Jdub goes there 1981 650e rebuild

[jdub6092]

Some good news. When starting back up right after the ride, the revs held steady. No Surging.
The sofa seat doesn't quite look right on this bike, but it is comfortable on my old arse. I did order what was supposed to be a GS650E replica.


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[steve murdoch]

Congrats jdub, that has to feel good after all the work you've done.
Agree on the seat but you won't have to look at it when you're riding. haha

[jdub6092]

Congrats jdub, that has to feel good after all the work you've done.
Agree on the seat but you won't have to look at it when you're riding. haha

Thanks Steve,

For only having had a basic knowledge about bikes to rebuilding/restoring one essentially down to the last screw, there is a certain sense of accomplishment. Especially when it roars back to life.
I have always had a knack for fixing things, but this is on a different level requiring patience, perseverance and focused attention to detail.
I have a bit to go, but yeah I'm pretty stoked.
Of course, I want to thank all of you on this forum who have provided encouragement, expertise and most of all your passion for motorcycles and specifically Suzuki GS bikes.

[jdub6092]

So, I decided to pull the carbs and disassemble for the third time, mainly to check the choke circuits. I think I may have found obstructions in a combination of the tiny starter tubes and more surprisingly in the float bowl passages. Almost like degraded cardboard in one of them. One pilot jet had what looked like a grain of sand stuck in it.
Then I noticed my air pilot jets and main jets were not stock sizes. After a little research, I found that even though advertised as a fit for the 650e, the K&L rebuild kits I used were specifically for the 650g and gl models which have different jet sizes. I purchased the stock Mikuni jets from Niche Cycle. They have a nice selection of OEM jets and better prices than Jets R Us.

Buttoned everything back up and started a bench sync. Then I found the main idle adjustment screw was stripped in the idle range. So I found a replacement that took 10 days to arrive. After the initial round of bench sync and starting a fine adjustment phase, this screw also failed. Now I realize the bracket threads have too much play causing the screw to slip under spring pressure.
I found an NOS screw in Canada, but will not install it until I can repair the bracket threads. This is an M5-0.5 fine thread, so not something I have in my tap and die kit to attempt a thread repair. Not even sure it could be fixed this way.
I would really appreciate some advice on what I might do to repair this.
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[jdub6092]

Progress update.

After trying to repair the idle adjuster bracket and failing, I purchased an NOS bracket from CMSNL in the Netherlands. Really good service. Like the screw, probably the last new one available anywhere. Now I have two spare screws that I cleaned up with a M5-0.5 die. They are fine, the bracket hole was too wide. If any one needs one....

With the carbs cleaned and now immaculate with all spec jets, I bench synced them and slapped them back on the bike. Have to admit, I'm getting really good at squeezing the carbs and airbox assembly back on.

Also got the original Yuasa YB10L-A2 battery, filled it with acid, and charged it up. Now the side cover fits nicely.

Finally, I attempted to start it back up. Low and behold, the choke worked for cold start. After it warmed up, it purred like a kitten, hoping the tiger would come out.
Took it for a spin, maybe no tiger yet, but really smooth and no hesitation. Clutch much better, back brakes a little soft and need to be worn in, but front brakes are very firm. A few drips of oil coming from the drain plug. Exhaust much cleaner-no hideous gas smell.

[650Skull]

Some good news. When starting back up right after the ride, the revs held steady. No Surging.
The sofa seat doesn't quite look right on this bike, but it is comfortable on my old arse. I did order what was supposed to be a GS650E replica.


20250110_163405.jpg

Not that bad, here is my 82Ez
IMG_20250217_055529.jpg

[650Skull]

IMG_20250217_142147.jpg Your seat.......

[650Skull]

Are you going to decal the rest of the bike?

[jdub6092]

Are you going to decal the rest of the bike?

I repainted and polished all the emblems and have the fender and fairings prepped and ready for paint. Already have a pint of photospectrometer color matched PPG paint and all of the decals.

20250217_072210.jpg

Since I found a new tank and dont have any tone matching experience, its almost certain that I'll farm it out to a pro.
Now that the bike is otherwise fully restored and running so well, I'm much less inclined to risk having any regrets.

[jdub6092]

Street legal now! So easy in AZ. Brought in my CA title, filled out a short Title and Registration form, and out in 30 minutes. No wait. No emmissions test. We have lots of DMV contractors that charge a small fee so there is no waiting for 4 hours for your number to be called. Well worth it.

Cant wait to go for an extended ride.

[jdub6092]

Finally got the bike back from the shop after a two hour job that only took 11 days.

The good news is that it starts right up, idles smooths and has all the power I need with no noticeaeble hesitation The owner of the shop said it was quick, nimble and fun to ride.

This was my threshold for going the next step and getting it painted.

The only minor issues I see are:
blueing of exhaust #1 pipe. Not uniform, but a couple of streaky and blotchy patterns near the head. Could be that I removed too much chrome during progressive sanding.
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This what remains. It was a deep blue before I started polishing it off.
It also leaks a drip of oil every once in a while from the drain bolt, but that's pretty much it.

[jdub6092]

A little surprise after I removed my side cover.
I know it was not like this when I put it on. I guess it could have snapped during riding?

20250308_143450.jpg To top it off I see the front wheel was not removed and obviously not balanced. Has the same stick on weights I put on during static balancing and the speedometer pickup is not parallel to the forks. This was in the work order.

No doubt I need to be my own full time mechanic. I got it all the way to running pretty good with my own hands. I could have done this myself for about the same cost and ended up with new tools. Yes, you all told me so and I'm done overthinking things.

[jdub6092]

Got a quote for painting. This time it doesn't include a tank and the remaining parts are prepped ( cleaned, stripped, repaired, filled, smoothed) and ready to go. I even supplied the paint and decals.
I think its enough to say that I'll be doing the painting myself.

[jdub6092]

While I'm finalizing my painting plans, I decided to check out the charging system.
First I checked the resistances of the regulator/rectifier and sure enough, all were an open circuit in both directions. I noticed a nice big burn mark on the red wire insulator and recall from many years ago having a partially melted fusebox.

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To further evaluate the damage, I measured the resistance of the stator wires and all were around 1.1 ohms. When I had the stator exposed several months back, It did not have any signs of overheating. So far so good.

Then I measured the stator/alternator voltages and all combinations measured over 80VAC at a little over 4K RPM.

So it only looks like I need a new R/R.
I have read the stator papers and I know this topic has been covered endlessly, but would just like some suggestions from those who have been through this. Is it acceptable to just replace the R/R? Is Rick's a good choice for replacement? Is the SH775 better? How about a less expensive alternative?

[Grimly]

So it only looks like I need a new R/R.
I have read the stator papers and I know this topic has been covered endlessly, but would just like some suggestions from those who have been through this. Is it acceptable to just replace the R/R? Is Rick's a good choice for replacement? Is the SH775 better? How about a less expensive alternative?

SH776 all the way, and it's not expensive to buy a good used one from a reputable powersports breaker. They just about never fail, so used is fine.
See if powersportsnation on ebay has one or two up for sale.
Avoid fakes.