NorthernBloke Posted January 11, 2018 Posted January 11, 2018 Evening all, I've been lurking for a while and have just recently taken delivery of this GSX1100, which some of you may have seen on Eblag, please don't tell me paid to much for it! Anyway I've had enough of sportsbikes and have took some time to decide what I really want from a bike and this fits the bill perfectly. The plan is to get it working, get it registered and ride it this summer before looking at upgrades next winter. Here are the original pictures of it and to be honest its not to bad, it's not been used for a few years according to the paperwork so will be focused on just re-commissioning it and getting it all working for now, anyway here are the pics. PS - I know the seat is horrible so no need to mention that but other constructive comments welcome Cheers 7 Quote
NorthernBloke Posted January 11, 2018 Author Posted January 11, 2018 I believe its a Corbin, for Americans ? when you sit on it ti feels like a chopper with the high ish bars and low seat. I presume your taking the p___ Quote
coombehouse Posted January 11, 2018 Posted January 11, 2018 Get the rear of the seat reshaped to lower it a little & I think it will look fine. It's not the worst I've seen in a long time Quote
Swiss Toni Posted January 11, 2018 Posted January 11, 2018 Welcome to OSS Northernbloke! That's a great model for your first 'Aircooled'! Nice colour too! Quote
Dezza Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 Has great potential. Replace seat with stock? Quote
Fjbj40 Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 That seat ruins the lines of the bike, here is mine with the factory seat. Quote
NorthernBloke Posted January 13, 2018 Author Posted January 13, 2018 Thanks for the welcome guys; ref the seat seeing as it is in great condition I will probably get it re-shaped to similar to standard - so thanks for confirming that it can be done, any recommendations for someone to do it as I do agree it ruins the lines of the bike? Also a few questions now that I've had a few days fiddling with it; 1- it has a V&H pipe but it seems to get in the way of the brake pedal, it was all loosely fitted when it arrived, come to think of it both sets of footrests were loose so not sure what that's all about. Anyway I read on the V&H adverts elsewhere that sometimes the footrests have to be modified so wonder if this is the case or is it just a case of getting the brake pedal in exactly the right position? 2- Carbs- were a real PITA to get off is there a trick to getting them back on easily with the air-box? Also while I'm on about carbs I've not looked at them yet but if they are gummed up is it worth spending money on them or better to by some newer GSXR carbs and get some more performance for similar cash to fixing the old ones? 3- Finally the engine as far as I can tell it hasn't been on the road for 5 yrs, so I will be checking as much as possible and fully servicing it but not striping and re- building - fingers crossed! Are there any specific common issues on this engine as I believe they are solid, I've heard about starter clutches, clutches and manual cam chain tensioners, is there anything else I really need to look at? Cheers in advance Quote
Fjbj40 Posted January 13, 2018 Posted January 13, 2018 Disassemble, clean then get the carbs sonic cleaned along with the internal parts. You need to have all carb clamps loose, filter airbox removed, and patience to get the airbox on The brake torque arm, the round splined bit, that the brake lever goes on has a dot on its end. The gap on the brake lever where it slides on the shaft is supposed to line up with the dot. That is as per factory, it may need changing from that? Change engine oil, throw a small drop of oil down each plug hole. Turn engine over from R/H side with 17mm 6pt socket wrench, NOT the 12mm bolt! Crank away to pump oil through the galleries before trying to start. The clutch plates may be stuck together also so be careful when you first try to engage when engine is running. Quote
NorthernBloke Posted January 13, 2018 Author Posted January 13, 2018 Thanks Fjbj40 I'll have a look for the dots on the brake pedal and clamp, didn't know about that and will also try to lower the silencer slightly if I have to be slotting the mounting hole I only need a few mm. I'm going to drop the sump and clean the strainer as well to be safe. Quote
mick-ne Posted January 14, 2018 Posted January 14, 2018 Hi and welcome, Don't worry about what you paid if your happy with the price it was the right price. Anyhow your gona spend loads more now !! 2 Quote
Dezza Posted January 14, 2018 Posted January 14, 2018 Warm the carb rubbers with a hair drier or a hot air gun set on low before removing/refitting. With practice, you can also stick them in boiling water, dry them with paper towel, then put them back and fit the carbs before they cool. The rubbers will probably have hardened over the years and new ones cost a fortune. Quote
NorthernBloke Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 Thanks for the advice Dezza they were rock hard getting them off, heating them with a heat gun seems like the best idea for the first re-fit. Mick-ne - your right I have a right list already and that's just to get it working never mind modded but as you say its for me so it needs to be how I want it. I will also apply man maths to the costs so it will all be fine in the end. Quote
NorthernBloke Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 A few more pictures I know how we all lie pictures I've had 3 days so far working on it so each picture is the end of each day, got all the big bits stripped now so I can get at everything. I'm waiting for a big box of service bits and gaskets to come and then I'll crack on with the engine checks and service. The only bummer is that I snapped one of the exhaust studs of but at least its fairly accessible so I'll probably be fighting with that for the rest of the week! 1 Quote
KATANAMANGLER Posted January 14, 2018 Posted January 14, 2018 Welcome. Nice looking ES. As it has already been said hair dryer/ heat gun and a little Vaseline on the inside of the rubbers works a treat. Push the clamps all the way back to the head to prevent them fro getting bent or caught. Unbolt the airbox and push it back. Tilt the carbs back and push the bottoms in at an angle and then just lift up straight while applying firm pressure and your in. Sitting on the bike gives you a good position for doing this. Then push the airbox forward. If your going to service the engine then you'll have the rocker off for the valve clearances so check the cams and rockers for wear. Any lack of oil or excessive miles betwween changes would show here. Be careful with the cam cap bolts if you are lifting the cams out ( you dont need to , to do the clearances. The bolts are stretched at torque so if they have been over tightened they can become brittle and snap. I torque to 9 nm. This allows you to check the journal faces for any pick up. Chances are if the rockers and lobes are good they will be too though The o rings on the front middle head bolts (tall ones that carry the oil feed) have o rings that get hard and allow oil to leak down the font fins of the barrels ( often mistaken for a head leak) Easy fix remove bolts one at a time- replace orings retorque. The bottom end is are bullet proof. Gear boxes are one of the best in the business but if it has missed one too many gears the dogs can wear and lead to it jumping out of gear under hard load. Usually second. The clutches rattle a bit as they get worn. Usually not a huge problem unless you start upping performance. I would clean the carbs. Do the valve clearances. Do a compression test and if that checks out. New plugs, oil and filter and then ride it. You'll get an idea of gearbox, clutch health and starter clutch when it's up and running. Quote
NorthernBloke Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 Great advice thanks very much, wasn't thinking of disturbing the cams unless anything is obviously amiss but will be doing the valve clearances and oiling the valve train with clean oil before i fill it up. Also Just put the battery back on after 3 days on charge and a top up of distilled water it was showing 12.8 volts after the charge but nothing doing voltage showing as 11 volts so I think its buggered, it not been used for a few years so was clutching at straws really, will connect a spare car better next time and confirm if its the battery which I strongly suspect it is as all the fuses seem good. Keep up with the great advise guys I'm getting some really helpful stuff from all of you 1 Quote
BigT Posted January 17, 2018 Posted January 17, 2018 All good advice so far,, but I have two suggestions on the carb boots: 1. There's no substitute for new, pliable boots. You will find this is the best money (other than new tires) you will spend on the bike. 2. Rather than heating, which is temporary and you're left with hard boots, I refurbish the rubber. There are several products on the market for this, but I bought a bottle of commercial wintergreen oil off the net for about $20. Mix it 1 part wintergreen oil/ 5 parts solvent. I use Xylene as recommended by others. Get a glass jar,measure in some product, drop in a boot and check it hourly until it is soft. you can then use it for all of the other rubber bits on the bike, except the carb O rings. Get those new from cycleorings.com* or a more local source. If you leave the part in the mix too long, it will expand. Just take it out and leave it on end for a day or so. It will off gas back to its original form. What we refer to as "rubber" on the bike is actually several different materials. Always check a part in the mix regularly to judge when it is soft. Some materials will actually melt if left in overnight or longer. Ask me how I know *If naming a supplier is not allowed, please let me know. The owner (not me) is a GS guy and has many satisfied customers around the world 1 Quote
Dorkburger Posted January 18, 2018 Posted January 18, 2018 Welcome, good looking ES. They have grown on me quite a lot over the years. Definitely look into the full strip and redo of the carbs even if they look decent. I thought my bike ran good, but a full carb strip / clean and installation of the noted O ring kit made a huge improvement in low speed / in town riding. Unless the carbs are severely gummed up or have damage from ham fisted POs all of the parts are generally salvageable. Quote
NorthernBloke Posted January 18, 2018 Author Posted January 18, 2018 Thanks both of you, For the carb rubbers I will make do for now as my shopping list and spend is going up and up allt he time! The carbs themselves don't seem to bed but I haven't opened them up yet but I can hear the floats rattling and the slides move freely so fingers crossed, but you'r right they need doing properly. when I've finished the engine and electrics I'll crack on with the Carbs, I'm staying with them because they should be already jetted for the V&H pipe it came with so I expect that's the simplest hence cheapest option for now. Quote
Captain Chaos Posted January 18, 2018 Posted January 18, 2018 1 hour ago, NorthernBloke said: my shopping list and spend is going up and up allt he time! welcome to the world of OldSkool Suzuki's Quote
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