GS450S neaten up

[pete]

Well, certainly could be a dodgy battery! I'd still give the switches a once over, mine were really black inside...

Oh, and on your choke... have you still got the bar to actuate the choke assemblies on each carb and are you just missing the choke lever?

If so, I have my old choke lever here... I'm using the custom 'bar mounted setup I made.

One thing I found when I first got the 450 years ago was that the pivot screw always seemed to loosen itself and there was a few times I came close to loosing it. Perhaps the PO didn't notice and lost it and the whole lever fell off?

[wally]

There is nothing there - just the carbs.

I will take a shot tonight (if I remember!)

[pete]

There is nothing there - just the carbs.

I will take a shot tonight (if I remember!)

Cool. If you're missing the whole choke bar I can't help, but if it's just the lever then you can have mine for the cost of postage providing I can find it... (pretty sure I know where it is though)...

[wally]

Got the tank emblems repainted and installed them over the weekend:
(sorry for the crappy pics - weather was bad and I was sick, didn't feel like wheeling it outside)




Most of the cosmetic things are now done - few odds to freshen up.
Is there a way of installing those end caps without removing the cylinder head?

Picking up parts for the cam tensioner leak issue this afternoon.

Really struggling to get the bike to start up, since there is no choke linkage...

Manually choked it by removing a pod and cupping it by hand. It did fire up eventually, but struggled to keep going.

Also had the battery tested and that seems fine, so I guess I will have to read (and pretend to understand) the stator papers, etc...

[pete]

Looking very nice Wally!

You could get the screws in the end caps with a right angled screw driver (yes they do exist) but it will be fiddly.

Did you get a shot of the carbs yet? The offer's still open for the choke assembly...

Oh, and the stator papers are dead simple, you just need to follow them carefully step by step and you'll have it sorted in no time.

[wally]

I did, but they don't show much - I will take some new ones tonight.

[wally]

Managed to get a complete carb - hoping to collect it tonight.

[pete]

Much quicker than waiting for Aussie Post

[wally]

Not so much the speed, but the postage from Australia is almost double than from the States (and that is bad enough!). Thanx for the offer though - it would have been my next stop. Picking up carb tomorrow - not sure what state it is in, but let's see!

[pete]

No dramas at all Wally, hopefully the carbs will sort you out and you can get some cold starting happening

[wally]

Finally got the carbs last night!



They will be stripped and cleaned this weekend. Also some extra goodies thrown in - nice intake boots and cam tensioner.

Also got a tank for the cafe bike:



And another tailpiece I don't need:



Stripping carbs tonight, fixing my leaking cam tensioner tomorrow.

[pete]

Nice one Wally, looks like you got your choke all sorted

You know you could always use the frame from the tail piece to make your own up to suit the cafe? That's what I did with mine... and that way I retain the standard seat lock to keep the standard seat pan and mounting.

[wally]

True...I have another tailpiece from the other bike already, but I am leaning towards something more along theses lines (although not strictly Cafe):

[pete]

Aaah the old "brat" style... personally I think that's more cafe than what they call "cafe" these days. "Cafe" seems to mean putting on a seat pan with a bubble on the back, whereas to me cafe means as minimal as possible to get you to the ton in a hurry...

[wally]

Sooooo...I managed to rebuild the cam tensioner which had a leak. I think it wasn't the oil seal itself, but an incorrect o-ring on the adjuster screw:

One on the left is the old one - notice the difference in height and size/shape. I had to cut it to get it off.




But I replaced the other o-ring and oil seal as well - seeing as I had the parts and was busy in any case.

Also repainted the started cover (which was a bit rusty):



And dipped the new carbs in Cleen Grean for a day. This is what the Cleen Green looked like (on the right):


Amazes me, as the guy said it came off a running bike...

I think I am just going to bolt the choke assembly to my current carbs - as I know they are cleaned and working.