Reviving my build thread. Bike was running really well...until it wasn't. I knew that I wasn't going to be riding during the winter...so I decided to do an engine rebuild, and overbore for the GS850 pistons.
It took me a couple of weeks to find a shop that would do the engine work for me, and make sure everything else was within spec. Luckily, the only thing that I ended up replacing due to wear was the kickstart ratchet plate guide. It had some very small stress cracks that were causing it to not pull & hold the ratchet when kicking it over. Took a while to find one on ebay that was NOS.
I cleaned everything up, replaced all the seals, had my cam and rocker arm pads re-ground. Put in new valves & springs (guides were still great), got a copper gasket from Copper Gaskets Unlimited, and new timing chain. I also put a new pair of shocks on it...nothing fancy, just some coils that aren't full of rust. But the eyes are more narrow than the frame mount...so I have to find/build some spacers to keep them steady.
The pistons I found on ebay were in good shape, but I did have to polish the pistons for the pins. The shop that over-bored it didn't want to do it, but when I picked it up from them they had come around to it.
And then I stripped one of the bolts holding down the cam chain tensioner. I am out of cash at the moment, so I can't get a time-sert kit. Irk mentioned in another thread that I might be able to go a little deeper and still be okay. So I am going to give it a go tonight and see what happens. Then...I can put the engine back on the frame.
I have a lot of other things I need to to for it (new spokes front and back, move my rear turn signals, build a license plate mounting point for under the seat, etc. etc. etc.)...but it is already June, and my rebuild started back in Jan. So I am going to just ride it like it is until next winter.