GS1150 ES Makeover Project

[Flyboy]

O.M.G......O.M.F.G,

I hate you so intensely right now, you have no idea.

[eil]

Hey now, you Brits better leave our cheap, low-mileage vintage bike market alone! J/K. Such a beautiful bike. I'll be watching this.

Did you import it or buy it from someone who did?

[Nessism]

Great photos!!!

Keep going...

[londonboards]

How, those carbies are gunked up !! Is that seafoam that has been sprayed in there?

Not sure what's been through them. My first resto has stood idle for 10 years or so and was no where near as bad as this.

I am using Carb Cleaner spray to get the sludge out, an engine degreaser to clean the oil off, ultrasonic cleaner to get into the little bits and paint stripper to clean off the paint. They are looking pretty good under all that too.

[londonboards]

Hey now, you Brits better leave our cheap, low-mileage vintage bike market alone! J/K. Such a beautiful bike. I'll be watching this.

Did you import it or buy it from someone who did?

There are a couple of bike companies who do this full time. I bought from one of them DK Motorcycle Importers. They bring them in by the container load. They have a "scout" out in Denver and sell 100s of bikes here in the UK. Judging by the prices we are able to buy them for, shipping and other overheads, they must be picking them up for practically nothing. But I don't begrudge them any profit they make. It's a win win situation. They make money, we have great fun with the bikes and the best thing is these glorious bikes are saved from certain death. Some of them, if they do not sell, will be scrapped for parts but even that is a worthy cause if it keeps others on the road.

I feel like a missionary. I want to save them all!!

[Gold01ca]

Watching your project with interest, great commentary and phenomenal photos!
You a pro photographer by chance?
Curious, what camera are you using?

[jwhelan65]

Great platform for a re-build looking forward to watching your progress.

[SVSooke]

Nice resto start.The slides on the later carbs seem to be a composite of some sort.Those look the same as the ones on my 85 750EF.

[Charlie G]

I'm pretty envious! Your hooked bad.......


cg

[londonboards]

I'm pretty envious! Your hooked bad.......


cg

Charlie - how right you are. I found myself bidding on some eBay bike bits for a bike I didn't even have (yet)! I have a fabulous wife who buys all her clothes from the charity (thrift) stores just so I can buy motorbike bits.

Greetings

[derwood]

The mirrors for the 1150es (f) are not the same as the 1000s. There are some still made that are pretty much identical to the 1150 fairing mirrors....
except for; the glass is not convex, they have studs instead of bolts, they come with a spacer block that is not required, and chinese.(at least the ones i got are)
they are on ebay periodically.
there are a couple in UK, here, although the seller claims NOS suzuki, (they may be, I'm not familiar with GSXR's).here,....http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle-M...item2a1bf0d2b9

[londonboards]

derwood - thanks for that. I just purchased a set. They are cheap enough and look like they will fit straight on.

Greetings

[londonboards]

Carb Float Bowl Choke Delivery System Problem

I will post this is the carb section too:

Got a bit of an issue on my 1150 ES carb float bowls. My experience of these Mikuni CV carbs is that the brass choke pick up tube inserts into a hollow section of the float bowl sides. This hollow is fed with fuel from the bowl through the arrowed hole. On all my GS1100 carbs, if you spray carb cleaner down the hollow (as in the pic below) it will exit through the arrowed hole. On these carbs from my 1150 ES none of the the 4 bowls allows any cleaner to pass through to this exit hole. These carb bowls have been cleaned and put in an ultrasonic cleaner.



Before I start to exert some pressure down these hollows in an attempt to clean them out, can anyone tell me that these bowls should work just like the ones on my GS1100? Or are they blocked for a purpose? The choke mechanisms look the same in both sets of carbs and I cannot see how the choke circuit would be fed with fuel if the bottoms of these hollows are purposefully blocked.

[Charlie G]

Charlie - how right you are. I found myself bidding on some eBay bike bits for a bike I didn't even have (yet)! I have a fabulous wife who buys all her clothes from the charity (thrift) stores just so I can buy motorbike bits.

Greetings

I suggested my wife get a second job to help me. Good thing I my reflexes are fast

[londonboards]

Just got the mirrors. They do not fit. Shame.