1981 GS450E Rebuild

[pete]

Then I revisited the tail piece and finished sanding it back and getting all the scrappy little bits of fibre glass off so it's ready now to putty:



And finally just a couple of random higher res. shots with the good digital camera to finish off the day:



So, this week I can recheck the valves and check the head torque again.

My intake boots should be here this week some time so they can go in.

I can also shoot back to Scott from Dynatek that it does actually work well, and give him some measurements of where the indent would need to go for the oil pressure switch screw and the measurements of the spacer.

Right now I'm really happy with that result, even though I'm still kicking myself for not trying the mixture screws out. Oh well, that will have to wait for another day.

The good thing right now is that this load is off my mind and I can start looking at finishing things off. I really need to look at taking a week off work before too much longer to get the paint done, and I need to start looking harder for a tyre source because I'm having zero luck on that front so far...

[pete]

Neglected to mention I got an email from Boulevard today saying my fuel tap has arrived from back order and has been shipped to me

[cowboyup3371]

Like I said in the other thread...congratulations on it running. You'll be riding in no time.

[Hoosier Daddy]

That is Great news! and good job on the "Note To Self". That looks like something I would do, I even leave myself voice mails and txt messages

I envy how much progress you've made recently, Hope you have better weather than I did to paint. Took a week off work and it rained more than 1/2 of it.

Again, CONGRATS!

[pete]

Like I said in the other thread...congratulations on it running. You'll be riding in no time.

Cheers Scott, I certainly hope so!

At least I won't have to roll it down the hill to get motion once the rest is done

That is Great news! and good job on the "Note To Self". That looks like something I would do, I even leave myself voice mails and txt messages

I envy how much progress you've made recently, Hope you have better weather than I did to paint. Took a week off work and it rained more than 1/2 of it.

Again, CONGRATS!

It certainly is! And yeah it's a pity I didn't put on my white board to check the mixture screws... I rubbed off a bunch of stuff to check but didn't write them up there, so that's a job for next time now.

And yeah, weather really sucks sometimes! I'll take your half a week of rain and raise you rust in the tank... that's what happened to my initial week off to paint... that and complete indecision on a paint job...

Was going to say you at least have your paint now, so once you get some time you should be good to go

[pete]

Just noticed that this thread has now got almost as many replies as the "What did you wrench on today" thread and actually has more views

I really need to get her done, that's quite embarrassing...

[pete]

Well I got in tonight and took some measurements for Scott at Dynatek so I could update him on the success from yesterday.

While I was doing that, I realised my initial measurement of the spacer John made was wrong, and it's still a little too large when compared with the one Dynatek makes already. This could explain why the advance seemed to stick a couple of times yesterday, so I'll need to get the sandpaper out again and rub it back a little further. It's not much out, 0.126" instead of 0.125", but maybe it's just enough...

Either way, I did clean the advance mechanism up while I had it all out for measuring so I could lube it and put it back together properly too.

All cleaned up:



Lubed with a bit of engine oil and reassembled:



And back where it belongs:



Then I decided I'd have a closer look at the front guard and see why it's such a drama with the tacho cable.

As it turns out, I'm going to have to drop the guard 25mm.

The fork travel is 140mm, but I currently only have 120mm before it hits the trim on the lower triple clamp:



The mount for the brake line actually protrudes down below that a little, but I believe I can invert that and solve the problem that way, so if I drop it 25mm it gives 145mm of clearance:



And the guard should still to the job and should still look right as well:



Either way, it's gotta drop. I really don't want the guard/brace impacting the lower triple clamp before the forks bottom out...

The parcel from Boulevard should also be here tomorrow or Tuesday, it apparently cleared customs here in Aus. on Friday, but it takes 2 days for that to get updated on the USPS tracking info...

I'm also starting to think about the seat and whether I'm going to pay someone to make up the padding and cover or if I'm going to attempt it myself.

I should be able to get suitable foam from this lot:

https://www.dymanfoams.com.au

But the cover is what has me concerned. I can't sew to save my life and I'm assuming you need to do things like make the foam a little larger than the cover so the cover stretches on and compresses the foam a bit.

Any thoughts out there?

Tyres are becoming a drama too. Admittedly I haven't picked up the 'phone yet and talked to anyone, but none of the Brissie shops with an online presence seem to stock Shinko, and that's the only brand I know of with suitable 18" dual sports...

[Flyboy]

Shame Pete, that front guard is giving you dramas, don't know what idiot suggested it be lifted to suit the style, and I thought you were smarter than listening to the ramblings of a twit who knows bugger all about motorcycles.

[pete]

Shame Pete, that front guard is giving you dramas, don't know what idiot suggested it be lifted to suit the style, and I thought you were smarter than listening to the ramblings of a twit who knows bugger all about motorcycles.

Hahahaha nah it's all good Stan, I made that choice

It should still suit just fine once it's a bit lower, and should still look at least 10 times better than the stock one... not to mention it won't be hitting the header any time soon...

[pete]

Popped the valve cover tonight for the valve clearance check:



Looking pretty good inside:



Left exhaust no change, right exhaust dropped from 0.06 to 0.05mm, left inlet I couldn't measure but the bucket rotates so one size should be enough, and the right inlet actually increased from 0.05 to 0.06mm. So all in spec. except the left inlet which I need to go from a 2.55 down to a 2.50.

Shot an email off to Precision Shims tonight so hopefully they can let me know a price tomorrow so I can pay and get it maybe on Wednesday.

I'm using Steve's very handy spreadsheet for tracking these too.



While the cover's off I re-torqued the eight head nuts as well so they should be good to. I've got to run around all the other bolts to check they're all snug too yet.

No parcel yet either, maybe tomorrow...

[Hoosier Daddy]

Boy, Am I glad I don't have shim and bucket style on my TSCC! Just one of those gray area's to me as I have yet to have to deal with them on any of my bikes... past or present.

[pete]

Boy, Am I glad I don't have shim and bucket style on my TSCC! Just one of those gray area's to me as I have yet to have to deal with them on any of my bikes... past or present.

Yeah yeah

Actually it's really quite simple, the only pain is when you don't have a shim and need to wait for it...

Hopefully I won't need any more for a while now...

[Ricko19]

I second what Hoosier Daddy said - so glad no shims!

Great to see her running again Pete - keep up the great work

[pete]

Cheers Rick! Don't forget I've only got 4 valves total... so shims ain't so bad for me

That shim should be on its way up from Melbourne too, tomorrow or Thursday it should be going in.

[pete]

Gotta love coming home to this:



New intake boots, some grommets and things for the tail piece and grab handle, missing bolt and washers for the same, fuel tap bolts, washers, and O ring, and the lock washers for the front disc.

So, carbs off again just for something different, and that is just some fuel on the bowls there:



These need to go:



And Scott from Dynatek picked this up... I really need to replace or polish these:



What was I thinking just putting them back on like that? Ugh!

Old boots off with the clamps and Mr Barr O rings and SS bolts: