81 GS550T Full Rebuild...In Ohio

[cowboyup3371]

I didn't post any pictures last night as I didn't really have them ready but here's where I'm at.

Pistons are all cleaned up after soaking in carb dip for about 24 hours each.



Here's the engine so far. I had to use ALOT of q-tips to clean out the grease and oil and still have quite a bit to go. I'll probably remove the oil pan to get into the crevice between it and the cases. Course, I'm also kicking myself in the butt for not removing the front sprocket before pulling the engine out. But I'm cleaning around it.





I haven't decided which way I'll go with the engine color yet (still torn between aluminum and black) but the covers will be redone regardless.

[cowboyup3371]

Glass Busted

I tried removing the glass from the speedometer today to clean the inside of it. Following Ed's procedures about using a small screwdriver and prying up the ring, I actually got most of it done. Unfortunately, as I pried in the last section, the glass cracked the length of the speedometer.

So now I have to try repairing it by finding new glass. I'm also going to need to find new rubber as well as the cement used to glue the rubber to the metal ring.

You can barely see the crack because of where I took the picture but it's there



Prying out the metal ring that sits on top of the glass but under another rubber ring



Here's the glass fully out of the metal ring. I had to break some more of it to get pliers under and separate the rubber from the epoxy holding it



Hopefully I'll be able to get the tach one apart without the drama.

[cowboyup3371]

Well, this sucks. I'm now in the market for both sets of clocks as I busted both needles tonight trying to pry them off. The first repainting job I attempted didn't turn out so well so I thought I'd try to use model thinner on them. As that wasn't working great trying to rub it on, my next thought was to pry the needles off. Sadly, the speedometer one busted in half before I could get the entire needle off. Then, seeing how that one came off I figured I'd try on the tach...yep, that needle is busted too.

Definitely learning something - stop trying to do things myself......even if others have done it right.

So now I'm shopping for full clocks and not just the glass.

[cowboyup3371]

Besides talking with Oshkosh about his clocks, I haven't had a chance to do much else on the bike. However, I finally have a close to proper home made paint booth. Following some basic ideas found on a painting website, I have this 6x6x6 foot booth of PVC and plastic. I'll still need another sheet to cover from front to back but it's done for the most part.





It's not the world's best booth as my helper left before I had the plastic sheeting finished and taped but I think it will work out. I'm only going to paint the engine, tank, and covers in it.

Since it's also turning winter and the garage was a toasty 44* this afternoon, I know I'll need to raise the temperature some. As I only am planning on heating the paint booth area, I'm going to try out this electric space heater.



Besides the plastic, I need to go get a fire extinguisher and respirator before I can even start testing things. But hopefully, I will have a good looking engine soon.

[D-Mac]

I'm really enjoying this thread. It's like re-living my last summer.

To chime in on a couple of issues that have been discussed....My opinions only (although these topics have been covered in motorcycle engine rebuilding classes I've taken).

I've used Prussian Blue and a black sharpie to mark valves. Personally, I like the sharpie method better (less messy). I know professionals who endorse both methods.

You don't need to get the combustion chamber sparkly clean. The extra carbon only adds compression anyway Lapping the valves will clean out any crud there. Nothing wrong with gentle cleaning though - just stay away from harsh brushes, or anything that might damage the valve seats.

You don't want to be cutting valve seats unless you know exactly what you are doing. Lapping is almost always all that's required. I agree with earlier posts that lapping doesn't have to be excessive, and it only serves to clean valve faces/seats. Lap a little and then install the intake/exhaust valves and make sure they seal (put some kerosene in the combustion chamber and leave it for 8-12 hours). Or tilt the engine on its side and put a little kerosene in either the intake or exhaust side (behind a valve) to check just one valve.

As for the cylinders - do keep them oiled. You do NOT need to re-hone them (that can remove a lot of material). As long as the bores measure OK, you just need to **de-glaze** them (you want to do that to restore a nice cross-hatch). Just use a hand drill and attachment for this (I don't know where you buy them as I borrowed one from a shop). You move in and out of the cylinder to control the cross hatch angle, and use lots of lubricant as you do it. There's a pic of me doing it in my 550 thread. Although I had faint cross-hatching already in the cylinders, it made a big difference in how my cylinders looked after I did it (cross-hatching was much clearer when I finished). I could have run the bike without deglazing, but the rings would like take longer to seat. De-glazing removes almost no material, so it's safe to do. It is also useful for removing the edges on the cylinders caused by rings that have been sitting there for a long time.

[cowboyup3371]

Wow, third page. Shows how much I haven't been doing lately thanks to work, weather, and money. I do have my paint booth set up and ready for painting but the weather is too cool and wet plus the heater doesn't seem to be working on its own very well. I'll try doing some more of that soon I hope.

Meanwhile, Steve stopped by today to help guide/supervise my valve lapping efforts. Things turned out pretty well and I have a better handle on doing things for next time I think. I'll try to write up something for those who haven't done it before though.

First off, thank you to my eldest, Charmayne, for being our picture taker today. She was very enthusiastic about the job taking 54 pictures for us...of course I pared it down to a more reasonable amount but at least she likes using the camera.

Here's the valve lapping tool we made from a bolt and a small section of breather hose:



We then chucked it into my electric drill and placed the compound around the valve:





Holding the bottom of the valve with a shop cloth and an index finger, we placed the drill tool against the head of the valve, locked the speed in place, and used friction and a little bit of pressure to let things turn from there.





Checking them:





More to come:

[cowboyup3371]

Both girls also got to try things out;

Charmayne:



and Cheyenne:



Charmayne thought it was pretty cool and fun while Cheyenne was her normal inquisitive self as to how things worked.

Course today wasn't all fun and games and everyone had to have their fun. First, Steve is showing off his light skills and trying to compare flashlights:



Charmayne and Cheyenne hamming it up for the camera



And Cheyenne's reindeer antlers



(Actually she didn't want her picture taken).

But now the valves are done and the head's still waiting on a repainting. Hopefully I can start doing some more regular work soon.

[Dogma]

Looks like a good time was had by all.

I must say, I'm rather surprised to find that I've spent enough time working with Steve to be able to recognize his hands in a photo. And yours, Scott. What's up with that?

[tkent02]

Steve, the master flashlight man.

[cowboyup3371]

It seems the weekends are the only times I can do much right now but I found out the local bearing shop has the bearings I need; Wright Patterson AFB's auto hobby shop might have their sandblasting cabinet operational next weekend; and the local sandblasting and powdercoating companies aren't too bad in their pricing. So with that in mind, I did some paint stripping of the triple tree, center stand, headlight ears, and other small parts.



If all goes well, I'll have them and the frame in for powdercoating soon after the first of the year.

[cowboyup3371]

Many thanks go out to Old_Skool for sending me my new clocks after I busted the needles on the others. I managed to get the glass off of them tonight without breaking anything and repainted these needles to look a little better. I used white model paint for the needle and the same orange/red nail polish on the tips that I did for the kill switch.



The wife helped as well tonight as when we tried to repaint the redline area on the tach, she accidentally put on too much nail polish remover while trying to clean up some excess. But she made it right and fixed it as best she could. It'll do for now as I don't want to buy another set again. I do need to go see a speedometer store though as these have about 2000 miles less on them than my old ones.

Now I just need to repaint the covers as they are pretty faded. Any suggestions on what to use to resist the weather?

[hjacobmiller]

Wright Patterson AFB's auto hobby shop might have their sandblasting cabinet operational next weekend

Wright Patt ey? Thats my old stomping grounds! I grew up in Piqua so not too far.

[cowboyup3371]

The house thermometer said it was 60 degrees outside and www.weather.com said the humidity was at 57% so I chose to lay down some primer on the engine casing. I learned a valuable lesson that this is not like Colorado and I can't just paint without having a better mask even with rattle cans. So I'll hold off until the next warm spell to do much more. I also need to develop an air flow system as there's still a heavy paint smell in the garage. I saw some pictures of fans up against the plastic of a paint booth so I need to figure out how best to do it. Anyone have any suggestions?

Front of the engine



Rear



I'll remove the side covers later after I figure out which way I want to go with the actual engine paint color.

[duaneage]

I used a couple of halogen lights to warm up the engine before painting. I left the lights on for about an hour and used a surface thermometer to read the result : 75 degrees. I painted the cases with VHT paint and returned the lights. It was about 45 outside so I did this in the garage and ventilated for the rest of the day.

[pete]

Hey Scott, seems I've been a little negligent and completely missed this thread! I'm subscribed now so will come back later and have a proper read...