2000 GS500E Adventure Bike Project

[bombsquad83]

Sure.  I'll take a picture of them next to a ruler tonight.

You can see one of them in this picture.

[Manaenrc]

awesome thanks for those. can you include the needles in with the springs when they are next to a ruler. By that picture it looks like my springs may be the same. They seem very weak (too weak) which makes the CV open way too early. This really messes with the vacuum inside the carb when the throttle is opened.  The whole point of a CV was to eliminate that vacuum loss when the throttle is snapped open and smooth out the vacuum curve. This in turn is supposed to deliver a very stable power delivery. It seems as though this carb is doing exactly what a CV is not supposed to do. I'm going to play with some preload on the springs and see if I can clean this up without making power delivery tame. I need the snappiness without the vacuum bog on throttle opening, and the dancing slides on idle.

The pictures will be helpful if you can get them thanks..

[bombsquad83]

Should be easy to tell if your jet needle is stock.  It should read 5DH8 up by the clip.  The needle jet (emulsion tube) should read O-3.  I will include them in the photo though.

[Manaenrc]

Should be easy to tell if your jet needle is stock.  It should read 5DH8 up by the clip.  The needle jet (emulsion tube) should read O-3.  I will include them in the photo though.

awesome that is exactly what I needed. I couldn't find a reference to the stock needle or jet number anywhere on google. That gives me a starting point to work from.

[Manaenrc]

OK so I have a few minutes I figured I would post some more details about this custom flyscreen that I am designing. The goal was to take two pieces of lexan(yes the stuff that is 200 times stronger then glass) and mold it into a two piece flyscreen that would slide together for normal riding then extend for faster (windier) rides.

So I started by purchasing two small sheets of lexan at home depot they cost about 3.50 ea

I also purchased some rubber washers and nylon washers for the sliding setup. The grand total was a whopping 13 bucks woo hoo I'm a big spender if this works it will be the cheapest flyscreen on the planet (well next to a piece of cardboard and duct tape LOL)
Here is the parts laid out from home depot


Here are the two templates I made and the two peices of lexan already cut and ready to be molded to the right radius.


So as with all thermoplastics all you need is some heat and something to mold it on and you are in buisiness. Unfortunately I didn't take into account how difficult lexan is to heat evenly. This is some tough stuff and it requires a very even heat. I have done stuff like this in the past and used my heat gun It didn't work to well for the lexan. Here is a shot of how I thought I was going to heat the lexan and use my round smoker to get the proper radius.



This worked sort of, however after about 20 minutes of heating I realized I needed a better heat source. Then it hit me Duh! I have an oven that is the perfect setup, I just needed to come up with a way to get my radius mold into my oven.  My first attempt was to use a round pot. It worked great but was slightly too tight of a radius. So I ended up with a piece of aluminum flashing that was bent onto the wire oven rack to the correct radius. You need to use about 325 to 350 to mold lexan. I put the piece in the oven as it was heating up to allow the plastic to slowly come up to temperature. Lexan is funny it holds it's shape until the last few degrees before it starts to become pliable. It is a very unique plastic, unlike plexiglass there is a fine window between hot enough to mold and too hot that it scorches. I ended up with a few small scorches in my peice. If I had to do it again I would probably end up with much better results.

here is the molded flashing on the oven rack.


Here are the two pieces with a semi finished shape.


I had some lens darkening spray that I wanted to add as a middle coat so the backside of the lexan is dark. I lightly buffed with 600 grit and coated the front side of the flyscreen.

here is the lens coating.


Here are the flyscreens coated and waiting to dry


I was going to go with just the darkening coat, but I didn't like the way that it shined so I decided to cover the front with 3M di noc material that I had from another project. This stuff is very durable and goes on easily, this is the carbon finish di noc
Here are the flyscreens coated and ready for a final baking




OK so you can kinda tell from the last images that the radius is a little tight. Well the nice thing with thermalplastics is they can be re-molded again and again. So here I am putting them into the oven to open up the radius and to bake on the di noc to ensure that it is permanently adhered to the lexan. This is not required with di noc since it is peel and stick however I've noticed that using a heat gun to put it on make it stick so much better. (I used this to cover and protect a laptop that I have and it worked awesome)


As soon as I have time I will be assembling them together and figuring out the mounts which should not be too difficult.

[bombsquad83]

Cool project with the fly screen.

Those springs are cheap parts.  Only $5 each new from the dealer.  I'd send both for $5 shipped if you need them.

[bombsquad83]

As promised.  Looks like the springs are about 3 3/4" long.

[Manaenrc]

As promised.  Looks like the springs are about 3 3/4" long.

Perfect thanks. Hey one more thing can you post a pic of the stock CV slide holes for comparison.

Sent from my Android World using tapatalk

[bombsquad83]

Here you go...click to enlarge.

[Manaenrc]

OK So everything in the carb is stock at this point. I've ordered a set of 5L1 needles which should help with the mid range issues. I am also going to play with both jets to dial this thing in a bit more.  The 5L1 needle is a little longer then the 5DH8 but it has multiple clip slots for adjustment. The taper on the end of the 5L1 is much more dramatic which will greatly improve the midrange lean issue.

The reason I did this is because I took my stock needles and added a 3deg taper to the end. This gave me much improved throttle response so I ordered an adjustable set that is close to what I did on the stock set since they will be more exact then what I could do with a drill and mic and 600grit. With the multiple clip slots I will be able to dial them in much better as well.

[steezin_and_wheezin]

Great progress!!!

Can't wait to see the shield idea!

[cheetahman]

I have a question.  Does the increased angle of the rear swing arm increase the pressure and thus wear rate on the nylon chain guide?

[Manaenrc]

I have a question.  Does the increased angle of the rear swing arm increase the pressure and thus wear rate on the nylon chain guide?

That was part of why I drilled the second hole on the sv650 shock I didn't like how the chain was angled when the suspension was extended all the way up. I think I am sitting at about the maximum height without modifying the chain guide setup.

This morning I finished the mount for my flyscreen and then put another 200 miles on the bike today. First off the flyscreen is great on the highway. There are times when a big gust of wind will hit you but the force against my body is greatly reduced. The wind for the most part (with the extension up) goes around my body. It hits me now at my upper chest/neck area. I put my hand up in front of my stomach and can feel almost no air pushing my hand. This is a big improvement from having no protection at all. Don't get me wrong it's not like driving a goldwing but then again this is a "real" bike that you ride (maybe in 20 years I will look at that comment differently).

Things I noted after the ride
1) I think I may add about another 1/4" of preload to the forks.
2) I may go up a setup on the main jet from 127 to 130 seem a little lean on top.

OK so here is an updated picture with the handgaurd, fork gators, and flyscreen (turn signals are on the slow boat from china)

This photo is with the flyscreen in it's down position



This is with the flyscreen up in the "highway" position

[ben2go]

I have a question.  Does the increased angle of the rear swing arm increase the pressure and thus wear rate on the nylon chain guide?

Yes.A drip oiler or more frequent chain lubing will slow it down a little.I lube my chain every 300 miles but mine is wearing fairly fast.I have a Kat 750 shock cranked up to the max preload.I have lost almost half of a new chain guide in 6500 miles.

[shonole]

I have a question.  Does the increased angle of the rear swing arm increase the pressure and thus wear rate on the nylon chain guide?

That was part of why I drilled the second hole on the sv650 shock I didn't like how the chain was angled when the suspension was extended all the way up. I think I am sitting at about the maximum height without modifying the chain guide setup.

This morning I finished the mount for my flyscreen and then put another 200 miles on the bike today. First off the flyscreen is great on the highway. There are times when a big gust of wind will hit you but the force against my body is greatly reduced. The wind for the most part (with the extension up) goes around my body. It hits me now at my upper chest/neck area. I put my hand up in front of my stomach and can feel almost no air pushing my hand. This is a big improvement from having no protection at all. Don't get me wrong it's not like driving a goldwing but then again this is a "real" bike that you ride (maybe in 20 years I will look at that comment differently).

Things I noted after the ride
1) I think I may add about another 1/4" of preload to the forks.
2) I may go up a setup on the main jet from 127 to 130 seem a little lean on top.

OK so here is an updated picture with the handgaurd, fork gators, and flyscreen (turn signals are on the slow boat from china)

This photo is with the flyscreen in it's down position



This is with the flyscreen up in the "highway" position

Man, that's slick!  You should market them.

[Manaenrc]

So I have been giving more thought to the engine guard setup. I was going to build an aluminum pan to protect the engine. however the more I think through this I think I am going to create a protector out of tube steel. This will have a few advantages over the pan but the major advantage is cooling.

With the headers running under the engine I would be concerned with heat retention. So I figure going with a tube type guard will allow much more airflow around the headers. I could tie these in with the side guards that I am going to build and hopefully end up with something that doesn't look like I just slapped a roll cage on my bike. But I am most concerned with protecting the engine from a fall or whatever object decides to fly it's way.

[Manaenrc]

Just received a delivery of needles, No I am not a crack addict, although I have been accused of being a crackpot 


anyway I though I would post a picture of what the new needles look like. For those struggling with mid range issues these will be a great cure for the midrange blues.

[bombsquad83]

Very interested to see this engine guard, and to see how those needles work out for you.

[Manaenrc]

OK so I had some time to work on the carb tune last night and this morning. Since the new needles are longer by 8mm then stock I ended up putting the clip in the bottom slot, keeping the nylon spacer and adding 2 washers. Eventually I may mill a few more adjustment slots into the needles so I can eliminate the washers .

The idle jets are 43's (yes that is custom), and the mains are 127's

Why 43's?
because I tried 40 and it was still a little lean on the roll off idle. So I drilled them out to 43.

For those who don't know, mikuni jet numbers correspond to tenths of millimeters. So when you're talking about a jet number 40 it means the opening is .40mm diameter. Same goes for main jets, a #127 main measures 1.27mm in diameter. Armed with this information you can customize your jets to any size that specifically matches the application. Home shop racers have been doing this for years. Yes it is easier to buy the jets you need. But since I already had the spare set of 37.5's from another project I drilled them to 40, then finally to 43. You can even go back if you know how to solder but this is not the place for that tutorial.

Anyway back to our regular scheduled project....
It is a bit cool right now so I kept the needle roll on (throttle roll on) a bit lean. When the temps warm up I may add another washer to the needles. But I need to wait for a warmer day to tell whether I need to do this. With the thinner tips on these needles WOT is about perfect all the way to redline so I won't need to change the main jets (at least until I make some exhaust mods)

I need to get a few more miles on the bike to really feel out the 1/8 through 3/4 throttle mixture. And I don't want to get too excited right now due to the super cool temps we are having.



So as a summary here is the details of the setup I have right now (YMMV)
K&N drop in filter
Stock exhaust
Pilot Jet #43
Main Jet #127
Needle #5L1
Needle settings - Bottom clip w/ stock nylon washer + 2 spacer washers each

[Funderb]

Why 43's?
because I tried 40 and it was still a little lean on the roll off idle. So I drilled them out to 43.

another way to help a stumbly roll off idle is to raise or lower the float height. it can be stumbly for both over-rich and over-lean.