I have an '89 GS500E that has sat in the elements while I was off to war. (Yes I know, I should have taken better care of it.) Before I left, it was already in OK condition but now its just dead. I want to bring her back to life but am completely overwhelmed by the task. I have a Clymer's but I'm not much of a mechanic. I just want to get her working so I can take her to a professional. So, where do I start? Here are things I know she needs:
New oil (duh)
New battery
remove and drain the fuel tank? (is there a way to clean it out?)
new chain (do I have to do the sprockets at the same time?)
new front fork seals (these had started to leak before I left, now they're pretty much empty)
carb rebuild (yikes to me!!!)
replace all the fuel lines
So, to all the great experts here (and I mean that sincerely, I've lurked for a long time)
where do I start? What am I missing? Am I crazy and should just shoot her in the head and put her out of her misery?
Thanks for any input!
Ya gotta tell us what ya mean by dead high speed. Are we talking clicking when you hit the starter, won't catch, lights won't even turn on???? Need details.
First drain and flush the fuel system. Get all new gas in the tank, clean it out thoroughly with kerosene or some other products. Run gas through your old lines and get them flushed, then take your carbs out and clean the jets and carbs thoroughly. After that, change your oil, put on a new chain, a roller for now will be fine @ 20 bucks. Get a new battery and charge it to peak. Then fire her up after she's all put back together. If it doesn't fire right up, give it a bit and try it again. You may cycle through the quick life of the battery before she fires right up again. Good luck to you :cheers:
Thanks bombadillo! That's exactly what I was looking for. Obviously you understand what "dead" means. I didn't want to just throw a new battery on there and "fire her up" with 2 year old oil and fuel in it. I'm thinking about buying a new bike but I want to try and rebuild my GS. The whole "i can do this" factor has kicked in. I've never done anything like it but at 35 years old, what the hell, I'm not getting any younger. Time to figure this s**t out!
Thanks again.
Its not that difficult. Follow the manual on how to do the basic things. They make it seem much more complicated than it seems. There may be 37 steps to change oil, and most of the time it takes all of 4. Use your common sense to things like; don't overtighten the bolts for the oil filter cover that go straight into the block. That could break them and they will be a $@#%* to get out of there. Just use a basic common sense for mechanics and it'll go as planned. The tank comes off in about 2 minutes if you know how to take it off. It comes off in 3 if you read the instructions. My biggest piece of advice is CAREFULLY look at each thing so that you don't swap the way certain things go on. remember which hose goes where and what wire connects to what, and you'll be fine. You can use numbered tape, or old telephone wire works well as each individual strand is color coded different from the other pieces. Have fun, take your time, take your time, take your time and you'll be fine. :thumb:
yup, when you get to the carb r&r i can help you on that
Quote from: bookerman on March 04, 2008, 10:45:53 PM
I have an '89 GS500E that has sat in the elements while I was off to war.
Welcome back state side! :cheers: :cheers:
how was your tour?
[/quote]
Welcome back state side! :cheers: :cheers:
how was your tour?
[/quote]
Actually I'm still in Germany! (Love it here, never want to go back! mmmm....beer) But it sure makes getting parts, etc. really hard. There are no "Autozones" or "Pep Boys".
I just got the green light to begin work on the bike. So wish me luck!
So, I started working on the bike this weekend. I drained the tank and put fresh gas in. Took a look at the fuel lines and confirmed that they need to be replaced. PO had an inline fuel filter and the hoses are leaking at both contact points on the filter. Hoses and filter on the way from Chaparral.
Funniest part of the day: removing my air filter and finding this!!!!
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o39/bookerman33/P1030718.jpg)
And there was THIS much!!!
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o39/bookerman33/P1030719.jpg)
So anyway...I got the new battery, charged it up, put it in, turned the key on, got lights etc....nothing, not even a click! After using this forum to research the 1.5million "doesn't start" threads I figured out my problem: corrosion on the starter switch contacts. After some spirited turn overs I finally got her running and she really doesn't sound that bad!!!
I've got the front brakes off, the front wheel and the forks are almost off (my 3" long 6mm allen didn't cut it on the upper cinch bolts) but I just bought an allen ratchet set so they should be off tomorrow.
I'll keep y'all posted!
Erik
I've Got ask ? How Bad do you want to REEEE-Build, Do you have Master card Gold? :icon_mrgreen: just a joke or :icon_rolleyes: is it a KN filter? they can be cleaned With the kit.
Mine was a outside Bike for 8-9 years & I'm at $$$.$$ so far but it's a 99 Mod.
But this is a good site to get parts! Good luck :thumb:
mustang
r
Quote from: bookerman on March 06, 2008, 09:45:33 AM
Quote
Welcome back state side! :cheers: :cheers:
how was your tour?
Actually I'm still in Germany! (Love it here, never want to go back! mmmm....beer) But it sure makes getting parts, etc. really hard. There are no "Autozones" or "Pep Boys".
I just got the green light to begin work on the bike. So wish me luck!
Is it really that hard to find parts in Deutschland? :dunno_white:
I'd say it shouldn't be that difficult, since the GS 500 has been the best-selling motorcycle there for several years AFAIK. :thumb:
Now it's the GSF Bandit IIRC. 8)
Anyway good luck with bike reconditioning and happy riding! :cheers:
It isn't really that hard to get parts. Its the convenience part. That's one thing I noticed when I went back to the States for Christmas; there's an auto store on every street corner just about. I've now got everything I need from on-line. Dennis Kirk ROCKS!!!! It all came in this week:
Metzler Lasertec front and back
JT Sprockets front and back
DID X-ring chain
Fork seals and dust covers
Hilex Clear Blue fuel line (stainless and glass in-line filter)
New plugs
So I'm off Monday and Tuesday and I'm going to try to get as much done as possible. I'm going to take the easy way out with the fork seals and drop them off with the tires to a local Motorad place.
Wish me luck!