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gs450 re-build

  • Thread starter Thread starter mlc216
  • Start date Start date
haha well I know the surface needs to be clean.... my mom is an art teacher.... and I've been using nothing but rattlecans for a long time.... So maybe all that added together equals a mediocre paint job? Haha

It's far from perfect... but it is a whole lot better with the clear laid down this afternoon. :D
 
mlc216 said:
haha well I know the surface needs to be clean.... my mom is an art teacher.... and I've been using nothing but rattlecans for a long time.... So maybe all that added together equals a mediocre paint job? Haha

It's far from perfect... but it is a whole lot better with the clear laid down this afternoon. :D
Click to expand...
WTF? You did this with rattlecans? It looks REALLY good :). So next up, you gotta wetsand the clear coat with 2000 grit sandpaper until there is no more orange peel. Yes, the clear coat will look dull and not shiny but that's a good thing. After that, you polish the clear coat with a buffer. I hear Meguiars is good.
 
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Haha I'm hoping one day I can be a wizard of rattlecans. I don't have a large enough compressor to paint yet. One day.

I actually know all about the cut-n-buff.... but I don't have a buffer and I have to move on to other things now! I'm ready to ride!!!
 
Mate that tank looks awesome!

I got myself a compressor just after Christmas that had a hose and spray guns go with it for free, so once I get to my tank and stuff I should be set as far as tools go.

If I can get them to look half as good as your tank I'll be happy...
 
:o Well now you guys are just making me blush haha

But seriously I think I'm more surprised than anyone else at how good the tank looks now... I hope the rattlecan engine clear truly is "resistant to oil and gas" like it says...
 
SUCCESS!!! FInished up wiring in the new igniter, poured some gas in the tank, and it fired right up! Firing on both cylinders! Adjusted the idle a little bit and took it for a spin. WOW! This thing makes way more power than I thought it could. It was pulling all the way through the range and pulling the front end up!

I'm pumped that I've finally gotten some good results. Gonna put my new throttle on tomorrow and I've got to fix my crappy ignition switch too.
 
Well I spoke too soon. I don't think it's charging and it's lean in the mid to upper range still.... After riding it around the neighborhood yesterday and today it died at a stop sign and would barely turn the starter over. Couldn't get it to start back up to put a voltmeter on it to check if it was charging. And when I rev'd it up it wouldn't come back down to idle.... it just hung up in the mid to higher rpms and if I applied the choke it died back down
 
Hey pete, do you know what size the main jets are supposed to be stock?
 
Main jet should be a 115. FYI it has the stock sizes in the parts fiche for all the jets and needles etc. which is really handy.

If it's not going well mid-throttle though, you probably need to look at shimming the needles rather than touching the mains. If it's WOT, then mains. Of course if it's both, well... it's both :)

I'd also be checking that charging system ASAP if I was you, don't want to burn up another ignitor!
 
pete said:
Main jet should be a 115. FYI it has the stock sizes in the parts fiche for all the jets and needles etc. which is really handy.

If it's not going well mid-throttle though, you probably need to look at shimming the needles rather than touching the mains. If it's WOT, then mains. Of course if it's both, well... it's both :)

I'd also be checking that charging system ASAP if I was you, don't want to burn up another ignitor!
Click to expand...

I think it had a 115 and I pulled what I think was a 130 out of the other set of carbs... which is a huge difference?! I didn't shim the needles because it looked kind of weird to me. They were different than the other set of carbs... had a c-clip way down in the slide holding the needle in whereas the others just had a piece of plastic and the spring.

Will it burn up another ignitor if it's NOT charging? I cranked it back up a little later and hooked a voltmeter up to the battery and rev'd it and it read 12.3v and never went any higher than that. Earlier when it was too dead to turn the starter over, it still read 12v when the ignition was off. I'm starting to think I don't know anything about electrical systems...

Man cars are so much easier! haha why do bikes have to be so much more fun to ride!
 
What year carbs are the others? They changed significantly in the '83 model year...

If it's not generating too high a voltage I think your ignitor should be safe.

If it's only showing 12.3 it sounds like it's not charging at all, or at least not enough to keep the coils/plugs firing along with charging the battery etc.

Go through the stator papers and charging system troubleshooting guide on the main GSR page, that will help you immensely if you have a charging issue.

Oh, and cars are boring... :p
 
The set I have on the bike now are from the '82 model... no clue what the other set of carbs are... They came on the chopper when I got it and it's definitely a mixed match bike.

I read how to test the alternator in the Clymer manual? Is it really any more complicated than that test to figure out if it's bad or not?

I figured I'd test the alternator when I get home, and if it's good then I'll switch out the reg/rec. If the alternator is bad, well that's one more thing I'll rob from my wife's project bike that she has pretty much decided she doesn't want haha.
 
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mlc216 said:
The set I have on the bike now are from the '82 model... no clue what the other set of carbs are... They came on the chopper when I got it and it's definitely a mixed match bike.
Click to expand...

Hmmm I guess see if they have some markings on the body somewhere? I think they're supposed to have the model on them, but I don't know a whole lot about the different carbs, just that the '80 - '82 used the BS34SS and the '83 onward changed to something a bit different.

The good thing with the later carbs is that Dynojet sell a stage 3 jet kit for them, whereas they only have a stage 1 kit for the BS34SS.

I read how to test the alternator in the Clymer manual? Is it really any more complicated than that test to figure out if it's bad or not?

I figured I'd test the alternator when I get home, and if it's good then I'll switch out the reg/rec. If the alternator is bad, well that's one more thing I'll rob from my wife's project bike that she has pretty much decided she doesn't want haha.
Click to expand...

The stator papers etc. will get you testing the stator as well as the R/R, so everything in the charging circuit is covered off as to whether it's good or bad.

There's a very easy to follow flow chart there.
 
I'll check out the carbs and see what I can find on them.

I did the no load test and didn't get 75 volts from the alternator. Actually didn't get much of anything... So I guess my stator is toast. Hope the one on the other bike is ok!
 
Ok so I thought it was weird that I didn't get much and apparently I had the voltmeter set on DC instead of AC.... 3 phase, duh! So I went back out and tested again and two combinations gave me about 66v and one combo gave me like 34v. So, the stator is still bad. I also ordered a new rectifier today from a source who has them for 42.50 shipped! So I'm going to switch the stator over from the other bike and put the new r/r on and hopefully all will be well then.
 
I think sooner or later the 30 year old wiring craps out and kills the stator and/or regulator/rectifier.

So I've decided to make a few changes... This motor:
70d8dbb2.jpg


Is going in the chopper:
ec115f93.jpg


But not before some cleaning and polishing:
be6d3994.jpg


Here's a good comparison:
09f22fff.jpg


Stripped it down to nothing, redid the battery tray, smoothed out a few things, and made a mount for new switches.
cdc4f6ca.jpg


And then it got a few coats of paint
236247d7.jpg


Much more to come tomorrow
 
Man you work fast!!!

You'll definitely notice the difference with the polishing.

Why the motor swap? Anything in particular wrong with the original?

Frame looks good with some paint too.
 
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