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I took my new-old Gs 1000 out for the um-teenth ride today. I had the day off from work; not in the stress free scheduled way, more like in the; I have some unpleasant obligations/ I can?t make it to work way. Thus the day was pre loaded with stress and anxiety. The ride came late in the afternoon, after I chopped some cord-wood in an attempt to feel less guilty for missing a paying shift. I decided I needed an RC. (That?s a coke to the rest of you guys and gals). Anyway, I changed out of my work shirt, found a helmet and was off.
There is a same-ness in the engineering of the GS bikes. There is a valve whirr that is a constant regardless of which 4 cylinder eight valve GS you are riding, 550,650, 750, 850 1000 or 1100. There is a familiar 1st to 2nd click that all the transmissions have. There is a heaviness to the front brakes that doesn?t get lighter, just gets choppier if you have a slotted disk instead of the solid rotor. And there is that wonderful starter clutch.
It seems odd to place so much praise in what is like the spleen of the bike: The starter clutch.
I?m kind of a parts snob? it?s a job thing. I like things that work really well in machines. I love things like roller bearings instead of plain bearings (sorry 650 dudes;-). I love mechanical carbs and their brutal fuel delivery and I?ll never understand why I replaced my head and carb set on my ?77 550 for a later model with CV carbs. (I guess I thought that they were easier to tune at the time, maybe I just got a really good deal? I don?t remember anymore.). And I love the starter on my GS.
I hit the button and instinctually let go a nanosecond before the engine engages. I let the momentum of the crank do the rest. And why do I like the starter clutch so much?... It?s like a really good braided fishing line, or a titanium driver, or rice paper (anyone remember Kung Fu?)? What am I blithering about you ask?, well it means that it really allows you to feel what you?re touching.
When you hit your starter button, a signal zaps down to the starter solenoid telling it to engage. Your little starter button would fry if it had to carry the load of your starter motor through its tiny wire. The solenoid is like a remote switch, beefier and more heavily wired. The solenoid is the real starter switch- it sends raw juice directly from the battery to the starter motor.
The starter motor is in itself a marvelous thing, a powerful little buggar. Since all starters in Japanese bikes come from the same factories (Nippon Denso or Mitsubishi et al.) They are pretty much the same. What makes the real difference is the starter clutch.
The starter spins and pushes the starter clutch, buried inside of the engine.The starter clutch needs to push the crank while the starter is engaged but free spin when the motor starts running. (Or else the starter would keep spinning with the engine). It?s a simple design really, made of large roller bearings, springs and a plain surface? if you can?t see it in your head, don?t worry- that?s what you pay mechanics for. Suffice it to say that this is just one of the hundreds of systems that make your machine what it is? and this is one done particularly well by Suzuki. Nearly flawless in fact
So, we take it for granted that when we hit the starter button on our GS it will spin the starter which will turn our engine to a start. Anyone who has owned a Yamaha twin will know immediately that this is not a thing to be taken for granted.
So why do I wax on about starting my GS so effortlessly? Well, frankly, I had a yucky day. I pushed a button, and like a million times before I was greeted with that familiar sound of my bike coming to life. THAT brought a smile to my face!
I needed the smile.
There is a same-ness in the engineering of the GS bikes. There is a valve whirr that is a constant regardless of which 4 cylinder eight valve GS you are riding, 550,650, 750, 850 1000 or 1100. There is a familiar 1st to 2nd click that all the transmissions have. There is a heaviness to the front brakes that doesn?t get lighter, just gets choppier if you have a slotted disk instead of the solid rotor. And there is that wonderful starter clutch.
It seems odd to place so much praise in what is like the spleen of the bike: The starter clutch.
I?m kind of a parts snob? it?s a job thing. I like things that work really well in machines. I love things like roller bearings instead of plain bearings (sorry 650 dudes;-). I love mechanical carbs and their brutal fuel delivery and I?ll never understand why I replaced my head and carb set on my ?77 550 for a later model with CV carbs. (I guess I thought that they were easier to tune at the time, maybe I just got a really good deal? I don?t remember anymore.). And I love the starter on my GS.
I hit the button and instinctually let go a nanosecond before the engine engages. I let the momentum of the crank do the rest. And why do I like the starter clutch so much?... It?s like a really good braided fishing line, or a titanium driver, or rice paper (anyone remember Kung Fu?)? What am I blithering about you ask?, well it means that it really allows you to feel what you?re touching.
When you hit your starter button, a signal zaps down to the starter solenoid telling it to engage. Your little starter button would fry if it had to carry the load of your starter motor through its tiny wire. The solenoid is like a remote switch, beefier and more heavily wired. The solenoid is the real starter switch- it sends raw juice directly from the battery to the starter motor.
The starter motor is in itself a marvelous thing, a powerful little buggar. Since all starters in Japanese bikes come from the same factories (Nippon Denso or Mitsubishi et al.) They are pretty much the same. What makes the real difference is the starter clutch.
The starter spins and pushes the starter clutch, buried inside of the engine.The starter clutch needs to push the crank while the starter is engaged but free spin when the motor starts running. (Or else the starter would keep spinning with the engine). It?s a simple design really, made of large roller bearings, springs and a plain surface? if you can?t see it in your head, don?t worry- that?s what you pay mechanics for. Suffice it to say that this is just one of the hundreds of systems that make your machine what it is? and this is one done particularly well by Suzuki. Nearly flawless in fact
So, we take it for granted that when we hit the starter button on our GS it will spin the starter which will turn our engine to a start. Anyone who has owned a Yamaha twin will know immediately that this is not a thing to be taken for granted.
So why do I wax on about starting my GS so effortlessly? Well, frankly, I had a yucky day. I pushed a button, and like a million times before I was greeted with that familiar sound of my bike coming to life. THAT brought a smile to my face!
I needed the smile.
Maybe I've been spoiled (or Lucky) but I have alwys taken it as a given that my GS (the GS1000E I used to have, AND the 850G I have now) will start as soon as I hit the button. I hadn't thought much about the Engineering that makes that a Reality! 
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