No real point here, just general blah blah.  

My 1990 GS is getting a bit of an overhaul.  It all started with checking the valve clearances, and rejetting my carbs.

But then I decided to fix the oil leak between my cylinders and crank case.  Before I knew it my garage was littered with GS parts.  All I have now is a frame with some pistons sticking out of it.  Kind of cool, kind of un-nerving.  You know in a "I hope I can get this all back together" sort of a way.  

Wish me luck.  Hopefully in a week or so she'll be purring again.  

hehe... should seen the expression on my fiance's face when she saw mine all torn down.  It was sitting in the driveway with everything pulled off of the frame neck. (I had to replace the steering head bearings)

Forks, tire, bars, tank headlight assembly,instrumentation,  fairing all laying over to the side. She thought I had wrecked it. :lol:

What's really weird is when you get it all back together and have spare parts left over.  Do that a couple of times and you wonder how anything stays together.  :lol:

Quote from: GeePWhat's really weird is when you get it all back together and have spare parts left over.  Do that a couple of times and you wonder how anything stays together.  :lol:

That comment, added to your sig line, would pretty much guarantee I never seek wrenching help from ya.. :lol:    

how did you spot the oil leak in your motor? i had one and didn't find out till i was 20 miles from home on a 100 mile trip. i heard a loud slapping sound from my motor. they say that it might cost up to $2000 to fix. it's only a 91. are they just trying to rape me or is it the truth. the motor will still turn over but it clacks in the top head. i hope you got some good things to tell me :dunno:

Quote from: mrgrits... they say that it might cost up to $2000 to fix. it's only a 91. are they just trying to rape me or is it the truth. the motor will still turn over but it clacks in the top head. i hope you got some good things to tell me :dunno:

I'm gonna get in line ahead of davipu and tell you I can fix this for way less than $2000 and the sex will be better!  :lol:

Remove your bike from their premises and get a service manual, then find a buddy that likes to wrench. Buy his breakfast -lunch -dinner and a new DVD collection for compensation until it is fixed. Do that or sell it to someone for a project and take the $2K and get a newer bike. It sounds like an interference issue that at worst would require a top end rebuild. I am certain that oil level will be at the top of your preflight checklist next time.

If you are anywhere near Charlotte, NC, take it to Srinath and he will fix it for an undisclosed amount and you will still have your honor intact.

Geez - for $2K you can buy a running engine and swap it out.

Quote from: stephanMy 1990 GS is getting a bit of an overhaul.  It all started with ... Before I knew it my garage was littered with GS parts.  All I have now is a frame with some pistons sticking out of it....

You've got the same color scheme 90 GS I have AND a coworker just bought. Mine is a project rebuild/repair/restore and is covered in this thread. I am planning an update post before the weekend.

Keep at it and take pics along the way. You'll wonder how you ever got along without something else to do when you are done. Right.  

Thanks for the replies/encouragment.  I do enjoy wrenching.  I just hope it all works out in the end.

mrgrits - I spotted the oil leak because I was getting a build-up of oil and road gunk in the front of the engine where the cylinder meets the crankcase.  Actually I have another leak around the cam tensioner.  I'm tired of feeding it oil and decided just to fix the problem.

I have the exact same type of oil leaks. As far as the tensioner leak the only way you'll fix that is to replace the tensioner. For some reason oil starts to slip through the body and out the plug at the back. The oil leak at the front I'm not 100% sure of. There's an o-ring around the studs that go up through the front of the engine cylinder and head. If the o-rings are bad it's possible to just remove the head to fix I think. Someone else should know more about this.

Derek

but Starwalt can you travel to go fix it?

Quote from: DerekNCI have the exact same type of oil leaks. As far as the tensioner leak the only way you'll fix that is to replace the tensioner. For some reason oil starts to slip through the body and out the plug at the back. The oil leak at the front I'm not 100% sure of. There's an o-ring around the studs that go up through the front of the engine cylinder and head. If the o-rings are bad it's possible to just remove the head to fix I think. Someone else should know more about this.

Derek

Bummer . . .

It seemed like the oil was coming from between the tensioner and the head.  I'm hoping it is just the gasket, Bike Bandit wants $53 for one.  I've already sunk too much $$$ into repairs this time around.

Definitely try the gaskets first. I thought mine had leaky gaskets until I pulled it out to do a valve adjustment. When the rubber plug was pulled out oil came running out from the inside. The rubber plug is just supposed to keep dirt out.
As far as the leak on the front of the engine you might have got it under control by retorqueing the head. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because that 's what I did with mine.

BTW, Ron Ayers has the tensioner for $43. If you pull it out to replace the gaskets or tensioner you might want to have the valve cover off just to make sure the chain gets retensioned properly.

Derek