Lots and lots and lots of questions about GS650!!

[Anonymous]

I just got an '82 GS650GL (14000 miles) today and I have a ton of questions. I'm a complete newb to motorcycles. I have ridden them before, but I really have no idea how to care for one. So I want to first of all apologize if I sound like a complete stupid idiot. Have mercy.

1 - When I got the bike home, my friend and I tried to roll it off the trailer and it wouldn't budge. We finally realized it was the rear brake because when he pushed the brake pedal down it all of a suden started to roll back. After we got it down from the trailer the rear brake, although no longer locked up, was still dragging a little bit because it was making a light scraping noise and the bike seemed a little tough to push. Does anybody know what could be causing this? and is there a way to adjust the brakes? (it has disc brakes btw)

2- The bike has a drive shaft instead of a chain. On the grey part of the shaft that connects to the rear weel it says "Use Hypoid Gear Oil". I can't for the life of me figure out where the oil goes into. I also read something about it in the Q&A section, but it didn't say where exactly it goes.

3- The bike has two kickstands. I don't know how to get it on the middle kickstand, but is it okay to just always leave it on the side kickstand?

4- I popped the air filter out and it got oil on my hands. Is it supposed to have oil on it?

5- There are little black plastic (maybe just stiff rubber) pieces stuck to the fins of the engine. It looks like I am missing one on the left side. Is it necessary to get a new piece, and what purpose does it serve?

6- I read that the suspensions takes oil too, but again, I have no idea where to put it.

7- The bike also has some spots on the engine and some rust here and there on the frame. I wanna get it looking as nice as I can. What should I use to clean? I saw someone say that they used brake cleaner to clean spots on the engine. Is that good to use?

If anybody can help me here, thanks a bunch.

[Nerobro]

Just to mention it before someone else does. BUY A MANUAL. it will be the seccond best think you've ever done for the bike. And you. the first is taking the MSF course. did I mention you should take the MSF course? It sounds like you haven't taken the msf course. That's the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course. http://www.msf-usa.org/

Are you sure it was the brake pedal? And not the shifter? If it was the shifter you might have knocked it into neutral, allowing you to move the bike.

Your gear oil question will be answered in your manual.

the seccond kickstand is called a centerstand. It is mostly handy for maintancne. The bike is actually more stable while on the sidestand. Not using the centerstand isn't a problem untill it comes time to change the oil, or lube the chain. To get the bike onto the centerstand, step down on the centerstand, and roll the bike backwards. the bike will push itself up onto the stand. letting the bike roll 3-4 inches will help you get it up onto the stand.

the air filter is most likely an oiled type. I'm not 100% sure on your bike. If it's oily, it probally is ;-) But your manual will tell you for sure.

Though I'm not sure about weather or not it was stock on your bike. A lot of air cooled engines come with rubber blocks on the fins to prevent vibration from fatigueing the fins and cuasing them to crack off.

Depending on what youre' talking about, the suspention DOES have oil in it. It doens't "take" oil as a maintance item. The rear shock(s) on yoru bike are sealed. And do have oil in them. The fork, is user servaceable, and how to handle the fork oil is covered in the manual.

Someone else will need to answer your rust questions.

Oh yea, take the msf course. :-) Welcome to the family :-)

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the help.

I'm positive it was the rear brake that was locked up though, because at first, we thought the bike was stuck in gear and wouldn't go into neutral, so we played with the shifter awhile trying to get it into neutral. But it still wouldn't move even when we pulled the clutch in either. So finally I said "Well maybe the brakes are holding it or something," and then my friend pressed on the brake pedal and it started to role back as soon as he pressed it and let up.

Is there any way to adjust the rear brakes? That's my biggest question.

I'm gonna try to get a manual today. Is the "Clymer" manual any good? Or should I find an original Suzuki manual?

[snowbeard]

clymer is pretty good, the only thing I've had so far (besides this site!)


oh, and since nobody's bothered to mention it, don't forget to take the Motorcycle Safety Class in your area... :P

if there's oil around the rubber boots on your forks, then you've got busted seal, otherwise you may be alright there, just be careful when trying to add pressure if you need to, there's very little space in there, and a bicycly pump will easily outdo the four to seven ft-lbs spec'd in the manual, thereby blowing what may have been a good seal.

the air filter is likely foam, and should be oiled. you'll probably want to clean and re-oil it.

the hypoid gear oil has an oil plug on the side of the drive, wait til you've got your manual to go dinking around with much.

couple things I had to get to help work on the bike: torque wrench, get a decent one if you can, as there are some lower torque specs that a cheapie ebay wrench can't get... but I got mine on ebay and so far it seems adequate. also get an impact wrench, 'bout ten bucks on ebay, these are great for not stripping the heads on all your phillips, both in and out!![/list][/code]

[Anonymous]

The scraping sound you heard after the brakes released is most likely a coating of rust either inside the brake drum or on the rotor. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you're really concerned about it, you can take some fine sandpaper and clean it up.

Trail Rider

[KEITH KRAUSE]

You may just have to clean up the rotor and pads to get it spinning free again. Does the brake pedal have ANY play at all? If not, then there is an adjuster bolt held by a nut near the end of the pedal. If the bolt is turned in too far, the pedal will loose all play and start dragging the rotor. Back the bolt off to allow a little play and see if that helps. Tighten the holder nut.