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Progress!!! 1978 GS1000E Restoration/Performance Rebuild

azr said:
Wow, fantastic work. Congrats, that's got to feel pretty damn good.
Click to expand...

It's both a money pit and a labor of love...

I had a buddy once tell me "If you're doing a full restoration and have any money left at the end, you did it wrong..." :D
 
Fjbj40 said:
Such a true statement!!
Click to expand...

I stopped counting how much $$$ I have dumped into this project... Although I'm not reckless, at some point, it's not about the $$$ anymore - it's about craftsmanship, detail, and creating something beautiful.

The trick will be installing the engine in the frame and avoiding any damage - I have a plan :wink:
 
I've really enjoyed following this thread. Thanks for all your time to keep this thing going.

Beautiful results.
 
Couldn't you at least have wiped some of the grime off with a rag before you took the photos? :biggrin:
 
Looking really good Anthony. Make sure you don't mix up the lower front motor mount bolts (below the crankshaft), as one is slightly longer than the other. If you tighten the longer one on the wrong side, it punches a hole into the engine cases ......Billy
 
BadBillyB said:
Looking really good Anthony. Make sure you don't mix up the lower front motor mount bolts (below the crankshaft), as one is slightly longer than the other. If you tighten the longer one on the wrong side, it punches a hole into the engine cases ......Billy
Click to expand...

Ha! Thanks for the reminder - this was fresh in my mind, as I remember a thread about somebody accidentally venting his engine case by unintentionally swapping the bolts. However, all of the bolts I removed were placed in plastic bags and marked with their respective locations/positions.
 
60956255.jpg
 
philosopheriam said:
Ha! Thanks for the reminder - this was fresh in my mind, as I remember a thread about somebody accidentally venting his engine case by unintentionally swapping the bolts. However, all of the bolts I removed were placed in plastic bags and marked with their respective locations/positions.
Click to expand...

You took every single bolt and put it in it's own plastic bag?? crazy detail man........crazy.....but makes absolute sense with the work you're doing. If you saw my shed and how I work you'd probably have a seizure.
 
azr said:
You took every single bolt and put it in it's own plastic bag?? crazy detail man........crazy.....but makes absolute sense with the work you're doing. If you saw my shed and how I work you'd probably have a seizure.
Click to expand...

Hahaha me too. All the bits and pieces for the carbs for 750L #1 got tossed into a common pot (small plastic tote) during disassembly. To be fair all my other bikes the parts have been individually bagged but the carbs on this bike were so bad I'm STILL not sure they'll be salvageable. Anthony your bike is one of the pinnacle builds of this site. And I say that even after having read in their entirety the builds on Stan's (Flyboy) 1000G and Dale's (Rustybronco) Skunk etc. Awesome work and attention to detail.
 
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Looking real good. I know from experience the work involved in getting a fork leg to look like that. If you don't mind me asking, what did the chrome work cost and who did it for you? I have a few pieces to do for mine.
 
jsandidge said:
Looking real good. I know from experience the work involved in getting a fork leg to look like that. If you don't mind me asking, what did the chrome work cost and who did it for you? I have a few pieces to do for mine.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I would not use the shop that did this chrome work again - what you can't see in the photos is some pitting on the surface of the speedo covers. Instead of calling me and telling me that the pieces are pitted badly and the finish may not come out perfect, they did it anyway and charged me the same amount. Lesson learned, I won't use them again. In reality, if they really gave a hoot, the pits could have been filled with copper or silver solder. This would have required more effort and expense, but I wasn't even offered the option. Am I making a mountain out of a molehill - perhaps. It just that if I was the artisan running that chrome shop, I would not in conscience have been able to give those speedo covers to a customer as a "finished product."

BTW: Chrome work ain't cheap, either...

As for the fork leg, it wasn't as bad as you might think - I used my soda blaster to remove the laquer, and then I progressively buffed the fork using black compound with a glued cotton wheel, red compound with a stiched buff, red compound with a loose buff, and green compound with a loose buff. When I'm finished assembling the fork, I will put some MAAS polishing cream on it to protect the finish.
 
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More progress!

Front forks are rebuilt with the exception of the seals and new drain screws/gaskets which haven't been installed yet. The piston rings, damper bolt copper washers, and upper fork bushings are all new. If anyone is curious, the parts fiche for the 1978 GS1000E does not show a part number for the upper bushings - I measured the existing ones and sourced a matching set from Racetech. Getting the old ones out was a bit of a bugger, as the bushings sit nearly blind into the fork tube. So, I sharpened a screwdriver and found the section where the bushings are split. Gently, I worked the screwdriver with a hammer underneath the bushing and curled it upward so it could finally be removed with a set of pliers. If you nick the bushing seating surface, it's no biggie, just polish it smooth with some fine emery cloth - it isn't a sealing surface, and as long as you don't gouge the snot out of it, the bushing will seat just fine. There are no lower bushings on these forks.

I was going to reuse the original tubes but they were pitted beyond my liking - they were replaced with a set of Tarozzi tubes from Fast From the Past. I will be installing a set of Racetech springs with 10w Fuchs Silkolene oil, and I am having a machine shop make a set of fork caps that have a 19mm hex on top of the cap (the stock caps with air valves just look ugly, IMHO).

Old stuff
IMG_1453 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

Bushing driven in
IMG_1454 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

Fork vise adapter & new tube installed
IMG_1455 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

The finished pair!
IMG_1456 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr
 
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Fork vise adapter & new tube installed


Man am I stealing this idea!Wondering why I didn't think of it:grey:Should be one nice ride when you're done:encouragement:
 
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SVSooke said:
Fork vise adapter & new tube installed


Man am I stealing this idea!Wondering why I didn't think of it:grey:Should be one nice ride when you're done:encouragement:
Click to expand...

Thanks bud! The adapter is nothing but a steel plate with two holes drilled in it to match the caliper mounting points - the leg is then secured with a couple metric bolts and washers. I have found this to be the easiest and best way to securely hold almost any type of traditional fork leg without barfing/marring/gouging the leg. Also, because my vise pivots, I can rotate the leg vertically for driving seals, etc.
 
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