Topic: 1981 Suzuki GS 1100E

[Kaze]

My 82' GS1100 had a shaft drive.

[Leino]

If there was one empty bike space in my shop I'd be looking for a gs1100e. They seem to be well priced right now.

We've got the silver 80' GS 1100E set up really nice now. The 81' GS 1100E needs exhaust now so we'll put a Delkevik exhaust system on. The big question is even though we rebuilt the carbs 2k miles ago and they work fine do we copy the 80' GS and replace the carbs with a set of Mikuni RS36 carbs while we're at it?

Thanks to Lenio I have 2 o-rings coming that should be the source of the 81's oil leak. Hopefully the fix is pulling the cam cover, remove one head nut at a time to replace the o-rings. There's only 2 nuts with o-rings on them. Way better than having to pull off the cylinder head.

That's usually what they need.

[Kelly E]

Today I finally got the correct o-rings for the 81' GS 1100E, Paul ordered the wrong ones the first time.
I sure hope this is fixes it, these are great bikes to ride. I have to copy the suspension settings from the 80' and fine tune it to my weight.

[grcamna2]

Today I finally got the correct o-rings for the 81' GS 1100E, Paul ordered the wrong ones the first time.
I sure hope this is fixes it, these are great bikes to ride. I have to copy the suspension settings from the 80' and fine tune it to my weight.

You getting another Delkevic 4 into 1 for it ?

[Kelly E]

Yep, the stock system is starting to tear apart. I'm still trying to decide if I get another set of RS36 carbs for it. I can't have Paul's GS 1100E be faster than mine.

[Leino]

Today I finally got the correct o-rings for the 81' GS 1100E, Paul ordered the wrong ones the first time.
I sure hope this is fixes it, these are great bikes to ride. I have to copy the suspension settings from the 80' and fine tune it to my weight.

Should be pretty easy to tell if the leak is caused by the o-rings once you have one of the nuts in your hand 

[Kelly E]

Today I finally got the correct o-rings for the 81' GS 1100E, Paul ordered the wrong ones the first time.
I sure hope this is fixes it, these are great bikes to ride. I have to copy the suspension settings from the 80' and fine tune it to my weight.

Should be pretty easy to tell if the leak is caused by the o-rings once you have one of the nuts in your hand 

Today I got everything out of the way to swap out the o-rings. It also looks like the valve cover gasket was leaking in the same place.

[Kaze]

 

[Leino]

Today I finally got the correct o-rings for the 81' GS 1100E, Paul ordered the wrong ones the first time.
I sure hope this is fixes it, these are great bikes to ride. I have to copy the suspension settings from the 80' and fine tune it to my weight.

Should be pretty easy to tell if the leak is caused by the o-rings once you have one of the nuts in your hand 

Today I got everything out of the way to swap out the o-rings. It also looks like the valve cover gasket was leaking in the same place.

Oh yes. The early 20-screw model is famous for leaking around the cam chain tunnel. That's why it was modified to 24 screws for 1982. Use a bit of sealant when you put it back together.

[Kelly E]

Today I finally got the correct o-rings for the 81' GS 1100E, Paul ordered the wrong ones the first time.
I sure hope this is fixes it, these are great bikes to ride. I have to copy the suspension settings from the 80' and fine tune it to my weight.

Should be pretty easy to tell if the leak is caused by the o-rings once you have one of the nuts in your hand 

Today I got everything out of the way to swap out the o-rings. It also looks like the valve cover gasket was leaking in the same place.

Oh yes. The early 20-screw model is famous for leaking around the cam chain tunnel. That's why it was modified to 24 screws for 1982. Use a bit of sealant when you put it back together.

Thanks for the tip.

[Kelly E]

Today we replaced the o-rings on the two front center head stud nuts. The old o-rings didn't have damage but were a bit harder than the new ones. I'm going to check the valves since it's open and I will have to use sealant. Also got the valve cover cleaned up. The new gasket is a bit thinner paper than the over crushed old one. It was crushed so hard around the cam chain tunnel that it was splitting lengthwise along both sides of the tunnel.

[denward17]

Does the GS1100 use shims for valve adjustment?

[Kelly E]

Does the GS1100 use shims for valve adjustment?

Nope, it's a 4 valve per cylinder with forked followers and dual threaded adjusters and lock nuts. Pretty simple to maintain and reliable. With RS36 carbs and a Delkevic exhaust system these bikes are beasts. I ride almost sitting on the tank when I'm hard on the throttle.

[Kelly E]

Yesterday after working on the KL 250 we managed to get the new valve cover gasket stuck to the valve cover. I swear it took 5 hands to get it on correctly. Once on I put a big metal box on it for the sealant to cure. Next I can install it and check for leaks. If the oil leaks are cured then I will order the new exhaust system and make a decision on new carbs.

[Mark1976]

   If ya get a chance,  check out the Motogpwerks pipe at Patriot racing Industries. Quality piece of exhaust plumbing, had one on my '76 cb550f, the fit and finish quality was incredible and it sings a real quality note. My next project will get one of these, a great addition.

[grcamna2]

Yesterday after working on the KL 250 we managed to get the new valve cover gasket stuck to the valve cover. I swear it took 5 hands to get it on correctly. Once on I put a big metal box on it for the sealant to cure. Next I can install it and check for leaks. If the oil leaks are cured then I will order the new exhaust system and make a decision on new carbs.

Does Musket Muffler in Australia have a muffler ?

[Kelly E]

   If ya get a chance,  check out the Motogpwerks pipe at Patriot racing Industries. Quality piece of exhaust plumbing, had one on my '76 cb550f, the fit and finish quality was incredible and it sings a real quality note. My next project will get one of these, a great addition.

I'm going to get another Delkevic exhaust system. It will be the fourth Delkevic we've bought. Nice, well made, great sounding stainless exhaust system for about $400 with great service. We've had 2 issues that were taken care of promptly.
 We put one on the 80' GS 1100E first and liked it. So we replaced the trashed Kerker on the 77' KZ 1000 LTD with one and recently put the black ceramic coated version on the blacked out 82' CB 900F after the stock system died this spring. We were going to put the regular stainless one on but my buddy made what we call an "executive decision". Buy the more expensive one just because you want to and it will look better.

[Kelly E]

Yesterday after working on the KL 250 we managed to get the new valve cover gasket stuck to the valve cover. I swear it took 5 hands to get it on correctly. Once on I put a big metal box on it for the sealant to cure. Next I can install it and check for leaks. If the oil leaks are cured then I will order the new exhaust system and make a decision on new carbs.

Does Musket Muffler in Australia have a muffler ?

This spring they wouldn't even give me a quote because they were to for behind. Maybe I'll send them another message to see if they are caught up yet. A couple of good dumps could ruin a street bike muffler quick. The boy is a rookie rider so it's likely or should I say it's going to happen.

[Kelly E]

Today I pulled the weight off the valve cover gasket and it is stuck down really well.
We have 4 bikes apart at the moment so my brain is trying to keep it all straight.

Next up on the GS 1100 will be install the valve cover, clean up the motor again and test ride. If there's no more leaks we can start buying parts for it.

[Leino]

Any news on the oil leak? 

[Kelly E]

Any news on the oil leak? 

Today we hope to get the valve cover back on. We've been making some Christmas gifts and we got distracted, but that is easy for us.
We have 5 of the bikes getting some maintenance at the moment. Still need to pull the 74' 550 head. Finish brake work on the Sabre. Pull 10cc from each side the KZ 1000 forks. Finish up the 78' KL 250.

At least I'm not bored.

[Leino]

Any news on the oil leak? 

Today we hope to get the valve cover back on. We've been making some Christmas gifts and we got distracted, but that is easy for us.
We have 5 of the bikes getting some maintenance at the moment. Still need to pull the 74' 550 head. Finish brake work on the Sabre. Pull 10cc from each side the KZ 1000 forks. Finish up the 78' KL 250.

At least I'm not bored.

Ok, cool. I got rid of a long term project last Sunday, a GT 750 police bike, only one imported to Finland officially.
Today I pulled the clutch from my TLR and disassembled two Vmax transmissions 
Not getting bored for sure 

[Kelly E]

Today we got the 81' GS 1100E running. We gave the ignition system the once over and drained the old gas from the tank and carbs. Once she spit out the cobwebs it was all good. Rev's nicely off idle and no sign of oil leaks. Just need a decent day for a test ride to make sure everything is good.

[grcamna2]

Looking forward to hearing your ride report on a nice day.

[Don R]

It's on my list of bikes to own after I thin this herd of cb750's.

 Little did I know this exact model would appear on my phone messages. I should have paid more attention to the first post here too. I might have bought the new petcock sooner.