I just bought a forgotten relic. Need advice on how best to get it in tip-top shape.

[Guest]

Hey everyone,

I've been riding and maintaining a 1982 Honda GL500 that has been a joy, but I have recently made a purchase that has entered me into the world of the GS and I was hoping for some advice from ya'll. I know how wonderful and helpful forums can be, and I'm excited to join this community.

A few days ago I discovered a GS850GZ that had been sitting in a garage for much of it's life, certainly for the last 4 years. The most remarkable thing is that it only has 6,000 miles on it, and I bought it from the second owner (the next-door neighbour of the first) who has never ridden it. The bike has no battery, the carbs are completely plugged from sitting for so long, but the compression test indicate the engine is all good, and all the rubber I can see/feel appears to be in great condition. It ran very briefly and sounded great. I am currently arranging a truck to get it back to my garage where I can work on it.

I am about to take a massive cross country road trip and bought this bike for that purpose, so I want to get it in tip-top shape. In general, I was hoping for advice on things I should look into replacing/working on. Here is a list of what I am going to do so far. Feel free to add to it or advise me in any way.

-Flush gas tank, add an inline fuel filter
-Clean and rebuild all carbs
-Replace spark plugs (Any recommendations?)
-Replace all fluids (brakes, drive oil, engine oil, etc)
-New back tire (front one still has stubble)
-New regulator rectifier (any recommendations on brands?)
-New battery

There are also a few cosmetic things that I need to fix up, as the first owner dropped it a couple of times in his driveway (non-moving) and dinged up the stator and magneto covers. I've been browsing eBay for covers but they all seem dinged up also.

Thanks so much! I've never ridden one of these, so it's a bit of a shot in the dark, but I hear only good things and I'm very excited! If folks are interested, I can post pictures as I go through the process.

-Loren

[Highway_Glider]

Hi klylor10/Loren.

Welcome to the forum.

I hope your trip isn't next week.

Don't ride those tires. Most people assume that a tire over 7 years is trash. You can check the date stamp on the sidewall. 3 digits mean it's from last century. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=11

It would be helpfull if you put your location so members can input some ideas. There might be a "Guru" in your very own town.

[tkent02]

This will help:

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

[klylor10]

Thanks Daniel, I updated my location (which is Olympia, WA). Good advice. I'll look into getting new tires for both front and back.

Fortunately, my trip isn't for a month, so I've got some time to get things figured out.

That resource page is fantastic, tkent! Thank you.

[JJ]

Agreed concerning the tires. Check the date code on the sidewall. If they are over five years old, get new ones. It doesn't matter if they look new, or if they still have the venting spews. You have only two small contact patches between you and the asphalt. They control maneuvering, traction, steering, stopping, etc... Don't trust your life to questionable tires. There re some good quality ones that are at the lower end of the price scale.

Find and read the top ten newbie mistakes and tips and follow it. Sounds like a good, low-mileage bike, but it has been sitting unused for years. There is a lot of maintenance to catch up on. The first thing I'd do is order a new cam cover gasket, then check and adjust the valves.

Don't use an inline fuel filter. The factory petcock has a filter incorporated into it. Make sure the tank is clean.

Go to Cliff's website and download a maintenance manual for your motorcycle.

Go to the periodic maintenance section and follow the checklists.

Welcome to the forum. That's a great bike. Get it in safe shape and enjoy it!

[klylor10]

Thanks for the info JJ, I've got a couple of follow up questions for you or anyone else reading,

Are there any other gaskets or parts that I will need to purchase for a valve adjustment other than the cam cover gasket? I have been doing some reading and getting a bit confused about what will need replacing, seems to be a lot of info out there that I can't quite wrap my head around.

I've also read on some new bike owner threads here that one should undertake more involved overhauls, such as rebuilding the brake calipers, forks, and master cylinders. These threads seem to be primarily in bikes with higher mileage.

My question is this: How much of this advice applies to a bike with such low mileage? I was planning on performing maintenance as outlined in the owners manual checklist as well as everything mentioned in this thread, but I am hoping to hold off on more time-intensive projects until I have more time if at all possible.

Thanks again, y'all.

[Brendan W]

Thanks for the info JJ, I've got a couple of follow up questions for you or anyone else reading,

Are there any other gaskets or parts that I will need to purchase for a valve adjustment other than the cam cover gasket? I have been doing some reading and getting a bit confused about what will need replacing, seems to be a lot of info out there that I can't quite wrap my head around.

I've also read on some new bike owner threads here that one should undertake more involved overhauls, such as rebuilding the brake calipers, forks, and master cylinders. These threads seem to be primarily in bikes with higher mileage.

My question is this: How much of this advice applies to a bike with such low mileage? I was planning on performing maintenance as outlined in the owners manual checklist as well as everything mentioned in this thread, but I am hoping to hold off on more time-intensive projects until I have more time if at all possible.

Thanks again, y'all.

The half moon seals at the camshaft ends will get disturbed and leak. They are most likely gone a bit hard. You can use a small bit of rtv to seal them or buy new.
I would get the electrics sorted or you will end up chasing phantom running and starting issues. Clean up the switches and plugs and chase down the causes of voltage drops. Read up on rewiring the grounding and do the tests to get a baseline on where your charging system is at. Electrical health is the primary determinant of road trip reliability
Old tyres are not safe.
Low miles does not necessarily mean that everything is good. For starters the brake lines need a close look. Suzuki put a two year life on them. Many of us have gone over to stainless. That bike may never have had a brake fluid change.
The forks and transmission will probably have stubborn sludge after years standing. I would suggest a few changes over shortish times after you get it running to keep the sludge coming out.
I wouldn't go mad deciding to rebuild everything in sight. Check everything first. Decide based on what you find.

[Nessism]

If the brake fluid is still clear then you can get away with a flush. If it's dark and brown you have no choice but to tear down the system.

The charging system grounding and wiring should be tended to. Suzuki's stator loop up to the handlebar switch causes major grief.

The carbs and intake boot O-rings should be delt with straight away. The airbox sidecover foam is sure to be deteriorated too.

Basically, go through the Newbie mistakes list and make sure you review each item. It will pay off in the end and possibly save you from getting a break down on the road.

[Redman]

Lor,

Welcome to GSR.

Good advice has been given.

... and .... when have rear wheel off: do check the splines on the hub IN the rear wheel.
Take it out of the wheel to get a good look.
That low a mileage, probably not a problem, but being an 82.......
And probably needs the grease renewed any way.
Some of the other things are probably more important, but do this when the rear wheel is off for a new tire.
Lots of info about this.
Or I could tell you more, send pics etcetera.

GS may be someone elses forgotten bike, is my primary bike, and I suspect will be come your primary bike also.

.

[tkent02]

You have the right idea as far as getting it in shape before heading out. I would not head out on a massive cross country trip on an unknown bike and especially one that's been sitting idle without checking these: Brakes inside and out, O rings in the intake boots, valve clearances, wheel bearings, steering head bearings, rear wheel splines, charging system, corrosion on and around the fuses and all of the other electrical connections, and a few other things I'm not thinking of right now.

Or without replacing these: tires and inner tubes if you have them, brake lines if they are the originals, engine oil, gear oil in both places, lube on the splines, and probably the battery unless you know it to be new.

You probably need a few things like clutch cables, brake pads and other normal wear items.

Things like replacing fork oil and cleaning the carburetors can probably wait a while if they are working correctly.

A bike that's been sitting will always take more work than one that's been ridden, I would plan on a month to go through everything and I have done it on a lot of bikes.
You didn't mention when and how far this massive trip will be, but it might make more sense to ride the 500 and take your time to do it right in this 850.

[klylor10]

Thanks everyone, I am super appreciative of the generosity of advice I've received so far. I've begin to read over BikeCliff's info page, and the great new member welcome page he has set up. What a fantastic resource!

Tkent: Massive = to the east coast, south, and back to the west coast. I have about 3.5 weeks until I'm planning on taking off, but have just quit my job, so I'll have nothing but time to devote to this. The only challenge will be ordering parts online. Like you said, worst case scenario I can take my 500 or my dad's GL650.

This is becoming quite a list of things to do, but I'm excited to get started. I will be picking up the bike on Tuesday and can at that point begin to assess the condition of all these different things (and post some pictures!). A lot of parts are in the mail so I can probably get started mid next week.

I imagine I will have further questions that pop up. Would it be best to start new threads as these issues arise or bump this one with new questions?

[tkent02]

I think one thread, get a following of followers going.

[klylor10]

Update:

Yesterday I trucked the bike home from central Oregon. It was a bumpy ride through the mountains but I made it home safely. (See pics)

Today I started pulling things apart (pics to come on that). While I wait for parts to come in the mail I'm addressing cosmetic issues: dealing with rust/corrosion in the luggage rack, general dust/grunge, etc.

I pulled the airbox and carbs. The intake boots and airbox boots are in amazing shape, so I don't think those will need replacing, fortunately. The air filter, however, is another story. I'm waiting on some JIS drivers before I crack open the carbs to see what's inside. This bike is squeaky clean other than the dust, I'm beginning to really believe that the mileage is as low as the speedo indicates (6,000).

I'm currently hemorrhaging money on parts, but so far I have ordered:
-K&N air filter
-2 K&N oil filters (one for an engine oil flush, one to keep) + drain plug washers
-Valve cover gasket
-Breather cover gasket
-Half moon seals
-Carb o-rings
-intake boot o-rings and clamps
-Spark plugs
-Battery
-some things I'm surely forgetting

I still have to order:
-Brake lines (any tips on good places for these? I looked at Rennsport which look great, but I will have to wait until I can get my stock ones off to take measurements unless someone has them lying around for a GS850GZ)
-Regulator/Rectifier
-some things I'm surely forgetting

More to come as I get further along...

[sinkankan]

Congrats, they're great bikes.
I've just (this minute sat down while the grand daughter serves us coffee) finished repairing the airbox. I looked at a few secondhand ones and they were full of dirt and rust in the top chamber, apparently a condensation problem. I ended up ripping the plate off with a die grinder and made a new plate after all the rust was cleaned out with a soda blaster. I siliconed a good bead around the new plate and bolted down with four 5mm S/S bolts, lock washers and nuts.
I wanted to keep this bike original, and wasn't going down the pod road. With the new modifications and repairs all you will see is the top of the four bolts if you look hard enough.

[sinkankan]

Pics of the new plate I put in the airbox, cut from a television wall support.