'83 850GL Maintenance and other repairs

[Grimly]

Interesting. I've heard if delkevic, V&H etc but not heard of Motad. Are they a reputable brand for Suzukis?

They made some excellent systems, but hit the wall about a decade ago.
I had a stainless Motad on for thirty years, but the downpipes eventually got paper-thin, although the collector and muffler are still perfectly fine.
Lying in a box is an as-new chromed steel Motad system, which I was keeping aside, but I might have to fit it.

[93Bandit]

Got to tinker on the 850 a little today.

I've been having miss at idle, if you can call it that. I don't know if it's actually a miss, but it causes the engine to gallop a little at idle, somewhat randomly. The exhaust note has a random "putt...putt, putt... putt... putt... putt putt... putt."

I pulled the plugs and they seem to show cylinders 1, 2 & 4 running rich. I ordered a colortune and it arrived today. I've read the colortune doesn't work well with CV carbs but I decided to try it out anyways. I work on a lot of small engines so I figured if it doesn't work for CV carbs, it'll work on something else. Anyways, installed it on each cylinder and checked idle as well as mid throttle and WOT. Nice blue flame at idle and goes yellow when you blip the throttle hard. Hmmm, seems to be working for me and seems to be showing idle mixture is correct... I tried to take a video of the colortune in action, but to get close enough for it to show up the plug wire signal caused interference with the camera. Same thing happened when trying to take a picture. Bummer.

Ignition system is functioning fine, recently installed new plugs and wire caps. Runs fantastic, never stalls, I get good fuel economy, pulls hard through entire rev range, no stumble, doesn't foul plugs.

So now I'm wondering if the "miss" is due to slight exhaust leak I have at the head, or maybe the baffles are rotted out? The bike isn't that loud, however I've never heard another bike like this with a factory exhaust to compare too.

...Or is it due to my slight oil burn, which I assume is the valve stem seals.

Hmmm...

[93Bandit]

Got the 850 out last week for a ride in the cool evening. Was heading over to Holly MI, about 30 miles from where I live, to meet a buddy for dinner. While on my way, taking the scenic back roads, the bike felt weird. Kind of underpowered or sluggish, but was running fine. At a stop light I noticed it took more throttle than usual to accelerate up to speed, and after 12 miles I caught a whiff of something HOT, smelled like brakes. Pulled over to inspect and sure enough, right front caliper and rotor where ambient temp but the left caliper and rotor where HOT. Almost burned my hand. Headed back to the house and drove my car to meet him.

Next day I pulled the caliper off the bike and disassembled. Just as I suspected, gunk and cruddy inside. Piston has some minor pitting but didn't look too bad. Being that the bike is 40yrs old and the calipers have likely never been rebuilt, I should probably order parts to rebuild all 3 rather than just this one. Ugh, just in time to miss out on the last bit of the riding season. Oh well. If I was really wise, I would have rebuild the calipers at the same time I made new brake lines...

Do I rebuild the masters as well?

[rphillips]

Well, if a concern of may miss some last of riding season, fix that 1 then make a winter project of the others. Yes they probably need attention, but it really doesn't seem to deem immediate attention... just my opinion.

[Grimly]

Do I rebuild the masters as well?

Yep.























and mooooooooooooooore characters.

[Suzukian]

When you get a bike like this, you divide it into systems, then go through ever system, and subsystem. You always get new spark plugs and plug wires. I've read through this thread, I started reading it when you posted it, but decided you seemed like you were going to take the long road home. This is necessary sometimes when finances call for that. If you do one caliper, do the other one too. Measure the thickness of the rotors, and check the rear brake, as now you are getting into systems which could take your life, or mangle you up a bit. Assume all the cables will need to be changed, so, in the very least, get proper cable lube, and lube all of them, they could last another 40 years.

That particular "L" version of that bike is a like the placenta of the motorcycle, the doctors kept the wrong piece, and threw out the baby, however, yours is a particularly clean looking bike, so those pieces are the most expensive. A set of flat bars with 3" to 4" Risers will enhance your riding experience greatly. When I ran a Suzuki Parts department back in 1983, we did that to a lot of those bikes, and removed the silly passenger rail, and the bikes looked great. IMHO

[slayer61]

...That particular "L" version of that bike is a like the placenta of the motorcycle...,

LOOOL!!!!!!!

[93Bandit]

Today I ordered all the parts to rebuild the calipers. Hopefully they arrive within a few business days so I can get started on them. I'm limited on time over the next few months so I may just rebuild the sticking caliper to get me through the season, then rebuild the other 2 this winter. We've got a lot of good riding weather coming so I want to get back on the road.

[93Bandit]

So much disdain for L's around here.

[rphillips]

Naw, distain is too drastic of a word, drather have a more standard model would better explain it... I do get a kick out of calling them "cruis'in for burger bikes" or "Disco cruisers" but that's just to be pok'in at the "L" folks.

[93Bandit]

A set of flat bars with 3" to 4" Risers will enhance your riding experience greatly. When I ran a Suzuki Parts department back in 1983, we did that to a lot of those bikes, and removed the silly passenger rail, and the bikes looked great. IMHO

If you look closely at my pictures, you'll notice my bike does not have the original L handlebars. I'm not sure what they are or what they came from since they were on the bike when I purchased it. But they are the same shape as the bars on the 81 GS850G I used to have, only they're not as tall.

As for the path I'm taking to get all the work done on this bike, I'm restricted by finances. Can only afford to do a little at a time. As you can see from post # 1, I have a list of everything I've done in my 6yrs of ownership. I originally planned to spend a long winter restoring all the mechanicals on the bike after I bought it, but I was single at the time with big dreams. Since purchase I've gotten married, had 2 kids, moved 3 times, bought a house and changed job a few times. I also collected more projects than I could afford to get done. I've since reevaluated my life and decided to eliminate all the extra projects and things that are keeping me from my goals. I've sold off all projects but this 850L. I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff. Trying to get back to a simpler life, so I can focus on what's most important.

[Suzukian]

If you look closely at my pictures, you'll notice my bike does not have the original L handlebars. I'm not sure what they are or what they came from since they were on the bike when I purchased it. But they are the same shape as the bars on the 81 GS850G I used to have, only they're not as tall.

As for the path I'm taking to get all the work done on this bike, I'm restricted by finances. Can only afford to do a little at a time. As you can see from post # 1, I have a list of everything I've done in my 6yrs of ownership. I originally planned to spend a long winter restoring all the mechanicals on the bike after I bought it, but I was single at the time with big dreams. Since purchase I've gotten married, had 2 kids, moved 3 times, bought a house and changed job a few times. I also collected more projects than I could afford to get done. I've since reevaluated my life and decided to eliminate all the extra projects and things that are keeping me from my goals. I've sold off all projects but this 850L. I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff. Trying to get back to a simpler life, so I can focus on what's most important.

When I ran a Yamaha Parts department in 1983, we sold a lot of GS850 "L" models. I used to turn them into Bobbers. With the help of "Drag Specialties", I'd put on 3" risers and put on flat bars. Lower the front suspension by sliding the forks through the triple trees, and some of the guys had seats modified bu cutting the foam, and having them recovered. These bikes did not look like "L" models. They looked like the custom bike they were, and they had that great engine/drive train to go with it. Just keep doing what you're doing. Finances control what i can do with bikes too. I had to make the exhausts for my ZZR1200, because I wasn't going to pay the ridiculous amounts they charge. I ended taking almost 40 lbs. off of the bike to boo. I have a nice small machine shop, and all the accompanying tooling. I also do CAD so I can design anything I want, and use my radius tables to churn out anything fancy I need. Economics does not have to limit you if you can fabricate.

I admire that you did the important stuff first in your life. The bike will mean that much more to you, and the pleasure you get from it, well that will be hard to put into words.

[93Bandit]

Caliper parts showed up today. I rebuilt the left one (the bad one) and went for a quick test down the road. Ended up getting new pistons as well, since it was relatively affordable. The old piston could have been cleaned up but for the money I opted for new. Stops well and is no longer dragging. Yippy! Maybe I can put down a few more miles before the season comes to an end. I plan to rebuild the other two this winter.