Another Aussie GS rebuild - GS1100G

[JimmyR]

Hey thanks mate! Yeah some of the engine stuff has been in other more specific threads. I am such a novice I need all the help I can get. Pulling engines apart is not my usual habit! I have kinda avoided it until now, but am wondering why I did. I did get some advice from a local shop to avoid opening it up unless I had a good reason. Well I guess I found a good reason, and now am pleased I did. Should have done this earlier, but better late than never.

Metalgear appear to be an Australian/German thing. Weird - yeah! But they seem to be very good quality. They make loads of different Japanese bike brake discs and pads. I think they are available on Aussie Ebay, but you can probably order direct.

http://www.metalgear.com.au/

[pete]

Cheers guys. Hey did you use a Metalgear disc on your bike Pete? That's good to know. I have quite good braking already, but want to go as good as I can get without making major modifications. So I have ordered a MC and lever from a current Suzuki - a V-Strom I think - in the hope that the more modern MC and lever will give me more of the braking force without having to squeeze the lever to the bar. The braking is actually not that bad but the lever as it is now almost touches the grip when I use it.

I can;t wait to see how the bike performs once it's all back together. I am hoping that I will get more consistent results from the engine. Before it would run beautifully one day, not so well the next. I think now I have fixed everything that can be fixed.

Yup, they had one in stock and all when I got to that point. John has Metalgear on his too I think.

They're just around the corner from my house mate's work so easy to get to.

I used a M/C from Mikes XS and went down 1mm in bore size. Makes the lever come a little further back towards the 'bar but it actually has good feel and strength for a single pot stock disc setup.

The Salty Monk upgrade is always in the back of my mind...

[john82q]

I have metalgear on the sidecar and done 15k, pads and disk are lasting well, still looks good too.

[JimmyR]

Good to know. It looks good and well made.

Well today I got the cylinders back on. Wow - it was all a heap easier than I thought it was going to be. I was dreading putting the circlips on the pistons and dropping one into the engine, but that never happened. As for squeezing the pistons into the cylinders - well I just used my fingers and it all went surprisingly easily.

The only mishap was when I removed the starter motor cover. I wanted to clean between it and the big hole where the barrel goes. One of the bolts came off with a jolt and jumped into the engine where the crankshaft is. My first thought was to use a magnet to fish it out but of course Mr Smarty-pants went and used stainless bolts, which aren't magnetic. So I drained the oil and fished it out with a hex wrench with a bit of blu-tack on the end. Disaster averted.

So I got the barrel on, remembering to use a new gasket and two rubber O-rings. I put the head on too, but it will have to come off again next week to get a heli-coil installed in one of the cam shaft bolt holes. Found a stripped screw hole dammit.

Anyway I took a pic of how the engine looks in situ. So much cleaner! You can also see why I am slowly replacing all of the bolts on the engine. I have ordered new nuts for the studs because they were so rusty. Some were rusted onto the studs. I got them off but they aren't going back on.

[pete]

Looking much better already Jimmy, nice work!

[Charlie G]

Funny how these bikes lead us into doing things beyond our comfort level. It's looking good there.

cg

[landshark]

Looks Great Mate, How did you end up cleaning the engine fins?

I am running a radial master cylinder on my front with braided lines and it is great. I havent ridden another 1000 though, so not much to compare it too.

[JimmyR]

Well I took the head and barrel to a machinist for them to reseat the valves and install new seals. Bad people on this very board insisted, nay forced me at gunpoint (virtual gunpoint I guess) to take off the barrel and check the bore and rings while I was at it, so off they came and went to the same machinist. That's where they were bead blasted. And I am so happy that they were because as you can see in the pics above they were crusted in NSW crap well and truly.

I went to the specialists because I don't have the tools or the knowledge to do such jobs, and I wanted them done right. I thought the cost was entirely reasonable - ie not much - and they did a bloody nice job. Once it's all buttoned down I will have a bike ready for another 30 years.

Honestly I am amazed at how little wear there is in the engine considering how old it is and how many kms it's done. And Charlie G you are right - much of this restoration is way beyond my comfort level! But I guess that's why I took it on, and that's why it's so satisfying. I'm like a little kid again - I really want to ride it! I reckon a couple of weeks and I'll be riding again.

[nikosg]

great job!

[JimmyR]

While I'm waiting on a few things I thought I'd replace the mirrors. I broke one of them on my garage door And thought I'd look for something even better. So I found these Motolanna mirrors online, took a punt, and whaddaya know? They're really well made and look great. Not so sure about the blue glass but I guess once I'm riding I won't notice it. The mirrors are a good size and fit easily, feel very solidly mounted, unlike the previous.

Initially I had the stems mounted flatter forwardas and it looked very cool, but of course the levers hit them. So now I've raised the stems but they still look good.

[pete]

Very cool Jimmy! How's the view behind? I'm guessing you won't have been able to check for vibration yet...

[JimmyR]

Well the view is similar to what I had before, which was excellent. I can't see that the vibration should be much different, but time will tell. After the Harley though anything is amazing!

Collected the cylinder hear from the machinist again now that I have a new helicoil in there for one of the cam holder bolts. So I'll be shimming valves tomorrow and getting the head back on the engine. I have all new head nuts and bolts, even washers. Pretty exciting really because the tank and front fender should be done this week too.

I'm hoping that all this work on the engine will mean that once I get it all together it will run flawlessly. I am certain that something else will rear its ugly head but I hope to be riding again in a week or two.

[pete]

Good stuff, they are good looking mirrors that's for sure!

Glad you got your head back all sorted too, you'll be riding in no time... awesome!

[JimmyR]

It was quite odd taking bits of engine into the machine shop and asking for a head job. But he was very accommodating.

[JimmyR]

Getting the engine back together, Very satisfying, especially with new shiny nuts.