1981 GS450E Rebuild

[Leigh]

I grinned at the first line, Pete.
I got out today on a Husky motard. That was an eyebrow raiser.

[pete]

I grinned at the first line, Pete.
I got out today on a Husky motard. That was an eyebrow raiser.

I'm still grinning

Got half way to Dayboro today and said out loud in my helmet "this is the s&*t"... oh yeah

A Husky motard hey? Have you pulled your eyebrows off the back of your head yet? Have you seen the new Husky Nuda road bike? That thing looks wicked...

[Hoosier Daddy]

So good to hear Pete, you deserve it!

[oldrookie]

Have you lubed the other end of the tach? Certainly could be the cable, but I think brwinger page has instructions for cleaning the part the cable responds to in the engine. Had the same problem with the GR last fall. Didn't have to pull that part, but do remember researching it.

Got lucky with the GR speedometer...can tear it all the way down without prying or cutting anything. Of course I did break the speedometer needle..but got it glued back together.

Good luck with the cables.

[pete]

So good to hear Pete, you deserve it!

Cheers mate, I'm lovin' every minute of it! Really need to get out for a longer ride with some good weather though, need to make some time to get a really good run on her.

Have you lubed the other end of the tach? Certainly could be the cable, but I think brwinger page has instructions for cleaning the part the cable responds to in the engine. Had the same problem with the GR last fall. Didn't have to pull that part, but do remember researching it.

Got lucky with the GR speedometer...can tear it all the way down without prying or cutting anything. Of course I did break the speedometer needle..but got it glued back together.

Good luck with the cables.

The drive for the tacho. is off the exhaust camshaft, so I *hope* it's certainly getting plenty of lube! I replaced the seals and bushing on the tacho drive during the engine rebuild so that end should be ok.

The tacho cable is the same one that was on there when I bought the bike back in about 97/98 so it might even still be the original...

[oldrookie]

Ahh. Wasn't sure how the 450 setup worked.

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread.

[Leigh]

Have you seen the new Husky Nuda road bike? That thing looks wicked...

Oh, Pete, I don't need that bike. I need my license.
I don't think I could keep both at once.

[ged]

Knee pads looking good Pete, how are you going to attach them?

[pete]

Ahh. Wasn't sure how the 450 setup worked.

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread.

Mate all good, glad to hear other thoughts on the matter because I often overlook things

Oh, Pete, I don't need that bike. I need my license.
I don't think I could keep both at once.

Hahahaha no I don't think you could either... or me... it just begs to be ridden hard doesn't it? I wanna see Boris review it...

Knee pads looking good Pete, how are you going to attach them?

Thanks mate! Thinking some good quality double sided tape should do the trick, which is why I really want to get them right before putting them on. Don't want them just "ok" and end up taking them off again...

[pete]

Rode in to work today and took a lunch time ride with one of the guys up to Mt Coottha which was nice, haven't been up there for years. Sign posted 50kmh and narrow and twisty so it's a nice road to get used to curves on again for me so I really enjoyed that.

Anyway, my work mate noticed my chain looked a little loose while he was following me and when I checked he was right. Not sure if I messed up the adjustment initially or if it's just wearing in (never had a brand new chain before), but I fixed that up tonight.

Last couple of rides I've also had the occasional issue getting back to 1st at stops and sometimes down from 3rd to 2nd as well, so I've adjusted the shift lever up a small amount as it feels like I'm just not engaging them quite right. See how that goes next time.

I also received my #20 pilot jet for the left carb today, so I put that in tonight as well and set the mixture screw two turns out again.

Not sure when I'll get to fire her up again and try the highest RPM method again but it'll be interesting to see if the mismatched pilot jet sizes sorts that out.

[Agemax]

Pete, just a thought about the knee pads.....dont use double sided tape or you will never remove them without ripping the paint off! have you thought about VELCRO instead? will hold them on tight but easy to remove if needed.

P.S. new chains to stretch in the initial few miles but then settle down to normal wear rate

[pete]

Pete, just a thought about the knee pads.....dont use double sided tape or you will never remove them without ripping the paint off! have you thought about VELCRO instead? will hold them on tight but easy to remove if needed.

P.S. new chains to stretch in the initial few miles but then settle down to normal wear rate

Yeah that's what I'm worried about... stuffing them up, not being happy, taking them off, and ruining the paint... velcro could be the way forward, but the velcro still needs to get stuck to it somehow right? I think if I used good enough tape there'd be a way of safely removing it... but I may be wrong.

And thanks for the tip on the chain, only done a few hundred km's so if that's the case then that makes perfect sense and it should be good now.

[Agemax]

the velcro strips would stick to the tank but you could still remove the pads easily to reshape or redesign and still use the existing velcro on the tank to refit them again. you can buy self adhesive velcro which is possible to peel off with no damage if done very carefully

[john82q]

what about initailly putting them on with some small spots of not so good glue. say hot melt or PVA, this should'nt damage the paint. Once your happy Ive got some cold laminating sheet (double side glued sheet ) that grabs like the proverbial, is water proof and will never come off.

Agemax is right about the chain, expect to do it again in 200k or so, it will settle down.

see I knew you'd wind up commuting, catching the Train Vs Riding. it just dosnt compare...

Chers John

[pete]

the velcro strips would stick to the tank but you could still remove the pads easily to reshape or redesign and still use the existing velcro on the tank to refit them again. you can buy self adhesive velcro which is possible to peel off with no damage if done very carefully

Yeah very true... I could even do different designs and play mix and match... haha

I've always been a tad wary of velcro for something like this subject to vibration etc. though... hate to get the design perfect only to have one fly off during a ride at 100kph...

what about initailly putting them on with some small spots of not so good glue. say hot melt or PVA, this should'nt damage the paint. Once your happy Ive got some cold laminating sheet (double side glued sheet ) that grabs like the proverbial, is water proof and will never come off.

Agemax is right about the chain, expect to do it again in 200k or so, it will settle down.

see I knew you'd wind up commuting, catching the Train Vs Riding. it just dosnt compare...

Chers John

That could be the trick too John, I was just going to blu-tack for the initial bit to make sure the shape, size, and design were spot on then attach them somehow, so that cold laminating sheet could be a good option too...

I'm happy the chain situation is expected, I was a bit worried at first, but I'll just keep an eye on it. I think I broached 300km's in total since the rebuild yesterday

As for commuting... that was just the one day so far to satisfy the guys' at work's curiousity to see her all done

I'll do some more, just not every day... although may do it again on Thursday if the weather holds out...