Progress!!! 1978 GS1000E Restoration/Performance Rebuild

[philosopheriam]

How much did it cost you to get the wheels powdercoated? Still happy with the result?

Thanks!

If my memory serves me correctly, I think I paid just over $400 for the powder coating job on the wheels - they have two different colors plus a clear. Also, my coater was having issues with the wheels outgassing, so they had to be pre-baked a couple times and then primed. They still look awesome!

[philosopheriam]

Folks,

With this post you are all allowed to call me a lazy a$$ - I was supposed to have all of the picture links updated in this thread almost a year ago, and I got lazy/busy/tired-of-updating-links...

However, to my surprise, Photobucket stopped charging extortionist prices for its services, and I subscribed.

In essence, ALL picture links in this thread are functioning. Pages 1 through 27 are hosted by Flickr, whereas all of the remaining original pages are on Photobucket.

It would kill me to see this thread get put in the circular file do to dead links.

Enjoy!

[azr]

man, all that Flickr work you did. Well like everyone has said this thread would be a huge shame to loose and it wouldn't be nearly as useful without the pictures. If there was a tip jar I'd drop some coin for you for sure. Thanks.

[philosopheriam]

man, all that Flickr work you did. Well like everyone has said this thread would be a huge shame to loose and it wouldn't be nearly as useful without the pictures. If there was a tip jar I'd drop some coin for you for sure. Thanks.

Dude, I honestly just got fed up updating links - it literally took me half a day to do 10+ pages. Not the kind of thing I enjoy on a lazy sunday.

I also had other pages that got screwed up during the photobucket debacle, so this returns them to normal.

[rapidray]

Did you get it on a dyno yet?
Ray.

[philosopheriam]

Did you get it on a dyno yet?
Ray.

Spring of 2019 - I got lazy in 2018 :-)

[limeex2]

Good read and tips. Just getting ready to start plating. What type of heater did you use for the cleaner/degreaser? Caswell recommends 190 degree's. I can probably get 140 degrees out of my sonic cleaner? I have media blasted some parts with 50-80G glass beads. Will they still need degreasing with heat? The polishing part, I guess I will see how they turn out to see if polishing is needed after plating. I would rather not, but results will dictate that. The guys at Caswell have been helpful as has Charlie at Advanced Tek Neeks.

[philosopheriam]

Good read and tips. Just getting ready to start plating. What type of heater did you use for the cleaner/degreaser? Caswell recommends 190 degree's. I can probably get 140 degrees out of my sonic cleaner? I have media blasted some parts with 50-80G glass beads. Will they still need degreasing with heat? The polishing part, I guess I will see how they turn out to see if polishing is needed after plating. I would rather not, but results will dictate that. The guys at Caswell have been helpful as has Charlie at Advanced Tek Neeks.

"What type of heater did you use for the cleaner/degreaser?"
THE PLATING BATH USES A HEATER, NOT THE DEGREASER... I used a saltwater aquarium heater - my heater only went to 93 degrees Fahrenheit. In my experience, temperature isn't the most important variable in plating, however, you do not want the mixture to be "cold." 90 to 100 F is more than sufficient.

Type of Cleaner/Degreaser:
Purple Power (Simple Green or Castrol Super Clean will work, too)

"Will they still need degreasing with heat?"
Once your parts are blasted (or buffed with a wire wheel), they will always need to be degreased.

If you follow my process, i.e. using a distilled rinse and then a dilute sulfuric dip after plating and then the chromate, you will not need any polishing afterward. Keep in mind, "pretty in, pretty out..."

Cheers!

[limeex2]

Thank You!!! Off to E-Bay

[philosopheriam]

PS: I deleted all of the messages in my inbox, just in case anyone was having a hard time PM-ing me...

[philosopheriam]

First ride of the season, 3-31-2019, 36 degrees, sunny and a bit breezy.

Changed the engine oil and filter, gave her a bath, lubed the chain, aired up the tires, re-oiled the pod filters, did a function check, and went back to my previous pilot air jet size of .7.

Last year, I forgot that I dropped the air jet to a .6 and never tested the bike. I started it up over winter and it wasn't running quite right. It was stalling/bogging on a quick throttle twist and it had never done this before. Then I remembered the air jet change - the carbs originally came with a .8 (larger means more air), and I had a "sneeze" at 1/8 throttle that was pretty pronounced. I then dropped the air jet to a .7 and 98% of the sneeze disappeared. I figured I'd try a .6 and see what happens - no dice. So, back to .7 it is...



She runs like a rocket! I almost forgot how hard this thing pulls. Puts a smile on my face from ear to ear (thanks Rapidray).

[steve murdoch]

Just beautiful!
Do you like the sound of the Delkevic?

[azr]

Anthony, empty your PM box, it's too full to accept any more.

[philosopheriam]

Anthony, empty your PM box, it's too full to accept any more.

Try again - just realized my sent items was full...

[philosopheriam]

Just beautiful!
Do you like the sound of the Delkevic?

Thus far, I've been pleased with the Delkevic - it's loud, but not obnoxious. Sound quality isn't raspy, either. Build quality of the pipes is excellent, too.