Checking for life in an engine

[Smokinapankake]

Looks like a weld repair to a cracked cam cover bolt hole....

[tkent02]

I thought it looked like poorly applied spray paint bubbling up.

[Mop Bucket]

Maybe they seperated drive shaft at U-joint to take motor out of frame for painting- but it's a BIG no-no to not reinstall boot. Also what's with that blob of metal adjacent to cam cover bolt near spark plug #2 ? ( sitting on bike ,plugs are numbered 1 to 4 starting on left).

Yeah, there is dirt and battery acid and rust in there now... I guess I can clean and regrease?

One spark plug stuck? Oh, no!
Are the carbs as oxidized as they look, or are my eyes blurry?

The carbs look to be fine, just a little dirty. I am taking pictures with a camera phone I keep in my pocket and lint makes the pictures a little blurry. But looking at the carbs I found on the pin screw? had this done to it.

Which should look like this:

Looks like a weld repair to a cracked cam cover bolt hole....

I thought it looked like poorly applied spray paint bubbling up.

Smokinapankake and Tom203 are correct, its a weld scar, is this bad, something to worry about, or cause for action?

[Smokinapankake]

If it seals, it should be okay, just ugly. That carb air screw looks like a wood screw - that will be trouble; perhaps a new carb body required there but I'm no expert on these, someone with more knowledge than me should be able to give better direction about this.

Overall I'd say its nothing that isn't repairable. Then you can add your horror stories to the lousy PO thread

[tom203]

That u-joint is nasty- looks like a sewage outlet ! As for screw in #4 carb body, maybe PO was to trying to satisfy EPA compliance by replugging. Keep at it- do you have any boxes of stuff for this or just what's hanging on bike?

[Mop Bucket]

That u-joint is nasty- looks like a sewage outlet ! As for screw in #4 carb body, maybe PO was to trying to satisfy EPA compliance by replugging. Keep at it- do you have any boxes of stuff for this or just what's hanging on bike?

I do have a box of stuff, rusty pipes, and rusty odds and ends. Nice looking horn though and assorted turn signals and headlight without mounting hardware. Stuff like that.

[tom203]

Do you have the air box/ air filter assembly in your collection ? Any luck with that stuck plug?

[Mop Bucket]

I have the air filter but not the air box, the part that hooks to the carbs is missing, but the end box is there. I put some penetrating oil on the spark plug and let it sit. When I tried to use my 5/8'' spark plug socket it wouldn't fit. The thing is big. I haven't measured to see what size it is yet, anyone know off the top of their Head?

[Nessism]

Sorry to say this but that bike looks like a parts bike to me. It's going to take a LOT of work to get back into running shape, and plenty of money too. If you just want a rat bike then no worry, otherwise you might want to look for something a little less hammered.

[Justonv]

Spark plug is 18 mm I believe...

[tom203]

Spark plug is 18 mm I believe...

Yes, 18 mm!- a 3/4" would be a poor choice since you got a stuck plug and need a good fit.
Hopefully, you'll take Nessism's point with an open mind! Looking at the pics, I doubt that you thought that this was going to be a piece of cake and would be running by Halloween. There was another poster with poorly running bike that he got cheap- One of the replies to him was something like " the $200 bike that keeps on giving " ! Sometimes, bikes get abused to the point where it ain't worth the trouble.

[Mop Bucket]

Give up? Nah, I just got started and don't even know if there is a problem... well ok, its missing a lot of parts. Half the fun of this project is one, its my first one and two I keep finding out interesting things. Like looks can be deceptive. The stuck spark plug, well it might not have been stuck. On the way home from work I picked up an impact spark plug socket, 18mm. I put it on a wrench and give it a twist with fingers and it spun the plug. Either that penatrating oil worked wonders or it wasn't stuck. Did I mention I am a newbie? It looked stuck and I didn't have a wrench that would fit until tonight. More mysteries on this bike, why replace three of the four plugs? Anyway, I should have the bike in my shop soon so I can really dig into it. Thanks for the input so far.

[tkent02]

[QUOTE=Mop Bucket;1280455] More mysteries on this bike, why replace three of the four plugs?

Welcome to the wonderful world of PO owned bikes.

Why do they put steel wool in the exhaust?
Why do they pull the head off a perfectly good engine to let it sit?
Why do they lose the carburetors and the titles?

Why because they are POs, that's what they do.

[tom203]

Give up? Nah, I just got started and don't even know if there is a problem... well ok, its missing a lot of parts. Half the fun of this project is one, its my first one and two I keep finding out interesting things.

I'm glad you're looking forward to it- we like enthusiasm! But you must now figure out what parts are missing so you can get a handle on the cost of replacement stuff if you intend to make it roadworthy. If this is just a project about "interesting things" , that's fine. Are you willing to spend $500 on needed parts and many hours of labor? For that kind of money, you can buy a very complete and close to running bike that's been sitting idle in somebody's garage for twenty years. It depends on what you want.

[Mop Bucket]

Update

I couldn't wait to get working on the GS so instead of waiting until I finish my main bike and an open spot in the shop, I started working. (I use shop loosely, basically I move my car out of the garage)


Anyways, I hand cranked the engine by hand and it moved pretty easy. Not sure what it should feel like, there was resistance but not a ton. Should I do anything else before doing this? I plan on doing a basscliff carb rebuild, oil change, new o-rings, and other maintenance at some point.

Back to the threads point, whats the next step? Fire it up?