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oh y'know, just another build thread.

Started by iamhiding, November 29, 2015, 10:08:04 PM

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iamhiding

this build is something I've been thinking about and planning since i got my gs back in early 2012, it's changed a lot in my mind but its pretty awesome to finally get a chance to build on my ideas.

the back story:
so throughout 2012 i spent more time than i can account fixing, modding and generally making the gs, my first road going bike pretty damn tidy not to mention quick for what it is. used to spend a lot of time on this forum but it has been a while! late 2012 i wasn't paying attention and put the bike down on a corner (long story short), whilst out heating up the gungum to set/seal on the new exhaust (go figures) ended up with bent bars, twisted frame, potentially bent forks, all the usual damage when you crash a bike really & soft tissue damage to my shoulder. put me off the road for a couple of month anyway, picked myself up a tidy 98' cbr600 shortly after and the gs has been left sitting on the back burner ever since. spent a year on the cbr, same story over again and the cbr project started going overboard, got a build thread on the cbrforum if anyones interested. proceeded to buy a cheap thunderace fighter as a runabout last winter, same again became a rolling project and well it ended with it damn near killing me in the summer, 2 weeks in hospital, 5 fractured vertebrae, collapsed lung, knackered arm, totalled bike. i was out for a shralp, favourite left hander, knee down and the back wheel skipped out on me at silly speeds... and i mean silly speeds. good fun really haha

so couple of month off the bike... gs still lying waiting for the cbr build to be finished and the cbr needing copious amounts of time spent and I'm still recovering and just doing what little i can, wound up essentially inheriting a watercooled gsxr11 which I've been using whilst sorting the cbr out. winters struck, the roads are gritted and the gsxr is far too good to ruin on salty roads. the cbr is very close to being roadworthy and although the plan was to run it over the winter this year, its just far too good to ruin all that time and effort.

i had no intention of starting this gs project until i could get a decent run at it and bash it out really but its not the way my cards have been dealt unfortunately, i'm going to have to get it on the road this winter. yes, i ride all year round in scotland, no i don't have a car. either way i thought this was as good a time as any to start documenting the build as its about to get rebuilt from the ground up onto a new frame.

this was originally going to be built up for my sister getting her license, its a still mine but you can use it and do whatever you want with but not sell it situation but I'm not sure what she's wanting to do anymore so i guess it can be my winter bike in the meantime.

I've had some quick bikes and I've spent a lot of time on them but the gs has to be one of the most fun bikes I've owned, it was my first an i plan on keeping it forevermore as a runabout.

//

what I'm aiming for is a bit of a flattracker/fighter/cafe/race hybrid, it takes some stylistic influences from all of them but it will be clean & tasteful more than anything else.

the original intention was to use the entire cbr600 f3 front end I've got lying around :icon_lol: but with the gsxr i ended up getting a spare set of 750wp usds as well, fairly sure they use a 320mm disk, I've got a set of blue spot callipers from the ace' that will be absolute overkill as they were brutal on a bike weighing 225kg never mind a little gs. just need to get a wheel and disks really and make it all work.

planning on using the steel cbr 600 swingarm, wheel etc so i can actually run some decent 160 rubber, this is purely for function, not for looks, it'll look pretty sweet however. i also have an alloy ace' swingarm sitting and access to a vfr750 sssa although I'm not sure about it. just need to eye things up and get some measurement to see whats realistic.

other than that which is fairly major, looking at an under engine exhaust setup, exposed subframe and geneerally stripped right down to basics to shed as much weight as i can.

engine wise, contemplating a big bore kit on the gs motor. currently got pre 2001 2 circuit carbs, think they're 33mm off the top of my head, curious as to wether the 3 circuit (1mm bigger) 34's from the later model might be worthwhile. possibly some high velocity intake porting...  :icon_mrgreen: i guess I've got a lot of things id like to do lolz going to gear it right up to do about 100mph top speed, the gs struggles above 100 anyway. this bike is for darting about backroads, making noise and possibly a trackway or two to see if it'll run rings round the biker bikes, no long hauls or anything. light, cheap, chuckable fun. currently on 14/43 gearing if i mind right, probably looking to be in the territory of 14/45.

//

so, thats kind of the basics of where i foresee the build going, i was going to list what already been done and throw some pics up but its 5.08am and i should probably catch some sleep. pictures to follow. :thumb:

//

heres a link to my main project at the moment, the cbr6 - http://cbrforum.com/forum/cbr-600f3-17/build-time-p%3D-152895/
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding



as i got her, bog standard, tidy enough but just a little rough around the edges.



this was her kind of halfway through my use, tidied up, braided lines, brakes rebuilt and general service, converted to renthal bars, can't remember what top yoke i used though, number plate / mudguard cut down, wee indicators. just the general things to tidy it up and make it a better bike.

after that she got re-geared on renthals when i done the chain and sprockets to 14/44 i think it was, that made a hell of a difference.

k&n lunchbox, rejetted to suit.

ignition advanced.

old leaky vacuum petcock replaced with a 01+ unit.

fuel lines / filter

120/70 pilot road up front and a 150/70 pilot road on the back, now yes it looked better and yes the bike felt more stable in high speed corners, experienced less headshake for sure but the 150 just wasn't suited on that rim, perhaps at the time i wasn't riding hard enough to make full use of the tyre width but in retrospect i really shouldn't have done it. not going to explain the ins and outs of tyre pinching as theres plenty of other info online. ps seriously, don't go bigger than +1 size, 140 is the way to go on the standard rim.

shorty levers, if i remember correctly i used a GSR600 (not gsxr) clutch perch and cbr 600 levers as the brake lever works out to be the same as the gs one. lots of cross referencing parts numbers to figure that one out.

aftermarket gsxr rear pegs modified to fit the front, can't remember what generation i used, probably SRAD.

had to do both wheel bearings and the head bearings.

forks rebuilt with 15weight oil and a couple of small preload spacers, damn that transformed the bike! wasn't a spongey mess after that.

remus exhaust and link for a f1/jellymould cbr 600, sounded mean as hell. rejet to suit, ran very well but it was still slightly on the lean side. can't remember what size of main i was on. possibly a 150...



150 rear and that remus can, cbr lurking in the background as well.



post crash, all in all it doesn't look to be terrible does it but the frames is twisted, albeit not visibly you can feel it when you run your hand over it.



colossal dent in the tank, such a shame as i reckon it is the nicest colour for the gs.



just to show bar width, it was a set or trials bars, mad wide and made the bike turn in so quickly in comparison to the clip ons. also used gn125 clamps upside down to create a riser on the yoke to allow me to raise the forks through a little more. could have used any set of 7/8'' risers, they're basically all the same thing. the heated grips were a recent addition just to help through winter and some r&g bar ends.

and i think that is about it for a recap of where i am. really wish i had a pic in her prime. probably forgotten about loads of bits and pieces.

got some bits coming this week for her ;) ready for the teardown and rebuild next weekend.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

#2
update time!

got something kinda shiny in the post the other day ;)



certainly not pretty but it will clean up well whenever i have the time.



viper can as well, bit scabby looking but once again it will tidy up well.



cant complain, it cost me less than what an okay looking standard system would, much cheapness.



this little doohickey as well, mechanical to digital speedo cable converter for the koso db01r I'm robbing from the other project.

//



spent about 15 hours yesterday, rebuilding her. engine ready to be dropped. i say ''dropped'' but its more like twisted, wriggled, shouted at, jiggled then prised out of place  :icon_rolleyes: what a farce.



gs acrobatics :wink: just tearing it down.



engine in the new frame :D



swingarm, forks and a few other bits back on. new exhaust fitted as well.



having a play with battery positioning, note the yellow bit poking out from behind the carbs and under the tank.



will likely make a tray up for stashing it in there in the future but this is just a quick rough build at the moment.

[

pulled the carbs for a clean, they weren't as bad as i was expecting, almost no varnish but the jets were blocked up.

k&n lunchbox and an open can, currently jetted to 40 pilot / 150 main and 3 turns out on the mixture screw. we'll see how that is on the new exhaust, before it was a smidge too lean on the remus.



bowls and floats were a bit stained, nothing too bad really.



edge of the cap cracked on removal, not a biggie as I've got a spare set for parts... haven't seen the spares in 2 or so years right enough haha shall have to have a hunt.



tightens down enough, there isn't a vacuum leak but its not ideal.



split in this t-section, at least its not fuel think its just a breather or overflow possibly but i doubt the latter.



and boom, back together. 15 hours later, back where i started. would've taken a lot longer if i didn't have the brother giving me a hand with the engine... that was a nightmare. other than the engine, it was relatively painless just because it was a well worked on bike before it got parked up.

we damaged the front engine mount bolt so that has to be replaced but its holding it in place for now. the rear upper engine mount bolt is knackered as well. i'll see what i can find to replace them online.

unfortunately i didn't get a chance to properly check out the ace' shock, at a glance its roughly 2'' longer though and seems to share the same clevis styles.

//



current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

spent a bit more time on it today,

i have a set of twin dominators lying about, generally I'm not a fan of them but i thought id try them out.





not loving them and they're just positioned all wrong, sitting too far away from the forks as well. prefabs they wouldn't look so bad if they were black and slightly more subtle.



original gs headlight on a set of aftermarket clamps, just trying out clamp orientation.



clamp sits much better like that.



yep much better.



koso db01r+ mounted to the bars the best i could with the brace in the way. not going to faff about making a bracket for it to sit behind the bars this now.



its barely noticeably from the back of the bike but it really seems to leave the space of the original clocks a bit sparse.



rerouted all the connectors to their original place inside the headlight which tidied up this area, makes life much easier really.



the cable routing and underneath the ignition barrel sits the speedo convertor, difficult to see though.



front master cylinders internals may have taken damage with the force of the crash pressing the lever right back in, at the moment the lever rattles about and engages the brake light and has a very firm feel about it, almost like an on/off switch and no modulation, will see what i can do to salvage it but taking note of the 1/2 bore size to see what else I've got lying around.

had it running for a while as well, i'll post a video shortly.

//

so still to do:

front master cylinder / perch.
rebuild seized rear brake.
refit chain when new link arrives (had to cut the chain off the old frame you see)
refit original battery tray for the time being.
wire new speedo in and program it.
relocate horn.

then its just a case of making sure everything is torqued up and taking it for its MOT. should have a winter bike at that and the foundations of a build.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

#4
wee video of it running, starts on the button :D



open race can so its plenty loud but its not quite as obnoxious or as antisocial :flipoff: as id like ;) so i'll likely make it into a stubby when its back on the road I've got some time to play with. probably get another can out of it to be fair as its quite long.

stainless headers felt much lighter than the wrapped standard mild steel ones i had previously and the can is much lighter than the remus as it has a heavy road style reflection baffle. weight loss is always a bonus.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

#5
couple of things.



thunderace shock, seems to be about 330mm eye to eye.



top eye, 22.5 - 25mm hard to tell from the pic in retrospect.



inside of bottom clevis, 27.5 - 30 mm. yet again difficult to tell in pics

//

so when you check out this image of the sv shock on the wiki http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Upgrades.RearShock you'll see that from the top of the eye to roughly where you need to redress the holes is 13'' and I'm getting 13'' ish from eye to eye so thats good, i offered up the ace shock to the top of the gs one and both mounts at the top seem to be the same size, as its on the bike i haven't checked the bottom but I'm optimistic and well it shouldn't take much to make it work if somethings slightly amiss.

//

the thunderace petcock bolts are 30mm apart as are the gs's :) the benefit of using this petcock is that it has a proper lever for turning the fuel off when removing the tank. the  downside being that there isn't a reserve line, its only on or off and because of its location its only accessible with the tank off meaning i'll still need to run a vacuum petcock further down the line or find an inline off / on. I've got the petcock sitting so why not give it a go, also have a vfr 750 petcock sitting with a reserve, yet to measure it up though.





had a look inside the tank and well this is what happens when you leave a tank sitting without any fuel in it... going to sort that over the weekend with a spot of electrolysis.



hadn't planned on touching the exhaust for now but i got some new scotchbrite like sanding pads and i tried them out. mirka mirlon ultra fine 1500 grit, brought it up in less than 5 mins, not to a proper finish as i was only testing the pads. the pads are really flexible which is unusual but they form well to whatever you're sanding, check them out they're pretty nice to use.



close up of where i stopped for comparison, going to stubby the can just before that deep scratch, its just over halfway on the can, so i'll get 2 nice stubbys out of it.



found the original battery tray and returned all the electrics to their place for now just as a quick fix to get it on the road. also fitted a bar end mirror i had lying around but it just looks ridiculous with the width of those massive bars. cut down the new numberplate thats relative to the new frame, its got an extra character over the plate i had previously which makes it look enormous in comparison but yeah not one for showing plates online.

//

turns out that the cbr 600 f3 front master cylinder and the gs's are identical 1/2'' nissin items which is a bonus. was going to experiment with the ace's 14mm master but it uses a massive reservoir pot (that i can't find) and sits miles above, doesn't look clean on a naked bike.

rear brake seals arrived today as did the new chain link so very very soon its going to be in a runnable condition again.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

#6


tonights job, front engine mount and chain. possibly back brake as well dependant on time. going to stubby the can if i can find my hacksaw as well.

its a engine bolt from a gsxr750 slingshot that uses the same size. m10 x and i can't remember its length off the top of my head.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

home from the shed at 1.38am this morning, not as late as i usually am up there but got a few bits done.



dirty chain...



oh, clean chain! amazing what some petrol and brush will do.



back on the bike and greased. just used a clip link but it was being awkward. spent about an hour and a half forcing the end plate on enough to get the clip in. must have have a little bit of dirt in there to cause that but it can't be helped in a dirty dusty shed unfortunately. but hey its back on.  :icon_mrgreen:



back brake is a different story, look at the state of the pistons... they were never great but being parked up so long took its toll. cleaned then up best i could, to a point where there was pitting but nothing protruding then polished them.



burst a new seal whilst putting one back in. gutted but thats the first proper problem area on the bike so far, seized bolts galore and the usual seized brake pad pins. pistons aren't really cheap to replace but needs must, 2 pistons almost cover the cost of a refurbed calliper so i might just do that, we shall see though.

pheeewww, what a long night achieving almost nothing.  :icon_neutral: little bit closer i guess.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

so, still to do:

front master cylinder / perch.

replace rear brake pistons or calliper.

wire new speedo in and program it.

relocate horn.

remove rust from tank.

wheelies!  :icon_mrgreen:
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

The Buddha

O ring chains will be ruined by petrol.
The T fitting at the top rear of the carbs (yours had a rip in it a few posts back) is an air entry vent and its how gas exits the carbs when you drop the bike.
Cool.
Buddha.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I run a business based on other people's junk.
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iamhiding

Quote from: The Buddha on December 12, 2015, 08:44:33 AM
O ring chains will be ruined by petrol.
The T fitting at the top rear of the carbs (yours had a rip in it a few posts back) is an air entry vent and its how gas exits the carbs when you drop the bike.
Cool.
Buddha.

good call on the o-ring chains, i didn't know that cheers man, suppose it'll kill all the grease around the o-rings, good thing mines is x-ring :confused: mainly just the plates rather than the rollers but its the easiest thing for cleaning them when they're really bad. always grease them up afterwards and oil them every 100 mile as well. not too concerned.

and ahhh is that what it is  :thumb: knew it was for something like that overflow or breather although i didn't see the need for a breather.

just me or is the forum a bit quieter than it used to be Buddha?
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding



pistons polished and front brake rebuilt

completley forgot to take pics of the cbr master cylinder beside the gs one, they're not identical and the banjo bolt is a different pitch, used the gs pivot bolt no problem though.



had to use the cbr bolt on the left rather than the stainless gs one.



back together and bled in, is it just me or do the gs brakes take an age to bleed in! dread to think how much brake fluid i went through.



threw some wee smoked indicators on that i had lying around, the faux-carbon is tacky but its really barely noticeable especially with the smoked lenses. had to use the luggage rail holes that the tail plastics would normally pop into as the holes in the mudguard were too big and i couldn't find anything to space it out lolz but it works.



and the front mounted in place of the headlight bolts, protrude further than id like but it doesn't matter too much, still much less protrusion than the original indicators by far. also mounted the horn back in its original location this now, plan on making a bracket to mount it in beside the coils though.



currently in the process of using electrolysis on the tank to remove rust. hopefully that will be finished tonight.



started stubbing my exhaust last night, the saw i was using was like jelly sense the terrible cut...   :icon_neutral: should've waited to get the right tools! but clever me persevered lolz



redrew the line and left it for the night, one point was 1/4 of a inch out. never messed up a cut quite that bad on an exhaust before anyway.



recut it today with a better saw / dremel, muuuuuch tidier! bang n the line actually. got the right size of stainless rivets to match the viper ones and keep it looking tidy and yeah thats about it. one 9'' stubby can :D hopefully get to hear it tomorrow if the tank is finished tonight.

[/url]

the gs and the cbr build sitting side by side looking pretty similar actually haha not had much time to send on it with having to do the gs though.



and thats my daily 1100 officially off the road for winter and into heated storage, ill have to find some time to get a few bits done on her over winter as well. late water-cooled 750 braced swingarm going on it, regearing it, carbs to clean, wheels to paint / polish and tyres to do. busy busy.

//

wound up buying a refurbed calliper as it was cheaper than replacing both pistons unfortunately so i'll get that on next week then its just the speedo to wire in and program and were good to MOT! =D (well assuming the tank turns out alright lolz) don't see there being anything it could fail or or even any advisories as the bike really is spot on despite looking a bit rough with a dented tank and no tail plastics. been offered a set of renthals for nothing so that will replace the old bent ones, shame they won't be as wide as the trials ones though.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

well, went out a 2am to go rinse the tank out, can't leave it sitting overnight in the shed I'm using unfortunately, its open air but the owner isn't keen on it although its no more dangerous than charging a battery when you take the right precautions. makes leaving a the tank being long enough a bit tedious.



its not perfect, its removed all the surface rust, made a huge effort on the most of it and obviously left all the usual black harmless debris, theres a couple of very small dark patches out of reach of the camera call it 1cm2 but for now its more than clean enough, will likely replace the dented tank if i can't pull the dents anyway and at least a rusty fuel mix won't be piling into the carbs.

replacing the fuel lines / filter today and hopefully get a sound check in.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

well, new fuel lines and filter. i'll have to grab a pic of the old filter as it was heinous! bike was hard starting, good spark both sides but the left float bowl wasn't getting any fuel, strange but I'm guessing it was stuck shut for some reason never experienced that before, usually they stick open if anything, flipped the carbs over gave them a quick spray out, put them back on and the bike fired on the button. :thumb:

Untitled

^^ wee vid of it running with the stubby can, good deep, burbley twin sounds. perhaps not as harsh or loud as i was expecting with past experiences with cans that short but its a still a good sound, obviously the video doesn't do it any justice. the hole someone drilled for a baffle gives off the slightest whispering sound, not bad just unusual once you notice it, probably put a dod of instant gasket over it. part of me wants to pop the can back open and remove the packing haha but yeah it wouldn't be a good move would it, for the sake of 4 rivets i might give it a shot sometime in the future, see what its like out on the road first though but loud noises just add to the fun factor I'm going for with this build.

suspect it will need a sly rejet, up to a 152 main, possibly even one size up on that because it was a tad on the lean side before with with a 150 on the slightly more restrictive, reactive (chambered) remus can. just have to wait and see really.

//

so i can't remember if i said but I've purchased a refurbed calliper now for slightly more than the cost of 2 new pistons, really don't like doing it that way but this one time its made sense to.

also my spare battery from the cbr isn't going to fit in the gs's battery tray unfortunately so I've ordered a cheap one just for the sake of getting on the road again. yet again the plan is to stash the electrics/battery up out the way to leave the subframe open and exposed. no time to faff about making a tray up at the moment. the battery and the calliper are both expenses i really could of done without though.

//

all going well i can insure it and book an mot for the end of the week :D :D :D
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

Daeouse

Looks like some awesome work! Well done!
Jon "MotoSquirrel"
2009 Yamaha V-Star 950
My Blog!

iamhiding

Quote from: Daeouse on December 15, 2015, 10:08:07 PM
Looks like some awesome work! Well done!

cheers man, nice to get a bit of feedback :D just getting her back to a state of usability at the moment, nothing out of the ordinary at the moment but I've big plans come summer time ;)

//

wee update:

new battery is on charge hahaha important things going on at this end, honest ;) hopefully my refurbed calliper turns up tomorrow and i can get the bugger bled in and take the bike for a wee test run up some backroads.  :angel:  :police:
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

brake calliper still hasn't turned up :sad: done a few other bits and pieces in the meantime.



moved all the relays and connecters into here to get them off the side of the bike, its tight but it works.



wired in some 50w resistors for the indicators, thats them flashing at the correct rate after the led indicators. pretty half assed to be honest, because of the wiring harness being moved things were a bit tighter and the bullet connections for the rhs indicator fell directly under support for the seat making it impossible to work on them where the were so i went over the top... poor practice as was the linesman splicing rather than crimping bullet connectors onto the resistors. needed the bullet terminals i had left for the speedo as it is a bit cramped inside the headlight for big connector blocks. needs must eh.



just the R/R left on the side, eventually it will be relocated though so that there are no electrics sitting exposed.



speedo wired up, bit of a pain but theres an internal short which causes the Neutral light to always remain on and somethings up with the indicator idiot lights now so it doesn't flash with the indicators. no biggie, i guess ill just keep the half knackered one on the gs and get a new one on the cbr. note mileage is for the cbr, need to find the speedo change it to the correct mileage, its around 30thou.



note: the easiest way to undo the plastic screw for the bulbs in brake lights is a set of water pump pliers, yeah changed a bulb and replaced the headlight bulb as well. theres a few odds and sods that just don't warrant pics

//

so at that, i programmed the speedo, its a bit of trial and error but it should be right or close then proceeded for a run up some backroads just to make sure the bike was working minus the back brake haha

initial thoughts: the front brake is better than i remember with a braided line, the steering is very light... in fact almost too light, the head bearings might need just a little nip up although there doesn't seem to be movement. chirpy enough little motor and you really can lamp it into low speed corners like nothing else! also 1st gear feels really really short when your used to bikes that'll do 80 in first  :icon_lol: the exhaust sounds mean when under load  :icon_mrgreen:

so the bike felt like it dropped onto one cylinder, struggled and then died about 5-600 yards out the village on the return journey, wouldn't start, had a look at the side of the road and there was fuel sitting in the filter, left it for a minute before trying to start again and no luck so it was a short push home...

it was pitch black and i could see car lights coming up behind me for ages, as they were drawing closer I'm thinking please don't be the police please don't be the police :icon_rolleyes: as i come in under the streetlights and pop up onto the pavement i check over my shoulder and guess what...  :police:  :police:  :police: crawl past at about 5mph scoping me out before proceeding to stop at the junction another 500-600 yards down the road and hover around. i turn down a side street, which is the way i was headed anyway, dart down it and get the bike into the shed :D not sure what they were up to but they certainly lingered on a bit. :bowdown: can't believe i didn't get stopped as a test run before sorting out any paperwork would have been heavier than just a slap on the wrists i can tell you that... fuuuuuuuuuck, heart in mouth stuff. crazy though, i live out in the middle of nowhere and I've never seen them on that road before, what are the chances of that :cheers:

so whilst in the shed (hoping no one comes knocking) i get the tool box out, tested for spark and it was all good, check the fuel filter again and although theres fuel in it there was a 10mm air gap from the top inside which struck me as unusual as normally they fill completely. pulled the carbs again, bowls were clean and no sings of obstruction, sprayed the jets out anyway for good measure, let the bowls fill again and tried to start it again with no luck... now I'm thinking that theres fuel going in and theres good spark WTF. check around the head and rocker gasket to see if its failed and nope.



do a quick compression test and get 75psi then 100 on the left and on the right 75 then 100 again so at least its consistent. its just a push on style one so perhaps there was a little leakage. I've got a screw in attachment but its a bit notchy when you screw it in and i don't want to knacker any threads. put everything back together, hit the button just before I'm about to leave and boom it fires up first crank. what is it playing at haha  :cookoo:



so i check the workshop manual when i get home and find that compression is meant to be 142-199 psi, calling for a teardown if its under 142 anywhere down the 114 limit. hmm... i then read that you're meant to keep the throttle wide open whilst doing this, something i failed to do  :icon_rolleyes: so although i got low readings i suspect it will be within spec with the throttle open. shall find out tomorrow.

went and picked up the bike from the shed once i had seen the  :police: weren't lingering round (paranoid i know) and on the 50 second ride tops it certainly didn't feel like the motor was lacking anything, it felt strong.

//

so my only thought on the matter is fuel starvation. previously i experienced this and upgraded the old vacuum petcock to a newer 01+ item and solved it. it didn't really feel like starvation from what i remember of it from years ago but its a fairly reasonable guess as it matches the symptoms to some degree. could just be acting up because theres not enough fuel in the tank to push it through the lines although there is fuel in the tank, the air gap in the filter also leads me to think that. perhaps filters don't always fully fill and I've never noticed before. just a bit odd. maybe its down to the thunderace petcock I'm running on the tank but it flows freely enough. also going to replace the vacuum petcock with a straight forward on/off inline one. in the meantime I'm going to run the fuel line straight from the tank through the filter to the carbs, just means i'll have to squeeze under the tank to turn it off whilst not in use. i'll also throw a small jerrycan of fuel in before i go for the mot, not going to risk test rides up there again :icon_eek:

hopefully its just fuelling, i mean it ran totally fine until it started bogging out. and spontaneously started working again, presumably once the bowls properly filled again. the other alternative is electrical and well it had spark on both sides yet refused to start, kill switches can be ruled out as they would also stop the starter from spinning on the gs and that wasn't an issue. I'm well versed with the electrical side of things and it all seems fine there.

heres hoping the calliper turns up tomorrow so i can sort everything out before everyone shuts up for xmas holls next week.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

still waiting on the calliper... losing my mind haha  :sad:

yeah threw a jerry can in the tank and risked another ride, ran absolutely fine so it must have been starving with there not being enough fuel in there, still should've been more than enough. sounds mean and well yeah damn I've missed having the gs going!

quick compression test w/ WOT returned a 145(ish) on both sides :thumb: so its at the bottom end of its spec 142-199 psi but its running healthy enough.

checked the plugs and its definitely running a spot lean on 150s / 3turns out so I'm about to order some 152.5s and maybe 155s afterwards, running fine enough though.

also did a couple of wee things like cable tie wires, adjust the chain blah blah blah lolz

one thing to note that its very difficult to read RPM on that gauge and the speedo isn't close as i squeezed like 87mph out of 6th when its geared to be 122.8mph (give or take) at 11thou redline in 6th and it used to do it, then again i couldn't tell if it were near redline lolz but she didn't have anything left to give, I'm about 78-81 kg so its not like I'm all that heavy, so i'll have to play with the numbers and find means of calibrating it a bitty closer.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

Daeouse

Glad that small crisis was averted.  :wink: :police:

Good to hear the compression got sorted out (somehow), and interesting to hear about the weird gas gremlin. . . :confused:
Jon "MotoSquirrel"
2009 Yamaha V-Star 950
My Blog!

iamhiding

Quote from: Daeouse on December 20, 2015, 12:33:53 PM
Glad that small crisis was averted.  :wink: :police:

Good to hear the compression got sorted out (somehow), and interesting to hear about the weird gas gremlin. . . :confused:

yeah man... i think i woudve been in a spot of bother :icon_rolleyes: think i forgot how to breathe for a couple of minutes, so intense!

compression was me being daft having never tested it before, had no idea about needing to hold the throttle open. there was me thinking the gs had nothing left it could teach me lol

fuel. when i was working on the bike, testing compression, cleaning the carbs etc after that nearly it was on prime so it mustve just taken a while to refill the bowls i guess. its strange but the gs is known for its petcock problems. also figured out that the air gap in the filter is just because its sitting horizontally, nothing to worry about but its strange that it doesn't completely fill.

its basically all good to go just need the brake so i can MOT it, sort out insurance and tax.

hopefully i can pull the dents out the tank, that would be cool. then paintstrip/laquer it. as for a winter bike its going to be some amount of fun sliding around on something so light and flickable.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

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