Head problems

[Guest]

I have a 1980 GS1100EX which I haven't had very long. It came in a terrible state and I'm slowly working through all the stuff that is wrong with it. When I was checking the valve clearances I noticed that the intake cam lobe was badly chipped. I managed to find a good used one and installed it. When I was ready to reinstal the cover I noticed that the gasket I ordered would not fit. I have now realised that the cylinder head is off another model (which would explain why the cylinder head is black and the rest of the motor is silver). Going by the old gasket that came off it, I am figuring that the head is off a 1983 GS1100E. Now I am worried that the inlet camshaft, which was off a 1980GS1100 may not be compatible. The part numbers for the 1980 and the 1983 are different but they look the same to me. The motor was running O.K. prior to this (although with some other problems which I am pretty sure is in the carbs). The engine turns by hand with no problems or noises. Does anybody know if this is going to be a problem? Right now I have no idea whether the engine was running '83 cams or '80 cams or what.

[posplayr]

I have a 1980 GS1100EX which I haven't had very long. It came in a terrible state and I'm slowly working through all the stuff that is wrong with it. When I was checking the valve clearances I noticed that the intake cam lobe was badly chipped. I managed to find a good used one and installed it. When I was ready to reinstal the cover I noticed that the gasket I ordered would not fit. I have now realised that the cylinder head is off another model (which would explain why the cylinder head is black and the rest of the motor is silver). Going by the old gasket that came off it, I am figuring that the head is off a 1983 GS1100E. Now I am worried that the inlet camshaft, which was off a 1980GS1100 may not be compatible. The part numbers for the 1980 and the 1983 are different but they look the same to me. The motor was running O.K. prior to this (although with some other problems which I am pretty sure is in the carbs). The engine turns by hand with no problems or noises. Does anybody know if this is going to be a problem? Right now I have no idea whether the engine was running '83 cams or '80 cams or what.

The black heads are a little better and there is quite a bit more lift in the cams, it only causes higher acceleration.
not to worry

[BassCliff]

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[MiketheBike]

To Posplayr. Thanks for your rapid response which saved me agonising over the weekend and researching the internet. To BassCliff. Thanks for the warmest welcome and the shear wealth of information which I will now read for the rest of the weekend.

[headsbikesmopars]

What Posplayr said. Also the '83 models had a 20 bolt valve cover so it sealed much better than earlier models . An '83 head , cams and cover is ALL good...

[chef1366]

What Posplayr said. Also the '83 models had a 20 bolt valve cover so it sealed much better than earlier models . An '83 head , cams and cover is ALL good...

83 heads came with a 24 bolt cover.
C'mon Terry!

[MiketheBike]

Thanks guys. You are right. The cover has 24 bolts. I've ordered a cam cover gasket for an '83 GSx 1100E. I'll let you know if it fits.

[koolaid_kid]

You may wish to check the part number on the remaining cam. There probably won't be an issue with running a 1980 intake cam and a 1983 exhaust cam, but it would be nice to know exactly what you have.

[MiketheBike]

O.K. So the cam cover gasket arrived and it fits perfectly. Not only that, it looks like a much better gasket then the one Suzuki supplies for the 1980 model. This one has a tiny bead that runs round the gasket and around each hole, on both sides. Its not a silicone bead but actually part of the gasket itself. (70 bux) Anyhow at least now I know that the head is off a 1983 GS1100E or ES(D)

Been thinking about what the Koolaid Kid suggested. So the lobe hieght on the intake cam that I bought is 1.364" THe lobe hight on the intake cam I took out is 1.376". Does that marry up with an '83 head? The exhaust lobe is 1.362" (which is 10 thou bigger than the max spec. stated for the 1980) does this sound like an '83 exhaust cam? Maybe I should take the '80 cam back and see if they've got a decent '83 intake cam?

While I am sorting out the cams, Maybe I should try to determine the piston size as well (72 or 74mm) before I start pulling the carbs apart?

[chef1366]

You think it has a big bore kit in it? All 1100s were 72mm.
Throw those cams in and ride it! They will work fine.

[koolaid_kid]

If you bought the cam locally I would certainly check with them to see if they have an 83 intake they would swap for.
Just a thought.

[chef1366]

If you bought the cam locally I would certainly check with them to see if they have an 83 intake they would swap for.
Just a thought.

He's right
The 83 has a nicer profile but the others will work fine.

[greg78gs750]

whoa whoa whoa, did you say 70 dollars for the cam cover gasket? if so, you need a new source for parts....

[MiketheBike]

To Chef1366 - What i was thinking was, if some previous owner changed the head from an '80 to '83 head as a go fast mod, then he may have bored the cylinders to take the '84 74mm pistons (capacity went from 1074 to 1135 that year). I'm no where near up to speed on the history of these things but my reading so far indicates that Suzuki claimed 100HP on the 1980 model but 124HP on the 84. That's a lot of extra horses to get with just a few cheap used parts. If that's what happened, I'm keen to keep any extra performance and knowing the engine capacity will give me a better feel for how the carbs should be set up (which I haven't got to yet).

As for getting on and riding, that was my original plan. I bought this bike so that I could take my old Harley off the road and do some long overdue maintenance and upgrades. But now I've decided to take the advice given and take a bit of time getting the essentials right.

As for the price of the gasket, yeah it was about double what I expected to pay but I guess that's what you get if you want genuine suzuki and you buy it through your local dealer and want it tommorow. Don't forget, I'm in Australia and the dealer was surprised that they had one in the country! And I mean there was one so don't bother ordering 2.

[greg78gs750]

ah, australia. i wondered. quite a few gs'ers under there, welcome to the forums!