red residue on chain and rear tire.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I had a GS650 about nine years ago. Last year my car broke down so many times I got tired of fixing it. This year when my tax refund check came in I bought an '81 GS1100. I bought this motorcycle based on my fond memories of the GS650, and it is my primary means of transportation.

This bike runs really well when it is warmed up, but it makes a lot of noise. I ran a short errand today and when I got back I noticed a red residue on the chain and on the left side of the rear tire. I spun the tire around and it the residue covers the whole chain, but there is none on the chain guard or anywhere else on the bike, so I would guess it is coming from the motor somewhere.

My first idea is that someone put transmission fluid in instead of gear oil, which could account for some of the noise, but I can't find a place to drain or fill the transmission. My Climer book doesn't mention any gear oil, only engine oil. If there is no gear oil, what other red substance could be leaking?

Any ideas on what to look at first? If it does use gear oil, how do I replace it?

The older I get, the less patience I have with mechanical things. As I've read in these forums about synching the carbs, adjusting the valves (all 16?) I think I may have bitten off more than I care to chew with this motorcycle. Would there be anyone here interested in possibly trading this bike for a smaller, even a much smaller bike that wouldn't require as much maintenence?

Thanks in advance for your time.

Tom

[focus frenzy]

engine oil lubs the transmission on these bikes, you have to have a two stroke, Harley or a early Brit bike to have separate oil for the transmission, the bigger shafties (shaft drive) have a secondary gear box that has it's own oil.
could it be rust working out from under the chain rollers?
you should have no problem finding some one here to trade with, but you might want to say where you are so possible traders can know if you are near them.

[Anonymous]

Leon,

Thanks for the reply, I thought maybe rust, but spread all over the rear wheel and tire?

I'm near St. Louis, MO

Tom

[Anonymous]

my old chain was really rusty, and it left a ruddy red residue all over the frame and swingarm, and the tire. dust to more precise. and it was noisy as hell until i changed chain and sprockets, it still makes some noise , but it isnt as bad... more or less a whirring sound as the chain rotates over the sprockets (the rear is still the old one... pending replacement). take a good look at your chain, and see if there are any answers there.

[bwringer]

Yes, you have a rusty chain.

How often (if ever) do you lube and adjust the chain? If it's an o-ring chain, the main function of chain lube is to protect the chain from corrosion. If it's getting so corroded that it's noisy, there's about a 99% chance the chain and sprockets are ruined.

With all due respect, if you don't want to deal with easy, ordinary maintenance such as valve adjustments and lubing the chain, just go to your friendly local Toyota dealer and sign where the nice man tells you to. Then come back every three months or so and pay whatever the other nice man in the service department tells you. Wave buh-bye to several hundred dollars each month.

With daily riding, you may never have to get familiar with the innards of your carburetors (sitting over the winters so the carbs gum up is the #1 source of parts bikes). However, if you own any motorcycle, you really do need to adjust the valves, change the oil, lube the chain, etc. You can't put them off, and you still have to do them even on a smaller bike.

None of these tasks is at all difficult, and with a 16 valve GS with screw and locknut style valve adjustments, you don't even need special tools or parts. Synchronizing the carbs does take a little patience and an small investment in a set of gauges, but you could easily have it done at any independent shop for the cost of 1/2 to 1 hour labor.

To partially answer your question, there are a few motorcycles with automatic hydraulic valve adjusters that do not require engine maintenance other than regular oil changes. The 91+ Honda Nighthawk 750 is probably the most comparable to a GS (it is chain drive, though). Most v-twin cruisers, including Hardley-Ablesons also have automatic hydraulic valve adjusters.

If you go pale at the thought of cleaning and lubing a chain, then you're going to need to also look for shaft or belt drive. Again, there are also several examples of shaft-drive cruisers from all the Japanese manufacturers. You still need to change the gear oil once a year. Hardley-Ablesons are belt-drive, but certainly not what you'd call inexpensive or reliable. You still need to glance at the belt's adjustment once in a while, but it pretty much doesn't require maintenance.

If you want inexpensive reliability, your GS can give that to you as long as you take care of it. (Despite all the agony you see on this forum, the majority of us spend far more on tires than repairs.)

If you can spend the money, you might consider looking for a newer cruiser-style bike with hydraulic valve adjusters and belt or shaft drive. With a newer bike, you will find more shops willing to work on it. And as long as you ride it regularly and use Sta-Bil if it sits for more than a couple of weeks, the carbs won't gum up.

The maintenance requirements for a smaller bike are really no different than for your big-bore GS. Other than better gas mileage, you wouldn't save much money or time at all. It's often easier to find repair and upgrade parts for the more popular, bigger GS models, but maintenance supplies and tasks are about the the same, other than half the valves and a bit less oil.

[Anonymous]

sounds like a rusty chain, to me . . . A buddy of mine had the same problem. . .

[Anonymous]

well, as i mentioned, that was what was up with my bike. i just swapped out the chain, and sprockets, and imagine thatm it isnt a problem anymore. although i did run the old equipment to the absolute end of its wear life. it's all stuff i had intended to do, but never had the cash.... then i just sort of did a bunch of maintenance procedures in one mass whack. still pending a valve job, and carb synch. although i may be able to do the valves myself, the carbs will be a different issue.