1981 GS450E Rebuild

[Leigh]

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

Chers John

Hahaha,, Told ya.

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

Pete, Pete, Pete (cue sad head shaking) just who are you trying to convince?
You are amongst friends here, we all share your addiction.
Do not be ashamed or try to tell us that you'll maybe ride once or twice.
There is nothing you can do for it but ride, ride and ride again

Peter Egan: "Motorcycle racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty."

[pete]

Hahaha,, Told ya.


Pete, Pete, Pete (cue sad head shaking) just who are you trying to convince?
You are amongst friends here, we all share your addiction.
Do not be ashamed or try to tell us that you'll maybe ride once or twice.
There is nothing you can do for it but ride, ride and ride again

Peter Egan: "Motorcycle racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty."

Hahahahaaha yeah yeah yeah

I would love to commute every day on the bike... but it ain't gonna happen, at least not at the present time... someone close would object as she's looking forward to changing jobs and catching the train with me again... and I can guarantee she won't commute on the back... I'm still hopeful I can get her on the back at some point to experience the ride, but not sure how soon or if that will happen yet... if the bug bites... well... things will get so much better

I will definitely do it as much as possible though

[pete]

I scored about 20 minutes today to get her warmed up and fiddle with the mixture screws and see how my adjusted gear shift and chain felt.

Everything seems pretty good now

I still had my idle wound up too much from the other day so given she was a bit leaner, running around the neighbourhood had her resisting dropping to idle nice and quick as she should.

Got home, reset the idle, did the highest RPM method, and seemed much better.

Definitely not as boggy off a closed throttle, but not quite sure if that's actually solved or not, need some more time in the saddle to work that out.

I've really gotta find some time to go and find somewhere away from traffic to do some plug chops. While I don't think she's going to be so lean as to hole pistons, I'd really rather be sure based on fact rather than theory...

And tonight I got back into the garage for a short while to have another fiddle with the knee pads.

Drew up my design idea on the white board so I'd have something to go off:



Got some templates cut out of paper, and I ended up cutting the centre out of the rectangular piece so I could position it correctly over the "GS":



Traced it out onto the right hand knee pad:



And looks like the design should work and the position of the design on the knee pad should be good too:



So now I need to work out some horizontal grooves and then figure out the best way to carve it all out.

Ideally I'd like the area around the "GS" where I'm going to carve the horizontal lines to be lower than the rest, so that means taking probably a mm or so off that whole area and then carving the lines. Or it may be easier to carve the lines and then cut down the peaks that are left between the lines... time to suck it and see I guess.

Anyway, I also forgot to mention that my house mate brought home the carry rack off the old YB100 on the weekend so I could see if I can make it work on the GS.



My thoughts were if I can't source the optional genuine sports rack then I could get another grab rail off eBay or something and weld some generic rack on there to emulate how the genuine sports rack mounts on the tail piece.

The width of the rack shows it's a good candidate for this treatment:



I should be able to cut the bars around where the masking tape is and spread the lower bars to weld onto the grab rail:



I think it'll work well providing I can successfully weld it, which will be the most difficult part given my crap welding so far.

Have to wait for the new year before trying to track down a grab rail and starting on that though.

[Leigh]

Pete, if that fails, let me know.
The rack won't be going back on the 750.
It's heavy and solid. I had the back of the bike slung in the air from it.

It clamps onto the frame rails rather than being welded.
It might be a little different for the 450, I don't know.
Worth a shot though..

[salty_monk]

Pete - Good velcro will hold... I've used this at high motorway speeds & nothing vibrates more than a thumper.

My bigger concern is that the velcro will "hold it off" a bit & allow dirt behind it which will then chafe your paint...

[pete]

Pete, if that fails, let me know.
The rack won't be going back on the 750.
It's heavy and solid. I had the back of the bike slung in the air from it.

It clamps onto the frame rails rather than being welded.
It might be a little different for the 450, I don't know.
Worth a shot though..

Will do, cheers Leigh.

Although I really want it to work as I was quite taken with how the optional sports rack is so neatly integrated by just replacing the grab rail. I really like how it doesn't need to attach to the shock bolts or frame rails or anything like that...

Aside from coping with my crap welding, I think the hardest thing for me is going to be clamping at the right angle so it sits flat when mounted.

A while off tackling that one though...

Pete - Good velcro will hold... I've used this at high motorway speeds & nothing vibrates more than a thumper.

My bigger concern is that the velcro will "hold it off" a bit & allow dirt behind it which will then chafe your paint...

Thanks Dan, that's good to know!

Good point on the dirt though... scratching the paint wouldn't be nice at all...

[rustybronco]

Good point on the dirt though... scratching the paint wouldn't be nice at all...

Why not? think of all the practice you'll get towards refinishing and body work.

[GateKeeper]

Just a thought, perhaps a magnetic sheet, glued to the pad, and then stuck to the tank might work for you ? you could remove it when needed, there is no gap between the magnet and the tank, so no dirt, and being such a large surface it might hold it in place well enough ?

http://www.ebay.ca/sch/Magnetic-Sheets-Supplies-/117514/i.html

just thinking out loud...

[salty_monk]

Nice idea...

[pete]

Why not? think of all the practice you'll get towards refinishing and body work.

Hahahaha cheers Dale... speaking of not nice

Just a thought, perhaps a magnetic sheet, glued to the pad, and then stuck to the tank might work for you ? you could remove it when needed, there is no gap between the magnet and the tank, so no dirt, and being such a large surface it might hold it in place well enough ?

http://www.ebay.ca/sch/Magnetic-Sheets-Supplies-/117514/i.html

just thinking out loud...

Aaaah now you're thinking! The magnetic tank bank sticks nice and I know they make magnetised signs for the sides of cars, so that should definitely be an option!

Thank you kindly sir, could be onto something there!

Nice idea...

+1

[GateKeeper]

No Problem....hope it works out for you....my early Christmas gift to you....

you might not even need E-bay, just go to a graphics place they might have sheets of it, or scraps......or find one on a car/truck,,,,well one that has been abandoned of course...and the company is out of business....

[pete]

No Problem....hope it works out for you....my early Christmas gift to you....

Thanks mate, much appreciated!

I'll definitely have a good look around eBay here and maybe even talk to a sign writer...

[pete]

I think I may have found what my wife should get me for our anniversary next year too (that's the next "special" day for gift giving)...

http://www.s3performance.com.au/acewell-3701-digital-speedometer-tachometer-with-pilot-lights-p-58.html?osCsid=ue4kicqal3f954q21k89dcckk7

Plus...

http://www.s3performance.com.au/stainless-steel-mounting-bracket-for-triple-clamps-p-56.html?osCsid=ue4kicqal3f954q21k89dcckk7

While I'm not that keen on digital speedos, one of these will allow me to compensate for the larger front tyre quite easily...

[GateKeeper]

Have you looked at Koso Gauges ?

http://www.kosonorthamerica.com/

[pete]

Have looked at Koso Gauges ?

http://www.kosonorthamerica.com/

I hadn't... but I have now

They seem to be a similar price to the Acewells but the Acewells are ADR approved meaning it's legal for me to run them.

I missed this one today which besides being a bit cheaper will probably suit the GS a little better too:

http://www.s3performance.com.au/acewell-2853-digital-speedometer-with-chrome-fascia-ring-ideal-for-cruisers-and-customs-p-60.html

I'm sure there are other alternatives out there as well but I haven't looked much yet, that'll be a while away...