Bringing one out of retirement.

[basic]

You don't need no stinkin' shop! You've got us! :-D

does anyone know how to mount/dismount your own tire (tyre) without any special tools? I know i would be interested in knowing. Of course then there's balancing too...

[tkent02]

does anyone know how to mount/dismount your own tire (tyre) without any special tools? I know i would be interested in knowing. Of course then there's balancing too...

Fairly easy, use the search.

A harbor fright tire machine will pay for itself on about three tires compared to shop rates and buying tires from a dealer.

Regular tire spoons work fine too.

Balancing is easy too.

[basic]

I'll do that. I have access to a tire machine (my stepdad owns one) but was unaware you could balance them yourself....time to do some searching...

[Lynn]

You don't need no stinkin' shop! You've got us! :-D

Bruce:

I have no doubt I could do this... but I just don't know that I want the hassle. Would have to buy a few new tools. Besides, these are the ORIGINAL tires. I am sure they won't let go easily. I used to own and operate an auto repair shop. My brother bought me out when I went to law school. I have free use of the shop on evenings and weekends. He has a tire changer for autos, but no way will the bike wheels fit on it.

When I owned my first Suzuki, the end of the crank twisted off, breaking the stator cover and puking oil all over the street. I removed the engine, completely disassembled it, found a guy with a solid crank snout (old one was hollow), had it pressed in, and put her all back together, with new rings etc. since I already had it apart. That bike is still on the road, running strong, with no leaks, and has not required any major service since. Belongs to a good buddy of mine (I actually bought it from him and then sold it back) and he rides it hard (used to spend a lot of time on one wheel) when he rides it. He also owns a couple of more modern bikes.

So... a tire change doesn't exactly scare me (actually changed a 2 1/2 ton truck tire out in the field when I went on the wheat harvest summer of 73), but, I just have so many things going right now, I figure I can remove the wheels one evening, drop them off on my way to work the next day, then do my brake and fork maintenence the next evening. Found a place close to my office, and will stop by tomorrow to make sure they don't have a problem mounting "carry in" tires.

Lubed the clutch cable this evening. Right now the tail piece is sitting on the counter in the kitchen with one of the mounting ears setting up in epoxy.

Thanks to all for the encouragement. I knew a 25 year old bike would need some attention, even if it is ultra low mileage. I considered buying a newer sport bike, but chose not to because 1. They all look alike. 2. I like the old school look of these old GS's. 3. I always regretted selling the 80 GS1100. 4. I have no plans to go racing, street or track, so why do I need a bike capable of all that? I know this bike is capable of much more than I will ever explore.

Lynn

[renobruce]

I actually don't do my own tires either. Any dealership should do them, or try an independent shop. I use a shop that mostly does dirt bikes and atv's. They charge 5 bucks more per tire if you don't buy the rubber from them.

[Lynn]

Rear tire

Well, all that talk about not wanting the hassle, and I ended up mounting and balancing the rear at the house today. Got the wheel off, decided it needed a good cleaning, THEN decided it would clean up more easily if the tire were off..... well, you get the picture. Wasn't too bad. Only surprisw was the TUBE. Guess I was expecting tubeless. Oh well.

My new springs will be here this week (hopefully) and I really think I will drop that one off and let someone else do it while I rebuild the forks.

Picked up an 83 GS1100ES fairing today, and will look at getting that adapted to the bike before any long trips. That wimpy looking Spitfire windscreen has to go (with apologies to any and all who have one like it). I guess it does to the job, but I really like the look of the factory fairings.

Thanks for the help and encouragement.

Lynn

[Lynn]

All done... for now

OK, the bike is officially roadworthy. I promised an update.

Put a little Techron in the tank, filled it up with premium. Starts up in a nano-second and runs very well. Carbs have never been messed with and I think I will leave them alone. If I do anything right now, it would just be to drain the bowls in case there is a little gunk in there. Awesome throttle response once warmed. A little cold natured when dead cold, but goes away within 20 seconds or so.

Mounted and balanced two new tires. Pirelli Sport Demons. Yeah, I did it myself even after saying I didn't want the hassle.

Still have the original front tire with most of the tread left if any one wants it for a really really correct restoration. But I wouldn't advise actually riding on the thing. Would be fine for a museum piece. Free. You pay shipping.

Rebuilt front forks, installed progressive springs and 15W fork oil. Left the anti-dive actuators hooked up, and believe I will leave them in place. They don't bother me at all. I know some of the members here really don't like them.

Put in some new instrument cluster bulbs.

Installed new grommets for the side covers.

Had to take off the left peg and straighten out the mount.

Cleaned the chain and made sure alignment was perfect when installing rear wheel. Chain had never been adjusted and was not loose.

Changed oil and filter. Redline 4 stroke motorcycle 10W40. (Great products).

Have put 330 miles on it in the last week. Overall I am VERY pleased with this purchase. Bike getting ready to turn over 3,000 miles, and runs and rides like new.

Have a few more things to do, but nothing that affects roadworthiness. Just minor cosmetics. Waiting on a new Seargent seat cover, with cherry red welting. I guess every one of these seats splits toward the front. There is even an NOS one on ebay that has never been mounted to a bike and it is starting to split.

Only bug so far is the warning lights. The "stop light" warning light comes on intermittently (about 60% of the time), but the brake light always works. The "Batt" light comes on about 5% of the time, but charging system is fine. Finally, the "headlight" warning light comes on almost every time I put the high beam on, but high beam works fine and the light goes out after a few minutes. I am guessing I have a bad ground in the warning system, but don't know that I will even worry about it for now. Just want to enjoy the bike while the weather is nice.

Thanks for all the help on this site. I will take some pics soon and keep everyone posted.

Lynn

[Lynn]

Pics

Well, I have officially put more miles on this bike than the first owner, who had it for 25 plus years. I have gone over 700 just in the last couple of weeks. Been riding to work and back weather permitting. Yeah, I am a weather wuss.

Thought I would post a couple of pics since I got the seat cover put on. Only took about 30 min.

http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i279/lynnbilodeau/?action=view&current=HPIM3294.jpg

http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i279/lynnbilodeau/?action=view&current=HPIM3295.jpg

http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i279/lynnbilodeau/?action=view&current=HPIM3297.jpg

Bike is absolutely bone stock except for tires, seat cover, progressive springs in the front, and ebc brake pads in front. Still has original spark plugs, but they look perfect.

Again, very pleased with this purchase. Got to go run an errand. Have a great weekend.

Lynn

[bonanzadave]

Loooookin Gooooood !! \\/

My idiot lights have been doing that for 15 years. I think it might be the module. Keep me posted if you figure it out.

Cant wait to see what you do with that ES fairing.

[Steve]

Put a little Techron in the tank, filled it up with premium.

When that tank of "premium" runs out, put "regular" in, like it's supposed to have. There is no extra power or performance from a stock engine by using "premium".

Carbs have never been messed with and I think I will leave them alone. ... A little cold natured when dead cold, but goes away within 20 seconds or so.

You would get quicker warm-up and generally better performance if you did "mess" with them. Tweak the idle mixture screws for a slightly richer mixture. Even though there are very few miles on the bike, you might have problems with the o-rings in the intake tubes rotting out, leading to lean mixtures. It's not hard to check or replace them. Also rather inexpensive from cycleorings.com

Bike getting ready to turn over 3,000 miles, and runs and rides like new.

I would hope SO. Let's face it...it is new. :shock:

Only bug so far is the warning lights. The "stop light" warning light comes on intermittently (about 60% of the time), but the brake light always works. The "Batt" light comes on about 5% of the time, but charging system is fine. Finally, the "headlight" warning light comes on almost every time I put the high beam on, but high beam works fine and the light goes out after a few minutes. I am guessing I have a bad ground in the warning system, but don't know that I will even worry about it for now. Just want to enjoy the bike while the weather is nice.

Yes, it sounds like you have some possible bad connections there, but there are some other things to consider, too. I don't know if your "stop light" is supposed to come on when you use the brake (my Kaw 400 did that) or if it's supposed to warn you that the brake light is not working. If it merely tells you that the brake is working, one of your switches might be on the verge of making contact and bumps are making it connect, turning on your warning light and your brake light. Someone following you might not see the brake light come on because the little light on the dash will light quicker than the big bulb in the tail light.

Your "Batt" light has nothing to do with your charging system working or not. It monitors the level of electrolyte in one cell of your battery and lets you know that it is low.

Your high beam light definitely sounds like a bad connector problem that works its way out by being jiggled around for a bit. You will be better off if you just take an hour or two and clean all the connectors in the headlight bucket and every one that you can see along the main wiring harness. It is some of these intermittent bad connections that can lead to expensive failures if they are not tended to early. :shock:

.

[Lynn]

Thanks for the input Steve.

Headlamp warning light quit coming on; right after I had the headlamp bucket off and cleaned out the cobwebs (literally).

I am thinking as you do, that one or both of the brake light switches needs some attention.

Guess I will check the electrolyte level. BTW, does anyone know if Optima makes a gel cell battery for bikes?

To the previous poster. It will be a while before I start messing with the fairing set up. Have two projects I promised myself I would complete before doing anything further to the bike. I am quite please with it as is for now. The fairing set up I got will take quite a bit of work to make right.

Thanks again to all.

Lynn

[chef1366]

I've always liked the look of those bikes.
SWEET!!
I helped get one back to it's former glory for a guy in NY. Jetted the carbs for his 4-1 and pods.

[Zooks]

Yee Gods!!!!!!!!!!!


My bathroom mirror has less reflection than that thing. :shock:

Need dark sunglasses - that is amazing. 8-)