picking up the pieces 81 gs850g

[Burque73]

Well, I finally got the gs850g I had wanted. Some assembly required though:nightmare: The PO had removed most of the brake systems, top end, and started to dismantle the head. I got all of the parts meticulously bagged and labeled, a manual (haynes published a year before this bike was made) a windshield, and several extras.

Looks like I won't be riding for a while, but will have fun wrenching!View attachment 45771

View attachment 45772


I'll definitely be seeking the wisdom you all have been so generous to share, thanks in advance to all of you!

 

[ShadowFocus603]

I like the paint. Do you know why PO felt it necessary to strip the bike to such a degree? Hope it's a relatively easy reassembly for you.

 

[Burque73]

Well it was a snowball effect. As far as the head, the spark plugs stripped leading to helicoils on two plugs, some exhaust bolts also broke off, and valve oil seals were going to be changed. He started removing valves and got a few out before he stopped. They are labeled which cylinder with springs and seats in ziplock bags. Looks like maybe the seals were bad and it was burning oil. There is a lot of black yuck on the pistons and under the head. He started to clean the head but didn't finish. Is it worth repairing this head, or should I just pick up a new one?

View attachment 45793
It won't let me post another pic. This is frustrating. So many hours spent trying to share pics. I really want to share what I'm working on but it doesn't work. I just set up a photobucket account and loaded a ton of pics onto it. How do you carry them over to this forum?

 

[Burque73]

I just tried to add another pic. I watched the file load, the window closed, but the pic must have been lost in cyberspace. When I tried again it loaded and the red, file failed icon appeared.

Help please

 

[Burque73]

Well looky there, it did attach the pic. Here's another, pistons this time. I'll lift the cylinder and replace the gasket underneath. There are no signs of wear on cylinder walls, just black carbon on pistons. Should I leave the rings, or change them anyway? Maybe clean the carbon?
View attachment 45795

 

[Burque73]

Check out this oil filter cover. It doesn't look anything like my 82 1100L's. Is this a temp sensor?View attachment 45796

 

[Steve]

You can post more than one picture at a time if you host them somewhere like Photobucket. Then you copy the IMG link for that picture and post it here in your thread. You can post up to 10 pictures per post that way.

.

 

[Burque73]

Nice, I'll try that. Thank you

 

[Burque73]

I like the paint. Do you know why PO felt it necessary to strip the bike to such a degree? Hope it's a relatively easy reassembly for you.

My wife has been wearing this orange and white shirt, and had a vitamin water drink in an orange and white bottle, then I saw this bike on Craigslist. It's like she was sending me subliminal messages to get this one!

It will be very challenging for me to reassemble it. With the shop manual on Cliff's website, the Haynes manual, and the wealth of info on this site I'll be fine. May take a while though. I just really wanted a GS850G. Gotta be careful what I ask for huh?

 

[Burque73]

Here is the threaded insert for the spark plugs. There are two and they're not tightened yet. View attachment 45804

 

[ShadowFocus603]

The head and pistons look pretty good to me. Maybe just lap the valves so you have clean seats.

 

[Burque73]

I'm still trying to figure out the photobucket thing. Hope this works.

I hadn't read about lapping valves yet. I'll keep digging and reading. Took my wife to the mall yesterday and while she was looking at shoes I was browsing the forum. Never thought I'd say this but she should really slow down sometimes!

 

[Burque73]

You can post more than one picture at a time if you host them somewhere like Photobucket. Then you copy the IMG link for that picture and post it here in your thread. You can post up to 10 pictures per post that way.

.

Thank you!!
That's much better. The other way felt like waiting for the color on the Polorid picture to show up!!

 

[Burque73]

One reason I decided to go ahead and purchase this bike was the electrical mods the PO had done. He is an aircraft mechanic and had done some really neat work to the bike. There are relays for the ignition, headlight, and horn circuits. The horn on my 82 1100L left a lot to be desired, so I was happy to hear this one. He also installed another fuse panel just for the relays, re-routed the headlight loop from the stator straight to the R/R, completed the single point ground, installed a (daytime) pulsing headlight, and a flux capacitor (which is what makes time travel possible) OK not really but imagine!!!

 

[Nessism]

One of the photos seems to suggest that when the spark plug hole was enlarged for the threaded insert that they hit the valve seats. If that's the case I'd ditch the head and start searching ebay for a replacement. Be sure to get a 1980 and newer head, the 1979 version had smaller intake ports because those bikes came with VM type carbs.

Also, if the valve seats are okay and you just need an insert, I'd try to find a machine shop that can install Timeserts for you. They are much more durable than using helicoils or auto parts store spark plug repair threads.

 

[Burque73]

It does look like that, but didn't hit the valve. Almost though!

 

[Burque73]

Ok, I haven't given up on this head yet. I called around Albuquerque and left messages at some machine shops about timeserts, no return call yet. I'll try again tomorrow. In the mean time I decided to try and remove a couple of exhaust bolts that had snapped off. If I couldn't get these out without really screwing up the threads, then I wouldn't worry about the helicoil, timesert issue and just replace the whole head. Thankfully there was still a little of the bolt outside the head to work with. I decided to weld a nut onto the bolt and thought I could unscrew it that way.

It worked, well almost. It loosened the bolt a half turn then snapped off again.

Next I decided to grind a slot into the bolt and unscrew it with an impact driver.

Success!!

Now the other one. This one wouldn't cooperate at all. Tried the same techniques alternating heat, PB blaster, welding the nut on, grinding the slot thing and no dice, it broke off flush with the head. Have to get easy outs tomorrow and try drilling.

 

[Burque73]

After work I was able to get the second exhaust bolt drilled out and used a tap to re thread the hole. It took a while as I used three bits, increasing in diameter as I went. The valve seals arrived last night, but not the compresser tool. Maybe next week. Napa around the corner has a grand opening sale today. I'll check on valve lapping compound, degreasers, cleaners, and anything else I may need for getting this project going. Oh, I ordered a complete gasket set, should be here in a couple of weeks. Checked with Chef on rebuilding the carbs and plan to ship them shortly. Brake lines, caliper rebuilds, then test ride. Ugh, maybe this fall I'll ride!! Waited 25 years for this bike so what's another month or three! Here's some pics of the drilled and tapped exhaust bolt.

 

[ShadowFocus603]

Congrats getting those bolts out. Happy for you.

 

[Burque73]

Can someone advise me on the valve guide seals? I am planning on changing the oil seals, but didn't plan on removing the valve guides unless it's advisable.