Progress!!! 1978 GS1000E Restoration/Performance Rebuild

[philosopheriam]

More progress!

Front forks are rebuilt with the exception of the seals and new drain screws/gaskets which haven't been installed yet. The piston rings, damper bolt copper washers, and upper fork bushings are all new. If anyone is curious, the parts fiche for the 1978 GS1000E does not show a part number for the upper bushings - I measured the existing ones and sourced a matching set from Racetech. Getting the old ones out was a bit of a bugger, as the bushings sit nearly blind into the fork tube. So, I sharpened a screwdriver and found the section where the bushings are split. Gently, I worked the screwdriver with a hammer underneath the bushing and curled it upward so it could finally be removed with a set of pliers. If you nick the bushing seating surface, it's no biggie, just polish it smooth with some fine emery cloth - it isn't a sealing surface, and as long as you don't gouge the snot out of it, the bushing will seat just fine. There are no lower bushings on these forks.

I was going to reuse the original tubes but they were pitted beyond my liking - they were replaced with a set of Tarozzi tubes from Fast From the Past. I will be installing a set of Racetech springs with 10w Fuchs Silkolene oil, and I am having a machine shop make a set of fork caps that have a 19mm hex on top of the cap (the stock caps with air valves just look ugly, IMHO).

Old stuff
IMG_1453 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

Bushing driven in
IMG_1454 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

Fork vise adapter & new tube installed
IMG_1455 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

The finished pair!
IMG_1456 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

[rapidray]

Looking awesome Anthony!!
Ray.

[SVSooke]

Fork vise adapter & new tube installed


Man am I stealing this idea!Wondering why I didn't think of itShould be one nice ride when you're done

[philosopheriam]

Looking awesome Anthony!!
Ray.

Thanks Ray - engine should be going in the frame in the next couple weeks!

[philosopheriam]

Fork vise adapter & new tube installed


Man am I stealing this idea!Wondering why I didn't think of itShould be one nice ride when you're done

Thanks bud! The adapter is nothing but a steel plate with two holes drilled in it to match the caliper mounting points - the leg is then secured with a couple metric bolts and washers. I have found this to be the easiest and best way to securely hold almost any type of traditional fork leg without barfing/marring/gouging the leg. Also, because my vise pivots, I can rotate the leg vertically for driving seals, etc.

[SVSooke]

Yes it's simplicity is what makes it so brilliant.I'm always worried about doing nasty things to my lowers with the vice. I don't have a pivoting vice but putting it in sideways will achieve most of the same benefits.

[limeex2]

More progress!

Front forks are rebuilt with the exception of the seals and new drain screws/gaskets which haven't been installed yet. The piston rings, damper bolt copper washers, and upper fork bushings are all new. If anyone is curious, the parts fiche for the 1978 GS1000E does not show a part number for the upper bushings - I measured the existing ones and sourced a matching set from Racetech. Getting the old ones out was a bit of a bugger, as the bushings sit nearly blind into the fork tube. So, I sharpened a screwdriver and found the section where the bushings are split. Gently, I worked the screwdriver with a hammer underneath the bushing and curled it upward so it could finally be removed with a set of pliers. If you nick the bushing seating surface, it's no biggie, just polish it smooth with some fine emery cloth - it isn't a sealing surface, and as long as you don't gouge the snot out of it, the bushing will seat just fine. There are no lower bushings on these forks.

I was going to reuse the original tubes but they were pitted beyond my liking - they were replaced with a set of Tarozzi tubes from Fast From the Past. I will be installing a set of Racetech springs with 10w Fuchs Silkolene oil, and I am having a machine shop make a set of fork caps that have a 19mm hex on top of the cap (the stock caps with air valves just look ugly, IMHO).

Old stuff


Bushing driven in


Fork vise adapter & new tube installed


The finished pair!

Damn, this is sweet! As far as the forks go,Gs1100e have orderable
upper and lower fork bushings. Could they be used? Fork caps also?

[philosopheriam]

Damn, this is sweet! As far as the forks go,Gs1100e have orderable
upper and lower fork bushings. Could they be used? Fork caps also?

Honestly, I'm not sure about the GS1100 parts compatibility with the GS1000 forks - perhaps someone else can chime in, but to my knowledge, everything is different.

[gs1000tony]

Anthony, excellent work and can't wait to see the end product.

Cheers,
Tony

[philosopheriam]

Folks,

Sorry about the lack of updates in the past week or so - to make a long story short, I am a heavy equipment mechanic that works in the railroads, and my company's contract at the location where I was employed expired on June 30th and it was not renewed. No biggie, I found another job and will be starting on July 13. So, my last day was June 26th and I decided to take a good 2+ weeks off to clear my head. So, I have been working on some long overdue home repairs, moreover, I have been adjusting back to a NORMAL schedule - at my old company, I had worked 3rd shift (10pm to 6am) for almost 1.5 years, and it wore me the hell out. At my new job, I will be back to a day shift (7am to 3pm). In the evenings, I have been enjoying myself - going out to dinner, having some beers, etc. In the mornings, I've been waking up around 8am, making a pot of coffee, and then sitting in a lawn chair in my garage, drinking coffee and admiring the beautiful weather. I'm being lazy and enjoying the hell out of it. From July 5th to the 10th, I will be visiting my parents who retired in Sevierville, TN. Blah, blah, blah, blah - you guys get the point :-)

So, I decided to have a bit of motivation today and finish my 2nd to last batch of zinc plating - here are the fantastic results!

IMG_1499 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

Tomorrow, I will finish the last batch and then I'm 99% done with all of the hardware on the bike. Yay!

[Kiwi Canuck]

Those parts look so darn good, man I want to get myself setup with a kit to be able to do that.

When I'm ready I'll go back and read your posts on what you have, I have a couple of 12VDC 15 Amp power supplies I may try and use one or both but if they will not work I'll buy the one suggested.

Thanks for posting and enjoy your time off.

David

[philosopheriam]

Those parts look so darn good, man I want to get myself setup with a kit to be able to do that.

When I'm ready I'll go back and read your posts on what you have, I have a couple of 12VDC 15 Amp power supplies I may try and use one or both but if they will not work I'll buy the one suggested.

Thanks for posting and enjoy your time off.

David

David,

The power supply is one of the most critical components in obtaining a good end result - for small batches of parts, having a unit that can maintain a constant current between 0A and 5A is key. For every batch of parts you run, a different current will be needed as it is based on the amount of surface area to be plated - excessive voltage or current can cause a multitude of "weird" results - gray/burned plating, blistering/bubbling, etc.

My advice is to spend to $50 to $60 and buy a unit that will work for what you are doing. When you see the end result, it will be worth it

[philosopheriam]

The last batch!!! Just some small stuff. That's it, 99% of the hardware is DONE (excluding the 1% that I may have inadvertently forgotten).

IMG_1504 by Anthony Monteleone, on Flickr

[pjKUN]

Great thread! Your build was one of the threads I looked at before I took the plunge to build one of my own. I also really liked a quote you said in an earlier post, and it ended up in my sig. Lastly saw that you're from Aurora... I'm in Schaumburg. Cheers!

[philosopheriam]

Great thread! Your build was one of the threads I looked at before I took the plunge to build one of my own. I also really liked a quote you said in an earlier post, and it ended up in my sig. Lastly saw that you're from Aurora... I'm in Schaumburg. Cheers!

You're gonna have to pay royalties on that quote, sir - 5 cents, please