'79 GS 850 restoration

[spacepirates]

Ask and ye shall receive:

https://picasaweb.google.com/112952642957603261347/GS850RestorationUpdate?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCM-VuLXg6a-y2wE&feat=directlink

I didn't get any pictures before I took the bike apart. Silly me for getting too excited.

If you have any request for pictures, let me know.

[DannyMotor]

So far so good.

[spacepirates]

Got the shims in today, installed them and found out that two valves are still too tight! I'm going to pop them out and re-seat them just to be sure before I order more shims.

I also put on the Dyna coils and ignition. The wording in the instructions for the ignition installation is kind of confusing for me when you are setting the timing, but a few posts on this forum helped me clear it up. It wasn't apparent that I needed to turn the advancer with one hand and then set the ignition plate.

Still waiting on mufflers, fuse box, and oil filters. Mufflers will be exciting to see. From what I can tell, there isn't a slip-on joint I can see on the exhaust, so I'll have to cut the old exhaust off after the collectors.

A lot to do...

[spacepirates]

Haven't updated in a while, but Old_Skool has been helping me immensely via PM's with R/R and other such nonsense.

I bought an FH011AA R/R off ebay ($50, not bad) and just got that plugged in today. The tank and carbs are off the bike so I can reset the fuel screws and sync the carbs. The VM rebuild tutorial didn't mention how many turns out they should be set, but i've recently discovered this lovely set of information:
GS850 (77-79) the specs are for the VM's
idle r/min........... 950-1150
carb................... mik vm26ss
id no................... 45060
bore size ............ 26 (1.0)
float height ......... 23-25. (0.91" - 0.98")
fuel level ............ 3.0 - 5.0 (0.12" +/-0.20")
pilot air screw ..... 1.25 turns out
pilot screw........... 5/8 turns out
pilot air jet........... 1.2
pilot jet............... #15
cut away............. 1.5
jet needle........... 5DL36-2 (the -2 2nd notch)
needle jet .......... 0 - 6
pilot outlet........... 0.6
by pass ............. 0.8
main jet............. #102.5

I can really only work on the bike for an hour or so here or there if I get home from work before the woman does. Makes it hard to get any big projects done.

The tank was rattle-canned (for now) a deep red Rustoleum paint (really close to stock, actually). I'm trying a Plasticote clear engine enamel to see how it stands up to gas. Not many spray paint cans can claim gas resistance, so we'll see how it goes.

Other than that, Old_Skool was kind enough to sell me a new oil drain pain (mine was stripped out), so that makes it on the list as one of the last things I need to do to the bike. I'm most likely going to try and ride it for a few miles to get some use out of the oil I just put in it (I didn't want the bike to sit without oil for a while) unless it leaks too bad. Right now it leaks a few drops after I park it from running for a few minutes.

Here is a random question:
Can anyone somewhat accurately tell me how freely the front and rear wheel should spin so as not to say any of the brakes are dragging?

The bike seems hard to push around, but it is a behemoth of a bike and it is being compared to the incredibly light Suzuki Savage that is my current daily driver. Once I get the bike out I'll try to ride it only using one brake (front or rear) and touch the rotor of the non-used brake to see if it is hot, but I live in the hills and it isn't easy to get away with that kind of thing.

[spacepirates]

Ah, one more thing (there is always one more thing to do, isn't there?) is the exhaust. Mine is rusted through on the mufflers on both sides.

I bought shorty mufflers off part shark and extra fiberglass packing that I'll eventually get around to installing. Hopefully the 850 purists out there won't flip out too much about that, but I need a cheap solution, and cheap means <$50 so saying "buy a MAC" won't cut it.