New GS850GL, new to motorcycle riding, new to mechanical work. Might as well jump in

[Guest]

If you're going to learn to ride a motorcycle, why not do it with a bike that's big and needs lots of work? Sounds like a solid plan to me.

Let's start with a picture of what I've got.



(I'm new here and just discovered you can only upload one picture per post? I'll link/ them from elsewhere but let me know if it's not working Here's the full album.)

Front shot!

So, here I am with a bike with a devious maintenance record. What does that mean? Well, the previous owner is a friend who changed the oil once a year for the past 7 (give or take) years he's owned it. Before him was an owner for about 5 years who appears to have done some things right.

I need some help.

I also have very little mechanical maintenance experience. No better time to learn than the present!

I've read through BikeCliff's new user guide multiple times, read through the owner's manual, and read through a good chunk of the guides on BikeCliff's website. I even read the newbie mistake thread found elsewhere. So I know that 90% of the answers to my problems will be y'all asking "did you follow the steps on BikeCliff's site?" But let me list the specific unlisted problems I've dredged up:

Broken tach. It's clear that the cable isn't well connected to the engine block. Here's a picture so y'all can see the oily mess. Somehow I'm coming up short on repair instructions. Any helpful hints?

Money. I'm investing in my friend by paying him far too much for the bike so my repair budget is already blown. I love cheap advice, so long as you don't lead me down the road to shoddy quality workmanship.

Exhaust. Look how rusted it is! Two PO's ago, I think the exhaust was replaced. So it's maybe 10-15 years old. Even the end of the muffler is rusted. I don't see any holes and I'm not into super intensive treatment processes but I would like to halt the progress. Any advice? I've seen odd mentions about putting a coat WD40 or oil on them until it burns a protective patina. Is it best just to leave it be?

Brake fluid reservoir. The plastic is sun bleached, the sight window seems almost cracked and is completely opaque. Are these easy to come by in good condition? Any suggestions for sources?

Weird sputtery "backfire". Occurs at lower RPMs. Specifically, if I've been accelerating into high RPMs then roll of the throttle, the engine sounds like it's misfiring or sputtering or backfiring as it revs down. It's not loud but almost sounds like the engine is coughing and sputtering a bit. Hard to explain the noise better than that. What the heck is causing it? I noticed that the problem became more pronounced once the engine was warmed up and I dropped the choke. No problems accelerating.

Little things. The side kickstand is incredibly stiff and feels off. Probably needs to be cleaned up and reattached. The dash indicator lights (high beam, side kick stand) aren't working. I'll start by testing switches, then come back here to ask for electrical help. The turn signal/headlight switch is floppy and a little beat up. It works but I'm keeping my eyes open for a replacement.


Believe it or not, you've reached the end of my list of problems. My immediate plan is to try and find some carb dip cleaner (seems to be unavailable up here in Canada). I'll enjoy the weekend on the bike, then strip down the carbs and airbox Sunday night. Clean everything, replace o-rings and gaskets, reassemble. Then I'll put in new sparkplugs.

That'll probably take me to next weekend. Ride again. Then, tackle checking the valve clearances and trying to track down shims around town. Finish that job then I'll be giving it some fresh engine oil and gear oil. It would probably be good to deal with the tach at the same time as the oil change, if I have to disconnect the cable from the engine block.


That's a lot of words from me. I've enjoyed lurking the past few weeks while waiting to get this bike in my hands. Let's see if I can make it run well!

[Phred]

Congrats on the bike, but it does need some maintenance. I completely rebuilt an 81 850L a few years ago that was in a lot worse shape than yours. As for the exhaust, the pipes have been changed from a 4-2 to a 4-1. There are some modifications to do to the carbs, a different main jet. Also the sputtering is likely the O ring between the engine and the flange that is mounted to the carb boots. These O rings should be replaced as they are likely leaking. The Master cylinder plastic cup, I changed on mine to the aluminum box type. There is a thread on here somewhere in the brake section for a Chinese made replacement. I found one at a MC junkyard that needed a new piston and it works fine. One thing you might want to look into is replacing the brake lines with braided stainless steel lines. The rubber lines are long overdue for replacement. As for the exhaust, mine was stolen off my back deck by a scrap metal dealer early one morning. I ended up finding a used set at a junkyard 4-2 but the pipes were shot. I cut the pipes off, had a sleeve welded on and installed Mac slip on mufflers. I was lucky to find the little heat shields as well and had the nuts welded on as well. The Mac slip ons have a sliding bracket and I had to do some mods to get it installed but it looks original and is quiet. The 4-2 system is hard to find, but it was well worth the effort. I still have an old set and headers if you are interested but shipping these would be expensive. The headers are double walled unlike the 4-1 headers. As for carb cleaner, I bought Kleen-flo carb cleaner at an automotive parts place, however I would not use it again. Stinky nasty stuff. I ended up buying a small ultrasonic cleaner and some carb cleaner that you dilute with water from Sharptek. Could not believe the dirt that came out after using this after having gone through the process of the dipping method.

[steeper]

Thanks for the advice, Phred.

What is the "Master cylinder plastic cup?" Is that the same as what I called the "brake reservoir" that is mounted on the handlebars?

With respect to changing the main jet, how do I check to see whether the PO did so when they installed the exhaust? I've seen threads referencing rejetting but I don't quite know what that means yet.

I'll have to look into new brake lines...

As to the Sharpertek ultrasonic cleaner, looks like their cheapest unit is around $600. Sounds like a lovely piece of equipment but I don't think that's a purchase I'm going to make quite yet. Gotta make the budget stretch into some less specialized tools first

[eil]

I've read through BikeCliff's new user guide multiple times, read through the owner's manual, and read through a good chunk of the guides on BikeCliff's website. I even read the newbie mistake thread found elsewhere.

Well then you're waaaay ahead of most newbies here.

Broken tach. It's clear that the cable isn't well connected to the engine block. Here's a picture so y'all can see the oily mess. Somehow I'm coming up short on repair instructions. Any helpful hints?

First figure out whether the tach itself isn't working, or the cable is bad, or the tach drive gear has stripped the exhaust camshaft and then go from there. The tach drive gear sits in a sleeve with two seals that can be replaced: an inner oil seal and an outer band. These are clearly visible in the parts fiche.

and trying to track down shims around town.

Good luck with that! It's been rumoured that a few shops are willing to exchange shims for free or for a couple bucks, but most would rather charge you for new shims at around $15 USD a pop. There used to be a good supply of aftermarket shims but these seem to be starting to thin out. Search the forum for the shim club but I'm not sure what the policy is on shipping to/from Canada.

Welcome!

[Bob]

😁 congrats on the "new" bike!! I am in a similar situation! however I got mine for free!! Not running tho!! I will be following your post for updates!!