Bombsquad's 1993 GS500e refresh

[steezin_and_wheezin]

Looks fantastic mang!!

[bombsquad83]

Thanks man!

Two most recent photos of the bike...

One that was done for the picture game


And I took a long ride to my parents house on Sunday and my dad took a shot of me on my bike


I'm not worried about the smell I mentioned earlier, I think it's normal.  My decals layed out nice and flat now too. 

I am still getting the clunking noise in the front end, so I need to check that out.  Also, the idle rpms are acting somewhat lower than they were at first.  It's not bad at all, I think I might just need to tweak my mixture screws a bit. 

'busa rear pegs from ebay are on their way, along with reflective blue rim strips.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/380448082374?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_1104wt_1272

http://www.ebay.com/itm/260836170610?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_3362wt_1272

[5thAve]

Lovely rebuild! Good job on the bike and thanks for the good thread.

Brakes should only drag a tiny bit. Maybe time to buy some seals and rebuild the caliper? I've done it in two different bikes now. Not difficult at all. Just messy. I use a spray bottle from a dollar store as a vacuum pump to draw fresh fluid thru the lines as I refill and bleed the system. GS with a single caliper at each end is definitely a simple job to do.

Fork seals leaking is usually because of rust pitting on the cheap-ass chrome Suzuki used on our forks. If you have lots of rust, you're probably smart to think about new chrome uppers or any seals you put in will start leaking after a few hundred miles.

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2

[bombsquad83]

I was more careful about aligning the front wheel with my last installation, and tightening things down in the proper order.  The front brake doesn't drag much anymore.  Still enough to be pretty hot after a ride, but not super hot like before.

I will be checking my seals often for leaks.  If they start leaking again, it will be time for a new set of fork tubes.

[cbrfxr67]

Very nice!  Great job!  (applause!!)

[bombsquad83]

Installed blue reflective rim strips.  Then a couple days later I realized that I put them further inside the rim than people normally do.  I feel like a bit of a dope, and I think I might have to get another set and put them on the outer part of the rim and remove these .


Also, the left fork is leaking very slightly again after a couple hundred miles, just as 5thAve predicted.  I think I'm going to leave it for the rest of this year unless it gets much more severe.  Then over the winter I'll have to find a new fork tube.

I also think I'll be investing in a new front brake system with stainless lines eventually if I keep this bike through next year.  I just want a bit more braking power and better feel.

I got these now, but haven't had time with the 100+ temps to get them installed and try them out.  I did get them ground down so they fit though.  Need to go buy some washers.  I'm curious how comfortable it will be with the shifter, since it's already a bit of a chore to get my foot over the top of the shifter to downshift since my legs are so long.  I made another post on this topic here: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=61192.0

Also bought a K&N drop-in from jesterc on the boards here.  Plan to install it along with 127.5 jets sometime.  Might try it with my current 125 jets first.  I just saw on the matrix that someone else did 127.5.  Anyone have input on this?  I have a stock exhaust.

All of this could be a while before it gets done, considering my wife is getting induced on Monday with our first child. 

[BockinBboy]

Congrats on the kid! Hope everything goes well today! 

- Bboy

[bombsquad83]

Holding my son in my arms now and he is perfect.  Thanks for the well wishes.

[bombsquad83]

Installed K&N drop-in today.  Also jetted up to 127.5.  Already have 40 pilots and 1 washer under the needles.  I think I might need to go up one size on the main and another washer under the needles.  That's just based on feel though.  I'll have to do a throttle chop and plug check sometime.  Right now it's definitely good enough to ride.  I also replaced my reserve fuel line that I had cut short to fix a leak.  Now I have plenty of extra line to work with.

Also got the eBay Hayabusa rear pegs ground down and installed in the front.  They do make my legs a bit more comfortable.  I didn't move the position of the shifter and it's not uncomfortable to shift.  I do have to be careful on upshifts to make sure I don't miss a gear.  I have hit neutral instead of 2nd a few times, and had a couple of momentary false neutrals on upper gears.

[bombsquad83]

Having trouble getting the jetting right with K&N drop-in.  I found 127.5 jets to be a little thin  on the throttle from 7k-9k rpm.  Definitely felt lean.  I upped to 130, and still felt a little lean, which was verified by the plugs.  132.5, and the top end leanness is beginning to feel better, but now it's feeling wet and rhythmic surging due to richness in the jet needle range.  I only have 1 washer under the needle, so I will remove it and see how it goes.  If it doesn't work completely, then I'm going back to my stock air filter with 125/1 washer.  It felt really good with that.

In other news.  After getting a seat needing a recover from steezin, I'm good to go for a cool project.  My father-in-law is a professional upholsterer, and told me about new type of padding that is a gel/foam hybrid.  It's called Gelee, and it's not cheap.  Will run me $90 at his cost for a slab of the stuff big enough to do the whole seat.  I'm having him make the seat padding a little wider on top and in the back, and a little higher for some more leg room.  It should be sweet when it's done.  He's covering it with AllSport 4-WAY Stretch Vinyl in High Tac (non-slip) black.   

Here's the link to the Gelee padding: http://www.duboisfabrics.com/product_p/foam-gelee.htm

And here is the vinyl: http://www.yourautotrim.com/alhbl.html

[OrTahor]

Great build! I am going to revive my 1993 GS this week. Following this thread!

[bombsquad83]

Thanks man, good luck with yours.  I've run into a snag that I hope turns out to be OK.  Read about it here.  I should have left well enough alone with the stock filter and jets!

[bombsquad83]

Back to the stock filter with 125/40/1 washer with the stock needle.  Runs perfect now!

[steezin_and_wheezin]

Sucks you couldn't get it settle with the drop in k&n. I put one of those in the first gs i had(setup and jetting was all stock) it ran ok..

put any thought into going with the full lunchbox?

[bombsquad83]

EDIT: The problem wasn't the filter itself, just that I didn't get the restrictor with it since I bought it from a board member that had already sold the restrictor.  With the restrictor I'm confident it would have been just fine.  I'm too OCD to just let it go and call it good enough, so I wanted to jet it perfectly for without the restrictor.  Decided it wasn't worth my time when I realized to be perfect I would probably need a different jet needle.

I've thought about it.  Putting performance mods into this bike just doesn't seem worth it.  I'd rather ride then spend all my time fiddling trying to make it run perfectly.  With a new kid and the little Honda project, no time/money for unnecessary mods to the GS.  To be honest I'm happy with the performance that I get from it with the stock air filter, and I have no plans to get a full exhaust.  For all the money I could put into performance mods on the GS500, I could sell it and add that to money for getting a bike that would go much faster. 

The seat mod?  Now that is necessary .

[bombsquad83]

Got my leaking fork replaced properly with a really nice upper tube from adidasguy.  He sold me a whole fork, but when I went to replace the seal on it the damper bolt would not come out.  I had to drill it out, so I swapped the nice upper into my old lower tube.

I had been filling to 99mm with 10w.  I realized that is too much oil with progressive springs due to the size of the spring vs. stock.  I filled to 130mm this time in with 15w instead of 10w.  Also polished both tubes a bit with 000 steel wool.  Hopefully it will be leak free for a good long while!

[Higgins13]

I think you need to find a home for these considering your name 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-Mario-Bob-Omb-1up-Funny-Bomb-Game-NES-JDM-Drift-Sticker-Decals-Any-Color-4-/271014210519

[bombsquad83]

Stealing that thing for my avatar .

[ninjeff]

Popped back on here to see how the bike was doing, and you really did make some great progress! Looks awesome dude!

[bombsquad83]

Thank you.  I'm excited to get the custom seat back from my father in law sometime soon.  Also have an SV650 front caliper and very new '09 GS shock that I need to get on, and I need to change the oil.