1981 GS450E Rebuild

[pete]

Next up, blue thread locker on the three bolts and in she goes:



Bit of RTV around the grommet:



And blue thread locker again on the other three bolts for the cable guides and she's ready for the cover to go back on:



Stator and sprocket covers back on with lots of fresh anti-seize on the SS bolt threads again:



Re-routed and cable tied the wiring back in place again:





And that was that.

Tank back on, topped the oil up (was about 1/3 way down on the dipstick), got the footpeg and gear lever back on, then fired her up to see what would happen.

At idle, it didn't drop below 14v, and over 5000 RPM peaks at 14.7v.

I reckon she's fixed

As I said earlier, she felt like a different bike on the test ride... very happy with that!

[ndaugbjerg]

Pete..........Thanks for the great pics. I think I have everything to do the job except the Nastro Azzuro. I was wondering if Carlsberg, Dos Equis or Carta Blanco would work as well. I think I can get those locally.
Niels

[pete]

Pete..........Thanks for the great pics. I think I have everything to do the job except the Nastro Azzuro. I was wondering if Carlsberg, Dos Equis or Carta Blanco would work as well. I think I can get those locally.
Niels

No problems Niels, always hoping I can help someone out with the pic's... and the Nastro definitely helps me out (when I don't have to test ride afterwards of course)

Carlsberg will definitely work but I haven't tried the Dos Equis or Carta Blanco so perhaps you could take them for a trial run and let me know? Hahaha

[pete]

At last! I have somewhere to store some tools that doesn't require me to drag my tank bag everywhere... or man bag in Leigh-speak

Got all the house stuff done nice and early today which gave me some time in the garage this avo.

I ended up bending the rear of the two halves of the tool tray down a bit to match the angle of the tail light bracket:



And bolted the two halves in finally. Unfortunately tightening the bolts pulled the rear bits of rubber up off the aluminium but I can cope with that. I really should've cut holes in the rubber the size of the washers but I didn't think of that earlier...



Then I pulled out the toolkit that came with the bike which looks like it's at least mostly genuine Suzuki stuff:



Added some more:



Then my wife gave me an old coin purse thing to use as I couldn't find anything suitable at Supercheap or Woolies today and stuck all the tools in:



Yes it looks a touch on the girly side but it does the job right? And my wife promises she'll find me a more manly one at some point... haha

However, it's an absolute perfect fit, exactly the right size:



Very happy with that and due to the way it wedges in nicely I don't have to find any way of strapping it in either.

[john82q]

well least it wasnt sequined..



good job!

[cowboyup3371]

Looks great Pete. How well can you get it back out without snagging on the seat latch?

[ndaugbjerg]

Pete.....Love the pur...er a tool pouch. The color is all wrong for my wardrobe but I'm sure I can find something that will co-ordinate. Great idea.
Niels

[pete]

well least it wasnt sequined..



good job!

Hahaha indeed! Cheers John... you know where the pliers are coming from next time now right? Hahaha

Looks great Pete. How well can you get it back out without snagging on the seat latch?

Thanks Scott, it's a nice firm fit, so you get it in and out via one of the sides and then the seat lock holds it in nicely.

Pete.....Love the pur...er a tool pouch. The color is all wrong for my wardrobe but I'm sure I can find something that will co-ordinate. Great idea.
Niels

I dunno Niels, you've got brown shoes haven't you?

Haha cheers

[GateKeeper]

Nice work indeed.....

hey if the color don't work, is there not some fabric paint or something you can use and give it a different color....?

[pete]

Nice work indeed.....

hey if the color don't work, is there not some fabric paint or something you can use and give it a different color....?

Thanks mate, and yes I believe there's fabric dye... I reckon I'll leave it though... haha

Now my tool situation is sorted I want to move onto a rear rack and something else I have up my sleeve that may or may not work...

[pete]

First day riding with the tool tray in there and didn't notice a thing, everything is snug as a bug in a rug and it didn't seem to move an inch... nice

However, the last week or so I've been hearing a funny noise and my front brake has gotten a little squeeky, and I'm about 70% sure that the noise I'm hearing while riding is the front brake.

One thing during assembly I noticed was that the parts on the fiche show a shim pad (number 5) http://www.boulevardsuzuki.com/fiche...1980&fveh=2093

I'm wondering if this could be the cause of the noise? It wasn't there when I dismantled the caliper initially... any thoughts?

The noise I'm hearing is like a regular shushing or something... hard to explain... it speeds up and slows down with the bike and dies off when I slow down which is why I reckon it's the brake, but it's quiet enough that it's quite hard to hear and identify over the exhaust.

I think I may have to kill the engine while moving to try to isolate it a bit better... that gets a bit difficult in traffic though...

[ged]

Pete that shim you are missing, I think is used as an anti squeal component. Maybe that is the sound you are hearing.

[pete]

Pete that shim you are missing, I think is used as an anti squeal component. Maybe that is the sound you are hearing.

Cheers Greg, I seem to recall the same thing somewhere along the line...

Ordered one from Brisbane Motorcycles on Tuesday and just waiting for it to arrive. Forgot to update the thread

[ndaugbjerg]

Pete..... Finally got the yard dry enough to get the motorcycle trailer out of the back yard. Went to Houston yesterday afternoon and brought the bike home. I cleaned enough crud off so I could read the frame and engine #'s. The bike is an '81 GS450EX. Whatever significance that has, I'm not sure other than it makes it much easier to sit down and spend money in large chunks. In the marine industry we always have said that boat stands for: "Break out another thousand". Is there a parallel in biking?
Regards,
Niels

[pete]

Pete..... Finally got the yard dry enough to get the motorcycle trailer out of the back yard. Went to Houston yesterday afternoon and brought the bike home. I cleaned enough crud off so I could read the frame and engine #'s. The bike is an '81 GS450EX. Whatever significance that has, I'm not sure other than it makes it much easier to sit down and spend money in large chunks. In the marine industry we always have said that boat stands for: "Break out another thousand". Is there a parallel in biking?
Regards,
Niels

Nice! Yours is one model year older than mine Mine's officially an '82 GS450EZ except the compliance plate on the Aussie ones doesn't really clarify it that well.

Yes, it does make it easier to spend more $$$... hahaha... can't think of a specific parallel for bikes that makes any sense though...

Oh, and the brake shim *still* hasn't arrived yet. Called again today and he's a little confused as to why it isn't there as he expected it to be there yesterday. If it isn't there tomorrow he'll start asking some questions... very frustrating when I want to fix my squeak!