adjustment. The motors are pretty solid, that's unlikely something that's needed, unless you're just doing it for fun.

Good luck to you.

 

[Guest]

Well this is jumping into it with both feet. She'll be worthy of a trip across the planet when you're done. Looking forward to the rebuild.

 

[Etchasketch]

Yea, but i adjusted them all to the lower range, they are all in the 0.04-0.05 range. Right when i finished i found a post that said that people generally liked them to be in the higher end of the range. whoops. oh well.

Keep comin with the input. im excited to hear what you guys have to say.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Count me in! Glad to have you posting the rebuild.

 

[Redneck]

Gratz I wish you the best of luck. I am not far from where you are now. Let me give you the first bit of advice I can possibly give you. Bag and Tag everything. I do mean everything. You may get caught up in life something may come along that will delay your project and when it is time to go put things back together if you bag and tag now you will not have to worry about trying to remember what that part is and where it goes. Other than that you have come to the right place.

Paul

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

+1 ... and label every wire connection with masking tape and a sharpie!

 

[Etchasketch]

Part 2

Part 2

Alright so i started taking off all the cosmetic stuff, and simple stuff.

Seat and battery removed, although one of the hinges with the pin was replaced with a bolt and a lockwasher and nut. Does this matter?

After removing the rear frame cover and tail light i found this cord which originally went into the trunk saddlebag ( excuse my lingo ) doesnt look like I need to keep it around. Anyone know if its important without the trunk?

Here i have the rear tail light, frame cover, fender and battery out.

Removed the headlight and found a mess of wires, have no idea what most of them do haha. looks like i'll have to go digging.


Not really sure of what I need to take off next, suggestions ? unsure of the order from here on out.

 

[landshark]

Hey mate,
I have just finished(kind of) the same thing with my '80 1000G. I was the same as you and learnt along the way, with a lot of help from the folks here.

Download everything you need from basscliffs site, judging by your last pic you might want to start with the wiring diagram.

Someone may come along with a better suggestion, but I would look at getting all the wiring disconnected and then the engine out of the frame by laying the bike over onto its side(put something down first!) and lifting the frame off the engine.
It only comes out one way.
Then continue stripping?

 

[Etchasketch]

Part 3

Part 3

Ok, decided to go ahead and remove the wiring harness and battery box.

Did someone say label everything?? (Do you like my names for the electrical on the side of the battery box? If you feel inclined to give me their proper names it would be greatly appreciated.)

This wire pulled off its connector but i have new ones laying around. Will I need to solder anything here?

Sadly the only wire i forgot to label but i have a feeling it goes to the negative end of the battery? Correct?

This guys rubber was broken in two but the wire was ok. where can I get one of these wire covers?

Also removed the speedometer + keyhole. I think I will take the engine next? or handle bars and brakes? Then when I get a stand I will do wheels!

Thanks

-Taylor

 

[SqDancerLynn1]

Pictures help alot when you are trying to figure wire routing & where things go !

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

You can call them Tom, Richard, and Harry for all that matters, just make sure you put the wire "Tom" to part "Tom" when you go back together...
As far as actual terminology goes, Follow the Welcome Package BassCliff sent you to his webpage of goodies and you should be able to download a manual for your bike.

 

[Guest]

Excellent labelling! I did myself no favours when I dismantled mine. No wiring labelling at all, some of my parts ended up in random boxes when moving house, and I've still got a couple of bolts that I have no idea what happened to them so I had to buy replacements.

Next bike I rebuild (if I do another), I will be taking a whole different approach.

Another thing I didn't do was sit any internal parts that weren't going back together for a while in some oil. Crankshafts etc. were left on the bench gathering dust, whereas I really should've coated them in fresh engine oil and wrapped them in plastic or something.

 

[spyug]

Yup masking tape, marker and baggies are your friend......so is a camera. Take some pictures before you start ripping in and in 6 months you'll be able to figure out where things go.

The other thing I always do when dissassembling is to clean off all nuts and bolts and bare metal parts with a wire wheel on my bench grinder as they come off. I have it setup with a brass wire brush and its an easy way for getting all the smutz off parts. I find they are easier to envisage where they go when clean too.

When cleaning frames and plastic parts of road grime and dust I spray with a degreaser (like simply Green) and wipe down with the blue paper shop towels. Once relatively clean I spray with WD40 and wipe dry again. I use the WD on the wiring harness and electrical components as well. It gets the grime off and leaves a shiney finish.

The secret to getting a good result is to take your time and do it thoroughly. Break it down into small jobs and knock off something everyday and you'll get it done in short order.

Now show us what you can do.

Good luck.
Spyug

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Yep, do something every day, no matter how small.... Helps to keep the juices flowing.

 

[Etchasketch]

Part 4

Part 4

Alright, were rounding the bend on the disassembly with part 4! I managed to get quite a bit done, but I had to stop cause I needed a new socket for my wrench right now I'm just in the process of taking the top of the engine off so i can remove it myself a little easier. Once removed the only thing i have left to do is jack it up and remove the tires. Which i plan to do tomorrow.

With that in mind I'm beginning to think about everything I want to do to the bike and its quite overwhelming. As of now I have plans for a Cafe Racer. Here's where I will need the GSR most.

Cafe Racer Mods

-Need to make a new seat with a bumpstop
-Need to replace the handlebars
-New paint job
-New Speedo/Tacho
-Oil Gauge?

That's about it for the visual mods I want to make, but I still don't know what I'm going to do with the engine as I haven't read enough on it yet.

-------Please Shoot me your suggestions or thoughts and I will edit them into these lists so i can keep track of what I need to research --------

Performance Mods

-Change Sprockets? (edit: Just looked up bike specs and realize my bike doesn't even have sprockets its a shaft drive)
-4 In 1 exhaust (Old one is very rusty anyways)
-Pod Filters ( I'd be lying if i said i didnt love the look--- but I want to do them at the same time as the exhaust because It should be easier to jet the carbs?)
-Progressive shocks
-Anything else?

Here are some pictures of my dissasmbly, because pics are never a bad idea. Also, I have about 90 pics on my photobucket of various different joints and how they go together incase anyone might need them for whatever reason. Found below.

http://s1118.photobucket.com/albums/k608/etchasketch2/


Picture time!

Here she is with the oil draining and looking pretty bare. Crazy how much smaller they look when dressed down. I can't get the front fender off because the last bolt got stripped so I'm going to have to get the front wheel off first.

Yikes, this is the joint in the exhaust, not looking so good, on the other pipe there is a hole!

Unfortunately I have stripped about 3 screws. with this guy being the second most painful. Do they make those Allen head bolt replacements for all bolts on the bike? The most painful? One of the cam bearing screws got so stripped i finally filed down the edges to get it off, broke a wrench on it too :/

Me pulling the crankshaft out, definitely one of the funnest things I have done so far! Working on bikes is addictive! I can't get enough.

I also dropped a screw down into the cam chain gap. You know you've made a rookie mistake when you screw up, then look in your manual about one line down from where you've read up to and it says *be careful not to drop anything into the camshaft gap*. Darn-it.

Well that's it for now, don't forget to post suggestions! Also if you would like me to take photos of anything specific for need or just for your viewing pleasure post it and I'll do my best!

Thanks for your support

-Taylor

 

[hillsy]

Why are you pulling the engine apart? You should do a compression test first to see if it needs any top-end work, otherwise you're just spending money on gaskets etc for no real reason.

You can take the motor out of the chassis without having to pull the top end off - just lay the bike on it's RHS, undo the engine mounts and pull the frame off the engine. I use an old mattress to lay the engine on for this process.

And IMO you should just restore the bike to it's original specs (well, maybe some superbike bars and leave off the fairings and panniers). Trying to turn a heavy old shaft drive into a cafe racer is kinda pointless (I know cafe racers are the flavour of the month right now, but that will pass).

Anyway - good luck with it....and keep the pics coming (we LIKE pics!!)

 

[tkent02]

Why are you pulling the engine apart? You should do a compression test first to see if it needs any top-end work, otherwise you're just spending money on gaskets etc for no real reason.

You can take the motor out of the chassis without having to pull the top end off - just lay the bike on it's RHS, undo the engine mounts and pull the frame off the engine. I use an old mattress to lay the engine on for this process.

And IMO you should just restore the bike to it's original specs (well, maybe some superbike bars and leave off the fairings and panniers). Trying to turn a heavy old shaft drive into a cafe racer is kinda pointless (I know cafe racers are the flavour of the month right now, but that will pass).

Anyway - good luck with it....and keep the pics coming (we LIKE pics!!)

+1 on all of this, I love a nice tight cafe but on a GS 850? They are the heaviest of the heavy and notoriously difficult to tune with anything other than the stock intake system. They are also extremely capable and useful bikes in stock form, it's a bit of a shame to waste one when they make such poor cafe bikes... Now if it was a 550 L or something, yeah go for it.
Also wondering about taking the engine apart, does it have 180,000 miles or something? Clanking and banging noises? That's up to you but try not to do any more damage in there, and please keep the pictures coming.

 

[SVSooke]

I will echo what's alrady been said.This is a bike to go lightly on the mods.Maybe a 4>1 but that's about it>You are just starting out best to KISS on this one.The next one you do you might want to take futher.This is where my bike was 5(?) months ago.It is my winter project in my sig thread.Have fun with it.