Bringing back a GS1100 GK back to life

[Biggie]

So i found a GK a few weks back on a local trade site for a few hundred box and thought i wanted to see that one.... i went to see and took her home with me

The bike was in a terrible shape, it was a mess! A very poor paintjob, dind't run, brakes were spongy, back tire was gone but the engine still crancked so that was a good sign! The old lady dind't want to quit but couldn't run either and felt sorry for her so i took her home

Once back home i started to check why she din't run.

First test: do i get fuel? Answer: no

Checked the petcock and she wouldn't give fuel in the prime position, after a little fidling a got fuel in the on position when she crancked. But even by trying that, no go...

Second test: do i got spark? Answer YES!

Nice clean spark but no go, checked the plugs and they were like new so that couldn't be the problem.

Well... of with them carbs!

I took of the aircleaner box and then the carbs and put them on the bench, checked them visualy and almost choked of laughing when i saw this:


So the carbs were in a very poor condition and very badly assembled too!

I started to take em appart to see the damage and it was very bad... they mounted the spring of the plunger UNDER the plunger instead of above the diaphragm! And i found out that one of the carb body's was cracked at the top, right under the diaphragm so that was a set of carbs that i could only use for spare parts and started to look for other carbs, and found them on ebay 2 weeks later in Germany. They were in pretty decent shape but dirty. As i also ordered an ultrasonic cleaner (wanted that for a long time ) I took em appart and spend the whole afternoon cleaning those carbs and they look like new!

I'll be posting some pics later of the re-assembled "new" carbs.

[Nessism]

Wow. Springs up side down. You don't see that every day.

[londonboards]

I guess the PO only ever wanted to go full throttle. Bless him.

[Biggie]

i just found a topic on a dutch motorcycle forum where the previous owner asks questions about this bike and he took pics also... he said its a barn find (literaly) and wanted to fix the bike so he could sell it to buy a goldwing....

But the questions he asked just confirmed my opinion of the fact that this guy better keep his hands off a bike...

Well, here are the pics of the carbs i was cleaning, they are ready to put back on the bike:








All shiny and new

[nastyjones]

Yep, I absolutely love my ultrasonic cleaner. What brand & size did you buy?

Paul Jones
Gofast Ultrasonic Carb Cleaning/Rebuilding Service
917 Hamilton Rd Unit#16
London, Ont
Canada
N5Z1W3

[Biggie]

I bought An eumax 2,5L. Just enough to clean one carb at a time. I use tickopur R33 cleaning fluid. Just put my fuel petcock in the cleaner too, but of you do that you have to take it appart completely and after the cleaning use a little WD40 on the tap.

[Biggie]

So i had some time to work on the bike again!

I did a valve clearance check and all of the intake valves were way to close in tolerance so i need to change some plates on that one.... I'll go to the store on tuesday to get some plates, The shop just wants to do an exchange, i bring back the thicker ones and he gives me the thinner onces, good deal!

As i'm stuck, i started to do the brakes. I ordered some stainless steel braided brakeslines so i took off the old ones and also took off the calipers to give em a good clean... well ... i'm good for a full rebuild on the brakes

All of the calipers are stuck, the dustseals for the front ones are missing, the back caliper was ceised completely and one of the front ones also. I could save the back pistons as i pried them out the caliper but the front ones are stuck forever in there! I'm taking them with me tomorow at work to try and blow them out with compressed air.
The front master cilinder is stuck also, it won't come back out so i managed to take it appart and it was a major mess in there!! I dropped the whole master cilinder in the ultrasonic cleaner and it came out pretty good!

So now i got to order these parts:

-seal kit for the rear caliper
-piston and seal kit for the front calipers
-piston and seal kit for the master cilinder
-and maybe better to order some brake pads as well while i'm at it

I ordered a new rear tire also, it should arrive this week. My rim is at work so i can mount it the same day and bring it to the shop to balance it.

Once the rear wheel is back under the bike, i can put a jack under it to raise the front so i can change the seals of the front fork.

I'm also sanding down the horrible paintjob of the PO, it' such a bad quality paint that even the sealer reacts badly to the paint underneath it... so i have to sand down to the paint underneath....
It will be a full flat black paintjob with pinstriping, topped off with flat clearcoat.

Hey... at least i know where my money goes...

[londonboards]

Hey Biggie

I am at the same point in my rebuild. All the brakes are needing new everythings. I can't get the piston out of the rear brake cylinder as the clip is rusted. I have already broken one set of pliers trying!

See my front brakes posting: Front Brakes
Caliper removal: Caliper Removal

My full blog here: My GS1100 Blog

I am following you.

Greetings

I was in Antwerp and Brussels a few weeks ago taking the kids to the Atomium (which I went to as a kid - nearly 50 years ago!) and driving up to Holland.

[Biggie]

Hi londonboards!

Thank you for folowing this thread!
My rear caliper pistons came out pretty easy but the front ones were a p.i.t.a. to get out! I took them to work today and one came right out with compressed air, but the other one dind't move a mm! So i soaked the whole piston in WD40 and let them sit for an hour or 3 and tried again, the piston moved 1 cm and then it was stuck again.... I filled up the caliper with wd 40 and then with the airgun and POOOF, there goes the piston! So if i can give you good advice, fill up the caliper with some fluid like wd40 or oil, then put some compressed air into it and you will see the piston fly out.

I live near Brussels (about 10km's) on the flemish side of Belgium ... but i never went into the atomium ...

[Biggie]

So i got some parts in today... but sadly none for the brakes

I got in contact with a parts dealer thru Ebay who wanted to deliver me all of the parts i needed, i made a list for the parts and we agreed on the price, he sended me a money order thru paypal in the morning and i wanted to pay that the same day in the evening but when i got home, the order was cancelled and i got an email from the guy that said: Apperantly you are no longer in need for the parts so i cancelled the money order...

He doesn't reply to mails anymore so there i am.... lost a lot of time doing research and still no parts

I just ordered them here in the local shop, i'm so dissapointed in Ebay and especialy that seller who isn't worth buying from

Oh well, tomorow i'm gonna go to a swap meet, maybe i'll find some goodies over there for my GK or the caferacer GS750

[Biggie]

Got to the swap meet today but dind't find anything for the gk

I got a M-handlebar and some pods for the caferacer. But what a heap of cr*p people try to sell, it's fascinating!
There was one guy who had a nice Marshal 4-1 exhaust in good condition but wanted 200€ for it and he was realy rude too... so i left him standing in the snow with a big smile and went inside to drink a hot coffee

[Biggie]

so i rebuild the brakes, front and back but having major troubles to bleed them correctly... the rear brake is ok but the front is giving me a hard time bleeding. I get no pressure at all
I've posted a thread in the right section so if you want you can follow the brake troubles there :

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=203518

[Biggie]

So i got a little further during the winter. I dind't post much because of the lack of time i had to spend behind the computer....







So the pics above are the primer, now it's sanding down al the pieces with a 800 to a 1200 so i can spray them.







So the next set of mics will be the pieces painted, i'm gonna try and pinstripe them too, this should be fun ....

[Biggie]

So i'm in the rebuild stage now, i did some pinstriping on all of the parts (it was a bit dull without them).






Allmost finished now, i'm in the final strech

[eil]

Looking great. Any "before" pics?

I'd love to have access to a spray booth like that.