Anyone ever heard of this?

[Guest]

Hi All,

My '83 GS1100G suffers from an unusual problem. It has a fork stop cast into the left side of the fork assembly, but not on the right side ... contact with the gas tank (by one of the triple tree bolts) has already resulted (prior to my buying the bike in February). The casting does not look as if it ever had a stop molded in that broke off.

Has anyone seen a situation like this and, if so, is there any reason the casting would have purposely been made without a stop on the right side?

Another question: Is that part of the "tree" (the bottom part) cast in aluminum or steel? I have a wirefeed welder and it would be a simple matter to grind a large bolt into the proper shape (so it matches the pyramid shaped "stop" on the other side) and tack weld it into place, but before I waste my time I want to make sure it is in fact a steel casting. Otherwise I'll see if I can get away with a JB Weld solution to form a proper stop.

Other suggestions are, of course, welcome.

Thanks in advance!

Steve 8)

[earlfor]

Re: Anyone ever heard of this?

The triple tree is a steel casting. I have the same problem with my 750.
there is no evidence of a fork stop on either side ever having been there.
I too have a small dent on the right side of the tank from the lower tree pinch bolt. :-)

Earl

Hi All,

My '83 GS1100G suffers from an unusual problem. It has a fork stop cast into the left side of the fork assembly, but not on the right side ... contact with the gas tank (by one of the triple tree bolts) has already resulted (prior to my buying the bike in February). The casting does not look as if it ever had a stop molded in that broke off.

Has anyone seen a situation like this and, if so, is there any reason the casting would have purposely been made without a stop on the right side?

Another question: Is that part of the "tree" (the bottom part) cast in aluminum or steel? I have a wirefeed welder and it would be a simple matter to grind a large bolt into the proper shape (so it matches the pyramid shaped "stop" on the other side) and tack weld it into place, but before I waste my time I want to make sure it is in fact a steel casting. Otherwise I'll see if I can get away with a JB Weld solution to form a proper stop.

Other suggestions are, of course, welcome.

Thanks in advance!

Steve 8)

[Planecrazy]

Thanks for the heads-up Earl!

I see several ways of remedying the problem. First (for me) is the welding option. Once formed, welded, and cleaned up I will paint the "stud" to match the other side and it ought to look pretty stock. I might use JB Weld as filler to complete the look before painting.

For others without access to a welder, I would suggest drilling a small hole (maybe 1/8 to 1/4 inch or so) completely through the lower "tree" casting which lines up with the point on the frame where a stop would normally make contact (check another bike WITH a stop for reference). Personally I would place the hole no closer than 1/4 inch from the edge.

This hole can be used to mount a small stainless steel bolt that goes through from the bottom and sticks up roughly 1/2 and inch. I say small, because we certainly don't want to weaken the casting significantly by drilling too big a hole. Once the small bolt is mounted, use JB Weld or equivalent to build thickness around the bolt and create the necessary strenth required (as well as protect the hole from corrosion). By the way, be sure to clean off any paint where the epoxy will contact the casting! I personally would also cover the bottom of the bolt with epoxy, but that certainly wouldn't be necessary -- be sure to coat it in some way to prevent rust from the bottom though.

Once finished, use matching pain to cover the "project" and give the bike a stock appearance. If done correctly, it ought to look as if the stop was cast there in the first place.

Opinions on this strategy are invited, especially if you have an idea for a better way!

Steve 8)

[sharpy]

Dinted pride

Does the 1100 butt up against the steering head on the left-hand side and they use a tab welded onto the bottom of the steering head to stop it moving it around to the right to far?

[Planecrazy]

Re: Dinted pride

Does the 1100 butt up against the steering head on the left-hand side and they use a tab welded onto the bottom of the steering head to stop it moving it around to the right to far?

I'm not exactly sure what you are referring to when you say "steering head." I have two 1100G's (one's an '82 parts bike -- the other my '83 runner). On the '82 parts bike, the lowest cast part of the tree has a tab cast into it on each side that butts against the frame to prevent turning the bars too far each way. On the '83, that same cast part of the bike has what looks like the tab on the left side, but it runs about a third of the way around the pivot point (the steering head you speak of?) and stops. If there was a tab coming off the frame in the right place, this would properly stop the bars from turning too far to the right, but there is no tab. The frame looks as if it has been contacted in the past on the right side (as if there was once a tab in place similar to the parts bike). This bike WAS in an accident before I bought it, so it is possible that the triple trees were replaced. I'll have to ask the previous owner about that. He mentioned several things that were damaged and replaced on the bike, but never mentioned anything relating to the forks. He did, however, mention upgrading the suspension in the past, so perhaps he changed the trees in the process.

In any case, that's the situation right now. I have the other bike to use as a reference, so I feel pretty confident about correcting the problem. Wanted to check with you folks, though, in case any brilliant ideas arose that I was not thinking about.

Regards,
Steve 8)