My 1981 GS650G Thread

[rudy]

I'm single with no life as well! My life is basically work and house renovations. I slip out for the odd movie or party now and then, but that's it. Social time is basically the summer on the bike.

I have no interweb at the old homestead, so lunch at work is basically it, and that usually gets taken up by trips to Home Depot. Renovations are nearing the end now. Thought I'd go all out since the Government is basically paying me to do it right now. Will post up some pics when it's all done.

I'd much rather be wrenching than swinging a hammer and mudding drywall. In the cold, or warm.

[Macguyver]

I'd much rather be wrenching than swinging a hammer and mudding drywall.

I am sure we could combine the two, maybe try applying drywall mud with a gasket scraper, and hammer in nails with an old piston!

[Macguyver]

Mirrors are on!

Since I was unhappy with the positioning of the mirrors using the stock mounting location, and I had parts from the huge plexi windshield with broken hardware that came with my bike, I decided to put the two together and see what I could come up with.

I had to rethread the bolt holes on both the mirror stem, and the hanglebar mounting clamps to a common thread so I could have the two pieces butt together. Then I made a couple rubber washers to go inbetween the two pieces, and cut some threaded rod.

I also had to drill and tap a new hole in the head of the stem to change the orientation of the mirror by 90 degrees.

They looked like they wouldn't quite work, but once I clamped them on, and sat on the bike, I could see past my elbows!

I still have some minor adjustments to make, and fill in the stock holes, but that can wait until tomorrow night.

So what do you think?

It's kind of hard for me to look at them and not get a bunch of ideas for a front fairing/windshield part, but that must wait until after I put on the projector headlights.

[Macguyver]

Bar End Signal Lights

It`s been a while since I have done an update, so here goes!

I have been obsessing over an idea I had about doing up some bar end signal lights for my 650 for a while now, and had built a few prototypes, but none really looked right. They kept ending up looking too long, and didn't really fit the mental picture of what I wanted my bike to look/feel like. So I kept redesigning them, and I think I have a winner!

I made them to be as low profile as I felt confident making them, and I wanted them to be really simple to attach, due to the fact I have bar end weights welded into my handlebars from the factory.

I made a mold for the casting out of a thread protector, an M8 bolt, some drinking straws, and my favorite mold release agent, white glue.
I then soldered some LED's together with a resistor and some wire, and positioned them in the mold.

Since they are going to be signal lights, I used a resin which has a dark amber tint to it once cured. In combination with the high intensity amber LED's, the color given off looks to be a very nice imitation of standard signal color. It may be a *little* more orange than some signals, but they have a rich tone to the color I really like. Yet I am confident they would be acceptable to any LEO who cared to check them in comparison to other signal lights.

So after the resin had fully cured overnight, I popped the parts out of the mold, washed off the mold release, and began sanding them down to be as optically clear as I could get them. I started with 180, then incrementally moved my way up to 1000 grit. when the resin is sanded, it will take on a more opaque look to it, this is normal, and can be cured by a polishing or clearcoating the piece. I clearcoated mine, and I am quite pleased with the final results.

I began drilling the center hole in the bar end weight for the mounting bolts to thread into, but my cordless went dead on me about 1/2" in, so drilling will be finished tomorrow night. Once drilled, I will tap the hole to M8 to match the bolts, and drill an additional hole to run the signal wire through to connect them up with the current front signals.

The first pic is the final mold, filled with resin.
The second pic is the cured part freshly pulled from the mold. You can kind of see the white glue sticking to it.
The final two pics are the finished part, sanded, cleared, and ready to install.

Overall time, about three hours so far for this set, maybe an hour tomorrow night to finish drilling/tapping the holes, and to install them. I think I may even go so far as to polish the bejebers out of the mounting bolts to get them to act as more of a reflector to send as much light out the sides as possible. I am sure they will be easily visible in the daylight, and will look amazing at night!

[Macguyver]

Fork me!

Since I needed to remove the headlight assembly to get at the wiring to relocate it into a new housing before I can mount the projector headlights, I decided to keep going and disassemble the front end.

First to go were the calipers, second was the fender, third was the wheel, and last but not least were the forks, and let me tell you, they have seen better days, at least cosmetically.

The pic shows what they looked like at the beginning of last summer before I replaced the seals, and the distressed clearcoat really didn't do it for me.

So I took some advice from Mick Jagger and painted them black.

I removed all of the clearcoat, coated them with self etch primer, and then gave them 3 coats of gloss black engine enamel, followed with 2 wet on wet coats of flat black engine enamel to give them a satin finish. Then I baked them, cause nothin' says lovin', like forks baking in the oven.

The second half of the pic shows what they look like now. (I know, I need to polish the fork tubes)

I think they came out pretty decent, next will likely be the front rim, and calipers. I am planning to paint the caliper with grey engine enamel, and the mounts with the same green as the main bodycolor except clearcoated with engine enamel clear to protect them from brake fluid. Pics are imminent, or at least they will be soon. If only I didn't have to keep going to this place called "work", it really eats into the bike time.

Edit: I also ordered a set of gaiters for the front, they should be in later this week. So I have the time to get the rest of the front end painted before I can reassemble anyway.

[Macguyver]

Timing Cover Window

||WARNING||
I am home sick today, and I am posting this in a Nyquill induced haze, so if I get a little OT, just go with it.

I had been looking to do something with the timing cover on my 650, and was leaning towards a lexan window. After figuring out the sizing of the hole to make, locating center, and cutting out the hole with a hole saw, I flipped the cover over and machined a flat flange into the inside of the cover.

I then cut out the appropriate sized lexan window plate, and made a mark every 45*, 4mm from the rim of the lexan plate. Once marked, I drilled the mounting holes in the lexan, matched the piece up with the timing cover, and used the previously drilled holes as guides to drill through the timing cover from the inside. I cut down some nails to about 7mm long to use as pins to hold the plate in position so the holes would all line up.

When doing this, the nail diameter has to be close to the drill diameter, preferably the same, to keep the orientation of the plate consistent when drilling the rest of the holes. I drilled the holes in a cross-pattern, plugging the holes with the nails as I went along. This worked very well to keep everything lined up as I went along.

I then used a drill bit which is a slightly larger diameter than the heads of the mounting bolts to create recesses for them to countersink into in the face of the cover. Some time, and some nuts and bolts later, the cover has it's window, and I have one more place to put LED's for the accent lighting package I built.

One countersink hole went a little squirrely on me, but hey, it's a rashed up cover, so I knew if I buggered it up, I wasn't out too much. I think it turned out fairly well regardless.

[Macguyver]

Rim job. No, not that kind.

The front rim on my 650 really needed to be painted. I suppose it could have looked ok after a polishing, but I am not going for the bling-bling look, so black it is.

I stripped the old finish off with a can of sprayable aircraft stripper, then cleaned up the surface a little more with a 3m scratchy pad. I then gave it two coats of etch prime, and 3 coats of gloss black engine enamel. Then to keep the look the same as the front forks, I applied two wet on wet coats of flat black engine enamel overtop the gloss coat to give it a satin finish.

I think it turned out quite well. I left a thin ring of aluminum unpainted around the lip so I don't need to worry about removing paint the next time I need to change the tire. It will be a nice touch having that tiny bit of silver as an accent. Should look good. I will post more pics when I get the front end back together.

The top left image is the rim, all cleaned up, masked, and ready to paint. The main image is the rim all demasked, heat cured, and ready for reassembly with the rotors.

[Macguyver]

So that's how to do a wire wheelie!

Well, it's saturday night, and I have parts in prep, paint, and baking, so I figured I could use the in between time to clean up the rest of the bits and pieces I need to reassemble the front end.

It has been a while since I have enjoyed the simple pleasure of cleaning up bolts with a brass wire wheel.

The hum of the drill press, faithfully spinning the wire wheel at a set RPM.

The gentle warmth radiating from parts freshly stripped clean by the perseverant assault of the brass bristles.

The bits of fingerprint missing from when the wheel got a good hold on the part I knew I should have held differently.

Kinda got me feeling nostalgic, which is good since it distracts me from the pain.

All kidding aside, I think I got most of the rust and crud off. Just have to chase a few threads. Now I need to put another coat of paint on some parts, and go grab my tap and die kit.

[Macguyver]

Timing Cover Window

Just doing an update while paint is drying,

The Timing cover is temporarily on my 650, just for pics so I can get an idea of where to mount the LED's. I need to increase the distance between the cover and the block by 1/16 of an inch to make sure there will be no contact between any moving parts and the window.

I suppose I will just cut a thick gasket out of karropak to make up the spacing. No modification necessary. Anyone else run into something like this?

Before anyone asks, yes I am going to do something about the terrible state of the clearcoat on the transmission cover. Guess what color it's going?
Hint: The only color the model T motorcar was available in.

Anyways, here's a pic.

[Macguyver]

Rotor Bolts Mod

I recently received a PM from a GSR member which contained an idea I really liked. Willie suggested I look into locking the bolts which secure the rotors on the front rim of my 650 with safety wire, instead of using the locking plates.

I had never even considered it, but I have seen wire locking before and thought it looked like a pretty good way to make sure everything stays torqued the way it should.

I did a little research and the more I learned, the more I liked the idea.

Wire locking is widely used for high performance and racing applications, and is also commonly used on safety oriented vehicles like ambulances and school busses.
(Yet school busses have no seatbelts, so keep the tires secure, and not the kids? )

So after some careful deliberation, I decided to ditch the factory locking plates, and replace them with washers, and locking wire.

Only one problem, I had already painted the rotor bolts!

The idea of securing the bolts by lock wiring was more than enough motivation to grab the bolts and sit down in front of the drill press for a bit.

From what I read, most wire locking wire is between 0.020" and 0.041" in diameter. The number of twists per inch varies with the diameter of the wire, going from 8-10 twists with 0.020", down to 5-7 tpi with the 0.041" wire.
I just happen to have some 120,000 PSI tensile strength stainless steel MIG wire of 0.030" diameter which should do the trick nicely. I would love to hear from the drag strip guys wether or not this is perhaps a little overkill?

There are also varying methods to where the bolts heads are drilled, and how many bolt faces are between the holes. I chose to go with what seems to be close to the norm, which is drilling straight through the bolt head.

This means that I need to do a little more work when twisting the wire, since it relies on wire routing and where I have the wire meet up and twist together to create the necessary clockwise torquing force to keep the bolts tight, as opposed to using the hole locations on the bolt to aid in applying the force in the correct direction.

I started by threading on a matching nut on the bolt to ensure straight and true holes, I then drilled the main hole with the smallest bit that I was confident could handle the task. I used a 3/32" bit, which is much larger than the wire diameter of 0.030", but had to be robust enough to drill through the relatively high quality bolts. Last thing you need is to try pulling a tiny broken drill bit out of a partially drilled bolt.

After I made the first hole through the bolt heads, I switched to a 3/8" drill bit to bevel the edges of the holes slightly, to make sure the wire doesn't have any sharp, abrupt edges to rub against.

A quick scuff with a 3M sanding pad, a few washers, and a couple coats of paint later, and I have a great looking way to keep the rotor bolts firmly secured, without using the factory locking plates.

Thanks go to Willie for suggesting this, and I will update with more pics when I assemble the front rim after the rest of the parts are all cured.

[Skateguy50]

Looks great, with all this work in the winter you will be ready to just ride come spring.

[Macguyver]

Looks great, with all this work in the winter you will be ready to just ride come spring.

Thanks for the encouraging words,
Now if only I can get it all back together and running in time.

I checked the wheel bearings for play, and much to my chagrin, they were as rattly as a bag of bones. So I took them out of the hub, and found that they are only sealed on one side, with a lot of condensation in the center of the rim, and rusty, very rusty. The grease they were packed with had taken on a rusty tone. So time for new bearings.

The regular aftermarket code for the 17x42x13 front axle bearings is 6302-2RSJ for anyone who is also looking. The one for the rear is 6303-2RSJ. I ordered in both while I am at it. I am going to use SKF bearings available through work, and pack them with valvoline special moly lube.
Now I just have to wait until tomorrow to get the bearings, which is ok since I can still reassemble the rest of the front wheel without them, I just can't mount it yet.

I have seen lots of ten of the correct size bearings on ebay, but I would rather deal with a known brand which I can get warranty with through work than take my chances on ebay quality. More expensive, but worth it.

EDIT: I discovered that the bearings commonly sold on ebay use a plastic cage in them to keep the bearings seperated evenly. The ones I have ordered with the "J" at the end have a metal cage inside them, so, much higher durability and quality, no wonder they are $12 a piece my cost, as opposed to buying 10 of the ebay ones for $40.

[Macguyver]

Speedometer Gearbox refresh

Since I had the front end disassembled anyways, I figured I should give everything some attention, and this was the gearbox's turn.

Upon removal of the gearbox, I discovered a mass of "dead" grease, grease which had enough contaminants mixed into to to be thickened and quite resistant to flow. So it had to go. Smelled nasty too.

Some patience, a rag, and handlful of q-tips, and some WD-40 degreaser did the job nicely indeed.

First header pic is the speedo dissassembled as far as I could, all degreased, ready to be prepped.

Second header pic show the part roughed up with some 320 grit sand paper, and masked and plugged, ready for primer.

Third header pic is post-paint, greased, and reassembled, ready for final grease and reassembly with the rest of the front end.

Main pic is same as #3, just from above.

Paint turned out good, fit well, no hassles or problems, now on to the rest of the parts.

[Macguyver]

Almost there.

I love it when a plan (or a front end) comes together.

Reassembly has gone well so far, with only minor delays during assembly, such as "Where did that bolt go? It should be right there!". Cut to a few minutes later, and I step on the aforementioned bolt, after taking off my shoes to go inside to check the workbench.
Yep, that's the fastest way to find missing bolts/pointy things I've found, take off the shoes. It works, but perhaps not the best approarch.

Fast forward for a bit, and I have the front almost completely back together, sans brakes and headlight/wiring. I believe the next step is to disconnect the calipers, and prep them for paint.

I decided that while I have the front end apart, I should probably replace the brake shoes, so I ordered in some EBC organics for front and rear. Two sets of FA65's for the front, and one set of FA36's for the rear. I can't speak for anyone else, but I know I feel better knowing the age of my brake pads.

I also painted the lower triple cover, as well as the chrome bezel of the side reflectors (yet to go on), and installed the fork gaiters, to cover the chrome, and keep me from having to do the fork seals again for a while.

I am hoping to have the calipers and a couple other parts prepped and ready to take in to work on Tuesday for paint, so I should hopefully have the front done relatively soon.

The pic shows some of the hardware I painted for the front end, and how my bike stands now.

[Turtleface]

I love it when a plan (or a front end) comes together.

Reassembly has gone well so far, with only minor delays during assembly, such as "Where did that bolt go? It should be right there!". Cut to a few minutes later, and I step on the aforementioned bolt, after taking off my shoes to go inside to check the workbench.
Yep, that's the fastest way to find missing bolts/pointy things I've found, take off the shoes. It works, but perhaps not the best approarch.

Fast forward for a bit, and I have the front almost completely back together, sans brakes and headlight/wiring. I believe the next step is to disconnect the calipers, and prep them for paint.

I decided that while I have the front end apart, I should probably replace the brake shoes, so I ordered in some EBC organics for front and rear. Two sets of FA65's for the front, and one set of FA36's for the rear. I can't speak for anyone else, but I know I feel better knowing the age of my brake pads.

I also painted the lower triple cover, as well as the chrome bezel of the side reflectors (yet to go on), and installed the fork gaiters, to cover the chrome, and keep me from having to do the fork seals again for a while.

I am hoping to have the calipers and a couple other parts prepped and ready to take in to work on Tuesday for paint, so I should hopefully have the front done relatively soon.

The pic shows some of the hardware I painted for the front end, and how my bike stands now.

Nice job! The attention to detail is fantastic, really sharp looking.