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Rebuilding the '80 Wes Cooley

  • Thread starter Thread starter russr33
  • Start date Start date
So finally it was time to fire her up for real. Put a gallon of gas in...

IMG_0452.jpg


Then hit the starter. Turning the key on usually helps :o. The smoke is from the VHT curing. For those not familiar with the "S" model, that's the choke I'm holding up with my left hand. Kind of different. Holding the camera is my good friend David, who is one helluva mechanic/teacher and a great friend. Thanks mate!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfagDCb0FIc
 
So the video was shot just a few hours ago. I was all psyched and threw it in the back of the truck(it was at david's house) and on the way home stopped to fill her up so I could take her for her maiden voyage. Had about 3+ gallons in and looked down and disaster! Gas pouring out. Leaking fuel sending gasket/seal. ^%!$^$#!#! Fuel all over bike,truck,me. Drove the block home and got the tank off and drained. We'll try and put some sealer on it and see if it will hold while I order a new one. We're going for a good ride tomorrow so I hope it works. If not I'll be on the '78. Nothing is ever easy.....:mad:
 
Good deal Russ! Glad you got it started and will soon get a chance to ride it. I'm jealous.:D
 
Russ, that is outstanding!
The whole package looks great and i really like the look of the seat. Slightly stepped and level with the rear cowling.
A few pics of the rest of the fleet in the garage would be nice as well.
 
steve murdoch said:
Russ, that is outstanding!
The whole package looks great and i really like the look of the seat. Slightly stepped and level with the rear cowling.
A few pics of the rest of the fleet in the garage would be nice as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks Steve; here you go. The Kat is a new addition. Picked up Friday from Astroman. Came with all the bits for gsxr/bandit conversion. Front end, wheels, swinger, rotors, brakes, etc. :D I'll start a thread on it soon.

IMG_0464.jpg

IMG_0467.jpg

IMG_0451.jpg
 
Wow, the world's fastest motorcycle rebuild. Either you are currently unemployed or you have a very understanding wife. Nice job.
 
drhach said:
Wow, the world's fastest motorcycle rebuild. Either you are currently unemployed or you have a very understanding wife. Nice job.
Click to expand...

Ha! No wife and self employed so they can't fire me. I was just lazy with posting during the rebuild. Has acually taken about 4 months.
 
russr33 said:
Well I haven't been good at all in keeping up to date on the rebuild, so I'll start now; better late than never. I bought this 1980 GS1000S back in October, a non runner that had been sitting for almost 20 years. Good news was it was low mileage (a little over 11,000) and was in decent shape cosmetically. Bad news was engine was locked up tight and tank was in pretty bad shape. Here's how she was when I got her home:

IMG_0164.jpg


First thing I did was to get tank cleaned and repaired and seat recovered (seat wasn't really high on the list it just turned out that way).

IMG_0205.jpg


When I pulled the carbs off, ugh.... (a sign of things to come). Yes that is a pile of rust that came out when I pulled the bowls off! So carbs are absolute junk but the good news was Nessism needed some carb parts for his Cooley rebuild so off they went to him. Also good that the bike came with another set of carbs which were in good shape.

IMG_0318.jpg
Click to expand...

waht that thing under water?
 
Nice job Russ - I hope that leaky tank spilling petrol didn't melt any paint. Seat looks great and your 'zorst makes a decent note without being too noisy. Just a shame it's a blue one.......;)

In your vid it looks like your front brake lines might rub against the mudguard - be worth checking out if you haven't.
 
hampshirehog said:
Nice job Russ - I hope that leaky tank spilling petrol didn't melt any paint. Seat looks great and your 'zorst makes a decent note without being too noisy. Just a shame it's a blue one.......;)

In your vid it looks like your front brake lines might rub against the mudguard - be worth checking out if you haven't.
Click to expand...

No it was coming from underneath at the fuel sending unit so no problem. The paint is original and not bad but will be painted in the future. I was actually thinking of maybe going with the red scheme since you don't see any in the states. I think the U.S. only got the blue and white scheme but I'm not positive.

Good call on the lines. I'll check that out.
 
Well still having problems with fuel sending unit. Problem is it's been messed with at some point and the actual hole in the tank is not round anymore. Has a few flat spots. Tried a sealer and it's better but still leaking. Back to the drawing board.

I did get the fuel level down where it wouldn't leak and took it for a ride. Took awhile as the clutch plates didn't want to release (sitting for 20 years will do that). Spent 20+minutes in first gear trying to get it to let go riding around my block. FInally took it where I could get some speed up and she finally released. Had about a 20 mile ride. Sure felt good :)
 
What ,may I ask ,is wrong with a blue one???? I've got a big blue one and am very happy with it.Only tossers have got red ones 'cause for some reason they think they go faster.VERRRRRRRR nice bike by the way.Getting to be quite a few 'S's around the traps lately.Good go.Here's ANOTHER pic of her sister,not totally stock,but pretty close.Cheers,Simon.:clap::clap:
suzi2001.jpg
 
simon kuether said:
What ,may I ask ,is wrong with a blue one???? I've got a big blue one and am very happy with it.Only tossers have got red ones 'cause for some reason they think they go faster.VERRRRRRRR nice bike by the way.Getting to be quite a few 'S's around the traps lately.Good go.Here's ANOTHER pic of her sister,not totally stock,but pretty close.Cheers,Simon.:clap::clap:
suzi2001.jpg
Click to expand...

Ha! Absolutely nothing Simon. I'm actually quite fond of the color. Just thought it might be nice to have a color that was a little unique. Of course the bike itself is unique enough. BTW I've always thought of yours as an inspiration. Beautiful!
 
As to your fuel leaking around the sending unit hole:

I just fixed this exact problem on a 550L. I fought it for two or three tries and several trips to the dealer for gaskets ect.

Here is what worked,

Take the sending unit out and clean the hole very well with acetone.
Put a good carnuba wax on the 5 (?) bolts threads that hold the plate on.
Screw them in all the way
Lay the tank on a towel so that the hole is as level as you can get it.
Mix up a two part epoxy. I used alluminum powder because i had it around to thicken it. I thickened to the consistancy of a heavy nacho cheese.
Pour around the hole and plate so that the epoxy comes with in a milimeter or two of the hole in the tank.
Let sit overnight and harden.

What you will have is a perfect seal and the bolts will come out with no problem because the carnuba wax acts as a mold release.

Put the sending unit back in and be sure to use the rubber gasket. ride and enjoy!

This repair has held perfectly for the past two months. The bike has been ridden regularly and the hot/cold has not affected the repair in the least.

Jim
 
jimfj said:
As to your fuel leaking around the sending unit hole:

I just fixed this exact problem on a 550L. I fought it for two or three tries and several trips to the dealer for gaskets ect.

Here is what worked,

Take the sending unit out and clean the hole very well with acetone.
Put a good carnuba wax on the 5 (?) bolts threads that hold the plate on.
Screw them in all the way
Lay the tank on a towel so that the hole is as level as you can get it.
Mix up a two part epoxy. I used alluminum powder because i had it around to thicken it. I thickened to the consistancy of a heavy nacho cheese.
Pour around the hole and plate so that the epoxy comes with in a milimeter or two of the hole in the tank.
Let sit overnight and harden.

What you will have is a perfect seal and the bolts will come out with no problem because the carnuba wax acts as a mold release.

Put the sending unit back in and be sure to use the rubber gasket. ride and enjoy!

This repair has held perfectly for the past two months. The bike has been ridden regularly and the hot/cold has not affected the repair in the least.

Jim
Click to expand...

Thanks Jim. Will try that and get back to you with results.
 
Simon, can you tell me where the smoked windscreen on your GS came from? I'm also building a '79 S model. I have the stock clear windscreen, but it's seen better days, and I would love to find a smoked replacement. Thanks.
 
nvr2old said:
Simon, can you tell me where the smoked windscreen on your GS came from? I'm also building a '79 S model. I have the stock clear windscreen, but it's seen better days, and I would love to find a smoked replacement. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Where do you live? There is a place at Albion, Brisbane that does them called AC plastics
 
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