'84 GS1100GK - how similar to '82/'83

[Guest]

I'm a newbie. I just bought a 1984 GS1100GK. Many of the posts I read, and specs I find, are for a '82-'83 GS1100GK. I'm wondering how much difference there is between the 1984 model and the '82-'83 models. For instance - carb specs and O ring sets. Would it be alright to buy parts listed for 82/83 and put them on my bike? (as long as they look the same and I don't have to force them to fit) Or was the 1984 bike that much different?

[BassCliff]

Hee Haw Howdy!

Hi Mr. d_hoffman,

There is a carb spec sticky thread at the top of the tech section. If you open that thread you can search inside for the bikes in question. 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)

[charady]

welcome to the group d_hoffman. this place is loaded with great info. What part of Iowa are you from? Maybe we can get together sometime.And have you got any pics of that sexy GK? Curious how much different they are, I own a '82.

[d_hoffman]

BassCliff - thanks for the welcome. I saved it. I'm sure all those links will a big help very soon. I've been poking around on this site for a few days and I've read through that "carb oem spec as per factory" thread. There's a lot of great info there (and in other threads), however the carb info I found is for a 82/83 GS1100 which prompted my question.

charady - I live outside of Cedar Rapids. If you're in east central Iowa sometime we could get the bikes together and compare. I'm hoping the 82/83/84 bikes are basically the same and most of the parts are interchangeable.

[dpep]

Grandpa will probably be along shortly to answer that question definitively. He is our resident GK sage. I believe the only significant difference is that the rear hub gearing is just a little bit taller on the 84 (fewer rpms for a given speed).

[Zooks]

Firstly, welcome aboard. Secondly, the thing that brings us all together on this forum is the similarities with all of the GS models. Carbs, engine parts, wheels & mechanical bits generally fit between similar models.

[d_hoffman]

thanks dpep. thanks Zooks.
I was starting to think that may be the case but wanted to hear it from the experts before I started ordering parts. Because, not only am I a newbie to this forum, this is my first bike in over 28 years and my first street bike ever. I've probably gotten in a bit over my head but I'm planning on taking it slow. The PO did a lot of work on it however it's not as smooth as I think it should be while idling and when running 25 mph, in second, around 2500 rpm. It seems to smooth out at higher rpm. It does have a 4 to 1 Mac pipe and I can't find in the PO notes where he changed the jets after he installed the pipe. [IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/DANIEL%7E1.HOF/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/IMG][IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/DANIEL%7E1.HOF/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.jpg[/IMG]He threw in the Clymer manual along with all his notes. The notes are dated and fairly detailed so I believe that he would have written that down if he did. Is that something that is recommended after installing after market pipes?

[d_hoffman]

ok I guess cut and paste doesn't work too well in a forum. Sorry about that line of garbage in my previous post. Funny - it wasn't there when I was typing the reply but it sure showed up after I hit the submit button

[Zooks]

No jgfh/>?hjb854nuy786gb/c7 problem

[Grandpa]

Grandpa will probably be along shortly to answer that question definitively. He is our resident GK sage. I believe the only significant difference is that the rear hub gearing is just a little bit taller on the 84 (fewer rpms for a given speed).

Only other difference is the regulator/rectifier. The 1984 GS110GKE's reg/rect is different in that it has 5 leads instead of 4.

The two-tone gray paint scheme of the 84 is unique.

Everything else is the same.

[d_hoffman]

thank you Grandpa that's good to know.
My bike does have that two tone gray paint scheme - maybe they all did/do. But I hope they all don't have that extra cup of oil in the crankcase. Just ordered an OEM petcock for it from BikeBandit. After reading a number of threads about petcocks leaking gas into the case and figuring out that a completely full oil window is not quite right I drained some out and then some more before I saw it fall down to the full line. (yes it was on the stand and had been standing for over 10 minutes) And the oil definitely has a gas order. So no riding till the new petcock is put on, oil filter is changed and filled with new oil. Now on to read some threads about what type of oil and filter is recommended for these GS1100GKE.

[Planecrazy]

Welcome aboard! Watch for a thread on the "Fennimore Rally," formerly the Galena Rally. We do it each fall and try to plan it to coincide with the "Slimey Crud Run" in Western WI each year. There will be a big group of GSR's there and the riding in western WI is great! We generally ride up the Great River Road (on the Iowa side) on Friday of that weekend, and then stay at the Fenmore Hills Hotel Friday and Saturday nights.

Hope to see you there later this year!

Regards,