The New kid with his first bike. Need help...

[Pitbull2o08]

Hi everyone, i'm new here on the forum and I'm very happy i found it. I love in Youngstown Ohio, and i'm 18 years old. long story short, my dad had a, i believe, 1981 GS650GL, i could be wrong, but it does have the drive shaft. anyway, i'm into motorcycles but i'm not very knowledgable as my family was raised around cars. The bike turns on but has a hard time doing so, the choke line ras removed because it was stuck, i tried driving it but it won't shift into second without grinding or something, it sounds bad. but my dad thinks it just needs a clutch or some other stuff, i can't remember what he said. he thinks he knows what he's talking about but i doubt he does. i cleaned the carbs out very well and noticed there was alot of terpintine and put new plugs, battery and it fired up after a couple tries. i just wanna know if there's anyone nearby that i can take this too to have them check it out and maybe have it running like it should. i'd even be willing to help and learn. it's just i'm starting college at Ohio State on the 18th and would like to have all my projects done. this bike would be great for getting to and from places. Thanks for all the help...


P.S. what kind of gas mileage would this thing get if finished correctly. thanks

-Andrew

[chuckycheese]

Hey Andrew, there's some great guys in your area and I feel sure you'll hear from someone who will give you a hand. When you get it running correctly, you'll probably get around 45 MPG, or so.

P.S. Listen to your 'old man'. He's probably smarter than you think. It's probably a clutch issue although a cheap adjustment will likely suffice. Good luck!!

[Pitbull2o08]

thanks..yeah he knows cars. he gave me the bike because he didn't think i ke=new much about it. got it running and sounding good and he wanted it back! lol but the tranny is the main problem now. as well as others that i could fix or find somebody to help me fix. thanks again

[chef1366]

First thing I would do is get a manual!

[Pitbull2o08]

where would i find one?

[Larry D]

Here.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

Spend some time time and do some reading using the search function. Both of these sites are a wealth of information.
I'm from Hillsboro, about an hour or so south of Columbus,OH. Live in Indy now. Go Buckeyes!!
You've found THE place as far as these bikes are concerned.
Good Luck.

[Steve]

where would i find one?

Since BassCliff has not yet found you and given you his little Mega Welcome, I will first of all welcome you,
then point you to his website.

Near the bottom of the right column, you will find a manual for a 650G.

.

[catbed]

it is indeed a shaft driven bike and for gas mileage, on my 850 i got 58 mpg on a 140 mile trip.

[Pitbull2o08]

i'd just like to find someone near me that i could learn from and hopefully help me with my bike.

[SqDancerLynn1]

Welcome. Gas milage can vary quite a bit. Anywhere from 35-50 mpg. Depends on Type of gas (10% etheonol is crap) & how you ride. Short trips will kill the milage some. Enjoy your new bike !

[BassCliff]

Greetnigs and Salutations!

Hi Mr. PitBull2o08,

I remember when I was 18. 'Nuff said. 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.

[123repeater]

Heya pitbull, I am a newb myself and a great help with things have been the combination of the bikecliff site and the clymers manual. you can get a manual at clymer(s).com for 20$ something plus 10$ or so shipping or you probably can order one from a local bookstore and save the shipping. And if you need help.. as you can see most of the folks on here are pretty helpful.

[Pitbull2o08]

wow! thanks for all the help guys! i greatly appreciate everything! This is awesome!

[Nessism]

it is indeed a shaft driven bike and for gas mileage, on my 850 i got 58 mpg on a 140 mile trip.

No disrespect intended but you must drive like a grandma. The typical 850 user, like me, gets low 40's mpg. Not great but not terrible. Not sure about a 650 but it should be higher.

[Larry D]

wow! thanks for all the help guys! i greatly appreciate everything! This is awesome!

Awesome? Yes.... yes it is !!
It's great to hear the excitement !!

Keep it going, and......listen to your Dad, he's probably alot smarter than you give him credit for. After all, he gave you a bike!!