1982 Gs 1100gl Gears

[GETALYFF]

Can The Gears On A 1982 Gs 1100gl Shaftie Be Changed To Drop My Rpm's At Crusing Speeds????? Thanks

[Steve]

Not easily or cheaply. 8-[


By the way, what is your engine speed at 60 or 70 mph?
I think my 850L is right about 5000 at 65 mph (and...this is GPS mph and speedo mph \\/ ).

[SqDancerLynn1]

Going from memory 98% of all "G" bikes had a rear dif ratio 3.09 Their were a few GS1100GK's late 82 & 83 with a 2.9 ratio diff. ONLY possible way to change gearing

[Steve]

Doing the math, I find that change would drop engine speed from 5000 to 4692.

A whopping 6.61% difference.

WOW, 308 whole revolutions per minute. :shock:





Actually, I have thought of it, too, but never bothered to find out if there were any options. 8-[

[GETALYFF]

1982 Gs 1100gl Gears

My Bike Runs 80mph At 5000 Rpm's........

[Steve]

I will have to verify my 65 @ 5000. 8-[

Sounds like the 1100 might have different ratios in the tranny.


.

[GS1100GLMLA]

My 1982 GS1100GL runs 60 mph at 4000 rpms. It is stock with correct size tires. Are you sure your tach and speedometer are calibrated correctly? Then again maybe mine are off. I do think my speedometer is fairly close.

[dpep]

I am interested in this subject and went through a bunch of articles from when our GSs were being tested by the magazines in the early 80's. Here are the rpm's reported for the different G models at 60 mph.

850 - 4460

1000 - 3953

1100 - 3953

1100Gk - 4371
1100Gk - 4089

I am assuming the two different figures for the GK are the earlier and later rear ends with the different ratios that Lynn mentioned. I also believe the rear tire size (16") is different on the GK compared to the plain 1100G which may explain why neither of its figures are the same as the 1100G.

Here is something that I found of interest in reading an article on the 1000G.

"...Both the 850 and the 1000 shaft use the same transmission gear ratios and primary drive and final drive ratios are also the same. What's different is the secondary reduction ratio linking the transmission countershaft to the driveshaft. On the 850 the drive bevel gear has 16 teeth and the driven bevel gear has 17, while on the 1000 the ratio is reversed to 17:16. The net result of the gearing change is that the oveall ratio in high gear is 5.6:1 on the 850 and 4.97:1 on the 1000. A better example is engine speed at 60 mph. On the 850 the engine spins over at 4471 rpm ond on the 1000 it is a more subdued 3973 rpm. Tire sizes are the same for the 850 and 1000 shaft so the secondary reduction accounts for the difference."

This would indicate that changing the bevel gears at the front of the driveshaft would be the easiest way to affect overall gearing without changing to one of the hard-to-find late GK hubs.

I do not know if the gears are interchangeable between models. Anyway that would not helpful to someone with a 1000 or 1100 because you are already at the highest gearing. But someone might be able to find a set of bevels from another source somewhere that would fit into that location. I am not enough of a mechanic or machinist to undertake the project, but I would sure be interested in the results if someone else did.

[GETALYFF]

82 Gs 1100 Gl Gearing

My 82 1100 Runs 60mph At 3900 Rpm.......

[bwringer]

I think the broader point is that this is not a real problem. I don't really understand why this is such a common question.

An 850G will drone on all day on the interstate at 80+mph and 6,000 rpm. 6K rpm is right where a nice bump in the powerband starts -- perfect for highway work, where you want to have quick access to a burst of power for passing trucks full of pigs and other unpleasant impedimentia.

It's OK to spin. Really. The GS engine is designed and built for this. It won't hurt anything. You're only using a fraction of the available performance if you don't use the upper third of your tach regularly.

[SqDancerLynn1]

FYI the gs1000 beveled gears WILL NOT fit a gs850