'80 850GT new lease on life

[46hand]

I bought this bike from a buddy who rides a ridiculously built bike, who was moving halfway across the country, but needed the dough. I was discouraged by what I considered to be an ugly fairing and saddlebags (for that bike, not oem at all), but more so by the nearly impossible act of finding neutral while rolling, among other things. I could make a list... So she sat for a year and a half. Then my landlord said "When are you gonna do something with that?" and I figured, hell, I need a project... So, armed with a Clymer and a basic understanding of mechanics, I took it on.

While wrenching on that SOB, here are a couple things I encountered/rectified-

1- Secondary gearbox topped off with water, flushed gear oil
2- Rear caliper bleeder screws busted off, replaced caliper
3- Handlebar-brake light connection open, replaced wiring (thanks goodness for solder!)
4- Clutch cable stretched beyond serviceability, replaced
5- Faulty turn signal wiring, associated with aftermarket fairing wiring
6- Tachometer cable connection busted, replaced
7- Shifts remarkably more smoothly after changing the engine oil
8- Can find neutral since replacing clutch cable
9- Mufflers (both) are completely shot
10- Adjusted seat latch, lubricated, and now the seat latches (!)
...among other things...

My largest victory involved the replacement of the choke cable. The aftermarket cable would not thread in the receiver in the tree, so I tapped it to make it work.

Now I am working on tuning the carbs...

I will update progress as it happens, but hopefully tomorrow I will take her out on the open road for the first time.

[Redneck]

Sounds like you got things well in hand. But you know, around here a project post is still nothing unless we have PICTURES . We are kind of silly about that. We love to see pictures of the bikes no matter the state they are in. Hope the open road test goes well.

Paul

[46hand]

Okay, pics to come soon, I just dislike my phone camera, especially in the light on the side of my house...
I have expanded the operation to include carb rebuild, as well and valve clearance adjustment. Thanks to Mr. BassCliff, Mr. bwringer and Mr. John Bloemer (and likely more that I don't even realize) I am getting through this and finding the parts that I need. Carb rebuild o-rings etc from http://cycleorings.com/, valve cover and breather gaskets from Real Gaskets at http://www.realgaskets.com/files/motorcycle.htm#suzuki, MotionPro tappet tool and, eventually, shims from Everett Powersports (local).

4/8 valve clearances are no good. I got the feeler gauge at my local O'Reilly's (smallest measurement 0.04 mm) for about $6. In the Carb rebuild, it is recommended that a JIS standard screwdriver be used. In my experience, I found that the first screwdriver I used was just about to strip the head, but then switched to a fairly new Klein phllips, and was tremendously successful. Though one models with two gangplates, noy oh boy the rail that uses a #2 philips can be a real bear, and I'll likely replace that hardware.

This is turning out to be a great experience, and is the first real maintenance I've done on a motorcycle, and I should have her on the road roughly Thursday, depending on when the parts get here.

I can't say enough about how valuable this forum has been in this project. Thank all of you for the tips (esp in my other thread). I look forward to growing into a real participant here.

PS- any recommendations on a photo hosting site?

[SqDancerLynn1]

As to mufflers, if you are on a budget Some people have had good luck getting Harley mufflers cheap or free...

[Nessism]

Photobucket is good. Link the IMG code here and the photo shows up in high resolution.

Nice work BTW. It's nice to hear from a new member that understands what maintenance is all about.

[46hand]

As to mufflers, if you are on a budget Some people have had good luck getting Harley mufflers cheap or free...

Just any ol' Harley muffler? I can imagine them being easy to come by, given all the upgrading Harley owners tend to do. I have 4->2 exhaust, will they just bolt right on?

[FreshStart]

Just any ol' Harley muffler? I can imagine them being easy to come by, given all the upgrading Harley owners tend to do. I have 4->2 exhaust, will they just bolt right on?

Stock sportster mufflers attach them to your stock midpipes. Can usually be found on clist for around 25 bucks