Broken GS engine: here we start with the works

[GenTLe]

Ok Guys,
as I told in a previous message, I bought this bike, a GS500F MY2005, for my girlfriend who have to learn to drive, since my TL1000S is definitively NOT good for a newbie (let's say it's deadly!).
I payed only 400€ (540US$) because, beside it's good exterior status, it has some big problem in the engine. It could be melted, or some other major issue at crankcase level.

So, in this thread I'll show how the works on it are proceeding.

1st of all, the bike as it looks like after a proper wash (it stayed outside, stopped, from last July, and in Milan the air is not "properly clean"  ). The plastic tail, seat and battery was just removed, since I had to remove the Spyball alarm.



This is a detail on the alarm connections and cables cut by the mechanic ( ) who installed this alarm:



Here, after fairings, airbox, exhaust pipe and carbs removing, and after disconnection of all pipes and engine bolts and screws, the engine is ready to be removed (and my mother, behind, to help me dealing with this heavy engine!):



The engine is out, and now sleep on my working table, waiting a deep external wash with some petrol (NEVER open an engine if it's dirty!!):





Stay tuned (but don't be in hurry: I'll proceed slowly)

Alex - Italy

[GenTLe]

As I told you, NEVER work on a dirty engine   

So now it's quite better  (it took me 3 hours to deeply clean it):

[Mdow]

ya i need to clean mine bad i just droped it out the bike

[bucks1605]

Talk about a hackjob on that wiring!

Hope you can restore your bike to it's original glory.

Keep us updated. 

[bobthebiker]

While you've got the motor out, why dont ya replace those exhaust bolts with some studs in the head and put some nuts on the outside instead of a bolt that can and usually does break off in the cylinder heads? 

once you clean these motors up, they dont really look half bad at all honestly.   good luck on the fixing it thing.

[GenTLe]

While you've got the motor out, why dont ya replace those exhaust bolts with some studs in the head and put some nuts on the outside instead of a bolt that can and usually does break off in the cylinder heads? 

Well, it could be an idea, but usually the steel these screws are made of, is special one to resist to high temperatures. And to avoid excessive friction some copper paste is enough
I'll also pass again the screws with a threader, in order to put the thread in a perfect condition

Bye, Alex

[The Buddha]

Special steel that melts and rusts in spite of the heat. Yes. I have found better hardware lying under a bullock cart.
Cool.
Buddha.

[GenTLe]

Ok, another evening to pass, other stuff to do 

I started to open the engine.
Here without head cover, after I removed the 2 camshafts. The head seems ok. I've only to change a calibrated pad (the one on the low/left):


Uhm... A cam is not so good  . It's the intake camshaft, and on both cam edges the surfaces are not so perfect... I think I'll not buy another camshaft: too expensive  and the problem is very very light:


I removed the head too, and it seems ok. Most probably I'll extract the valves in order to check them, but not now:



The cylinder block, in very good condition:



Engine, without head and cylinders:



The working place 


Stay tuned for the rest 

[beRto]

This is great! Thanks for the photo log. Keep us posted!   

[fred]

Very cool photos. I've looked at the diagrams of this stuff a bunch, but it is so much cooler to see an actual photo...

[bobthebiker]

I love seeing the inner workings of the GS motors.  very fascinating, and very simple.   I'd like to get another just to mess around with and get a 4 valve/cyl head +cams built for it.

[kml.krk]

great write-up. can't wait for more. very nice pics

[GenTLe]

Ok, let's go on.

Today I dedicated the afternoon to the engine head and to the pistons.

The pistons: I deeply cleaned them, without using any abrasive on the side surface, only a razor blade for the hardest deposits (on the pistons top surface), an old toothbrush for the segments slots and a good amount of "magic liquid" (my precious WD-40 -> http://www.wd40.com/). Then I measured them and they're perfectly in tolerance 



The head: I've just cleaned the gasket surfaces previously, now let's give a look to the valves   

First of all, this morning I asked to my now-retired car mechanic the tool to compress valve springs:


Here a detail of compressed spring where I had just removed one of the two half cones (the terminal part of the valve is good, there's only some molybdenum grease on it because I took the photo when I was reassembling it):


A closed look on the valve seat:


This is one of the intake valves as it was when I extracted it (good amount of carbon deposit eh?  )



And the same valve after some clean and the treatment with carborundum coarse and fine paste and lapping tool -the grey bend on the large part of it -. It's very important to use the lapping kit if you remove the valves from the head, in order to assure they'll be hermetic once reinstalled:

It's good, isn't it? 

This is one of the exhaust valves with all its parts and half of the grinding/lapping toolkit:



And of course, while the valves were out of the head, I checked if they are bent... And they aren't 


Stay tuned

[Tang]

 

looks like ur making some big progress

excellent pictures by the way!

[GeeP]

Looking good so far.  Going by the book I see!

The "aseptically produced" valve grinding compound is interesting...  

[BeerGarage]

Awesome.
Thank you for the extra time and effort for the pictures.

[bobthebiker]

very nice write up.  that carbon deposit stuff is NOTHING.   I just cleaned a TON of crap off my Hurricane's head and valves, like so much crap its not even remotely funny.    if I'd had the proper valve tool, I would have removed the valves from the head and cleaned them thoroughly, then put everything back together.

you've got some access to a lot of high dollar and really nice stuff there, like that fancy runout gauge. 

[ohgood]

your macros are nice man, keep it up !

how about some more pictures of that vise ? too ? nice one.

[Mandres]

That valve spring compressor tool is a piece of art!   

Mine is just an old C-clamp with an adapter welded onto it. 

[fred]

These photos are amazing.