82 GS1100E Mr Turbo Rebuild

[Steve]

... my two brothers today told me they would make sure I never ride a motorcycle or drive a car again. They don't even want me to attempt to get back on my ten speed English racer.

Seriously, Rob, you need new brothers.

.

[dorkburger]

Seriously, Rob, you need new brothers.

.

Unfortunately some don't recognize the mental health benefits of riding.

[Rob S.]

Seriously, Rob, you need new brothers.

I'll have to mention it to Mom and Dad next time I'm at the graveyard.

Unfortunately some don't recognize the mental health benefits of riding.

Exactly! The nicer the bike, and the more of them you own, the happier you are. It's science.

[oldGSfan]

Took a longish ride today and it was great, now doing 'post mortem' I have a little bit of dye in the oil to do some leak detection. I looked all along the base, head and valve cover gaskets and they seem fine. I do have a pretty bad leak at the turbo's oil return fitting at the oil filler (see pic below), and it's spewing all over. There is an O-ring that looks fine but the tightening ring/threaded part doesn't squish it down visibly before it tightens up. It's hard enough to turn and I don't want to strip anything, but I carefully tightened it and it's as good as it'll get. But possibly there is a secondary seal inside.

It's an easy thing to sort out I'm sure, and then once sealed I can pinpoint anything else. The cam chain tensioner and oil supply running off the pressure switch have some oil but I bet it's from the return line.

It also leaks just a little bit from a couple of the rubber half moon 'cylinder head plugs'. I recall there are two O-ring gaskets that are inside the head (I see them on Partzilla) that, if leaking, can make a mess of the top end. There are also 6 gaskets that look like they are copper, not sure if they can be an issue.

Other than that, I definitely need to upgrade the forks and address some little things - like a proper air cleaner. I just ran it today with the velocity stack and mesh screen that keeps bees out.

Bike really wakes up at 7K!

[GS1150Pilot]

That monster is beautiful, Tom.

[Rob S.]

Where can I get a pair of those riding boots?

[oldGSfan]

you must mean my sandals in the reflection - Flojos

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0777RS7SP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They wear like iron and are incredibly comfortable. I tried other types of same brand but this one is IT. There is something about the cushion, I never get sore feet even walking around all day. But in the garage it's a bit dicey.... In fact for most of my life I hated sandals of any type, and especially 'flip flops'. Now I wear them every day and get about 3 years out of them. The soles never wear out but the leather strap eventually does.

[oldGSfan]

Took the bike to its first show yesterday, a nice gathering in Huntington Beach that I'd been reading about online. Tied for 2nd place with a moped! Just kidding, it's not really a moped but at first I thought it was.

After the votes were counted I asked if the guy could just 'find' me what I needed to win, but no dice. Really nice folks, I'll be attending as much as I can. There were some very interesting bikes, including a Nimbus 4. A fellow from Japan took my #, he writes for a Japanese bike magazine and wants to do a story on it.

http://www.vintagebikeoc.com/news/feb21

[Rob S.]

Good on you. When the voting is that close, the outcome should be decided at the drag strip.

When do they certify the votes?

[oldGSfan]

Hey kids (and I mean you Rob), I finally did a cold start and ride video on Mr. Turbo. The bike always was fine, but the video camera, umm, not so much. Let's not even talk about the 'videographer'. No past-redline runs, I need to keep my life and license. Once it gets past 7K I just hang on. The forks are mushy but with the magnesium wheel (perhaps that's it) the thing just rides like a big train, soaking anything up. Sound on the video sorta gets annoying, it's not me, I promise! I put a piece of cloth over the mic but the wind tore back the tape and I think it began to sing.

What's really cool about the bike is that yeah, it's loud, lumpy, and a bit rough around the edges vs. the stock GS, but it's entirely comfortable to ride at a normal pace. Then I give it a bit of Welly and grin ear to ear. It's like Highway Star is always playing in the background egging me on.

[Rob S.]

Thank you so much. I first feared that you had sold it, but what a nice surprise.

The only thing I was wishing for was a close up inset of the tach and speedo. Perhaps you could divulge how high each went?

The middle one is the boost gauge? Does that move while riding?

Thanks again, from the safety of my couch!

[dorkburger]

Awesome... gotta love the 85 mph speedometer.

[steve murdoch]

Fantastic! Your video is just like the bike...loud, lumpy and a bit rough around the edges.
Looks like the tach leaps from 6-8000.

[oldGSfan]

Thank you so much. I first feared that you had sold it, but what a nice surprise.

The only thing I was wishing for was a close up inset of the tach and speedo. Perhaps you could divulge how high each went?

The middle one is the boost gauge? Does that move while riding?

Thanks again, from the safety of my couch!

I don't know what's up with the boost gauge. I know the turbo's working and the gauge works fine with a blast of compressed air. I never look down there anyway but it's a bummer to have something not work. I took a brisker ride yesterday and pinned it till about 10K but the video was too long and kept failing to download to my phone (it's a Rylo, a defunct less expensive GoPro competitor). It just keeps making power, probably should have a rev limiter. I don't just whack the throttle open, it's too much, I'd be on one wheel and on public roads I'm a bit leery of that.

[Rob S.]

10k? What gear? At what revs did you open the throttle?

Please try to get video.