1981 GS450E Rebuild

[pete]

So, figured it was about time I put a proper rebuild thread in here for my 450.

This started way back in January 2005, after it had been sitting for a couple of years due to needing a new rear sprocket, chain, and rear tyre and not having the cash or time to get new ones.

This is what I started with:





This is where I'm thinking of heading at the moment, but that may change, and I'm also thinking blue rather than green:



Anyway, this is just the start and a lot has been done over the intervening years (very slowly though), which I will update over the next few days up to where I'm at now.

There's another thread in Appearance regarding engine paint that I have some pic's in too:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=135476

[Charlie G]

Let her rip Pete. Let see what you can do with a 450e.

cg

[Jagir]

I like the scrambler look, but running those pipes over the side panel may be more of a hassle than having the original megaphone mufflers blocking the rear axle, not to mention, roasting the chestnuts or inner thigh
If you do the pipes that way, I'd love to see spoked wheels instead of the mags.
Blue, yellow, whatever color, it will turn some heads.
Good luck.

[pete]

Thanks guys, I'm keen to see what I can do too! This is my first ever attempt at something like this...

As far as the scrambler type pipes go, I'm guessing at the moment that I'll end up ditching the side covers altogether and can hopefully relocate the battery and electrics elsewhere to leave that area a little more open.

I also want to go down the K&N pods path as the custom pipes will require rejetting of the carbs anyway.

At the moment I'm going to clean up and see how the mags look with black spokes and the edge beside the tyre polished, and consider a change to spokes down the track.

I'm trying to keep as much standard as possible for the moment without any chopping or major structural modifications. The exhaust is really the only part that needs replacing completely, and you'll see why once I get some more of the history here. Just waiting for photobucket uploads at the moment...

[pete]

So, it started in January 2005 after I hadn't touched it for about 2 years or a bit more.

I started it up after checking oil etc. and it sounded great, but this is what the left exhaust did:



That's when I decided I needed to do some work, so I started taking the bits off I knew were bad such as the front brake caliper:



Not good looking rear sprocket and chain:



And the even worse looking gear shifter:

[pete]

By now it was June 2005 and I'd gotten very little done except to bump against the left exhaust which did this...





Yep, started to sag, gave it a nudge, just peeled away... just a tad rusted out.

So that's about the time I decided to dismantle it completely and do a proper job of it...

[pete]

Just some more general pic's of the dismantling process...

[pete]

So at this point the frame was bare and the engine was on the bench and it was July 2005, so time for the engine to start coming apart...









By this time believe it or not it was February 2007 and I got stuck on the allen bolts in the oil filter housing in the photo above, and that's where it stayed while I moved house later in 2007 and for probably the first year at the new house.

[pete]

New house, new motivation (sort of), and a stroke of luck had the crankcases apart and the engine completely apart, meaning almost time to start the real work...

[pete]

In a very brief nutshell, and skipping a lot of painful getting stuck bits along the way, that brings us up to now, or at least the last few weeks where I've really taken the bull by the horns and gotten stuck right in.

More soon with the engine painting and starting to paint some other bits and pieces...

[pete]

So to see the painting of the motor with POR 15 Black Velvet high heat paint, drop in to this thread:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=135476&page=11

And I've also managed to get two coats of paint on the four engine mounts, the swingarm and brake support bracket, centre stand, and the grab handle for putting it on the centre stand (they're really hard to see properly in the pic's, I will have to take more in a few days when I can take them down from drying):





Quick edit: Forgot to say what paint I'm using! It's POR 15 Blackcote which is supposed to be really tough and self levelling, so I'm brushing it on.

[pete]

So that's where it is right now.

Next step is to prep and paint the frame, fork lowers, side stand, and rear brake drum housing.

I need to do the wheels also, but I'm not sure if I can use the same paint or if some other sort of paint will be better for them, haven't looked into that yet.

I also need to do the front brake caliper.

As far as the engine goes, I'm going to attempt to hunt down NOS gaskets and O-rings so I can avoid using Athena or other branded gaskets for the rebuild.

[pete]

Ok so I just scared the crap out of myself today.

Got a quote on NOS gaskets, O-rings, piston rings, and a replacement drive shaft as the splines on mine for the front sprocket of the chain drive are worn due to the PO running it with a loose nut.

Total price is a bit over $655, and that's without the base cylinder gasket because it looks like he doesn't have one. The drive shaft itself is $255 of this.

Not looked at yet are any bearings I may need and case cover gaskets, this is just the main ones for the crankcase, cylinders, and head. Wow.

Does this seem excessive or normal for NOS stuff?

I'm seriously considering going down the Athena path at this price and just getting the drive shaft, piston rings, and NOS cylinder head gasket. The Athena gasket set is about $95.

[dedfish]

I don't have anything to offer but I'm interested in know the answers to the questions you ask. I've been following your posts because I also have a 450 and you take lots of good pictures. I'm interested in rebuilding one of my two engines but afraid of the cost.

[pete]

Wow dedfish you must be the first to say my photos are good! I thought they all just sucked myself

Anyway, 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. Look through the forums here for instance and you'll see the vast majority is 4 cylinder stuff (not that there's anything wrong with that).

I'll keep this up to date with what I find out and I've also sent an enquiry to another place this morning and I also emailed the Athena stockist last night to get a bit of clarification and to see how good they really expect their product to be compared to genuine.