77 gs400 from my haircutter

Thanks bill, I had gone through those earlier- clutch/trans/case/. none of the pictures seem to show it. I even reassembled it and everything is functioning as advertised but im not going to ride it until I can figure out where the bastard goes....
 
Let me ask something stupid..... Did you see it actually come out of the cover. What I'm thinking is maybe you saw it drop out the bottom of the bike, like maybe this is the center stand spring????? I don't know this has me stumped.... Or maybe the contact that keeps the bike from starting when the side stand is down????
 
Man i dont know either, both stands have their respective springs and I dont believe it ever had the side stand safety, plus it starts up just fine.

When i opened it the spring was sitting loosely under the sprocket cover. There was also a chewed up bungee cord from the Reagan era wrapped around the sprocket........ Im wondering if this is part of the bungee hook. It appears to have some scratches and wear on it as if the chain rubbed it......
 
I'm pretty sure you just nailed it. Looks just like the hook from a cheap bungee cord, just straightened out as it got eaten by the chain and sprocket.
 
brotus said:
True words! I have some cables/fork seals/chain and sprockets on the way already. Any suggestions on rear shock replacements? Could I simply bolt in a set from a larger bike? Gs650? 850? So that it will handle the extra weight better. Im trying to stay away from expensive aftermarket performance shocks. As long as its safe im not looking for any real performance upgrades.
Click to expand...
As mentioned earlier, it's not a performance upgrade - it's replacement time (they were not all that stellar when new and only degrade with age). Progressive Suspension has a good reputation and still has items for your bike (http://www.progressivesuspension.com/products/2836/1977/suzuki/gs400) including front fork springs (11-1109 MSRP $93) and shocks with both standard and heavy-duty springs (thinking of 2-up). Your shocks should be 12.5" eye-to-eye if you do try to fit a different model's shocks. You don't necessarily want a different tail height at this point.
 
Yes at first i thought the bungee cord was a piece of old wire bundle that was wrapped together but once i realized it was bungee the two things clicked together.

Thanks for the info about the shocks- I had no idea progressives were so affordable- I thought they were upward of 500 for some reason. Im aiming for a set of those once the funds are available...

Fork springs seem to be alright (Dispite the fact that all the fork oil has probably been gone for some time now)
Do you guys have any insight into specific fork oil? Last time I did forks we used 50/50 motor oil and ATF. Not sure if thats standard practice or just something my dad showed me for "in a pinch" situations.
 
alzcbz said:
I'm pretty sure you just nailed it. Looks just like the hook from a cheap bungee cord, just straightened out as it got eaten by the chain and sprocket.
Click to expand...


aaaaaaaAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!! I spent a week looking at parts lists trying to find this thing. And now that you guys point it out, it sure looks like a bungee end. Luckily it didn't jam your sprocket on a ride...
 
+1 on hagon road shocks for these bikes. Also if your doing the fork seals and what not, either throw some Progressive fork springs or Sonic springs in there.
Also you have to imagine all your rubber on the bike is shot after 30+ years. If you do the carbs get a rebuild kit from cycleorings.com as long as there is nothing damaged the carbs only need new o-rings in em. Intake pipe probably is letting in air at this age, and brake calipers should examined and have the rubber bits and anything corroded replaced. Open up the MC and the front calipers and expect some canned ham like gunk inside.
Rubber bits and replacement parts almost nothing beats OEM, bikebandit.com is your friend.
Also go over to gsresources and join the forum.
I picked up a 81 gs450 last year and been having a blast!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for all the replies, I was kinda confused about the Hagon website, Has anybody ordered online or mostly just by phone?

As far as the brakes, Iv gone through and cleaned all the cobwebs and surface corrosion off and plan to do a flush of the front hydraulics this winter.

Readjusted the carbs today, idling much nicer now although the left cylinder seems to be runnin a little cooler and not as smooth as the right. The left side also backfires a little on decel. Hopefully a nice carb cleaning will fix that, the left side also seems to be somewhat louder than the right, are these two related? Maybe the mufflers need a repack? Does anybody have any experience with these mufflers or even know what brand they could be? They sound fantastic btw....
 
Hagon is based in the UK and have a few resellers here in the USA. Your options are Dave Quinn (mixed reviews) hagon USA (created to take pressure off Dave Quinn) and now Z1 enterprises. Z1 enterprises are quite familiar with GS bikes and contribute over at the GS resources forum. And has excellent customer service. I'd order from them. I'd order over the phone or email from whoever you decide to go with because these are custom shocks. Z1 will take into considerations a few different parameters and come up with the proper rate spring for your shocks.
 
Ill give z1 a call and get new springs front and back, after that im looking to find a master cylinder and possibly a caliper from a different model that has a little more braking power, also some stainless lines.

Another rainy day today so i changed the brake light out for a smaller ebay one, I think it looks a lot better

 
So after looking around i think the cheapest way i can boost the brakes is to just get SS lines and new pads. Supposedly these were replaced by the PO before i bought it and they look to have plenty of material left but i figure it wouldnt hurt to put some modern ones on. Does anyone have experience with vesrah brand pads? Seems to be the easiest to get ahold of but iv never heard of them...
 
Speigler brake lines are excellent quality and pretty customizable, can be custom made for not to much money.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Also I put progressive brand front springs in mine, it's definitely better than stock but it's a one size fits all option. If you weigh more than 160 (or doing two up riding like you say) or you like to do some aggressive riding, I'd definitively hit up Sonic springs and get a custom rate spring for your application.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Gave speigler a call, super easy to deal with. They hooked me up with a new stainless line for 60 bones.. Not bad at all. Next up is to get some new shocks under her. I got a new rear sprocket to put in and i think itll be pretty good in the mechanical department, once winter rolls around ill get into the cosmetics.
 
Brotus, does the 400 have a 530 chain + sprockets? If so, I would definitely look into a 520 chain conversion. Some browsing around and cross referencing sizes on JT Sprockets site should make it pretty easy.
 
It does in fact have a 530 chain but i just planned on going down a few teeth on a rear sprocked and knockin some links off the old chain since it looks good and doesnt have much wear or any binding.

Have people here found good results from the swap? I thought it was only like a 1/2 horsepower and like 1 pound less weight.

Maybe when its time for a new chain but Idk about a $150 swap for such a small change
 
Well, you should technically replace both sprockets and chain at the same time, that's why I suggested the 520 conversion.

The reason they all need swapped at once is because they wear together as a single unit. Just like how a bad sprocket can chew up a chain, a bad chain will chew away at a new sprocket.

And with a mere 400cc's, you can use every bit of power you can get. But it's your dime.
 
Awesome that makes a lot of sense, im gonna look through JT and try to find some sprockets that fit since i havent put the new sprocket in yet. Any ideas of direct fits?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DTT Light or Dark

  • DTT Light

    • Spread the Love

    Back
    Top Bottom