Topic: Don's 81 GS1100e happy Suzuki.

[Don R]

 I have the tank upside down and am cycling one gallon of Evaporust through it to try to get the gas cap opening. It drizzles out the vent so that's open. The gas that came out was red and had red and black some paint chips in it from when someone stripped the paint previously. This old gal has been around a bit. I'm seeing where a wiring harness was spliced back on and taped. The brakes flushed out well even with brown fluid and so far, no sticky calipers. 

[Kelly E]

I have the tank upside down and am cycling one gallon of Evaporust through it to try to get the gas cap opening. It drizzles out the vent so that's open. The gas that came out was red and had red and black some paint chips in it from when someone stripped the paint previously. This old gal has been around a bit. I'm seeing where a wiring harness was spliced back on and taped. The brakes flushed out well even with brown fluid and so far, no sticky calipers.

We had to replace the front master cylinders on both of the GS's, couldn't get the pistons out to rebuild them. All the rest came apart nicely.
My 81' tank has been lined with something silver. So far no sign of lifting. I have to find a right side cover, black would be nice but even a decent repop would work since it's going to be ridden not polished. some of the parts are hard to find, we got spoiled with parts availability on Hondas and the KZ 1000.

[seanbarney41]

My '82 has never had the airbox since I have had it and yeah, lots of empty wasted space above the battery.  As a result battery service is a bit of a chore, as you have to at least lift the rear of the tank to sneak the battery out.  Mine still has stock carbs, which somehow, are some of the best performing carbs of any bike I own.  Seriously perfect jetting with the big oval K&N's.  I suspect the o.g. owner installed a Dynojet or Factory Pro kit or something.  I have never had to touch those carbs.

[grcamna2]

My '82 has never had the airbox since I have had it and yeah, lots of empty wasted space above the battery.  As a result battery service is a bit of a chore, as you have to at least lift the rear of the tank to sneak the battery out.  Mine still has stock carbs, which somehow, are some of the best performing carbs of any bike I own.  Seriously perfect jetting with the big oval K&N's.  I suspect the o.g. owner installed a Dynojet or Factory Pro kit or something.  I have never had to touch those carbs.

Sean,do you still use a 'level sensor' on your battery that hooks up to the red warning light on the dash?  I eventually removed the warning light bulb from my dash(when i had the bike in the late 90's)but also found a thread-in sensor to install into any YB14L-A2.
I think I still have it new in the package:never installed it.
I liked that feature and the fuel gauge;I miss that bike.
I had a drag race machinist work on the crank then weld it,port the head then bore the cylinders for my Wiseco 1170 kit. I had Mega-cycle cams with Mikuni RS carbs.
I had it on a resort island off Cape Cod where the speed limit was a Max of 45mph...   

[Don R]

 I'd bet zero to 45 was a hoot!

 The Evaporust gimmick worked a charm. I came home from a family get together and went out to re-cycle the drainage from the vent back into the tank. I grabbed the key and Voila!! it opened. Next, I'll plug the opening for the petcock and fill it to the top with The Evaporust that I have and maybe buy a new jug since the gallon got spilled a little and now what's left stinks like bad gas.
  My current plan is to clean the carbs tomorrow night and ride it the next time it isn't raining or frozen out.

[grcamna2]

I'd bet zero to 45 was a hoot!

 The Evaporust gimmick worked a charm. I came home from a family get together and went out to re-cycle the drainage from the vent back into the tank. I grabbed the key and Voila!! it opened. Next, I'll plug the opening for the petcock and fill it to the top with The Evaporust that I have and maybe buy a new jug since the gallon got spilled a little and now what's left stinks like bad gas.
  My current plan is to clean the carbs tomorrow night and ride it the next time it isn't raining or frozen out.

45?  who goes 45?     I just kept my eyes in the mirrors 

I'm glad to hear your fuel tank cap opened-up 

Don,you might also take off the top cover and pour some Marvel Mystery oil around each one of the 16 valve(springs)stems,then spin the engine over until your sure it's all smooth,adjust the valves,etc.
I hope your top cover isn't warped.

[seanbarney41]

My '82 has never had the airbox since I have had it and yeah, lots of empty wasted space above the battery.  As a result battery service is a bit of a chore, as you have to at least lift the rear of the tank to sneak the battery out.  Mine still has stock carbs, which somehow, are some of the best performing carbs of any bike I own.  Seriously perfect jetting with the big oval K&N's.  I suspect the o.g. owner installed a Dynojet or Factory Pro kit or something.  I have never had to touch those carbs.

Sean,do you still use a 'level sensor' on your battery that hooks up to the red warning light on the dash?  I eventually removed the warning light bulb from my dash(when i had the bike in the late 90's)but also found a thread-in sensor to install into any YB14L-A2.
I think I still have it new in the package:never installed it.
I liked that feature and the fuel gauge;I miss that bike.
I had a drag race machinist work on the crank then weld it,port the head then bore the cylinders for my Wiseco 1170 kit. I had Mega-cycle cams with Mikuni RS carbs.
I had it on a resort island off Cape Cod where the speed limit was a Max of 45mph...   

the battery level sensor has been lit since I started running sealed agm batteries and yeah, I still have a panic attack every once in a while when I forgot that that huge red warning light will always be lit.  I am scared to take the big dash apart to remove the bulb.  Don, you might find that compared to a Honda, the Suzuki electrical system is kinda strange...and intimidating.

[grcamna2]

Sean,the top-cover of your 82' Z model comes off directly upward when you remove the screws from the back;I removed the top(outer)case/cover 'face-plate' while the gauges were still mounted to the bike  and everything else just sits,mounted intact below that cover.
Then remove the bulb straight out;it's the push-in type.

[Don R]

 I do find the 80's bike electrical excessively busy. I bought an 850 Yamaha once that refused to start. The fuse box had so much voltage drop the ignition wasn't getting enough power to fire the plugs.  My KZ1000 ltd also had some issues that were cured by buying the components from a part-out and swapping them one at a time. I eventually made everything work after finding a broken wire in the harness.
  I'm still pretty enthusiastic about the GS but admit to being spoiled by this forum and all of the cb750 support there is everywhere.

[Leino]

We got my 81' GS 1100E up and running today. We cleaned up the ignition system connections, drained the old gas from the tank and carbs. A bit of battery charger and it is running. Now I need a decent day for a test ride. No sign of oil leaks so far after replacing the valve cover gasket and the o-rings on the two front center cylinder head nuts. Thanks Leino!

We resurrected this bike 4 years ago and Glen only put 2k miles on it since then. I just have to adjust the suspension for me and give it the once over.

You are welcome 

[Mark1976]

   Damn fine bike ya got there, one thing at a time. And the point about Yamaha's and their electrical issues is spot on, I've owned 4 of them and every freaking one had more than a few gremlins to chase down and away. My 79 Daytona, by far the most fun of the bunch, had several electrical issues and even after fixing them, I was still never convinced it was a reliable ride. Have a Merry Christmas...

[Don R]

 I made a block off plate and filled the tank with vinegar, it's cheap so I have already used it a couple times to make the more expensive Evaporust that comes next last longer. This will be the last go around for it.

[Don R]

  Don, you might also take off the top cover and pour some Marvel Mystery oil around each one of the 16 valve(springs)stems,then spin the engine over until your sure it's all smooth,adjust the valves,etc.
I hope your top cover isn't warped.
[/quote]

 That sounds like a good idea, the bike is pretty clean and dry, and I don't see signs of any leakage. I did wash it before unloading it but it really didn't have much that needed attention except a few years of dust. The rain had pretty much taken care of that. A trash bag and rubberbannnnnd did a good job of covering the gauges and headlight. That rubber band really stretched out didn't it?

[Don R]

 The brass and float bowls are in the ultrasonic cleaner, when I pulled the carbs off and walked to the bench with them there was a piece of rubber hanging on a carb. I thought a carb rubber had torn off. It turned out to be a rubber spacer because the 29's are smaller than what it came with. "Phew" that was a surprise.
 The chain is a little tight, it will get backed off a turn or so. The chain guard and brake strut got polished, as did the points cover. Same as Honda, it needed the paint removed to buff out the corroded spots.
 My big brother was a bike mechanic I'll get him to come over and coach me when I adjust the valves.

[seanbarney41]

Valve clearance check/adjustment is straight forward, just like an sohc...except there are twice as many cams and twice as many valves!

[Don R]

 I see cover gaskets on ebay, I got oil filters and a Haynes manual ordered, and might get the Clymer also, I did spot a couple factory Suzuki binders on ebay, one of those would be good. I have binders for several of the Honda bikes we had.
 I got gallon of 30% cleaning vinegar and added it to the previous mix of grocery and cleaning vinegar, after it works its magic it'll be drain, flush, wash out and go right to the Evaporust. I'm using a trouble light under the tunnel to keep the tank warm. The chemical action seems to work better when it's not cold. After Evaporust, I'll dry the inside with alcohol and my leaf blower. Then a wash with the 2 stroke canned gas until it's ready to ride.

 Edit, the pod filters were gnarly, they appear to be mesh and rubber with a thin fabric in between so in the ultrasonic cleaner they went. They ruined the detergent mix (dishwasher detergent and simple green) but that's cheaper than new pods. They came out looking pretty good. I'm wondering if I should give them a dose of K&N oil?

[Don R]

 I found myself looking at RS36's on ebay tonight. I'd need to be sure whatever I got would be compatible with the GS1100 intakes and not need excessive part swapping.
 It really blew my mind when I saw the intake reducers needed to fit the 29's into the big manifolds.

[grcamna2]

I found myself looking at RS36's on ebay tonight. I'd need to be sure whatever I got would be compatible with the GS1100 intakes and not need excessive part swapping.
 It really blew my mind when I saw the intake reducers needed to fit the 29's into the big manifolds.

Speak with member 'Kelly E' about when he installed the Mikuni RS36's on his 1980' GS1100E street bike; be good for drag racing. Will you be installing an air shifter(into the 10's)also?   

[Kelly E]

Don the RS36's plug right into the stock intakes. They work great for general riding as well as going fast. I think it starts better from cold with them. You need to get a two cable throttle but you can push the brake and control pod further up the bar, I think it is about 3/4".
We like the carbs so much that we put a set of RS34's on the KZ 1000. We'll probably get a set of RS36's for the 81' GS 1100E to go with the Delkevik exhaust, the same setup that's on the 80' GS 1100E.
Don't forget to make a support for the back of the carb rack to the frame since the airbox is gone.

[grcamna2]

Nice job on the center carb. support Kelly;looks much better than only mechanics wire.

[Don R]

 Looks much better than the cable tie on mine.

 I'm going to be careful not to get my cart too far ahead of the horse, it needs a good test ride and I'm waiting for oil filters, a manual and the tank de-rust. I drained and flushed the vinegar and began the Evaporust treatment. I find I get most of the rust with the vinegar and the evaporust does a good job of finishing anything that's left. There was a disturbingly large amount of chunks in there. I hope it stays intact.
 I was offered an industrial tank liner that's like Caswell, he said if you dent the tank it could chip off though. The price sounded good but I'm not a fan of liners.
 I told the PO that the bike finally made noise and he asked if I heard anything unusual. I think the way I said it scared him, then his question made me nervous. 

[Mark1976]

   A very good idea, always wise to see what you don't have and go from there.

[Don R]

 This bike takes me back to 1976 and the Saturday that Kirk tossed me the keys to a 900 Kaw that was his demo bike. He owned the Kawasaki shop where my brother worked. I hadn't ridden a bike that I could wheelie or spin the back tire at my whim. I'm thinking that this bike will have that feel.
 I plan to show it mucho respecto.

[Kelly E]

This bike takes me back to 1976 and the Saturday that Kirk tossed me the keys to a 900 Kaw that was his demo bike. He owned the Kawasaki shop where my brother worked. I hadn't ridden a bike that I could wheelie or spin the back tire at my whim. I'm thinking that this bike will have that feel.
 I plan to show it mucho respecto.

The GS 1100 has plenty of power for hooligan moments. At my size I have to sit almost on the gas tank to keep the front wheel near the ground.

[Leino]

After dynoing several different versions, close to stock bikes are 90+ at the wheel.
Enough for a daily ride