JohnnyL's 1980 GS550L Cafe Build

[Spyder]

I'm just giving you some shyte my friend. Don't rush anything.

That looming is pretty cheap, not bad at all. I will have to order a few different sizes, and colors for future projects, and upgrades.

[JohnnyL]

Well what a shyte show yesterday turned out to be.

First I disconnected the ignition wire and turned the bike over to get some oil circulating through the engine.

Next I made a temporary fuel container and hung it from the ceiling. Then I got the fire extinguisher nearby just in case. I dumped fuel in the container and fuel started dumping out of the carbs all over the damn engine. Abort! Abort! I quickly grabbed a pair of needle nose vice grips and pinched the fuel line. Crap! I pulled the carbs and found the bowls leaking at the drain screws. I guess I didn't torque them down enough. This time I put the carbs on the bench and dropped some fuel in them. Good to go. I went to put the carbs back on the bike and noticed a puddle of oil on the stand. WTF? Now what?

The oil leak seemed to coming from the chain side of the engine. I pulled the sprocket cover off and noticed oil coming from between the case halves. Shyte! I have read 100 times not to use too much sealant when putting the case halves together. I guess my fear overwhelmed me to put too little. So out the engine came....again. I also noticed oil coming from the oil filter cap. Obviously that stupid o-ring got pinched. Brian Wringer offered a spare that he had and I picked that up this morning.

I stayed in the shop late last night and drained the oil and removed the engine from the bike. On a table, I flipped the engine upside down and removed all the bolts securing the case halves, cleaned the mating surfaces and re-mated them with new sealant. I got the engine back in the bike last night and finished everything this morning.

Let's try this again. Poured fuel in, pulled the choke....vavoom! Hot damn!

I noticed an oil leak around the nose of the valve cover. I don't know why it's leaking here. The surfaces were clean and I double checked the torque of all the bolts.

Anywho...here is the video of first start-up and a pic of my fuel rig.

https://youtu.be/YJ9gbSIuF60

https://youtu.be/YJ9gbSIuF60

[steve murdoch]

After all that work that has to feel good hearing that engine.
Congrats!

[93Bandit]

Awesome work! There's no way that video was first start, right? Did you get it warmed up previously before that video? It started so easily!

[JohnnyL]

Awesome work! There's no way that video was first start, right? Did you get it warmed up previously before that video? It started so easily!

Thanks! Believe it or not it was the first start. I'm working on some oil leaks this weekend. I took the whole top end apart to see what was going on. There are some gauges in the surfaces where the valve cover sits. I'm going to use some sealant in combination with the gasket. Hopefully that solves the issue.

Brian is coming over Monday or Tuesday to help me sync the carbs and tune the bike. It actually idles pretty good. There are some pops every once and awhile and when you crack the throttle, it has a tough time returning to idle. I'm hoping a carb sync solves that.

Just need to do the above and then get my tank from the painter. He hasn't even started it yet because he's slammed with doing helmets for drivers in the Daytona 500. Pfftt...like they're more important than me. LOL.

[JohnnyL]

Does anyone following this have any thoughts on the Pingel fuel petcock? I’ve read about problems with the stock petcock. I’m just wondering if anyone can talk me into buying a Pingel.

[Baatfam]

Does anyone following this have any thoughts on the Pingel fuel petcock? I’ve read about problems with the stock petcock. I’m just wondering if anyone can talk me into buying a Pingel.

Had a couple, and have one on my GS1100E...(my second one on that bike)
They look nice, they work well...but......a couple of caveats...
A new OEM cost about the same, and should last for a couple decades...
Two of my Pingels failed in less than 5 years...
That said, supposedly they will rebuild them for you...but I never tried that route...
And you will, at least once, leave it on, trust me....Gas will either pour out the carb overflow, or fill the crankcase...

But, they look very cool...

[Rijko]

Does anyone following this have any thoughts on the Pingel fuel petcock? I’ve read about problems with the stock petcock. I’m just wondering if anyone can talk me into buying a Pingel.

this is one of those questions that may get you completely different opinions.
I like the vacuum part of the original petcock, it is an extra layer of protection
against fuel overflowing.
Old stock petcocks regularly fail, with a very low succesrate with rebuild sets,
so i would recommend a new petcock.
An OEM one will last for years, without any problems.

That said - and you literally asking to be talked into buying one ...
a Pingel is great, period correct, and looks the part.
Expensive but works fine.

Just don't forget to shut it off after every single time, because a failing
float will empty the tank, on the floor or into the engine.

[Rijko]

i must type slow, Bob ... if i had seen your answer i would not have had to repeat what you said

[Baatfam]

i must type slow, Bob ... if i had seen your answer i would not have had to repeat what you said

LOL...no problem. Better two opinions than one....

[JohnnyL]

this is one of those questions that may get you completely different opinions.
I like the vacuum part of the original petcock, it is an extra layer of protection
against fuel overflowing.
Old stock petcocks regularly fail, with a very low succesrate with rebuild sets,
so i would recommend a new petcock.
An OEM one will last for years, without any problems.

That said - and you literally asking to be talked into buying one ...
a Pingel is great, period correct, and looks the part.
Expensive but works fine.

Just don't forget to shut it off after every single time, because a failing
float will empty the tank, on the floor or into the engine.

Had a couple, and have one on my GS1100E...(my second one on that bike)
They look nice, they work well...but......a couple of caveats...
A new OEM cost about the same, and should last for a couple decades...
Two of my Pingels failed in less than 5 years...
That said, supposedly they will rebuild them for you...but I never tried that route...
And you will, at least once, leave it on, trust me....Gas will either pour out the carb overflow, or fill the crankcase...

But, they look very cool...

Thanks! These are exactly the answers I was looking for? I’m forgetful so Pingel is not for me. I don’t know yet if mine works or not. Where would I buy an OEM one if I need to? I checked a couple of parts sites and the show the part but it’s not available to buy.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

There’s a company that sells model specific, good-as-OEM peacocks and I’m having trouble coming up with the name. George something or other. Someone else will chime in with the name, I’m sure.

edit:
here it is
georgefixs.com

full disclosure: no personal experience, but have read only good things about their OEM style petcocks.

[Steve]

Yet another vote for OEM.

As far as I know, there are only two "problems" with an OEM petcock.
1. In racing use, where you have wide open throttle for much of the time, there is not enough manifold vacuum to keep the petcock open.
2. They tend to only last about 20 years or so.

.

[JohnnyL]

I've been letting the bike idle a little bit to burn in the header wrap. It's pretty stinky. I'm noticing a lot of smoke coming out of the exhaust and the crank case breather tube. I assume this is normal until the rings get seated in?

[bwringer]

Unless you have the sort of brain that can remember to turn off the petcock EVERY SINGLE TIME and turn it back on EVERY SINGLE TIME 110% without fail, then I'd install an OEM-style vacuum petcock. I do not have this sort of brain. I don't know if anyone like Pingel offers a "prettier" vacuum petcock; the stock piece does look a little plain.

FWIW, I replaced my GS's petcock in about 1997, and it's still working fine.

The petcocks sold down at Cycle Recycle downtown are the good stuff, and I'm pretty sure he normally keeps these in stock:

https://newmotorcycleparts.net/fuel_system_parts/petcocks/petcocks_suz.html

My wife used to have an old Honda with a manual petcock, and every single time we went for a ride, one of us would forget to turn it on or off at some point. Quite frankly, I think manual petcocks are dangerous; having a bike crap out in traffic shortly after setting forth is a great way to get run over.



Anyway, a fair amount of breather vapor is pretty normal, especially in air-cooled engines; this is why it's normally routed back into the airbox to be burned (that steel wool stuff in the valve cover helps the vapor condense a bit and drip back into the engine), and why airboxes get so grody inside. With no airbox, you'll need to filter and catch the condensate.

I wouldn't worry too much about the exhaust smoke yet either, although I would not run it more than necessary until you can actually go ride it and put some stress on it to help seat the rings properly. You're also likely idling pretty rich, so that can foul the plugs after a while and be a little more smoky.