new need some gs1100 info

[kurt12345]

i just bought a 81 gs1100ex and it has about 25,000 miles on it and runs good and everything, but iam concerned with the transmission, how tough is the tranny can it take some abuse, and also when iam cruising in 5th it makes a little gear wine noise but all the rest are quiet is that something to worry about, i just wanna know about the tranny and some of the common failure items and such, thanks for the info

[madjack57754]

Trans is pretty tough as far as a stock or near stock motor is concerned. If the bike was abused by excessive no clutch power shifts and sticky tires then maybe you are looking at problems. The biggest area of concern to me would be the clutch basket. They are known to be the weak link. Backing plate springs sag, The clutch plates eat into the hubs and create chatter and grabby clutch engagement. Heavy abuse can even shear off the steel rivets that hold the backing plate to the hub. But all in all most GS11's will run for years with the stock basket. You really have to pound on them to get them to fail. The trans problems that pop up are generally related to drag racing them. Hard shifting and popping out of gear are indications of abuse. I've dumped the clutch and watched the countershaft with sprocket attached go speeding out from under my turbo bike. Then there is the 1100 that I use as a spare ride at the track. Owned it since 1980, and have made over 1200 passes on the stock clutch basket, trans, and unwelded crank. The trick is running hard compound street tire so that it spins and using the clutch on upshifts. Pretty basic stuff will make them live. As far as the noise in 5th gear, mine are pretty quiet. The only time I car remember it making noise is when the chain was shot and when the oil levels get way low

[kurt12345]

is there a place you can get tougher tranny parts, is there any parts you can swap from newer gs or gsx bikes that are better then what i have, like trans parts, brakes, carbs etc? and are gs1100 motors all the same and what year are they different

[rphillips]

Basically, all the 16 v GS 1100 engines are the same. Mid 82 thru 83's have crank journals welded, with the exception of the journal at the primary gear. The tapered end of the cranks changed, I think 2 times, which in turn make them use a different rotor. All the 1100's have 3 angle valve seats, but the angles were changed a time or two. Slightly larger ex. cam for 82 & 83. Different bolt pattern for cam cover, for 82 & 83. 83 engines are black instead of silver. No chronic trans. problems, but like said before, a lot of abuse could cause transmission to sometimes jump out of gear, or possibly jump from one gear to another. I had one that got bad about that, but had suffered a lot of abuse for about 40,000 mi. If yours jumps out a lot, undercut gears are available. Clutch basket would be the first thing to worry about, several options available. Never remember hearing any whine from any 1100 tras.

[kurt12345]

so mid 82 83 motors are better, more power and stronger??

[madjack57754]

1150s are the hot ticket. pinned cranks larger displacement. Better head.
As far as tougher trans parts APE or orient express will sell you all the pieces you need, If you want used, check VanSant racing's web site or
dragbike.com from time to time.
For upgrades to your bike in general, just keep an eye on GSR and check the old threads. Lots of info by people that have been riding and racing gs 4 valves for a long time

[chef1366]

On my 1100 the clutch hub was junk after 20,000 miles. The tranny is fine. Send out your clutch hub to ape, Falicon or Vance and Hines or keep an eye on Ebay (what I did)
Excessive noise? Check your sprockets and chain.

[kurt12345]

it only makes the noise when iam in 5th gear from 40 to 60 mph and when i give it gas in 5th gear, put the gear under load, all the rest of them are quiet . so i dont know i was think 5th gear was abused and is starting to get worn out but i dont know anything about these bikes yet.

[newbomb]

5th gear whine

Kurt my 1000 kat is making this same noise did you ever figure out what was causing your noise

Rich

[Suzuki mad]

Had the same whining problem with my 1983 GS(X)1100ESD in 2005. Would only make it in 5th gear and when I had the throttle on, it decreased when I shut the throttle. I did have other problems with the engine (it used a lot of oil, worn out cams and followers, 1170 wiseco big bore kit, lower on power and compression etc)

Pulled the engine apart to find that both 5ths and 2nds had small pits in the teeth on both input and drive shafts.

Replaced the parts and rebuilt the engine it's all quiet now. I found from the local major Suzuki spares dealer here in the UK that there was a fault with some of the casting for the 2nd and 5th gears and some do fail. It won't explode or fall apart on you just get noisier with time.

The superceeded parts now have a coating on them to help solve this problem.

If i could get the file under the site limit I would post it to show you.

Suzuki mad
1981 GS1000ET
1983 GS(X)1100ESD
2002 GSF1200K1

[Suzuki mad]

Sussed it.

Suzuki mad