Progress!!! 1978 GS1000E Restoration/Performance Rebuild

[philosopheriam]

PROGRESS PHOTOS FROM YESTERDAY, 4/12 :-)

IMG_1224 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1225 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1226 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1227 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1228 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1229 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

[philosopheriam]

More! More! More!

IMG_1230 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1231 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1232 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1233 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1234 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1235 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1237 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1236 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

[BadBillyB]

Very nice build Anthony. Was surprised to see you didn't install the left side transmission shaft seals before bolting the case halves together. Never done it this way.......Billy

[philosopheriam]

Very nice build Anthony. Was surprised to see you didn't install the left side transmission shaft seals before bolting the case halves together. Never done it this way.......Billy

Billy - you HAD to bring this up :-/ We opted not to install the seals first because we were concerned about the case halves "pinching" the sides of the seal where the cases mate. Unfortunately, we buggered all three seals (crank seal, rubber plug, mainshaft seal) attempting to install them. So, because we have no intention of splitting the cases again, we have to figure out a way to install these seals - the edge of the case keeps digging into the rubber on the seal and destroying it.

So, we are going to have to bevel the edge of each seal installation surface - we did deburr and put a small bevel on the front of each seal surface, but apparently it wasn't enough. So, on attempt #2, the plan is as follows: Put a larger bevel on the front of each seal surface, smooth the bevel with a 3m/scotch pad, put the seal in the freezer/icewater to shrink it down a smidge, coat the edge of the seal with grease, and use a perfectly-sized seal driver to install each seal.

If you have a better idea, I'm all ears!!!!! If these seals fail during the couyrse of normal operation, there HAS to be a way to replace them without splitting the engine cases!

[rapidray]

Anthony, it is good to put a face with the name & voice! The factory puts EVERY case half together with the seals already in place. Save yourself a LOT of heartache & split the cases to install the seals correctly so they don't leak. Also, PLEASE tell me you used Antiseize on the stainless bolts you installed?!!!!
Ray.

[philosopheriam]

Anthony, it is good to put a face with the name & voice! The factory puts EVERY case half together with the seals already in place. Save yourself a LOT of heartache & split the cases to install the seals correctly so they don't leak. Also, PLEASE tell me you used Antiseize on the stainless bolts you installed?!!!!
Ray.

Arrgh... I was hoping you weren't going to say that? What do people do when they need to replace a seal with the engine in the bike?

[blowerbike]

in a pinch on a used bike...not a high dollar project people shave the seals... add sealer and nock them in and cross there fingers.

[philosopheriam]

Parts off to the re-chrome shop
IMG_1240 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

Remaining small parts to be powdercoated
IMG_1247 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

Will post photos when done :-)

[philosopheriam]

FOLKS - I am absolutely ***thrilled*** to report that my Caswell zinc plating setup is up and running. To make a long story short, I bought the chemicals from Caswell, yet I purchased the buckets, zinc anodes, heater, agitation pump, power supply, etc separately.

In essence, I read the Caswell plating manual, followed the directions carefully, and prepped the parts diligently.

The plating setup consists of the following:
Chemicals from Caswell
Zinc anodes from Rotometals with integral copper wire hanger
Various buckets from Mcmaster-Carr (plating, plating rinse, chromate, degreaser)
Constant current power supply from Ebay
Mini-aquarium heater from Ebay
Mini-agitation pump from Ebay
Spray bottle
Distilled water
Copper wire & tubing (laying around the house)

MOST IMPORTANT THINGS I REALIZED WHILE DOING THIS TODAY:
1. Good electrical contact is essential
2. Prepping small parts with a wire wheel vs. bead blasting is MUCH faster and gives a smoother finish


Here are some photos from today's test run:

Plating a dummy - 1/2" copper pipe, brightener added to solution, dipped in blue chromate for 20sec
IMG_1261 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr
IMG_1260 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr
IMG_1269 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr
(you can see where I did a scratch-test on the surface)

Plating of an actual nut and bolt
IMG_1262 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr
IMG_1264 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr
IMG_1266 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr
(there is still some rinse water dripping from the parts)

[JTGS850GL]

Sweet!! Looks like that could be my next addition.

[philosopheriam]

Oh, and before I forget, about a year ago, Nessism gave me some pointers on setting up a system - this made selecting components much easier. Thanks dude!

[philosopheriam]

These arrived yesterday 4/30
IMG_1280 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1281 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr


And here is some more plating progress - FYI if anyone on the forum is interested in setting-up a zinc plating process, PM me and I would be happy to talk to you on the phone to give you some helpful pointers. I've learned A LOT in the past couple plating sessions about how to tweak the process to achieve a great finish.
8cacde4b-cb57-4e10-96c0-28397ea330da by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1284 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1282 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

IMG_1275 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

[azr]

How long is it take to do that last bunch? If you're doing a few bolts at a time I'm thinking it will get a bit long in the tooth after awhile?

[Joe H]

These arrived yesterday 4/30





And here is some more plating progress - FYI if anyone on the forum is interested in setting-up a zinc plating process, PM me and I would be happy to talk to you on the phone to give you some helpful pointers. I've learned A LOT in the past couple plating sessions about how to tweak the process to achieve a great finish.

Nice looking work!

[rustybronco]

I must say your attention to detail brings a tear to my eye! I'm impressed.