What Goes in this Hole?

[Brent099]

My dad took the 1980 GS850 for a very short ride through the neighborhood the other day. About 20 minutes after parking it in the garage he noticed oil leaking out of this hole on the bottom left side of the engine (basically directly underneath the starter). It looks like a bolt is missing, but we couldn't find one anywhere on the ground, so it must have come out during the ride.

So my question is: is it just a bolt that goes in there or is it supposed to be more than that? I don't have much experience with old suzukis, so I don't know what purpose it serves. I need to find some kind of replacement bolt. I checked the diagrams on bikebandit but couldn't find it.

I've included a picture with the hole circled in red.



Thanks for any help!

[Redman]

That is the starter cavity drain hole.

Dripping oil you say.
So next question is where is that oil comming from? (since the starter isnt related to any oil)

Has been other postings of similar observations in recent weeks that you can search for.

Do you see other oil leaks around the area of the starter cover? Such as from the cam chain tensioner? If not, then its not oil getting past the starter cover, its oil that is leaking into the starter cavity. If you were to remove the starter cover (on top, not side case cover) then maybe you can find more. One suspect is the cyclinder base gasket.

Oh, to answer your question of "what goes in" this hole, the answer is nothing.

.

[Roostabunny]

Definitely a drain. And good thing it's there, too, or your starter would eventually be submerged in oil. 8-[

Here's a link to a thread with some good pics of the so-called "mystery hole". Now you just need to figure out where the oil's coming from. Cam chain tensioner is a common culprit in that vicinity, but best is to clean the heck out of the engine so that you stand a chance of seeing the source of the leak.

[Brent099]

Thanks for the help, I'm beginning to love this forum. I'll get to work on tracking down that leak.

[Roostabunny]

Thanks for the help, I'm beginning to love this forum. I'll get to work on tracking down that leak.

Our pleasure - did you already get your welcome post from Basscliff? That's got links to most of the required reading.

If not, I'm sure he'll be along shortly.

[psyguy]

looking at your photo, you also seem to be missing an engine mounting bolt, no

[RotaryRodder]

One of these 100,000 posts similar to this should be a sticky or something.

Im guilty of the same thing

[rphillips]

There is an "O" ring on the nose of the starter. Remove the starter cover, & using a mirror, you may be able to see if that's the problem,

[BassCliff]

Hey howdy hey again!

Our pleasure - did you already get your welcome post from Basscliff? That's got links to most of the required reading.

If not, I'm sure he'll be along shortly.

Mr. Brent099,

Did you stop by my little BikeCliff website and download your manual?

I did welcome Mr. Brent099 in this thread. But here is the new and improved, all-out, pedal-to-the-metal, super-elastic Mega-Welcome!


Let it be known that on this day you are cordially and formally welcomed to the GSR Forum as a Junior Member in good standing with all the rights and privileges thereof. Further let it be known that your good standing can be improved with pictures (not you, your bike)! :-D [IMG]file:///C:/Users/CSAUND%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/02/clip_image001.gif[/IMG]

Perhaps you've already seen these, but I like to remind all the new members. In addition to the carb rebuild series, I recommend visiting the garage section via the GSR Hompage and check out the Stator Papers. There's also a lot of great information in the Old Q&A section. I have some documentation on my little BikeCliff website to help get you familiar with doing routine maintenance tasks (note that it is 850G-specific but many tasks are common to all GS bikes). Other "user contributed" informational sites include those of Mr. bwringer, Mr. tfb and Mr. robertbarr.

And here are some quotes from one of our dear beloved gurus, Mr. bwringer, with ideas on basic maintenance needs (depending on initial condition), parts, and accessories.

***********Quoted from Mr. bwringer************
Carburetor maintenance:

Replace the intake boot o-rings, and possibly the intake boots. Here's the procedure:
http://bwringer.com/gs/intakeorings.html

Here's an overview of what happens with this particular problem:
http://cycleorings.com/intake.html

You'll also want to examine the boots between the carbs and the airbox. There's a good chance these are OK, but check them over.

And finally, if things still aren't exactly right, you'll want to order a set of o-rings for BS carbs from the GS owner's best friend, Robert Barr:
http://cycleorings.com

Once you receive these rare rings of delight, then you'll want to thoroughly clean and rebuild your carburetors. Here are step-by-step instructions that make this simple:
http://thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm
*************End Quote*************
**********Quoted from Mr. bwringer**********
Every GS850 has (or had) a set of well-known issues that MUST be addressed before you have a solid baseline for further troubleshooting.

It's a vintage bike, and it's quite common (as in, every single GS850 I have had contact with) that there are multiple problems that have crept up and slowly gotten worse over the years.

It's not like a newer vehicle, where there's generally one problem at a time.

These common issues are:

Intake O-rings (install NEW OEM or Viton only - common nitrile o-rings will quickly deteriorate from heat)

Intake Boots (install NEW -- these cannot be repaired)

Valve clearances (more important than most people think)

Carb/airbox boots

Airbox sealing

Air filter sealing

Petcock (install a NEW one)

On '79 models, install new points or Dyna electronic ignition (or at least verify that the old points are working correctly)

On all models, it's fairly common to have problems with the spark plug caps. These are $3 or $4 each, and often worth replacing if you're keeping the stock coils/wires.

Stock exhaust with NO leaks or holes -- good seals at the head and at the junctions underneath.
**********End Quote**********
***********Quoted from Mr. bwringer***************
http://denniskirk.com
Put in your bike model and see what they have.

I would definitely double and triple the recommendations to use Cycle Recycle II and Z1 Enterprises as much as possible. These guys are priceless resources. Z1 tends to have slightly better prices, CRC2 has a wider range of goodies available. If you're near Indy and can bring in an old part to match, CRC2 has a vast inventory of used parts.

http://oldbikebarn.com seems to be slowly regaining a decent reputation, but it's still caveat emptor. They don't have anything you can't get elsewhere at a better price anyway.

OEM Parts/Online Fiches:

http://www.babbittsonline.com/
Decent parts prices. Spendy shipping. Don't give you part numbers at all. Useful cross-reference if you obtain a part number elsewhere. Efficient service.

http://bikebandit.com
Fastest. Middlin' prices. Uses their own parts numbering system to obfuscate price comparisons -- can be very confusing for large orders. Cheapest shipping, so total cost usually isn't too bad.

http://flatoutmotorcycles.com
Slow. Cheapest parts prices, crazy shipping costs. Don't expect progress updates or much communication. Real Suzuki part numbers.

http://alpha-sports.com
Exorbitant parts prices. Different type of fiche interface that's quite useful at times, especially with superceded part numbers. Real parts numbers. Shipping cost and speed unknown due to insane, unholy pricing.

Stainless Bolts, Viton o-rings, metric taps, dies, assorted hard-to-find supplies and materials, etc.:
http://mcmaster.com
Fast, cheap shipping, good prices. No order minimum, but many items like bolts come in packs of 25 or 50. Excellent resource.

http://motorcycleseatcovers.com
Great quality, perfect fit (on original seat foam), and available for pretty much every bike ever made. Avoid the textured vinyl -- it's perforated.

http://newenough.com
You DO have riding gear, don't you? Great clearances, always outstanding prices and impeccable service.
***************End Quote**********************

Here are a few extra links:

Cycle-Re-Cycle Part 2
http://crc2onlinecatalog.com/

The ever popular Z1 Enterprises
http://www.z1enterprises.com

The Rice Paddy (salvage/used)
http://www.ricepaddymotorcycles.com

Ron Ayers Motorsports
http://www.ronayers.com


Lots of info/pictures here:
http://www.suzukicycles.org

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed of your progress. There's lots of good folk with good experience here.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
(The unofficial GSR greeter)

[KEITH KRAUSE]

There is an "O" ring on the nose of the starter. Remove the starter cover, & using a mirror, you may be able to see if that's the problem,

Yup. The large o-ring hardens and oil gets past. Goes right down through the drain hole.

[rkubik]

stator cover gasket

Mine was leeking from the same place, or so it looked. After trying many things, I finally replaced the stator cover gasket and it stopped "leaking" from that hole.

[psyguy]

Mine was leeking from the same place, or so it looked. After trying many things, I finally replaced the stator cover gasket and it stopped "leaking" from that hole.

i suspect then that it only "looked so"
was probably leaking at the bottom of the cover and leaking along the crankcase where the opening is and appeared to be coming out of that hole
the stator cover gasket doesn't cover the starter compartment even a little so i dont see how it would prevent a leak into that compartment (although it is quite close to it at the top of the cover, just above the starter nose)