help me!!! this could be the end for my 1985 gs700

[Anonymous]

so I was moving my bike today from my apartment to my new trailer that gets stored elswhere, and realized i am not having a good day with my bike. When i couldn't get it started due to the 28 degree weather it has been sitting in I pushed it on the trailer and moved to the storage area. frustrated i decided I must get it started because Daytona is not very far away. Got it started and noticed the left side of my head gasket is leaking. SO the question is since the bike is not in the greatest condition, what do I do? I only paid $500 for the bike two full years ago. it also needs brakes, tires, fork seals, and paint, and other cosmetics. all of which I can't afford to do at once.

Assuming that just tightening down on the head bolts would only provide a very temporary solution.

do I rebuild? can i rebuild are there even parts available to do so?

replace with different motor? but what is an easy conversion as the 700 motor is hard to come by?

Or put the bike to rest and let someone else use her for the parts she has left that are still worth something, and find another inexpensive bike?

Please respond with your thoughts.

[nabrams]

Your only pressing problem is the head gasket. Depending on how bad the leak is, you might be able to get away with simply putting on some high-temp silicone to seal the leak area. I did this on a friend's bike over a year ago and it hasn't leaked a drop since then. If that won't work, and you can get the gasket, then you can put it on yourself if you have fair mechanical skills. If you've never done something of at least medium complexity (like disassembling a carb and cleaning it), then you probably don't want to tackle this yourself.
The other things you mentioned can be done slowly over the course of several months.
If the bike still runs pretty well (even with the leak), then it seems a shame to junk a reasonably decent bike just because of a head gasket leak. Of course, if you don't address the leak now it is almost sure to become a major performance impact in the near future (as you lose more and more compression).
It's probably a bad idea to tighten the head bolts without a torque wrench - you do NOT want to over-tighten.

[Anonymous]

well if I were to just replace the head gasket wouldn't it require the removal of the top end of the motor? and if I am removing the top end anyway doesn't it make sense to do the rebuild while it's apart? this is why i am asking these questions, IT seems to me that there is a lot of work involved no matter what i choose.

[Jackrp]

Re: help me!!! this could be the end for my 1985 gs700

so I was moving my bike today from my apartment to my new trailer that gets stored elswhere, and realized i am not having a good day with my bike. When i couldn't get it started due to the 28 degree weather it has been sitting in I pushed it on the trailer and moved to the storage area. frustrated i decided I must get it started because Daytona is not very far away. Got it started and noticed the left side of my head gasket is leaking. SO the question is since the bike is not in the greatest condition, what do I do? I only paid $500 for the bike two full years ago. it also needs brakes, tires, fork seals, and paint, and other cosmetics. all of which I can't afford to do at once.

Assuming that just tightening down on the head bolts would only provide a very temporary solution.

do I rebuild? can i rebuild are there even parts available to do so?

replace with different motor? but what is an easy conversion as the 700 motor is hard to come by?

Or put the bike to rest and let someone else use her for the parts she has left that are still worth something, and find another inexpensive bike?

Please respond with your thoughts.

Number one, don't retork the head nuts, this would probly make things worse, You should be able to take that engine apart all the way to the cylinders with the motor still in the frame, Get a good manual and rip and tear an learn, its not that hard, If your experiance would be anything like I have experianced when you get the motor apart, most likely all you'll find is a carbon removal job followed by reassembly. You have kind of a rare bike, I say repair the ol gal. Be sure to get new gaskets and remember, If man made,it man can fix it. (or at least screw it up sooo bad no one can fix it)

[moto_dan]

The only direct replacement available in the US would would be an 83 GS750 which are hard to find. If you're serious about rebuilding then I believe all the parts are available, but if the repairs you mentioned are a deterent then more so will be the price of a rebuild. Parting the bike out is always an option and if you're patient could probably recoup your $500. I personally would really take a look where the leak is coming from...my guess it will be the valve cover gasket, "o-ring" variety, rather than the head gasket. Good luck.

[Pete's GS]

Fix it up. Spend maybe $1500. Think about it. Can you get a good bike anywhere else for $2 grand?

[Anonymous]

The leak is in the middle of the fins at the top of the cylinder, but below the head on the left side.

Now the part I left out is that the motor has 32k on it and I know it has been apart before but I don't know why. So I am leary about what I will find when I take it apart.

[Hap Call]

Replace the head gasket..it's fairly cheap to do and you don't have to remove the motor to do it. You can do it in a day.


At Ron Ayers

http://www.ronayers.com/main.cfm

Part Number: 11141-31302
Description: GASKET CYL HEAD
Price: $40.65

Do the other stuff as you get the time and money.

[nabrams]

You're obviously reluctant to remove the head on a bike that's running well, but just has a leak.
So why not attempt the high temp silicone solution I mentioned? Of course, you'll have to identify exactly where the leak is coming from first.
You certainly have nothing to lose by trying and you could save yourself the head-ache of having to remove the head.
The fact that the bike has 32K miles on it does not necessarily mean that there is anything severely worn or mis-adjusted, especially since the bike runs fairly well.
Also, a simple way to verify just how bad the leak problem is would be to do a compression test (assuming you have the tool). It should take a few minutes.

[oldschoolGS]

I'm with Hap, any bike you buy for less than $1000 is probably going to need tires, chain and cosmetic work. With only 32K, don't worry about an engine swap, just replace the gasket and put your dollars into the other areas. Unless you are going to spend a lot of money on performance parts the extra 50cc is not worth the effort. The 700 and 750cc motors have the same bore, 67mm, the difference is in the stroke.

Pull and strip the fork tubes yourself, take the empty tubes to a shop to have the seals changed-this will save you much $. As far as brakes, I saw good stock calipers on ebay last week for < $25.

These 16 valve bikes were pretty good, unless you have $1500 or more, finding a suitable replacement that does not need the same sort of work will be difficult.

Good Luck, Ed
1983 GS750ED

[moto_dan]

The leak is in the middle of the fins at the top of the cylinder, but below the head on the left side.

Now the part I left out is that the motor has 32k on it and I know it has been apart before but I don't know why. So I am leary about what I will find when I take it apart.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I doubt it's the head gasket. I know it appears to be generating from the Head gasket, but it sounds like the leak is from the rear of your valve cover, running down the rear of the head to a channel that goes through the engine to the location you're describing. 32k on these engines is not that much...the engine I have in my 83 came from a theft recovery bike that had been sitting outside for a couple of years with ~25k miles on the odometer and several years later I've put another ~30k miles. It uses a little oil, but not near enough to jusify a rebuild. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Alright guys i appreciate all the info I guess I have little to loose by just trying to replace the gasket. It must have just been the initial shock of the thought that my bike wasn't invinsable. Thanks for the encouragement as always and for sharing your knowledge.