Motorcycle Carb Cleaning, Tuning, ETC

[Young-Sneezy]

Last year I bought my first motorcycle, a 1979 Suzuki GS425. I ended up getting it at a pretty awesome deal, put a small amount of work into it, and enjoyed it for the second half of the summer... I knew last year I was going to need to do a bit of work on the bike, specifically the carbs (maybe the valves????) but my knowledge of motorcycle repair is equivalent to a monkey screwing a coconut.

Are there any guys out there that have any pointers, tips, shops, or even would be willing to accept cash/beer for helping myself (and possibly a friend of mine, with an 80's Yamaha 650) tune up the carbs and odds and ends?

Also, does anyone have experience with replacing handlebars? id like to lower them a bit... not quite flat with the speedo, just a smidgen higher. hard? way too expensive? easy?

For reference (not my bike, but literally identical)

[Slava]

I have a Suzuki and would highly recommend GW Cycle if you are considering a shop.

[pylon]

MRsector on the board is a motorcycle tech, and I believe he works out of his garage.

Carb rebuilds however are pretty damn easy. Grab a Haynes manual for the bike, and it should walk you through any repair.

Also, that bike looks like it would make a hell of a cafe racer with the right mods. Most notably, that seat needs to go. Neat bike though! And a great bike to learn how to wrench on.

[Young-Sneezy]

Originally Posted by pylon

MRsector on the board is a motorcycle tech, and I believe he works out of his garage.

Carb rebuilds however are pretty damn easy. Grab a Haynes manual for the bike, and it should walk you through any repair.

Also, that bike looks like it would make a hell of a cafe racer with the right mods. Most notably, that seat needs to go. Neat bike though! And a great bike to learn how to wrench on.

Thats the idea in the long term.

I am definitely hesitant to tear apart a motorcycle solo.... I hear that its not difficult but the last thing i would want is to end up with a lot full of parts, lost and taking my bike to a shop in pieces because i messed something up.

[Hevishot]

For more "vintage" motorcycles try Don at Universal Cycle. He is usually the only one who is remotely interested in working on older bikes.

[puckedoff]

I did a carb clean on a similar GS1000 a few years ago. It is very easy, I am not sure what a place would charge but it was a good learning experience I would recommend doing it yourself.

What I would recommend:
1. Take pictures of everything as you take it apart. Whether you are planning to put it back together a day later or a week later, the pictures will give you the confidence that you will be able to rebuild it. Plus its fun to look back and reminisce... lol

2. As you are taking the carb apart, remove ALL rubber o-rings and anything rubber. I assume you will do a full soak of the carb parts - anything rubber will break down/melt. You should buy a kit that has all the o-rings ( I can't remember where I got mine, but there is some GS fanatic online who sells all the o-ring kits and rebuild stuff)

3. Be careful on the little jets (don't scrape at them or hit them with hammers to clean them). Just soak everything in jars and brush gently then put it back together.


My bike just purred after the carb clean and yours will too. Feelsgoodman

[Hevishot]

I should add if you take the carb apart and its full of green death sludge chances are you can get brand new main jet and pilot jet from any bike dealer. Brass prices range from a couple bucks to 20 a jet depending on the carb. It might be easier than dealing with soaking and poking.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by puckedoff

1. Take pictures of everything as you take it apart.

Good call. One thing I like to do is when taking bolts/pieces off any bike or car, is get a set of little tupperware containers. All the screws/bolts/whatever from separate sections go into separate containers. Makes it easier to put back together and less likely to miss stuff I find.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by puckedoff

I did a carb clean on a similar GS1000 a few years ago. It is very easy, I am not sure what a place would charge but it was a good learning experience I would recommend doing it yourself.

What I would recommend:
1. Take pictures of everything as you take it apart. Whether you are planning to put it back together a day later or a week later, the pictures will give you the confidence that you will be able to rebuild it. Plus its fun to look back and reminisce... lol

2. As you are taking the carb apart, remove ALL rubber o-rings and anything rubber. I assume you will do a full soak of the carb parts - anything rubber will break down/melt. You should buy a kit that has all the o-rings ( I can't remember where I got mine, but there is some GS fanatic online who sells all the o-ring kits and rebuild stuff)

3. Be careful on the little jets (don't scrape at them or hit them with hammers to clean them). Just soak everything in jars and brush gently then put it back together.


My bike just purred after the carb clean and yours will too. Feelsgoodman

I want to buy an older bike for exactly this reason, sounds like a really fun way to spend a lazy, hot, Sunday afternoon.

Feels good indeed.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

I want to buy an older bike for exactly this reason, sounds like a really fun way to spend a lazy, hot, Sunday afternoon.

Feels good indeed.

Wrenching bikes has a very cathartic effect. Cars tend to be stressful as hell because getting at things can be a PIA, and they are 5 X more complex. Wrenching on an old bike is just fun. Everything comes apart easily, and nothing is super complex. You definitely get a great sense of accomplishment when you pull it all apart and put it back together.... and it actually works. Kinda like a big boy lego set or something.

[#22]

Rebuilding the carbs isn't too difficult. Just be very methodical and organized. Syncing the carbs after re-installation, however, can be tricky. I would recommend getting the service manual for the bike if you're going to do work on it. I ordered mine through Pro-Am (Kawasaki). I believe GW Cycle is Suzuki.

Handle bars are easy. Remove all the pieces, switch out the bar, and reinstall

As far as shops, the guys at The Old Motorcycle Shop have always been good to me.

[MotoRacer]

Get some flat bars and seat and be sweet

Google motorcycle pictures... There's a site with photos of your bike modified and stock... Old and new...!good pointers