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Hey y'all, I'm Zellock, but y'all can call me Zell. 
I'm from West Tawakoni, Texas and I (will soon...one day...hopefully) ride a Suzuki GS450T - (LONG STORY INCOMING: TLDR AT THE BOTTOM)
In 2019 my grandparents house had a house fire (It's alright; everyone and the dog made it out okay, and to boot they got a nice settlement check, my parents got a new property to drop a house on, and my sister got a new chance at college she wouldn't have before - so bad things still work out), that October we went out and started getting to work cleaning up the house. We got a lot of stuff that we've managed to recover; Pellet Guns, real guns, cups, paperwork, books...Aaaaaand the bike that was the precursor to me meeting my step-dad (The man who would become, as far as I've always been concerned, my father; the man who would be there for me through all the dumb stuff when bio dad kicked the bucket too soon); A 1981 Suzuki GS450T, sitting right next to the bike that replaced it (Yamaha Virago; The reason he stopped riding the Suzuki, the reason my mom met my dad, the reason my baby sister is here - That's another fun story, eventually said baby sister was the reason it was parked, and the reason it shall ride again...but again; a story for another day.)
My dad as a reward for my hard work gave me his old crusty rusty GS450T. In May of 2024 I got a buddy to go out with his old Chevy, we loaded it up in the tailgate (400lbs is no joke going up a steep hill called a "ramp"- We kept joking it was called the 450 because of it's weight; as my leg would later learn, not far from the truth), strapped it down, and transported it from Navarro Mills to Tawakoni. In this time, I have worked on the bike quite a bit, but still have not gotten it on the road, (I'm hoping this changes soon; this is my first bike, and I want to use it to continue his legacy and get my M Endorsement, and if I get really lucky; at the same time as my baby sister on her Yammy that I'm also helping her with), I've dropped it on myself while working on it landing me in the ER and just now back on my feet (Thought the kickstand was down. Oops. New nickname unlocked: Improvised Kickstand) So far I the work I have done to the bike...
-Rebuilt the Showa Forks; Rebuild Kit, and new oil, re-torqued back to book
-Rebuilt the Front Brakes; Disc was great, but rebuilding the master cylinder ended up being too much and I bought a new Master Cylinder with a new grip, so we ended up swapping the grip to match on the clutch as well. Set the spacing to factory, and tested it (I hear it dropping and releasing) -- New brake pads, and it stops when we roll it forward.
-New Shinko Tires on Front & Back; Front rim has a bend in it and I'm going to need to take it somewhere to work on. RIP me.
-Replaced Back Brake Pads (Rotors looked good/within spec)
-Replaced Gas Tank; I attempted to clean the rust and seal the old one...I'm not a fan of POR15. New one is an EBAY special that I've since repainted and verified was clean of rust with just pure pretty metal; repainted it and put a pretty lil pinstripe on like the old one....but jankier. Oh well, it's mine.
-Replaced the Stator (like magic; it went from no crank to crank. Weird how that works.)
-Made my own Air Filter, ORIGINAL AIRBOX GLORY HALLELUJAH
-Battery...Exploded and replaced with a new Lithium battery. Giant PITA to get to so I threw on one of them fancy electrical chargers made by Amazonian Princesses.
-Sideview mirrors replaced since it was a bit lopsided (left one broke off LONG ago)
-Chain replaced...102 links...102 links...102 links...Sorry, PTSD, and whatever you call the aching in your knuckles after replacing those with a pair of needle noses (and after already pulling the old chain off)
-Side reflectors replaced since they fell off on their way to the house and ya know...visibility at night and things.
-Back Rear Turn Signal was falling off...Home made a new rubber grommet. Holds on firm now.
-Original Mikuni CARBS...I have done a clean on these about 3 times now, done a rebuild with new gaskets and seals...Pretty sure this thing is going to be the actual death of me.
-Broke the Exhaust Bolt & Handlebar bolts (new bolt for Exhaust came in today, the handlebar...Eugh...I don't even know what I received).
-Electrical: Confirmed all headlights, highbeams, and turn signals work as expected. Everything's cranking, turning, and kill switches work correctly.
-Wrapped the exhaust; I've been told it's hot. I found out it is, in fact, hot. This was supposed to help. It does not, in fact, help.
*TLDR/Continued - I did a bunch of stuff to the bike, and I got it to the point it started cranking - beat it up more, got it to turn over and ran rough; I went and got a set of carb tune tools, and I got it to crank over, beat the RPM into submission, and run nice and smooth around a little under 1000 RPM (it looks like about 800) when in idle, but it would pop and die within 5-10 seconds of running; so I chalked it up to the loose exhaust pipe from the snapped bolt, ordered the bolt, and waited....So you can imagine how imaginably soul-crushed I was to walk into the garage today after getting a new bolt for the exhaust, throwing it in....and all I have is the starter turning and nothing turning over.
I've done so much to this bike, I desperately do not want to give up on it...but I'm getting to the end of my rope with it. I feel like the Ignition Coils are going out even with spark; but finding out what parts are interchangeable is about as pleasurable as your average SAW game, figuring out what the problem is when I have 0 real-world experience with a motorcycle, and throw in the fact there's about 0 motorcycle techs who aren't going to overcharge for service because "it's not what I normally do" leaves me in a seat of loneliness and frustration...
I'm still trying to figure out if this is electrical with not enough spark, maybe the battery I got isn't the right one or bad, or if I jacked up the Carb Clean/Rebuild...Either way, I know I'm getting good compression (tests show right about 100PSI), I can see gas passing through my new gas filter, and I see spark when I pull the plugs out...Something is just in a position where with my experience, I'm failing to see what the obvious issue is here.
I know I have not done any engine work, or replaced the carb boots; money is a tough thing to come by with a small one and bills - But I'm planning to get the boots replaced, and also 2 new floats since I did some work on those and I think they're starting to go out slowly....Any other advice on where to find parts though, what parts are interchangeable, what to check, what to expect, etc. is appreciated though...I've already read through the starting posts and they seem to line up with the things I've checked out- but experience is valuable.
Right now the list goes as follows
- Fix the rim...Hoping $50 (pray for me)
- Figure out why it's being a brat to start now.
-Get pictures posted here for y'all to see
Signing off,
-ZD/KT74
I'm from West Tawakoni, Texas and I (will soon...one day...hopefully) ride a Suzuki GS450T - (LONG STORY INCOMING: TLDR AT THE BOTTOM)
In 2019 my grandparents house had a house fire (It's alright; everyone and the dog made it out okay, and to boot they got a nice settlement check, my parents got a new property to drop a house on, and my sister got a new chance at college she wouldn't have before - so bad things still work out), that October we went out and started getting to work cleaning up the house. We got a lot of stuff that we've managed to recover; Pellet Guns, real guns, cups, paperwork, books...Aaaaaand the bike that was the precursor to me meeting my step-dad (The man who would become, as far as I've always been concerned, my father; the man who would be there for me through all the dumb stuff when bio dad kicked the bucket too soon); A 1981 Suzuki GS450T, sitting right next to the bike that replaced it (Yamaha Virago; The reason he stopped riding the Suzuki, the reason my mom met my dad, the reason my baby sister is here - That's another fun story, eventually said baby sister was the reason it was parked, and the reason it shall ride again...but again; a story for another day.)
My dad as a reward for my hard work gave me his old crusty rusty GS450T. In May of 2024 I got a buddy to go out with his old Chevy, we loaded it up in the tailgate (400lbs is no joke going up a steep hill called a "ramp"- We kept joking it was called the 450 because of it's weight; as my leg would later learn, not far from the truth), strapped it down, and transported it from Navarro Mills to Tawakoni. In this time, I have worked on the bike quite a bit, but still have not gotten it on the road, (I'm hoping this changes soon; this is my first bike, and I want to use it to continue his legacy and get my M Endorsement, and if I get really lucky; at the same time as my baby sister on her Yammy that I'm also helping her with), I've dropped it on myself while working on it landing me in the ER and just now back on my feet (Thought the kickstand was down. Oops. New nickname unlocked: Improvised Kickstand) So far I the work I have done to the bike...
-Rebuilt the Showa Forks; Rebuild Kit, and new oil, re-torqued back to book
-Rebuilt the Front Brakes; Disc was great, but rebuilding the master cylinder ended up being too much and I bought a new Master Cylinder with a new grip, so we ended up swapping the grip to match on the clutch as well. Set the spacing to factory, and tested it (I hear it dropping and releasing) -- New brake pads, and it stops when we roll it forward.
-New Shinko Tires on Front & Back; Front rim has a bend in it and I'm going to need to take it somewhere to work on. RIP me.
-Replaced Back Brake Pads (Rotors looked good/within spec)
-Replaced Gas Tank; I attempted to clean the rust and seal the old one...I'm not a fan of POR15. New one is an EBAY special that I've since repainted and verified was clean of rust with just pure pretty metal; repainted it and put a pretty lil pinstripe on like the old one....but jankier. Oh well, it's mine.
-Replaced the Stator (like magic; it went from no crank to crank. Weird how that works.)
-Made my own Air Filter, ORIGINAL AIRBOX GLORY HALLELUJAH
-Battery...Exploded and replaced with a new Lithium battery. Giant PITA to get to so I threw on one of them fancy electrical chargers made by Amazonian Princesses.
-Sideview mirrors replaced since it was a bit lopsided (left one broke off LONG ago)
-Chain replaced...102 links...102 links...102 links...Sorry, PTSD, and whatever you call the aching in your knuckles after replacing those with a pair of needle noses (and after already pulling the old chain off)
-Side reflectors replaced since they fell off on their way to the house and ya know...visibility at night and things.
-Back Rear Turn Signal was falling off...Home made a new rubber grommet. Holds on firm now.
-Original Mikuni CARBS...I have done a clean on these about 3 times now, done a rebuild with new gaskets and seals...Pretty sure this thing is going to be the actual death of me.
-Broke the Exhaust Bolt & Handlebar bolts (new bolt for Exhaust came in today, the handlebar...Eugh...I don't even know what I received).
-Electrical: Confirmed all headlights, highbeams, and turn signals work as expected. Everything's cranking, turning, and kill switches work correctly.
-Wrapped the exhaust; I've been told it's hot. I found out it is, in fact, hot. This was supposed to help. It does not, in fact, help.
*TLDR/Continued - I did a bunch of stuff to the bike, and I got it to the point it started cranking - beat it up more, got it to turn over and ran rough; I went and got a set of carb tune tools, and I got it to crank over, beat the RPM into submission, and run nice and smooth around a little under 1000 RPM (it looks like about 800) when in idle, but it would pop and die within 5-10 seconds of running; so I chalked it up to the loose exhaust pipe from the snapped bolt, ordered the bolt, and waited....So you can imagine how imaginably soul-crushed I was to walk into the garage today after getting a new bolt for the exhaust, throwing it in....and all I have is the starter turning and nothing turning over.
I've done so much to this bike, I desperately do not want to give up on it...but I'm getting to the end of my rope with it. I feel like the Ignition Coils are going out even with spark; but finding out what parts are interchangeable is about as pleasurable as your average SAW game, figuring out what the problem is when I have 0 real-world experience with a motorcycle, and throw in the fact there's about 0 motorcycle techs who aren't going to overcharge for service because "it's not what I normally do" leaves me in a seat of loneliness and frustration...
I'm still trying to figure out if this is electrical with not enough spark, maybe the battery I got isn't the right one or bad, or if I jacked up the Carb Clean/Rebuild...Either way, I know I'm getting good compression (tests show right about 100PSI), I can see gas passing through my new gas filter, and I see spark when I pull the plugs out...Something is just in a position where with my experience, I'm failing to see what the obvious issue is here.
I know I have not done any engine work, or replaced the carb boots; money is a tough thing to come by with a small one and bills - But I'm planning to get the boots replaced, and also 2 new floats since I did some work on those and I think they're starting to go out slowly....Any other advice on where to find parts though, what parts are interchangeable, what to check, what to expect, etc. is appreciated though...I've already read through the starting posts and they seem to line up with the things I've checked out- but experience is valuable.
Right now the list goes as follows
- Fix the rim...Hoping $50 (pray for me)
- Figure out why it's being a brat to start now.
-Get pictures posted here for y'all to see
Signing off,
-ZD/KT74
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