72 Suzuki GT380

Thanks teazer. The PO did a really good job finding parts that he knew needed to be replaced. Like I said, I got parts galore. With that being said, there was an extra set of carbs in those boxes, and there were 2 carbs on the engine already. I figured he got an extra set of carbs because there was something wrong with those. I rebuilt the extra set, and they have the tall slides. The 2 that were on the bike had the short slides. I don't know if I have tall caps. I'm going to say no.

So... The carbs that I rebuilt (the spare set) will not accept the shorter slides (from the ones on the engine) because that little tit in the carb is too tall. Maybe I can just file that down a little and I can put the shorter slides in there? Makes sense as the carbs look pretty much identical and all the jet sizes matched up to the ones I replaced with the rebuild kits. Plus, the short slides are hooked up to a brand new throttle cable. Hopefully I did a good job explaining.

Note: I said in my previous post that the spare carbs may have been from a 550 because the PO had a bunch of 550 parts, too. He did mention that alot of the parts interchanged.
 
teazer, you da man. it does have tall caps ;D so I put them together this morning, mounted carbs, synced carbs, installed overflow tubes and tried installing air cleaner to carbs but had to quit because I was getting frustrated. it'll happen, just not right now. thanks again :)
 
I have a set of 1973 GT750K carbs stripped for clean and repair and they have long slides and tall caps. 72 had short slides and short caps.

This stuff is sent to test us. Looks like you passed that test.

I also heard today that 72 and 73 380 had different length intake stubs, so a 73 rubber on a 72 cylinder leaves the carbs too far from the air box rubber. Check the barrels and rubbers and if necessary use some radiator hose cut to length.
 
Good advice teazer. The 72 engine already had the rubber intakes on it, so I reused them. On Monday, I'll check the carb depth that I'm using, and compare them to the ones that were on there. Hopefully it all works out (crossing fingers).
I got some synthetic 2 cycle oil today and will bleed the oil pump on Monday.
Also, I started to dump the trans oil and saw that it was brand new, so I left it (score).
Bought 2 aftermarket blinkers for the front because I have 2 complete blinkers and it was cheaper to just get the aftermarket ones.
I'll try to get all the above mentioned done next week including the wiring. Then I need to move onto cleaning the inside of the tank. I'm going to try the vinegar trick again and see what kind of results I get. I'll add a bunch of drywall screws and then add the Vinegar, but this time I'm going to leave it in there for about a week giving it a few shakes a day. I'm pretty confident it will take care of the rust. This weekend I'll read about how to adjust/set timing. I do have new points, so I may add those, too. Plenty to do, but I think I can have this thing running by the middle of May. At least that's the plan. ;D
Thanks again for your continued help.
 
Hiya gents. I am also rebuilding a 1972 GT380. I have tons of pics as I have been disassembling mine. Let me know if you need any pics to assist in your re-assembly. I am a bit anal about that. ;D I discovered mine must have fragged the right side cylinder and a PO replaced it with a later cylinder. I have been in no rush as I have had the bike for several years now. 8) Bermkid
 

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I will be replacing the gear shift oil seal on mine as it was leaking. It was pretty messy in there. Bought a buffer and started polishing some of the aluminum.
 

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bermkid,
Thanks for sharing. Looks like you have a nice complete bike to start with. I thought buying mine in boxes was going to be a pain in the ass, but I think it was better. At least I could figure out how this thing went together and repair what was necessary before I mounted it. If you don't have a build thread yet, you should start one and let me know when you do. I'll follow along. As far as pictures, nothing right now, but I'll keep that in mind if I run into a snag. Thanks!
 
Got a little bit more done this morning.

Filled front forks with ATF
Installed new front blinkers
Tried to bleed oil pump, but I may be doing something wrong. I'll have to refer to Clymer. Still has air pocket in line.
Finally got the snap ring out of master cylinder and cleaned. Seems like it is working well now. But I noticed that the bleeder screw is broke off, so I have to now figure out how to get that out. I'll try an easy out first, then probably start swearing :eek:
 
Thanks ADC. Good to know. I think you told me that on the TS185, too.
I did get the frickin air box on and mounted. I had to grease the carb ends and ran the rubber boots under hot water to make them a little pliable. They went on with some force, but it's all tightened down now ;D Glad thats over. Also took apart fuel cock and cleaned.
 
Have you ever seen this guy's website?: http://380blue.wordpress.com/
I bought my buffer after seeing how his parts came back from the polishers. :eek:
 
bermkid,
Yep, that guy has a nice bike. I don't think I would polish engine though as I've heard it reflects heat back into engine. But in the end, I have no idea, I'm just reciting what I've read. Maybe somebody here will comment if I'm right or totally wrong.

Found a pool of 2 stroke oil under my bike the other morning. Will have to take the air box back off and see where it is coming from :mad: i'm no really that mad, just have to do it thats all. Picked up the vinegar the other day, so that will be added to the tank before the weekend so it can sit in there and do it's thing.
I also started on the wiring. I found a few problems and corrected them. Cleaned connections and almost have it all hooked up. I also tested the headlight and that is functioning properly.
I found out that the ignition switch is really finiky. So I'll have to source another one. Maybe somebody has an exrtra?
Thats it for now....
 
Shoot some WD40 into that ignition switch.

Polishing engine cases makes a trivial difference in engine temperature. Polishing the fins and heads will reduce cooling a little, though. Engine cases just don't transfer that much heat. They don't get hot enough to transfer much.
 
also you may be able to take apart the ignition and clean the contacts. I did on my bike and it went from working sometimes to like new, took 20 mins and some emry cloth, then I coated it in di-electric grease to prevent new oxidation.
 
ADC,
I tried the WD40 and it didn't seem to work. It just doesn't 'click' into position. I have to manually set it right on the 'run' line. If I go just a little too far, it won't work (checking continuity).

Maritime,
I was wondering if I could take it apart and see whats going on in there. I will try it.

If it doesn't work after cleaning I do have another key switch, but it doesn't have a key. There are numbers on the ignition. Is there any way to find a key with those numbers?
 
If you get the switch apart, you might find a lot of corrosion bollixing up the works. Clean it all up and stuff some dielectric grease in there. What have you got to lose?
 
Right you are ADC. I will take it apart on Monday and see what I can do. Maybe I can disect both and replace bad parts? We'll see.

Got the oil pump leak figured out and fixed, added 2 screws to the rear of the swingarm for wheel adjustment and adjusted wheel, found the two shields that go over the oil pump, finished figuring out wiring, added some news parts that I got from bike bandit (battery strap, tool strap and a rubber piece that the fuel tank sits on and protects the wiring harness). I also contacted someone on here for a brake caliper. I think I got my master cylinder working properly, but the caliper wasn't/isn't working. I had to drill out the bleed screw because it broke. I probably could salvage it if I found a bleed screw that would fit into the now slightly bigger hole, but like I said, i found a working one for a good price. Put the front wheel and fender back together properly and mounted the master cylinder to my handle bar, bench tested my headlight to make sure it working properly, and it is :) Next week I'll clean the inside of my tank, clean all the electrical connections, put acid in battery, and fix rear blinkers. After I do all that, I think I'm ready to try and start it. I'd like to keep the air cleaner box off of it until I know it's running and nothing is leaking. Do you guys feel that that will be fine, or should I run the filter at all times. I'm not going to go out and use it like that, just get it started and have in run for awhile.

Does anyone know how to take out baffles so I can clean them?
 
You can start the bike and garage run it without filters but better not to run it that way on the street.

Baffles can be a PIA but in principle they are easy. At the rear lower corner of the mufflers, you should see a hole and inside that hole in the outer shell is 6mm screw. Remove said screw and pull out baffle tube. I use pliers on the central bar and twist them out. They tend to be stuck with carbon and oil but persistence will get them out.
 
interceptor said:
I'd like to keep the air cleaner box off of it until I know it's running and nothing is leaking. Do you guys feel that that will be fine, or should I run the filter at all times. I'm not going to go out and use it like that, just get it started and have in run for awhile.

You can start it with bare carburetors, but it will likely be so lean that it will run like crap. Do this for testing only! Someone else on this forum put pod filters on his without re-jetting, and he melted holes in two of his pistons.
 
Thanks guys! I was nervous about that ADC. I read that guys thread and didn't want to end up like that. Once it's running, I will put them back on for sure.
Baffles seem easy enough. Will look for the screw, and then pull on the back of the baffle where I see that rod.
I thought it was cool that they use diaphram in the fuel cock. But where does it get the vacuum from? I don't see where it connects to the engine.
Thanks alot for all everyones input. Helps me out alot :)
 
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