lowering front legs on gs 850

[xxxWALLYxxx]

hello all

how can i lower my front legs on a gs 850
they look like this now:



but i wnat them to look like this :


how do i do this lowering on front legs?

wally

[Steve]

There are clamps on the upper and lower triple trees that allow the fork tubes to slide in or out.

A couple of things to watch for:
1) Unless you have changed the handlebar mounting location, you will only be able to slide them up about an inch before they hit the bars.
2) The lower tubes need to have the ability to move about 6 inches, unless you do something to limit that amount. The rider of the bike in the second picture is going to have a BIG surprise when he hits a big bump and the tire hits the lower triple tree. Possiblities include stopping the bike rather violently (if at low speed, on a good surface), locking up the front tire at speed (causing instant low-side) or shredding the tire (again, with interesting results).

.

[bwringer]

Dittos to the above, but... which year GS850 do you have?

If it's a later model with one air fitting on the side feeding both forks, you can't move them up without exposing the air holes, and fork oil will squirt everywhere.

If your air fittings are on the top of each fork, then never mind that.


To really drop the front end, you'd need to modify the damper rods to reduce total travel -- as noted above, there's very little room to slide the forks up in the clamps without fouling the handlebars or removing rubber from your front tire with the steering stem.

Goofing around with extremes of steering geometry to achieve a certain look is generally a Really Bad Idea.

[SqDancerLynn1]

If you do something like that It will maker the bike very dangerous to handle , No clearance for turning

[TheCafeKid]

I agree with all of the above. I have dropped my 77 750 cafe project about an inch in the front, and it REALLY quickened the steering on it. Not dangerously so, but any more than that would be silly for all of the reasons listed above. You'll be suprised how how much just an INCH will change things...be very carefull sir, please.

[BassCliff]

Hee Haw Howdy!

Hi Mr. xxxWallyxxx,

My bike does everything I need it to do, and very well. About the only changes I'm making to it are lighting upgrades, stainless steel brake lines, Progressive fork springs (shocks later), and lots of spit and polish. I see no need to make any major changes to a great bike. But that's just me, the old fuddy duddy. Also, I'm the welcome wagon, and 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************
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.

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

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 gaskets, I recommend Real Gaskets (reusable silicon):

http://www.realgaskets.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

Salvage/Used

http://www.ricepaddymotorcycles.com

http://www.ozpowersports.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
Online Clymer manuals:
http://search.ebscohost.com/ Click on "Small Engine Repair" then "Motorcycles". User=library, password=library. Note: This link may not work if you are on a school campus.


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)

Click here to visit BikeCliff's website.

[BassCliff]

A true story

Hi,

You could take out the spacers and cut your fork springs. But I don't want to hear about it and will take no responsibility for your actions. You do this at your own risk.

A friend of mine was riding with a group recently. The rider in front of him was on a lowered bike. They were in some twisty mountain roads and the guy on the lowered bike started scraping all kinds of stuff, enough to make him high-side his bike right in front of my friend. My friend had to get off his bike and send it over the cliff in order to avoid running over the guy. My friend was lucky and suffered only a broken wrist and 12 stitches. His bike ended up at the bottom of the canyon.

I hope you plan on riding only in a straight line. And don't hit any bumps either. But maybe you'll look cool. That's what counts, right?

# sarcasm /off

I offer this true story as an illustration, only because I care. Please consider carefully.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff