Upper Shock Mounts - '81 GS1000G/GS850G

[DonL]

Anyone had any experiece replacing upper shock mounts on a GS850G/GS1000G?
Got a really good deal on a nice GS1000G, but the upper shock mounts have cross threaded nuts on them. This resulted in no threads left on the shock mount stud.
Are these studs replaceable? Are they just "bolts" that are tack welded in the frame?

[Steve]

I am reasonably sure they are a bit more elegant than just "tack welded" into place, but you could certainly cut yours off and weld new ones into place. Just be sure to get bolts with smooth shoulders for the shock bushings to ride on. Position just enough of the shoulder so the nut will bottom out when it starts to snug up on the rubber bushing before it smashes it tight.


.

[onchiman]

You could also try to cut some new threads on the stud with a slightly smaller appropriate sized die. You'll have to buy new acorn nut to match.

[robertbarr]

You could also try to cut some new threads on the stud with a slightly smaller appropriate sized die. You'll have to buy new acorn nut to match.

That would be my approach. Those acorn nuts aren't subjected to very much force at all. It would be extremely difficult to remove the shock with just the upper or lower nut removed, so it's probable you could get away with no nut there at all, as long as the other is in place. Not that I'm suggesting doing that...

[DonL]

I found the quotes below in the archives and stuff...
I think I will try the rethread it to 3/8" 24 thread route first.

-=-=-=-=-=-
DATE: July 31, 1999
QUESTION: Shock mount replacement - 1979 GS750EL
Is it possible to remove and replace the stud that the rear shocks mount to? A previous owner installed the wrong size nut on the stud and now the first 3/4" of threads are non-existent. I need to replace the stud or tap some new threads. I looks like I could knock the stud out of the frame and install a new one. Can anyone confirm this?
RIDER: Les Chamness
REPLY: Frank Perreault
Any good machine shop that also does welding should be able to do this. Talk to your local auto parts place or Suzuki shop to see if they can make recommendations. It won't be cheap though.

-=-=-=-=
Tips and Tricks
Repair on a stripped rear shock mount / bolt
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I recently had some success repairing a shock absorber mounting bolt that had its threads worn almost smooth by the shock absorber. I noticed that posters to this board had repaired this problem by removing the old worn bolt and welding a replacement onto the frame. Since I had my hands full doing other repairs to the bike I decided to try to re-cut the threads on the existing mount. I used a 3/8”-24 die, which is just slightly smaller than the stock bolt, to carefully recut the threads, removing a fair amount of metal in the process. The end result was clean new threads that matched up perfectly with a standard (non-metric) 3/8-24” acorn nut. While I was able to tighten it, I didn’t want to apply too much torque to the nut so I used some locktite to ensure that the nut was secure. So far it has held and my guess is that it will continue to hold for the life of the bike. It was easier than cutting welding, that’s for sure.
Jeff

[DonL]

The outcome is as follows:
Chased the treads on the shock mount with 10MMx1.25 Die
and chased the threads in the acorn nuts with a 10MMx1.25 tap.
The treads look great in the acorn nuts.
The treads on the very outer end of the shock mount are still a bit rough, but serviceable.
If this had not worked, I would have rethreaded to non metric 3/8-24 which is roughly equivalent to a 9mm.
Went out for a good ride this evening, and both shocks mounts held on well.