1981 GS850GX Revival

[PdxGS]

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest,

Somehow I managed to talk myself into picking up a lovely GS850G the other day for the sweet price of $400. Drove from Portland to Pendleton as I thought the deal too good to pass up. Driving back, one of the trailer tires disintegrated... sweet. Thanks U-Haul for not including spares!



Back to the bike...

It's been sitting for a year, the previous owner said he used it as a regular commuter on the backroads of Eastern Oregon. I was informed the starter button was not functioning, but other than that, the bike should be "good to go" with a bit of love. He charged the battery before I arrived and cranked it over by shorting the solenoid. The bike started, rev'd briefly, and died (using starter fluid). The engine sounded good, smooth and strong - however briefly I heard it run.

All electrical's are untouched and seem to be functioning as they should.

The tires seem to still have a bit of life in them as well, though I haven't checked the date codes.

There was a corroded hole in the front brake reservoir, and the gooey stuff inside looked all sorts of goopy grossness.



I've tried to re-start it here in the valley and succeeded, getting to hear it run for all of 20-25 seconds before it chokes itself out. The PO stated that he didn't have, or know any of the maintenance records - classic story.

SO! Here we are. I've started by removing and cleaning the airbox, filter, and boots. The boots weren't 100%, so I ordered new ones. As I took apart the airbox, the filter felt mushy and was falling apart. I pulled all that off and shined up the metal bracket with simple green and steel wool. The gasket inside the box was also failing, so I scraped all that off and intend on installing some new weather stripping - any suggestions? or is standard weather stripping fine? I received a K&N filter that I plan on installing (unless I hear that stock is mo'betta). One note on the airbox, I'm noticing a slight amount of rust from the breather line on top of the airbox? Is this something to worry about/fix?



Removed the carbs as well, the seem to be relatively clean; though a full teardown is in order.



The intake boot removal project lasted a few days as I didn't have an impact screwdriver. The first screws came out ok, but then I hit the wall.


Before stripping them, I stopped working for the night and planned on a trip to sears the next day. Once properly equipped with the right tools, the job got a bit easier. My impact screwdriver is too long, so I had to remove the parts hanging on the battery box, remove the battery, then the battery cage to get enough clearance to swing the hammer. Good times.



I inspected the intake boots and decided that they are still good. They're still pliable, aren't deformed, and have no cracks.. seems like they should still be ok, plus I save $100 (for now).

I have received the o-rings from cyclerings, but haven't installed yet. Here's my first question - any advice on cleaning this part of the engine since it's all exposed? Cleaning tools to use? What, a toothbrush? I'm a bit concerned about having the intake exposed while working with cleaning agents. My approach was going to be a spray down of WD-40, scrub, then spray simple green, scrub, then spray down with water, though not sure how to dry all the fins?

While I ponder on this and wait for feedback, I'm going to go read up on carb rebuilding.

Would it be better to do a valve adjustment at this time with the engine more open? Or is it easy enough when everything is reassembled?

Ah yes, progression.

Cheers,
Nick

[7981GS]

Great starting point.
I like how you dove right into it!
She'll be good as new in no time!
Saturate the intake manifolds with Armor all or equivalent while they are off to keep them pliable.
Looking forward to more pictures and progress reports.

Daniel

[azr]

Sounds like you have a good plan to clean the engine. Last one I did was the same process with the exception of soda blasting for the final process then painting with engine paint. I've use both VHT and Dupli-Colour. Dupli tends to stand up a bit better to gas/oil but VHT looks more OEM. Looking forward to your progress, as well with the 1000. I've had a 79 850 and also have an 80 1000 in the shed waiting to be wrenched on. You might as well do your valve adjustment while you have everything off, it's just easier.

[Steve]

I will second the idea of adjusting the valves now. While you have the carbs and valve cover off is a perfect time to assure that the cam timing is proper. If you have to adjust it, you will have to remove the cam chain tensioner, and it's easier to do with the carbs out of the way.

If you are headed in the direction of valve adjustment, feel free to read the invite in my sig.

.

[PdxGS]

Great starting point.
I like how you dove right into it!
She'll be good as new in no time!
Saturate the intake manifolds with Armor all or equivalent while they are off to keep them pliable.
Looking forward to more pictures and progress reports.

Daniel

I appreciate the positive encouragement!

Armor all? Seems as though I've heard it can dry out rubber, in the sense of dashboards of cars and whatnot? And have always stayed away from it. I'm not sure where that information came from originally, but perhaps I should reconsider?

Nick

[7981GS]

If you don't like any of the commercially available protectants,
use lemon oil instead. It works great on dashes too.
Something to soften the rubber.

Daniel

[Flyboy]

Hi Nick
That is one hell of a score for $400, that bike looks really good as it stands.
Good to see you getting in and doing the necessary stuff, it will reward you with many many happy, carefree miles in the end.
Track down Nessim and check his signature, you find his all new updated full colour, with dancing girls carb rebuild tutorial.
Basscliff will also be along with his mega welcome and all the GS lovin' and information you could ever wish to have.
As Steve said, it is a good time to get to the cam chain tensioner, while the carbs are off, so check to see if it is leaking, if so, now is a good time to give it a rebuild as well.