Spent some time in the "man-cave" - From Wreck to Restoration

[portdave]

brake lever

brake lever

Cliff,

I know you probably know this but I have had success getting the brakes a little tighter by wrapping up the brake lever over night with a bungee or just some paper and then tape over the paper. Helps to get the air out.

David

 

[rustybronco]

It was really fiddly trying to get the pistons back inside the calipers with the new rubber. I ended up using a couple of plastic-coated paper clips. One to hold up the inside edge of the dust cover, bent over the top of the caliper, and the other I used to lift the cover up around the piston. The first one took almost an hour. The next one took 5 minutes.

Next time try holding the piston on top of the boot opening and blow some compressed air into the brake line port. the boot will open up and you can push the piston into the "enlarged" boot opening.

 

[BassCliff]

Next time try holding the piston on top of the boot opening and blow some compressed air into the brake line port. the boot will open up and you can push the piston into the "enlarged" boot opening.

Thanks Dale,

Yes, I'd thought of that. Unfortunately, an air compressor for the garage is still on my "to do" list of tools to acquire. I used the air compressor in the garage at work to blow out the old pistons. But I don't like bothering my friends there with personal stuff, too much anyway. They don't mind but I don't want to wear out my welcome.

The paper clip trick worked really well once I figured out the proper procedure. I just had to be careful not to poke a hole or cut the rubber. Two small plastic-coated paper clips worked well. Sometimes you just have to use what you got.

And thank you too Dave. I did use the old "bungee on the lever" trick and it did help a lot.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[sscott]

Now put that paper clip back on your stator papers :lol:

 

[82Shafty]

Cliff, what's stamped on the mufflers? I'm curious to find out what they belong to and why they don't have open centers.

 

[DanTheMan]

Cliff, what's stamped on the mufflers? I'm curious to find out what they belong to and why they don't have open centers.

They belong to a 1980 GS850GLT, just like mine. In fact, they match mine to a "T" except they're in better shape.

 

[BassCliff]

Cliff, what's stamped on the mufflers? I'm curious to find out what they belong to and why they don't have open centers.

Yes, I believe Dan is right. According to the other pictures I've seen, those mufflers are pretty unique to the 1980 GS850GL. I haven't seen any other exactly like them on any other model.

But what do I know

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[BassCliff]

Jessie started today!

Jessie started today!

Hi,

Today is a happy day. I spent some more time in the garage today trying to finish up my Jessie. Ran into a couple of snags but at least I got her engine started today.

I began this session by removing the petcock and fuel gauge send unit from the old tank. Here's the old tank...

I flipped it over to remove the hardware. Hmmm, I'm missing a screw on the drain assembly...

I didn't have a short screwdriver...

Here's the send unit/float assembly underneath...

Let's get that out of there...

It took some gentle persuasion and rotation to get the float out of there...

But when I looked in the new tank I realized it was a little too rusty to use right now. I have to go get some Evapo-Rust and clean it out. Drat.

But here's a video of Jessie starting for the first time in about 8 months. I think I'm going to like the sound of the "L" exhaust. It's a little louder but has a nice growl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAQEpWQ6PT0

I still have some tweaking to do, adjust the idle, sync the carbs, etc. But it wasn't hard to start after all this time. Here a picture of my temporary tank.

Yep, just an old gear oil bottle, my old IV stand, some fuel hose and a connector.

Here is another mock-up picture with all the badges on the newly painted body parts.

I still have some cleaning and polishing to do, last minute adjustments, etc. But it seems I am that much closer to getting back on the road. Thanks to you all for your interest, help, part donations, etc. I could not have done all this without your help. More to come!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Guest]

Let's ride!
I'm putting my 1230 kit together
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=149165&page=14

 

[jwhelan65]

Super job, great to see recovery stories and most importantly that you are ok. Bike looks fantastic Cliff.

 

[portdave]

Nice progress. Looking good there. Glad to see all the progress. Thanks for taking the time to take all the pics. Makes me enjoy the process that much more.

 

[Wallowgreen]

Nice going Cliff, watching with interest. Good to hear the life you've put back into the old girl.

Take it easy mate.

 

[Baatfam]

Yes, yes, yes....she does look good in blue....

 

[82Shafty]

If she only had some raised white letter Spitfires...

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I picked up a gallon of Evapo-Rust today. I'm going to tackle the rust in my tank.

I'm too cheap to spring the extra dollars for the RWL tires.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Guest]

Hi,

I picked up a gallon of Evapo-Rust today. I'm going to tackle the rust in my tank.

I'm too cheap to spring the extra dollars for the RWL tires.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Let that sit in your tank overnight and put some nuts and bolts in your tank. Shake shake shake shake......
Pour out the evapo-rust and add gasoline with the nuts and bolts still in the tank. Shake shake shake......
Repeat until all rust flakes are removed.
Use a gravity filter for awhile.
Also count the nuts and bolts to make sure they all come out.

 

[979roadrunner]

Huh, I always used Muriatic Acid to clean rusty tanks.
Not as safe, and don't dare get any on the petcock (it eats base metals like it eats rust) but no nut shaking required

 

[BassCliff]

Let that sit in your tank overnight and put some nuts and bolts in your tank. Shake shake shake shake......
Pour out the evapo-rust and add gasoline with the nuts and bolts still in the tank. Shake shake shake......
Repeat until all rust flakes are removed.
Use a gravity filter for awhile.
Also count the nuts and bolts to make sure they all come out.

Thanks Bill,

As long as I'm doing it, I might as well do it right. I'll take my time and let the Evapo-Rust do its thing for at least 24 hours. I'm hoping not to have to resort to anything stronger, like muriatic acid. I'm trying to be as gentle with the environment as I can.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[goatboy]

Jessie looks great!

Jessie looks great!

Great job on Jessie - looks fantastic. Stay safe.

 

[979roadrunner]

Thanks Bill,

As long as I'm doing it, I might as well do it right. I'll take my time and let the Evapo-Rust do its thing for at least 24 hours. I'm hoping not to have to resort to anything stronger, like muriatic acid. I'm trying to be a gentle with the environment as I can.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Good man, keep that strong stuff away from Bambi.
Actualy, water totaly neutralizes it, so it's safer than most folks think, but I appreciate anyone's attempts to damage this world as little as possible.
As long as you're doing the whole tank cleaning thing, are you gonna coat it inside?
Sorry if that's already answered, I've got a terrible memory sometimes.
Next time I get a tank cleaned, I'm having a radiator shop put epoxy sealer in it, or maybe I'll do it myself with POR 15's sealer kit (Kreem has a bad rep around here)
you've done a bang up job, and that baby's lookin gooooood!