GS850 Rebuild or Oh my god what have I done?

[Good Times]

Great job so far. You'll love the final product. Just keep plugging away at it!

[Daffid]

So Jimmy, it's funny you should mention blasting and powder coating....

I got a new toy today!



Eric, you're right, it didn't really look too bad. It needed some sprucing up to be sure, but it didn't look like a broken down piece. I don't know if I have the guts to take on a project that would have entailed that level of work.

Missouri does have some excellent roads. My dad belongs to the MSTA. He grabbed a couple of the guys from the group and we all went for a ride down to Bixby, MO on the 4th. It was hotter than H*** but a great ride. I was on his Ninja 650R most of the ride, and man... Can that thing carve a corner or what?!?! I rode the ST1300 for a little while as well, and its a great bike but I think I like the 650R better.

I'm hoping for the best when I crack the motor open and see what comes out. I know the cam chain is going to need to be replaced, and possibly the tensioner as well. If I get out of this with only having to hone the cylinders and put new rings in it I'll be SUPER happy. Hope you're right about the valves.

Thanks for the encouragement all! I'll keep posting as it comes along of course. I'm going to enjoy the sand blaster I think. I understand from reading that its tedious work but that's not going to deter me. I may even try my hand at powder coating some of the smaller pieces. I have a sinking feeling that I'll be building/buying a large oven if it goes well so that I can do my own frame. Might just make a profitable hobby out of it, who knows...

Quick question: Anyone made their own wiring harness from scratch? How'd it go? Did you stick with the same type of connectors or go with something newer/different?

[JimmyR]

Yeah I made my harness from scratch. I used similar connectors to stock. I found them in various colours on Ebay - there are places in the UK that have them. I also bought a heavy duty crimper to suit and it really makes the job a lot easier. For the bullet connectors I soldered everything. I simplified mine too - left out things like the clutch switch, the kickstand switch, that crazy loop that the rectifier wire does up to the headlight, gear indicator, all that stuff.

I didn't use tape to insulate either. I can't stand that stuff! I sleeved it all in PVC tubing. I actually enjoyed the whole job.

[Good Times]

Have to admit Daffid, I didn't see the initial "shout out" in your first post. Thanks for that. I got so caught up in the pictures. Nice job documenting. You'll be glad you did that later. Take mucho pictures as you go. I haven't posted a lot of mine just because they were for reminders only.
As far as the harness, I was prepared to rebuild mine from scratch but didn't need to once I got into it. Hopefully you won't have to do that, unless you just want to. I almost did, but it would have significantly lengthened my build time. I'm already taking long enough.

Just make sure you have a good color diagram and study it.

I'm going to enjoy watching your build. Great bike.

[JimmyR]

BTW I am jealous of your blasting booth. If I had some space around here...

[Daffid]

No problem GT. I've enjoyed your thread tremendously and it really was a big factor of me deciding to get dirty with my 850 vs going with something else instead.

Sadly, I don't have a compressor that will drive the sand blasing cabinet... yet. I'm struggling with that part actually. I can't decide if I want to spend 1/3 to 1/2 more and buy one unit that will do the job, but will be 3 phase (meaning I'll have to add some new wiring to the garage) or if I want to run two single phase somewhat smaller units in tandem, but lose a little (valuable) garage space as well.

@JimmyR - I saw your post about powder coating in GT's thread. I'm pro powder coat as well, but so far I've run into the problem that everyone around here thinks that I'm gold plating the stuff for what they're charging. So once I've gotten some of the mechanical stuff out of the way, and have the blasting done on a bunch of the metal bits, I'm going to try my hand at powder coating as well. I've been reading up on it and while it looks like there's a little technique and finess involved, it's really not all that tough. I figure that, between this bike, the two parts bikes, and my pick-up, I've got plenty of pieces and bits to practice on. Once I've got the hang of it I can start getting the parts I'll use on the live bike coated (and looking decent)

Here's where the paint removal stands so far.

[Nessism]

Those melted harness wires are from the stator wiring. Suzuki routed one leg from the stator all the way up to the front of the bike and then back to the R/R, and resistance builds up in the connectors/wires and causes a melt down.

You should plan to route your stator wires directly into the R/R and bypass the rest of the harness. You can even strip out the white/red and white/green wires from the harness completely after you do this.

Suzuki messed up on that detail, but you can fix it.

[Daffid]

Yeah they really did. I read the Stator Papers about a month ago and was really surprised about all of that. What I haven't been able to find yet is if there is an aftermarket R/R that will make use of that wasted phase. Or is there really no use whatsoever for it and should I not worry about it?

[Steve]

What I haven't been able to find yet is if there is an aftermarket R/R that will make use of that wasted phase. Or is there really no use whatsoever for it and should I not worry about it?

Don't worry, there is no "wasted phase". If your bike does not have a headlight switch (the headlight is on any time the ignition key is ON), all three phases are in use all the time already.

Any of the available R/Rs you will find will handle all three phases just fine, but most of us prefer Honda units, as they tend to be a bit more robust.

.

[Good Times]

Paint removal seems to be going well. Taking those loops out of the harness is a good thing. I went with the Mike's Motorsports R/R and Stator. The Honda units do seem to be the best way to go though. If my R/R bites the dust then that's what I'll replace it with.

I almost invested in Powder Coat equipment, BUT my local powder coater was:

1) very cost effective
2) knowledgeable of the process
3) an all around nice guy

It was a no brainer for me. I let him run with it and was glad I did.

[Daffid]

Have I mentioned that I'm jealous of all three of those points, GT?

I can pick cheap or I can pick good but we don't have one that is both so far as I have found (yet). But if I can get the hang of it I'll just have to fill that roll. I always have loved hobbies that pay for themselves.

[Good Times]

I always have loved hobbies that pay for themselves.

Now you're using your noodle.

[Daffid]

Broken bolts

Thank the Almighty the weather has finally started to cool off!!

I got home from work today, took the dogs out, made dinner for Girlfriend and I, and got situated to start working in the garage on the bike. I was going to keep stripping paint, but I really wanted to take a look inside. So I took off the breather cover and saw this:



I didn't really see anything amiss, so I kept going, taking off the valve cover:



I didn't really notice anything out of the ordinary right off. I wiped a little oil off here and there, pulled a little on the cam chain since I was under the impression that it wasn't tensioning correctly and figuring that it would be a little loose. The chain seemed tight on both sides, so that was somewhat encouraging, though maybe I'm not looking in the right place. I think I've read before that the cam chain tensioner can be a little tricky to put in correctly, and I'm fairly certain that the PO had it off. So as I was poking around in there I noticed that one of the screws for the "A" block over the cam was lose. Pulled it out and saw this:



and this:



Looked at the other blocks next to see what other surprises I might find. "C" and "D" blocks were fine for the most part, with the exception of something odd on the threads on one of the bolts on "D" block. "B" on the other hand... well, take a look.









So here's my worry - Is it going to be possible to salvage this thing with all the thread issues? I have another parts bike. Should I pull the valve cover on it and see how things look before I proceed? Or just drill and tap new screws on this one?

I did pull the stator cover off to take a look in there:



I put a wrench on the crank shaft and verified that the motor isn't locked up from sitting too long. So that, at least, was a relief.

Thoughts, gentlemen?

[82 GS550L Basket Case]

Thank the Almighty the weather has finally started to cool off!!

Thoughts, gentlemen?

I think that's why it was making noise. You need new springs - those are shot.
(Yes, I'm kidding. I'm new, but not quite that new.)

[Big T]

Well, I was going to slap your wrist for not adjusting your valves and rebuilding your camchain tensioner when I started reading this thread, but

Oh, wow

Since you have a spare motor, you might as well pull a valve cover and see what you've got on that one. It won't take but a few minutes.

The most common problem with the GS and low compression is improper valve clearances, so it's entirely possible you can pull the head off both motors and see which one is in better shape

Then, some fresh rings, gaskets and seals and 4,000 hours of wrenching and cleaning and you're good to go

As for mechanics, they're like roofers. The roofer has either the nicest or the rattiest roof on his street. The difference is, the mechanic can hide his crap work