GS450-rear mudguard opinions and advice

gk45011

Coast to Coast
Slow build for sure. First cafe and not exactly the mechanical wiz. Last bike was a Yamaha XS1100 bobber that turned out faily well. Bought it as a bagger for $100 not runing and it is still going strong today (saw at the Newport bike rally).

Started a teardown on the GS. It is running but is now having issue with a hanging idle. One min it revs fine then the next it spikes to 3000-5000 and stays tere until I mess with the choke, or ile mixture screw. I assume this means an air leak somewhere? But where? The throottle and the choke cables seem to be releasing fully. The idle adjuster increases fuel? the choke increases air? I am a noob so all hep welcome.

I would love to lose the airbox and rejet, but I need to try to get it running dcent first to have a benchmark to work off of (or so I'm told).

Searching for inspiration, help, and anyone who has a mechanical cue more than myself in the Cincinnati area. I will try to upload some pics.

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Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

Great bike to start with! If you haven't signed onto the GSResources, I highly recommend it. A member there has compiled this site:

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

and it has plenty of info. Obviously, it isn't just for the 450 but there's some for your bike.

What are you looking to do about that rear wheel? The stock 16" doesn't lend itself to the standard "cafe" bike........
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

Yeah, the L models are the bastards I suppose. There are a couple good examples if you look hard enough though.

If you decide to go with an 18" rear mag, let me know. I have one that is literally a "bolt on and go" type deal.
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

About 20 minutes south of New Castle, PA. And I think I have a 90/90-19 Avon tyre that would fit your bike too.

Plenty of stock GS twins, but a few custom jobs too:
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=166061
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

Whoo-Hoo... another "L" joins the group!

gk45011 said:
I have only seen maybe two 40's on youtube. where else should I be looking?
"Google-it" Type in "suzuki GS450 cafe" then once it loads the results hit the "Images button" on the left of the page. Orrrr click on this Linky ;)
http://www.google.com/search?q=suzuki+GS450+cafe&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7ADBF_en&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=MaP-T-boPMjA2gWEjMTmBA&ved=0CC4Q_AUoAQ&biw=1440&bih=733&sei=NaP-T-GkLuPS2gWsv-iiBA
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

Cool - another 450. I really need to resurrect my project ::)


As for your hanging idle, the GS motors have an O ring on the intake manifolds / rubbers where it bolts to the head. They are notorious for leaking with old age. A new O ring or a judicious application of RTV should cure that ;)
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

I know I got the airbox out of mine with the motor still in - I just can't remember how...... ::) I think I wriggled it out through the seat rails.

Other things to look for with your hanging idle are sticking carb slides. You really need to get the carbs off and clean them meticulously. The slides need to move smoothly without any resistance or sticking.
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

You really should take the carbs off and clean them. While you are there, take the inlet manifolds off and either replace the O rings or put a (tiny) smear of RTV on the mating surfaces (this is what I meant in the first place rather than smothering the manifolds with goop while they are still on).

The revs should come back down faster than what you are experiencing. The carbs probably need syncing and the idle mixture screws are probably wrong. But they need a cleaning more than anything else IMO.
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

Stock jetting on the 450's should be 120 main and 45 pilot (they may vary a size either way between years / models - not too sure).

Pods with a stock exhaust probably won't need too much increase (if any) in the main jet. The mid range and pilot jetting may be a different story.

First of all, see what's in your carbs now. Then try them with the pods. If it doesn't work well, then you should probably get a few sizes of mains / pilots either side of that size and experiment.

The good thing about having the airbox off is that pulling the carbs out to changed jetting is easy. But you should probably invest in some new carb manifold rubbers because you will be pulling the carbs on and off a fair bit doing this - and it will be far easier to mount your carbs on new rubbers. Trust me on that one ;)
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

Hillsy, do the carbs need pulled off for a rejet on the 450's? Or can the bowls just be taken off?
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

You might be able to get the bowls off without removing the carbs - I'm not sure. It would be finicky though....

Still, you'll need to get them off the first time to "crack" the screws on the bowls (you'll just strip the heads if you try and do them from underneath).

If you can remove the bowls with the carbs in place it would be a good idea to find some allen bolts for them so you don't fubar the screw heads (actually, this is just a good idea, period).
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

I have the same bike!
0714121723.jpg


And yeah the GSresouses is so full of info. I belong there as well same user name.
I got mine it didnt run. I read the Gs forums and tore the carbs off dipped them rejetted and bang she runs like a raped ape!

You wont be able to pull the bowls with the carbs on the motor. :'(

The hanging idle is the throttle cable it needs to be rerouted under the tank. Mine did the same thing after I put the low bars on.

Buy new intake pipes. (Carb to motor side) I had a small tear in my left one and it caused all sorts of issues till it warmed up. Then I couldnt get the carbs balanced till I replaced them.
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

I'll check GS Resources for the stock jet size and recommendations as well. My throttle cable appears to go next to the light and inder the tank along with the clutch cable. What do you mean by underneath the tank? I will def pull the carbs and boots. I want to make sure the o ring and seal are good regardless. Any pics or explaination to your routing greatly appreciated.

Gary
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

gk45011 said:
I'll check GS Resources for the stock jet size and recommendations as well. My throttle cable appears to go next to the light and inder the tank along with the clutch cable. What do you mean by underneath the tank? I will def pull the carbs and boots. I want to make sure the o ring and seal are good regardless. Any pics or explaination to your routing greatly appreciated.

Gary
The cable need to rerouted to the right side of the frame under the tank.
0717121232.jpg

Then past the carbs then looped under the frame back to the linkage mount.
0717121230a.jpg

You will need to readjust the the throttle cable at the handle bars. Give it about an 1/16 of a turn of free play. Before I did this my cable had no slack and was binding up around the neck of the frame. And every time I hit a bump or moved the handle bars the throttle would change.
 
Re: 83 GS 450 slow build

gk45011 said:
I had to work late so I got no chance to remove the cable from the lever and check it out. I hope to be able to check this out thoroughly tomorrow. Thanks for the idea!

Do you remember what the stock main jet on your bike was? Do you know what you jumped up to? I keep searching the reverse ordered forum on GS Resources and am having trouble finding an answer.

Gary
my stock jet was 115. The kit I got came with a 125 so I can run my pods. And it has the pilots I need when I do the exhaust. I got the dynajet kit from dynajet.com they make one just for our bikes. it comes as a stage 1&3
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

hillsy said:
You need a shorter cable. That curve will bind the cable over time.
That pic is from a bad angle. The curve is not as sharp as it looks. It comes down the back bone of the bike just under the frame. Then it circles back and down to the carb linkage mount. I had a full tank of gas and didnt want to pull the tank off to get a good clear pic of how it is run. He will see when he reroutes his. There is alot of space under there once it is moved.
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

I know it's not for the early GS's, but the folks on the GSTwins have a wiki set up for the GS500. If you search around you can compare your jetting and intake/exhaust mods to the chart and maybe have a better idea about what you'll need. Your results may vary though.........

http://wiki.gstwins.com/
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

Whenever the idle goes up like that, mess with the throttle cable then. That way you can determine if it really is the cable causing the problem.

And for the clutch, it sounds like it just needs adjusted at the handle.
 
Re: 83 GS 450 with issues... here we go!

Have you adjusted the cable at the other end at all? That's where the clutch cable is actually supposed to be adjusted - at the handlebar is just for lever freeplay.

I can't remember - did you get new intake boots yet?
 
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