New and needing a little help

[asubbrown]

Alright I purchased a 1982 GS650L today. Unfortunately I could not even get the bike home because it was having problems with it already. The bike has 15k miles and according to the previous rider was only ridden about four times a year(poor bike). Oh also I am new to riding and motorcycle maintenance. Alright on to problem number 1:

My clutch cable snapped on me today and I have looked through the forums but there seems to be conflicting information on how to replace it. With my model being the GS 650 model I was wondering where my clutch cable ends at and how I should replace it. Also I would greatly appreciate a list of tools that I need for this replacement as well as a good set of starter tools for regular maintenance. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me with this.

Problem number 2. Sorry I don't have more details on this one because I can not look at my bike since it is parked in front of someone house currently, but I also seem to have an oil leek that seems to be coming from under the bike on the where the bar that goes from the motor to the back is. I was wondering what this could possibly be and how to fix it. It does seem to be leaking oil pretty quickly as I ran through 2 bottles on the way home and it seems that it is empty again.

Thanks again for any future help, and please bear with me that I an new at this, but am definitely willing to take the time and effort to learning the art of motorcycle maintenance.

[BassCliff]

Hee Haw Howdy!

Hi Mr. asubbrown,

Be sure you are not overfilling the crankcase. There's a little window by the brake pedal with an "F" mark. You'll need to get a manual, Clymer, Haynes, Suzuki Shop Manual, or all three if you can find them. Now here's your 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)!

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 In The Garage section via the GSR Homepage 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 if your bike uses shims for valve adjustments, send an email to Mr. Steve requesting a copy of his Excel spreadsheet that helps you keep track of clearances, shim sizes and other service work.

These are some edited quotes from one of our dear beloved gurus, Mr. bwringer, with ideas on basic 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

***********************************
Every GS850 (and most other models) 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:

1. Intake O-rings (install NEW OEM or Viton only - common nitrile O-rings will quickly deteriorate from heat)
2. Intake Boots (install NEW -- these cannot be repaired)
3. Valve clearances (more important than most people think)
4. Carb/airbox boots
5. Airbox sealing
6. Air filter sealing
7. Petcock (install a NEW one)
8. On '79 models, install new points or Dyna electronic ignition (or at least verify that the old points are working correctly)
9. 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.
10. Stock exhaust with NO leaks or holes -- good seals at the head and at the junctions underneath.
***************************************
OEM Parts/Online Fiches:

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://denniskirk.com - Put in your bike model and see what they have.
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.
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**********************
Additional parts/info links:

GSR Forum member Mr. duaneage has great used upgraded Honda regulator/rectifiers for our bikes. Send him a PM.
New electrical parts:
http://stores.ebay.com/RMSTATOR or http://www.rmstator.com/

http://www.ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/index.php

http://www.electrosport.com/

For valve cover and breather cover gaskets, I recommend Real Gaskets (reusable silicon):
http://www.realgaskets.com
The Rice Paddy (salvage/used)
http://www.ricepaddymotorcycles.com
Carolina Cycle
http://www.carolinacycle.com
Ron Ayers Motorsports
http://www.ronayers.com
MR Cycles
http://www.mrcycles.com
Moto Grid
http://www.motogrid.com
If all else fails, try this:
http://www.used-motorcycle-parts.org/
Used bike buying checklists:

http://www.amadirectlink.com/roadride/Riderresc/checklist.asp

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html
Lots of good info/pictures here:
http://www.suzukicycles.org
http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Motorcycle_Wiki
http://www.bikepics.com
Basic motorcycle maintenance/repair:

http://www.dansmc.com/mc_repaircourse.htm

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)

[BassCliff]

Hello again Mr. asubbrown,

To answer another of your questions, you don't need a whole lot of tools. Metric sockets and wrenches, regular screwdrivers and pliers, some Crescent wrenches (a BIG one for removing axle bolts), a tappet tool, impact driver, stubby metric wrenches come in handy sometimes, a crimper tool for making new electrical connections, digital caliper for fine measurements. Take the time to read everything you can get your eyes on to gain a good working knowledge of what is necessary to maintain these classic bikes. Then you'll know what tools you need.

I think your clutch cable get connected to the clutch hub via that little pully by your right foot as you sit on the bike. A manual will give you the proper routing. Or you can just take off the tank and note the route, then use the old cable to pull in the new cable.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[simon kuether]

Yahoo!Another to the frey.Welcome to the world of motorcycling.Grab a manual and off you go.Have a go at any and everything as far as maintaining goes.If you bugger something,don't freak out.We've all done that.It's how you learn.PLENTY of help,advice and experience here.Hang on and enjoy the ride.Cheers,Simon.

[asubbrown]

I got the bike fixed and was able to drive it home. I did not have to completely remove the gas tank. I instead took off the seat then the back two screw of the gas tank and held it in a tilted up position with a shoe between the back of the gas tank and the frame. This allowed me enough space to see and fit the new clutch cable. I would highly recommend this method to novice mechanics like myself who do not want to completely remove the gas tank. Now that I got it home I will be taking some pictures and posting them up here. Thanks for the big welcome guys.

~Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow~

[Steve]

I got the bike fixed and was able to drive it home. I did not have to completely remove the gas tank. I instead took off the seat then the back two screw of the gas tank and held it in a tilted up position with a shoe between the back of the gas tank and the frame. This allowed me enough space to see and fit the new clutch cable. I would highly recommend this method to novice mechanics like myself who do not want to completely remove the gas tank. Now that I got it home I will be taking some pictures and posting them up here. Thanks for the big welcome guys.

~Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow~

Actually, you had about 80% of the task done when you stuck the shoe in there. All you had left to do was to remove the two hoses from the petcock, disconnect the fuel sender wires and pull up the emergency drain hose for the fuel level sending unit.

However, it's nice to always hear a success story.

.

[Roostabunny]

I got the bike fixed and was able to drive it home. I did not have to completely remove the gas tank. I instead took off the seat then the back two screw of the gas tank and held it in a tilted up position with a shoe between the back of the gas tank and the frame. This allowed me enough space to see and fit the new clutch cable. I would highly recommend this method to novice mechanics like myself who do not want to completely remove the gas tank. Now that I got it home I will be taking some pictures and posting them up here. Thanks for the big welcome guys.

~Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow~

I was going to say the same as Steve - you'd already done the hard part. No problem, you still saved yourself a couple of minutes.

Check out Cliff's site and posts. There's a bunch of potential oil leaks on these bikes - most fairly easy to fix. The idea will be to get the engine cleaned off so you can see where the oil's coming from. I had to replace my valve cover gasket and rebuild my tach sender and cam chain tensioner - learning wrenching along the way. Meanwhile, my base gasket still seeps, but I'll eventually rebuild the top end and replace it then.

The bike looks real clean - a little TLC and you should have a great realiable ride that hauls and still draws jealous looks at the gas station.