1981 GS450E Rebuild

[pete]

Well it looks like one of my extra optional bits might actually do what it's supposed to... so here it is so far... I started this work back at the end of November before even getting the bike on the road, so it's been floating around for a while...

I really wanted a fly screen on the front to knock just a little wind out of the way, definitely don't want a fairing or bikini fairing.

There was one for about $45 but the distributor is no longer importing them and I haven't seen anything else that really took my eye, so figured I'd give making one a go.

So, got a sheet of acrylic perspex off eBay...

Put some round things to use that were floating around the garage:



And one cardboard template done:



Should do the trick, size and shape seem to be ok:



Marked it out on the sheet of perspex, plenty left for a few more goes if the first one screws up:



Figured out the mounting holes by guessing where the holes will end up after the perspex is curved:



Drilled the mounting holes after roughly cutting it out of the sheet:



Then, ages ago, I managed to get some time with the jigsaw during the day and cut the shape out properly:



And that's what I had done by the end of November, then I got distracted getting the bike registered and since then I just haven't had the same time in the garage available for whatever reasons...

Anyway, today I finally got into it again. Had an old T shirt as a rag that I stretched over my old bikini fairing to protect it, and then I could get some heat going on the perspex to get it curved.

[pete]

Happy to report my squeaking seems to be gone

[pete]

Finally! disc brake shim arrived today, went and picked it up at lunch.



Got the caliper off tonight and got the shim on the pad:



And back together, really not happy with that 3M caliper paint:



Wheeled it forwards and backwards in the very limited space in the garage and no squeaks (it was squeaking as soon as the wheel moved) so we'll see how it fares tomorrow.

[pete]

Yes but do your riding Boots match your uh ... tool bag.

Hey Redneck, of course Petes boots will match the tool pouch because fashion rule NO.1 is:-black goes with everything.Johnny

Hahahahahahaha yep Johnny's onto it! My boots are black

fashion certainties!

Hey Redneck, of course Petes boots will match the tool pouch because fashion rule NO.1 is:-black goes with everything.Johnny

Then my wife gave me an old coin purse thing to use as I couldn't find anything suitable at Supercheap or Woolies today and stuck all the tools in:



Yes it looks a touch on the girly side but it does the job right? And my wife promises she'll find me a more manly one at some point... haha

Yes but do your riding Boots match your uh ... tool bag.

[pete]

*Still* no brake shim... the bloke I spoke to has no idea what's going on so he's ordered another one and if he ends up with two he'll just send one back.

On the plus side, I've gotten a lot of the tools sorted in the garage this week so the garage is now probably 50% sorted, which is about 100% more than it was before...

[pete]

Pete..... Finally got the yard dry enough to get the motorcycle trailer out of the back yard. Went to Houston yesterday afternoon and brought the bike home. I cleaned enough crud off so I could read the frame and engine #'s. The bike is an '81 GS450EX. Whatever significance that has, I'm not sure other than it makes it much easier to sit down and spend money in large chunks. In the marine industry we always have said that boat stands for: "Break out another thousand". Is there a parallel in biking?
Regards,
Niels

Nice! Yours is one model year older than mine Mine's officially an '82 GS450EZ except the compliance plate on the Aussie ones doesn't really clarify it that well.

Yes, it does make it easier to spend more $$$... hahaha... can't think of a specific parallel for bikes that makes any sense though...

Oh, and the brake shim *still* hasn't arrived yet. Called again today and he's a little confused as to why it isn't there as he expected it to be there yesterday. If it isn't there tomorrow he'll start asking some questions... very frustrating when I want to fix my squeak!

Pete..... Finally got the yard dry enough to get the motorcycle trailer out of the back yard. Went to Houston yesterday afternoon and brought the bike home. I cleaned enough crud off so I could read the frame and engine #'s. The bike is an '81 GS450EX. Whatever significance that has, I'm not sure other than it makes it much easier to sit down and spend money in large chunks. In the marine industry we always have said that boat stands for: "Break out another thousand". Is there a parallel in biking?
Regards,
Niels

[pete]

Pete that shim you are missing, I think is used as an anti squeal component. Maybe that is the sound you are hearing.

Cheers Greg, I seem to recall the same thing somewhere along the line...

Ordered one from Brisbane Motorcycles on Tuesday and just waiting for it to arrive. Forgot to update the thread

[ged]

Pete that shim you are missing, I think is used as an anti squeal component. Maybe that is the sound you are hearing.

[pete]

First day riding with the tool tray in there and didn't notice a thing, everything is snug as a bug in a rug and it didn't seem to move an inch... nice

However, the last week or so I've been hearing a funny noise and my front brake has gotten a little squeeky, and I'm about 70% sure that the noise I'm hearing while riding is the front brake.

One thing during assembly I noticed was that the parts on the fiche show a shim pad (number 5) http://www.boulevardsuzuki.com/fiche...1980&fveh=2093

I'm wondering if this could be the cause of the noise? It wasn't there when I dismantled the caliper initially... any thoughts?

The noise I'm hearing is like a regular shushing or something... hard to explain... it speeds up and slows down with the bike and dies off when I slow down which is why I reckon it's the brake, but it's quiet enough that it's quite hard to hear and identify over the exhaust.

I think I may have to kill the engine while moving to try to isolate it a bit better... that gets a bit difficult in traffic though...

[pete]

Nice work indeed.....

hey if the color don't work, is there not some fabric paint or something you can use and give it a different color....?

Thanks mate, and yes I believe there's fabric dye... I reckon I'll leave it though... haha

Now my tool situation is sorted I want to move onto a rear rack and something else I have up my sleeve that may or may not work...

Nice work indeed.....

hey if the color don't work, is there not some fabric paint or something you can use and give it a different color....?

[pete]

well least it wasnt sequined..



good job!

Hahaha indeed! Cheers John... you know where the pliers are coming from next time now right? Hahaha

Looks great Pete. How well can you get it back out without snagging on the seat latch?

Thanks Scott, it's a nice firm fit, so you get it in and out via one of the sides and then the seat lock holds it in nicely.

Pete.....Love the pur...er a tool pouch. The color is all wrong for my wardrobe but I'm sure I can find something that will co-ordinate. Great idea.
Niels

I dunno Niels, you've got brown shoes haven't you?

Haha cheers