1980 GS1100LT Cleanup

[LOTO]

I took my tire/rim to the Suzuki shop and the owner said that the tire was in great shape and it isn't any harder than new ones on the floor and he showed me the comparison. Cleaned rear rim and shot wheel clear coat on it today and cleaning the rear sprocket and other wheel hardware. I'm going to wait at least a week before having the tire mounted

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[LOTO]

I wasn't planning on buffing the rear sprocket but after just a few minutes of cleaning I started to see a shine so now I am at a loss on what to do with the sprocket. Do I:
1.) Finish buffing to a high shine which might not last very long and will require cleaning often.
2.) Finish buffing to a high shine and let it age gracefully and only clean with normal washing.
3.) Paint the sprocket with a good rattle can enamel paint....I would tape off the teeth and area where the chain rides on the sprocket.
4.) None of the above

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[LOTO]

Been working on cleaning and painting a lot of small items and not much progress. Have decided to polish at least the carb tops and bottoms and did 1 top and then sprayed a coat of VHT Gloss Clear Wheel Paint and I'm going to let the top set for a week or so and then give it a gasoline test to see it peels. Also have been painting nuts and bolts with VHT Engine Enamel and after installed I'll probably touch up and possibly clear coat also.

Not sure what I'll do to the carb body yet open to suggestions.

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[thebrandonbeezy]

Your rattle can skills are awesome lol

[LOTO]

I hard my carbs with me yesterday and dropped by the local cycle shop to see what they would charge for going through my carbs...owner says drop them off and he would run them through the ultrasonic cleaner and they would look good as new when done.
I went by this morning to pick up my carbs and WTF happened???? Guess this appearance makes up my mind for me to paint them now
The first photo is before ultrasonic and I was considering polishing the top and bottom/bowl and leaving the carb body as is....not now though

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[LOTO]

Merry Christmas To All!!!

I was able to get a little work done over the last couple of days and actually started putting the old girl back together with painted or cleaned parts. Now that the rear wheel is back on I'll be working towards the front end and will remove the wheel for clean/paint. The rear brake caliper had stuck pistons and a quick youtube search showed how to unstick with air or a grease gun and I opted for the air method...if anyone does the air method be VERY careful because the piston comes out like a .22 bullet and sounds like it too.

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[LOTO]

Haven't accomplished much in the last month but it was just so cold here I didn't feel like doing much in my shop and holiday functions also.

Got the rear caliper all dismantled, painted, and put back together. The pistons were very clean and gaskets/seals were in great shape so I went ahead and cleaned them with Marvels Mystery Oil and re-used....pads had plenty left on them too...depending on number of miles put on this year I might pull calipers off over the winter and check.

I did find a nifty little oven on Craigslist for $25.00 and I baked the calipers and bolt heads. Once I get most everything put back on the rear I'll go ahead and pull the front wheel and start on that and forks.

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[Big T]

LOTO, brake fluid and oil do not mix

Take the caliper apart and clean all of the oil from it. Lube the pistons with brake fluid to reinsert

[LOTO]

LOTO, brake fluid and oil do not mix

Take the caliper apart and clean all of the oil from it. Lube the pistons with brake fluid to reinsert

After I cleaned the seals/gaskets with Marvels I wiped pretty much all traces of the oil off of them and rinsed in hot water and caliper/pistons never had Marvels on them. I did read where it was suggested to lube the piston with brake fluid but forgot to do so. The caliper is not yet installed and I'll pull apart and lube.

[jsandidge]

I did read where it was suggested to lube the piston with brake fluid but forgot to do so. The caliper is not yet installed and I'll pull apart and lube.

Lubing the piston is just to aid sliding into the seal. Since you've already done that, there's no need to pull it back apart.

[LOTO]

Lubing the piston is just to aid sliding into the seal. Since you've already done that, there's no need to pull it back apart.

I was careful when I slid the piston in and it went in smoothly but I could tell it was a tight fit.

[LOTO]

Not much progress the last couple of months but I'm going to try and get everything done and back together by fall.


I pulled the front wheel and will remove clearcoat from forks and will paint rotors and calipers with VHT and bake.


Is there a product that anyone would recommend that brings the shine/new look back to control cables ad brake lines? The easy thing to do is buy new OEM cables but replacing all gets pretty pricey and my original cables appear to be in very good condition. I do plan on cleaning/buffing the metal ends of the cables. I see there is a cable luber device and I may try that also.

[LOTO]

Had the front wheel off, removed old clearcoat off forks, removed rotors and painted them back to factory black, painted bolts and then baked everything and reassembled. Next up is paint calipers and clean/paint controls on handlebars.



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[LOTO]

I painted my calipers this morning and on the 2nd coat I noticed that they weren't very glossy...looked at the VHT caliper paint can and I picked up satin instead of gloss so after the 7 day waiting period I'll need to paint again.....not sure if I can bake to cure faster so will wait.


I'm going to go ahead and rebuild both master cylinders and calipers......pistons are in good shape. I spent a bit of time searching for the actual OEM kits put together already and didn't see any kits....only OEM parts list and would need to buy separately so If anyone has an actual link I would appreciate passing it along to me.


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[LOTO]

Baked newly painted parts and cleaned some of the chrome bolts....I just wasn't happy with my rattle can/Rustoleum paint job on the tank so decided to strip and start over.....tank painting was done in cold weather and inside shop but borderline low temps.


I'm pricing new parts on several websites and Parts Outlaw is the least expensive OEM parts I've found...$9.95 shipping.


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