1981 GS450E Rebuild

[dedfish]

Well since your doing all this work and taking pictures I get to see things I've never seen before and that is very cool for me. Thanks, I appreciate any updates on what you find.

[pete]

Hmmm yeah I never thought about it like that, but I guess I should seeing I've watched others on here pull theirs down and have learnt from what they've done also...

If I can help someone else with this, that's great, and makes it even more worthwhile, although never forget that I have no idea what I'm doing and this is my first time doing this

So as far as my gasket situation goes, I'm thinking of getting the NOS head gasket, base gasket, and valve cover gasket as those three are the critical pressure gaskets, but I'll get an Athena kit to cater for the rest of it, as from what I've seen it's really these three gaskets that have let others down.

This is what the guy from the place stocking Athena had to say:

G'day Peter,

You are correct with the kit 06CS78 but unfortunately I am presently out of
stock and replacement is due around 4 weeks.

The kit includes necessary "O" Rings and gaskets.

Athena is the O.E.M. gasket producer for all the European makes of
motorcycles and therefore their products are beyond reproach.
For obvious reasons without naming them, there are other European gasket
manufacturers and for that matter Japanese and Chinese as well, whose
quality is questionable, so I reast my case.

Should you have the time to wait for my next delivery from Athena, I would
be most pleased to place your order on hold.

So there's a four week wait on this, which isn't a major drama as I've got lots more painting to do yet and I can get the frame done and get started on the forks also.

I also keep forgetting I need to drain the tank.

So if I go with what I'm thinking with gaskets etc., that means the price will be:

Drive shaft: $225
Head gasket: $123
Base gasket: $13.10
Valve cover gasket: $53
Piston rings: $154.60
Circlips for pistons: $8.80
Athena gasket set: $97.98

Total: $675.48

So it ends up about $7.00 dearer than what I got quoted for the NOS stuff, except I get what's supposed to be a complete gasket and O ring set from Athena, whereas there is lots of stuff missing in the NOS stuff for case covers etc.

This is more food for thought and I'll have to make a decision soon on it as the quote on the NOS stuff is only valid for 7 days.

Anyone else have an opinion on the sensible way forward on this?

[Charlie G]

pete,

I don't read to much the is directly related to 450 on the forum "how to" links. I'm about ready to do my carbs and I thought of doing a picture, story thread for that task. I need to get a new camera though. It would be good if some of the 450 owners could help build up a resource for 450 specific repairs. *If you continue posting pictures it would be good. The 450 seems to be one of the "Redheaded stepchild's" here.

Boy that seems like alot of money and time for gaskets and such. I thought a Kiwi member was ordering his stuff form the states and saving a bit. What do I know?

Good luck with the project. I've subscribed.

Charlie G

[Suzuki_Don]

I think because noone does much with the small twins it's harder to get parts at a reasonable cost compared with the four cylinders, or at least that's the impression I get anyway.

Yes Pete, but we have to pay for four items each time as you only have to pay for two.

[Suzuki_Don]

So if I go with what I'm thinking with gaskets etc., that means the price will be:

Drive shaft: $225
Head gasket: $123
Base gasket: $13.10
Valve cover gasket: $53
Piston rings: $154.60
Circlips for pistons: $8.80
Athena gasket set: $97.98

Total: $675.48

So Pete whar's with the driveshaft for $225. What's the deal there. Please explain? What driveshaft?

[pete]

Charlie: Yes, we definitely seem to be the redheaded stepchildren here! But of course on these forums, it seems the rest are slightly redheaded and not averse to stepchildren... which of course is supposed to be some sort of back handed compliment to all on these forums, and perhaps I should've just said nothing...

Anyways, I intend to take as many pic's as I can along the way, so if these go towards some resources for other 450 owners, then that's great, I'm happy to help. My only issue is being a source of knowledge for what I'm doing... I have no idea except what I read in the manual and what I've learnt from here.

Actually I took some marginally better pic's of the swingarm etc. today but I haven't downloaded them from the camera yet, job for the morning.

Don: Good point, you guys do have to buy twice as many of most things

As far as the drive shaft goes, I need to examine it more closely to see if I really do need to replace it, but in a nutshell the PO had ridden it for who knows how long with the nut loose that holds the front sprocket on, so the splines on the drive shaft are a bit worn, and the original front sprocket was pretty sad as a result.

When I initially got the bike road worthied, the guys doing the inspection found this out and said as long as I replace the sprocket and keep that nut nice and tight, I should have no issues with the worn splines on the drive shaft.

Oh, and yeah this drive shaft is in the gearbox and has the front sprocket on it for the chain drive, so if it's going to be replaced, the time to do it is now with it totally disassembled. My problem of course is the price...

[pete]

Also forgot to comment on the gaskets from the US thing... I haven't actually looked at that option yet but given the way the Aussie dollar has been lately it might be worth while.

[pete]

Here's some marginally better pic's of the swingarm, centre stand, grab handle, brake stabiliser bar, and engine mounts. I can't seem to get good light in the garage for photos I'm sorry, it's either too glary with the door open or too dark with it shut. I need to get the electrician back and get some more light in there!

There are some slight runs in a couple of places, but very hard to see unless you're looking for them so I don't think anyone will notice.

You can also see some brush strokes on the engine mounts as I found it very difficult to brush the whole piece in the same direction, which is what POR 15 recommend you do when brushing.

And I've painted the feet of the centre stand, so I guess I'll get to see just how tough this paint really is once I start putting the bike on the stand later down the track.

[pete]

And I just worked out going by Cycle Parts Nation prices I'm being ripped something fierce here for NOS parts.

If I do what I'm thinking, and use OEM base, head, and valve cover gaskets, that will set me back $189.10 plus interstate shipping for NOS parts.

If I get those same parts from the US, it will be $90.39 (including exchange rate) plus shipping!

And the bit that really hurts... piston rings $77.30 per set here, $25.89 (including exchange) in the US...

If I need the drive shaft, I'll have to get ripped here for it because shipping costs will be huge I would think and Cycle Parts Nation don't have one. For the rest I think I'll be sending my $ overseas and getting an Athena set locally.

I've emailed CPN to ask what shipping costs are like in case that blows it out as I can't see any shipping costs on their website.

[dedfish]

If I can help you out in anyway let me know. I don't know if it's cheaper having someone pickup the parts at a dealer in the us and then mail or if it's cheaper to order from a us website and have them mail. Anyway the offer is there to help if I can.

[Charlie G]

I vaguely remember one of the members was getting his parts from Alpha or someplace which is known for being expensive but he claimed the shipping was good. Shipping from US to AZ or NZ isn't something all dealers want to do. What I'm getting at is; you should check several sources here, because I find that part prices can vary from place to place as well ashipping costs. One part is cheaper at a store this week and next week a different part is cheaper at another place.

cg

[pete]

Cheers for the offer Dedfish, hopefully it will be simple and not too expensive straight from the store, but I'll keep your offer in mind.

Charlie, what you say makes perfect sense, and I have seen Alpha's prices and they're definitely dearer than CPN, but I haven't seen shipping prices for either yet.

My wife buys jeans and shoes from the US every now and then and the postage on those varies quite a lot also, so I won't be surprised if one dealer's shipping outweighs another dealiers cost...

[Nessism]

Nice job on the rebuild Pete.

Can't believe I'm even suggesting this but partsnmore in Canada sells Athena gasket kits for cheap. https://www.partsnmore.com/cat_index...ategory=engine

If you get an OE base gasket I think you will be okay. Ordering parts from the US might be a good idea too; the PO here has what they call a "small flat rate box" that ships for pretty cheap pretty much anywhere in the world. I'll be glad to help you out too by relaying parts your way. I'm going to be placing an order in the next few days so let me know if I can help.

[pete]

Cheers Ed, no more work this weekend (mother's day) but I hope to keep going soon.

Parts Canada is cheap and the Aus dollar rate is even better in Canada than the US, but the shipping looks a tad scary, minimum cost is $69.02 Canadian and they say things like gasket sets may be more expensive due to Fedex charging by box size, not weight.

However, the price of the Athena set here in Australia isn't too bad, it's the NOS stuff that really hurts.

And thanks for the offer too

[pete]

So a helpful reply from CPN this morning:

Shipping will be calculated at checkout.
-cpn.com

So I guess I get to create an account and all just to see if shipping's too expensive... oh well you gotta do what you gotta do

In the meantime, if I spend the total of $20.70, I can get the gasket and O rings for the crankcases as well as the base gasket, and I will endeavour to get a new clutch oil seal as well, except I forgot to get a price on that one.

I can then do the rest with the much cheaper Athena alternative, but at least I won't have to split the cases or replace the base gasket if they turn out to be crap.