What's your go-to service manual?

[Guest]

1982 GS1100GL. When the serviced cylinder head comes back from the machine shop, I'm going to need a manual. Which one should I buy?

 

[bwringer]

"All you can lay hands on" is the usual answer.

Clymer, Haynes, and Suzuki Factory Service Manual (FSM) are the usual suspects, and they're all absolutely awful.

They all suck in different ways, they're all shot through with egregious errors, and they're all jam-packed with nonsensical instructions, bad translations, evil incorrect specs, muddy photos, and baffling illustrations.

But quite often you can glean useful scraps of information from comparing them; where one fails to depict the dingbat end of the frammis, another might have a slightly less blurry diagram of the wubble that proves helpful, and combined with the badly translated frammis nurbling instructions from another, you might just maybe be able to figure out what to do.

So gather all the sources of information you can, then season heavily with the experience of this here forum and fine-tune with a very skeptical eye. For example, not one of the manuals has the Real Poop on how to rebuild carburetors or properly diagnose and repair your bike's electrical system, but that information is here on this forum.

One good source:
https://www.repairmanual.com/?s=gs1100g

 

[Guest]

You paint a grim picture, mate.

I am an experienced mechanic, so I shouldn't need a lot of procedural stuff. Mainly what I will need it torque specs.

 

[cowboyup3371]

Get the service manual from Basscliff's site - http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

 

[bwringer]

You paint a grim picture, mate.

I am an experienced mechanic, so I shouldn't need a lot of procedural stuff. Mainly what I will need it torque specs.

Be wary -- there are incorrect torque specs lurking here and there in the manuals. Trust little, verify, and have a firm idea in your head and in your wrist of the "standard" specs for the various size threads in aluminum.

Yeah, the manual situation can be a little grim, but if you have wrenching experience, you'll be fine. These are essentially very simple, durable, and straightforward machines. And well-made, aside from a few parts of the electrics.

 

[Steve]

I am an experienced mechanic, so I shouldn't need a lot of procedural stuff. Mainly what I will need it torque specs.

In that case, it's easy. :-k

For the important stuff, tighten it until it strips, then back off 1/4 turn.
For the not-so-important stuff, you can back off a full 1/2 turn. :-\\\

.

 

[rphillips]

Forgive him, he's from Ohio. Important stuff stop 1/4 turn before it strips & not-so-important stuff stop before it strips. If that fails, install thread repair kit, & do it again. Back it off after it strips??? Gheees, Glad I ain't from Ohio.

 

[Grimly]

Yeah; the edition of the Haynes manual I have contains one vital misprint relating to the cam caps.
Some dozy clot inserted a 1 in front of the 7, so the torque value reads 17lbs/ft.

Explains why so many have stripped ones over the years - apart from ham-fisted clots who shouldn't be allowed use anything more demanding than a plastic knife and fork for their burgers - they probably account for more damage than the Haynes manual.

 

[dorkburger]

I use factory and a Haynes. As noted, both have their strong and weak points.

 

[Steve]

Forgive him, he's from Ohio.

No forgiveness necessary. :-k

I'm not FROM oHIo, it's just where I happen to live now. :-\\\

.

 

[Rob S.]

For the important stuff, tighten it until it strips, then back off 1/4 turn.
For the not-so-important stuff, you can back off a full 1/2 turn. :-\\\

I used to do that.

I still cut twice, and measure once. In that order.