new owner, new member, take me to school!

[Guest]

Morning all! New to this forum but not bikes. Just picked up an 82 GS650G for a wife commuter. The first ride has me surprisingly enamored with the bike! It's a great little machine!

It has a few things amiss, but is shockingly complete and clean for a 35 year old machine!

Need the speedo/odo fixed or replaced, seat cover has a busted seam, shocks are blown, lots of little stuff here and there.

What are the 'gotcha's with this model?
Where is the best place to source NOS parts?
What should I do as a 'preventative' measure, assuming it's all stock?

Thanks! Looking forward to getting this lovely little bike back in tip top shape!

[JTGS850GL]

Take a look at the greetings link bottom of my signature.

[Redman]

Welcome to GSR.

Do introduce yourself some in "Owners".

ANd we need photo of the bike.
Like to joke that can not give any advice untill see pic of bike, Need to know if it is the black one or the red one. har har har

When have the rear wheel off, do inspect the hub in the rear wheel.
Hub/spline IN the rear wheel, but need to take the hub out of the wheel to get a good look at it.
And lube it with Moly Lube.

Do check the charging system.

I had an 82 GS650G from new for 20+ years. Newer had to do much work on it.
Learnt about the charging system and the rear hub/splines on 850G and 1100G... but both apply to the 605G.

.

[kschippe]

Will do. Working on uploading a picture!

Spline inspect, got it. Already part of the maintenance procedure on my Super Tenere.

How should I check the charging system? or do I just need to buck up and digest the 'stator papers'?

[BigD_83]

The stator papers will lay it out much better than just trying to eat up the information through member posts.

The airbox and intake boots/o-rings are going to need a thorough looking-over. Member Robert Barr at cycleorings.com will be able to sort you out in terms of the o-rings. We also have a Shim Club run by member Ghostgs1, if you find you need some and can't/don't want to source them locally

[kschippe]

The stator papers will lay it out much better than just trying to eat up the information through member posts.

The airbox and intake boots/o-rings are going to need a thorough looking-over. Member Robert Barr at cycleorings.com will be able to sort you out in terms of the o-rings. We also have a Shim Club run by member Ghostgs1, if you find you need some and can't/don't want to source them locally

Sounds good.

I've got the airbox on the bench and am busy making it airtight. What's with the unfiltered 'drain' line on the bottom of the air box, in the clean side? wouldn't this just be sucking dirty air past the filter all the time?

Carb boots going to the engine: I only need to replace that o ring if I take the boots off, correct?

[BigD_83]

Sounds good.

I've got the airbox on the bench and am busy making it airtight. What's with the unfiltered 'drain' line on the bottom of the air box, in the clean side? wouldn't this just be sucking dirty air past the filter all the time?

That drain line is meant to have a plug on the end of it

Carb boots going to the engine: I only need to replace that o ring if I take the boots off, correct?

That o-ring is the bane of our GS existence. Over time, the heat from the head dries it, then it cracks, regardless if you leave the boots in place. Much time has been spent by members chasing leaks before they have come to the realization they missed those o-rings.

They can be a bit of a bugger to remove, but you can use a wee pick to stab them and pull them out if there is no obvious break. Be careful, the head material is a little soft, so you do not want to pry against it.

[kschippe]

Gotcha. Might as well replace them while the carbs are off.

[Steve]

One more "gotcha" on the 650, as requested:

There are TWO drain plugs for the oil.

The secondary drive (the right-angle drive that sends power to the driveshaft) is lubricated by engine oil and has its own sump. It is fed by the same oil pump from the main sump, so there is no separate fill for the secondary drive, but there is a second drain plug.

.

[kschippe]

Finally got my head side intake boots off (JIS screws all stripped....seem to be made of fine Cheddar) and 3 of the 4 Orings were cracked and gapped! They were ALL hard as a rock. Should run better with those not leaking...

[greg78gs750]

also beef up the stator papers with the link in posplayer's sig, gs charging health, unless they have been updated the stator papers are a little stale..