81 GS550T Full Rebuild...In Ohio

[cowboyup3371]

The calipers are off a '89 Ninja 650 with a 2008 Ninja 650 MC

[cowboyup3371]

Well, I think I found my problem - the right hand caliper is still leaking even after receiving new pistons and seals. I was at the garage tonight to finish installing the rear turn signals, tie back the front brake handle, and begin tightening bolts when I saw fluid on the right side of the tire. I placed a paper towel down and within a few minutes noticed a drip fall to the towel. After straightening the wheel and tying the handle back again, I found a small droplet forming on the bottom of the right hand caliper. I'm leaving the handle tied back for the night and will go by there tomorrow to check it but I think something is wrong with that caliper. I'm just not positive as to why it would still be leaking. Any suggestions?

[tkent02]

Dirt or rust in there? Pinched seal? Pitted piston?

[Dogma]

Dirt under the banjo fitting? Crush washer needs replaced?

[cowboyup3371]

Brand new pistons from the factory and I cleaned it out pretty good this time. I wouldn't doubt the seal could be pinched so I'll check it again and take pictures.

[cowboyup3371]

So the friend whose garage I'm using and I took the caliper apart and found some small paint chips inside of the piston area. It's possible it got there when I reassembled it but we aren't positive about that. Verified everything was still in good shape, put it back together and bled it. It seems to have a bit better pressure but we'll see if there's any leaks in the AM.

Fingers are crossed....

[cowboyup3371]

It lives

Went to the garage this morning and found the brake caliper didn't leak on me as best as I could tell:



Then my friend and i decided to finish cleaning up the garage as he has a boat coming in this weekend. Once done, we pushed the bikes into their own stalls. Each one has a cabinet with a top to do small parts work on it and an upper cabinet we can keep other important stuff in. The rear corner will be used for my friend's projects - he's working on a couple of older Honda bikes for another friend who doesn't know what he wants.



It is otherwise a Suzuki garage as my friend's Boulevard is up front, his SV1000, my 550T, and a new bike in the family - a 1981 GS 550L - that belongs to my eldest. I'll let her do her own introduction later but it'll be sitting around until springtime as she won't start her drivers education and MSF courses until then.

Here's our two bikes:



After all that fun, we finished tightening the various bolts, cleaned up a few other bits, and managed to take a short 30 minute ride tonight after fighting a clutch adjustment problem. Most of the ride was in a parking lot as I wanted to check the brakes but I managed a short jaunt around the block. The bike seemed to run fine, had good acceleration, and whatnot so I hope to do a carb synch here soon. I also need to probably read up on when to do another torque session on the engine. However, the biggest issue I will need to look at is going to be a charging one. Yes, for some reason the bike's killed its stator again from a first look . It's funny how for two years in a row the stator is running fine before I take the bike apart but dies once it starts back up. I'm hoping it's just the fuse to the R/R.

EDITED to add: The stain under my bike has been there for some time and is not fresh.

Otherwise, I'll start back in on the tank soon and fix a couple of small other issues I noticed but that didn't interfere with the bike operations. I'm just happy I finally got back on it again.

[pete]

Great to see you got out for a ride Scott, even if it is a short one!

Looks like she's coming together well, can't wait to see the finished product.

[cowboyup3371]

YeeHaw, the bike's charging system is not running too bad after all. I found tonight the terminals in the connector between the stator and R/R were not seating on the stator side. After some adjustment to the terminals and testing, the bike is charging at 15.5v at 4500 RPM.

I also decided to take some better pictures of the bike for you all. The tank and side covers need work, like I said yesterday, but it's looking nice in my eyes.













I'll post better pictures of the tank and side covers once I finish the paint.

[Dogma]

Very "edgy" style on the faux-finish on that tank. You just rub it with some sandpaper to get that look, right? The rest looks quite nice. I might like something to break up the solid color on the wheels though.

[Flyboy]

Damn Scott, that motor looks like it just came out of the crate, awesome job.
I agree with Dogma, you need to break the solid colour on the wheels with something, maybe a contrasting pinstripe around the rim, in a light sky blue maybe.

[Sci85]

Damn Scott, that motor looks like it just came out of the crate, awesome job.
I agree with Dogma, you need to break the solid colour on the wheels with something, maybe a contrasting pinstripe around the rim, in a light sky blue maybe.

Agreed. I added an orange one to my otherwise black rim and it made all the difference in the world.

[cowboyup3371]

Thank you guys, I really appreciate the words. I fought myself for quite some time in the beginning of which way I wanted to go but I really do like the way it looks. I think, as there's some re-work I have to do with the tank, I'll give it some time to see how well it sits with me over the next few months until spring time.

I'm extremely happy with the way the pipes turned out - they were ceramic coated by Aesthetic Finishers north of town and for a good price. I need to call them to ask how to polish them again but they look great.

What's the next step for re-torqueing the head? I read something about 500 miles but am not positive since that's going to be awhile from now?

[Dogma]

You're going to get a variety of opinions on retorquing the head. Plenty of leftover opinions from 80-year old gasket designs, I'm sure. I like the plan of checking until they stop loosening. That reminds me-- It's been almost 4,000 miles since I put mine back on. I need to remember to do that at my next valve check / fluids change. New fuel and vent hoses. Tires. Etc.

[Pchitti]

To funny, I was in Miamisburg for a few years as a kid. Dad was stationed in Dayton, that was the last time I remember him owing a bike.

Great looking rebuild, I love the color!