1979 Suzuki GS850

Emerikol · 02-06-2021, 07:36 PM

So, along the lines of "I'm not buying another motorcycle for at least a year..." and other assorted lies I tell myself, I just picked up this 1979 Suzuki GS850. For the $200 it cost me (plus the $50 I tossed the guy for gas to deliver it), I really couldn't pass it up. The carbs are off of it because they were sticking, and the guy said he rebuilt them. There's new gaskets poking out from all the mating surfaces, so I'll buy that. I just have to put everything back together and drop a battery in, and it 'should' fire right up. I'll keep everyone posted, but so far this is one of the more complete projects I've gotten myself into.
https://www.chinariders.net/attachme...1&d=1612658139
https://www.chinariders.net/attachme...1&d=1612658139
https://www.chinariders.net/attachme...1&d=1612658139

**cheesy** · 02-06-2021, 08:22 PM

"Lies I tell myself".

Stealing.

Emerikol · 02-06-2021, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheesy

"lies i tell myself".

Stealing.

lol!

TxTaoRider · 02-06-2021, 09:23 PM

Good to see another old GS getting back on the road.

Emerikol · 02-07-2021, 10:37 AM

BOOM! Hooked up my jumper pack, and holy shit!, everything (mostly) works! You can tell that the contacts on the switches and such are kind of cruddy. I worked the key back and forth a few times in the ignition and it works great! There's even a gear indicator on the dash. Turn signals were a little slow, but again, the bike has been sitting for over 15 years. There's a new (six years old, but never on the road and the bike was stored in a climate controlled workshop) front tire mounted on the rim, and I also have a still new in the packaging rear tire that needs to be installed. I plan to run through the carbs today get them bench balanced and installed. I got the fuel level sending unit cleaned and working properly last night while I was tinkering. Unfortunately the fuel petcock is a disaster, and finding a rebuild kit hasn't been successful so far. I'm going to head up to the local Suzuki dealer today and see if I can get one. I plan to get as far as I can today and tomorrow, and I fully expect that I'll be able to start the bike tomorrow. I'll go and pick up a battery for the beast today too, while I'm out and about. Other than that, I'm headed back out to the garage to get some more grease under my nails.

franque · 02-07-2021, 12:48 PM

Nice project!

If it's one of the vacuum operated petcocks that Suzuki looked to use, you might want to switch to a standard some, I've seen them fail a bunch.

Emerikol · 02-07-2021, 02:19 PM

It is a vacuum operated petcock, and I'd love to change it to a standard one (the carbs are well below the tank, shouldn't be a problem getting fuel into them), but I don't even know where to begin as far as replacing it with a standard unit. I would really like to get one that has Off, On, and Reserve. The one that's on it from the factory has Prime, On, and Reserve. Any idea where I can get a standard, gravity feed unit, Franque?

franque · 02-07-2021, 05:21 PM

I asked on an Facebook group I'm a part of... The tricky part is the 50mm spacing. One of the guys said he's got some parts kicking around, but he's in the UK.

You could either get a Pingel petcock, or an idea that I had was to make a Pingel style adapter plate, but then use a metric nipple to then use a Honda style petcock, or even a metric 'stud' nipple that could screw into the hole and the petcock.

Depending on the availability/pricing for the Suzuki part, a Pingel might be cheaper.

If it's a 44mm, that might be more doable, you just need to measure, I found this: https://speedmotoco.com/fuel-valve-p...z1000-j-model/

Emerikol · 02-08-2021, 05:40 AM

Franque, I think I may just pick up a piece of Aluminum bar stock and mill my own. A run of the mill petcock should be easy enough to find, and I can just use a piece of flat rubberized gasket to make the seal to the tank. I checked for spark yesterday and at first just the outside cylinders (1 and 4) were firing. I put the jumper pack on the charger for a while, and once it was topped up I had spark across all four plugs. It wasn't a very strong spark, but it was there. Today I plan to dribble some gas into the cylinders, put the plugs back in and see how it sounds. it won't run for long giving it gas that way, but it will at least let me know if this was a good use of $250, or if this is going to be a very expensive project. I'm pretty sure I'll have time to get the carbs reassembled correctly and on the bike today, too. The PO gave it to me without any oil in the crankcase, but a new oil filter installed. I used about a 50/50 mix of Rotella T-4 15W-40 diesel oil, and some Yamaha 10W-40 motorcycle oil I had left over from the latest oil change on the V-Star. That should be good to get everything back up and running, and then I'll do another oil change and decide if I want to run straight Rotella since it's an old air-cooled bike, or if I want to run a motorcycle-specific oil. Overall, pretty happy with picking this one up so far.

TxTaoRider · 02-08-2021, 05:58 AM

The vacuum diaphragm on these bikes dont act as a pump, just a safety feature. The old float needles tend to seep some and the diaphragm only allows gas to pass while the engine is running. When the petcock is on "pri" (prime) the fuel flows threw without the engine running. This is used to get the bike started after its sat for a few days and the carbs have dried out. It you forget your turn the valve from "pri" to "on" or "res" after you've ridden it and you park it for a few days you'll be in for a surprise. All of your gas will be in the cylinders and leak into the crankcase. Nothing like 2 gallons of gas in your oil. Just about all of us old gs owners have done it at least once (I've done it at least twice-lol).

So my view on a pingel petcock is you're asking for trouble. You'll forget to shut it off everytime and flood the motor.

Www.gsresources.com. Great source of information.

franque · 02-08-2021, 07:54 AM

I've seen more bikes with crankcases filled with gas, 2,(Suzukis in particular) from a failed vacuum petcock than I have with bikes that have a standard mechanical petcock, 0.

When riding a carbureted bike with a mechanical petcock, one develops the discipline of turning it off, unless they're accustomed to not needing it. I always turn mine off, but I guess having a mildly leaky and unavailable float bowl gasket will do that to you.

The main time that mechanical petcocks fail is when they're not used and cycled like they should be. I've rebuilt mechanical petcocks like that for that reason, but they never filled the crankcase like a Suzuki with a bad petcock.

Unless you're accustomed to Suzukis and don't use the petcock, if you've ridden many carbureted bikes, you get accustomed to the drill of stopping and turning off the petcock, lest your shoes/boots get covered in gas/you develop a leak in the garage.

Emerikol · 02-08-2021, 08:42 AM

So I can tell you both that I appreciate the feedback, and I am the 100% WORST about turning off the fuel valves. I just never do it in all the years I've been riding. The worst part is that I KNOW I should turn them off, but I just don't. It's especially bad on the DR, since I have the 5.3 gallon fuel tank on that beast. 5 gallons of gas has a lot of potential energy in the form of static pressure pushing down on the needle and seat. And because it's a single cylinder thumper, there's only one very large carburetor on it. That's a recipe for disaster, but so far I've not had any problems at all. In any event, I just ordered a new battery and a petcock rebuild kit from Amazon. Everything should be here on Wednesday.

Emerikol · 02-08-2021, 01:18 PM

Status Update: IT'S ALIVE! I cleaned and gapped the plugs, and dribbled a little bit of gas right down the intake ports. Gave it a quick tap on the starter button and it took right off! It revved up (higher than I would have normally liked an engine sitting that long to have revved), and promptly died. It also spit about 400 metric tons of rust out the tailpipe. Actually, that's an exaggeration for dramatic effect. It really just dusted a light smattering of very fine rust particles. The engine isn't making any expensive sounding noises (it actually sounds really, really good!), but I'm going to have to bench build those carbs and take everything apart and put it all back together to proper specs. There's so much on them that isn't in the right spot, not torqued properly, or not adjusted properly it'll just be easier to do a full on overhaul rather than try to get it running and then fix things as I go. But for right now, I certainly think I got my $200 worth!

02-06-2021, 08:22 PM	#2
cheesy Moderator Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Elburn, IL Posts: 5,784	"Lies I tell myself". Stealing. __________________ Cheesy ______________________________________ 07 Hi Bird Enduro-Flown the Coop 07 Ural Gear Up 79 Honda CX500 77 VeloSolex 4600 V3 73 VeloSolex 3800 I'm making this up as I go.-Indiana Jones Telling me something 'is for my own good', is a fast way to a fat lip.-Me I don't even care about my own problems, why should I care about yours?-Quote on one of my favorite t-shirts
	1

02-06-2021, 09:23 PM	#4
TxTaoRider Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: Flower Mound Texas Posts: 904	Good to see another old GS getting back on the road. __________________ 2021 Tao Tbr7 - "Lucille" Mods so far- Brozz swingarm, 21" front rim (Bridgestone Tw302 rear/Dunlop D606 front tires), Digital gauge cluster, pz30b pumper carb, after market hand guards, aftermarket brake and clutch levers, round fold away mirrors, Fly handlebars shortened slightly, 13t front sprocket 2009 Q-link Legacy 250 1982 Suzuki GS1100ES - "Jolene"
	1

02-07-2021, 10:37 AM	#5
Emerikol Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Carrollton, GA Posts: 1,465	BOOM! Hooked up my jumper pack, and holy shit!, everything (mostly) works! You can tell that the contacts on the switches and such are kind of cruddy. I worked the key back and forth a few times in the ignition and it works great! There's even a gear indicator on the dash. Turn signals were a little slow, but again, the bike has been sitting for over 15 years. There's a new (six years old, but never on the road and the bike was stored in a climate controlled workshop) front tire mounted on the rim, and I also have a still new in the packaging rear tire that needs to be installed. I plan to run through the carbs today get them bench balanced and installed. I got the fuel level sending unit cleaned and working properly last night while I was tinkering. Unfortunately the fuel petcock is a disaster, and finding a rebuild kit hasn't been successful so far. I'm going to head up to the local Suzuki dealer today and see if I can get one. I plan to get as far as I can today and tomorrow, and I fully expect that I'll be able to start the bike tomorrow. I'll go and pick up a battery for the beast today too, while I'm out and about. Other than that, I'm headed back out to the garage to get some more grease under my nails. __________________ First Rule of Aviation: -Never Pass Up The Opportunity to Pee I was struggling to get my wife's attention; I sat down on the couch and looked comfortable. That did the trick! My wife says I only have two faults. I don't listen and something else... If at first you don't succeed, try doing it the way I told you to... The Stable: 2005 Yamaha V-Star 650 - SOLD 2015 Suzuki DR 650 2015 RPS Hawk 250 - SOLD 2016 Ural Gear Up
	4

02-07-2021, 02:19 PM	#7
Emerikol Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Carrollton, GA Posts: 1,465	It is a vacuum operated petcock, and I'd love to change it to a standard one (the carbs are well below the tank, shouldn't be a problem getting fuel into them), but I don't even know where to begin as far as replacing it with a standard unit. I would really like to get one that has Off, On, and Reserve. The one that's on it from the factory has Prime, On, and Reserve. Any idea where I can get a standard, gravity feed unit, Franque? __________________ First Rule of Aviation: -Never Pass Up The Opportunity to Pee I was struggling to get my wife's attention; I sat down on the couch and looked comfortable. That did the trick! My wife says I only have two faults. I don't listen and something else... If at first you don't succeed, try doing it the way I told you to... The Stable: 2005 Yamaha V-Star 650 - SOLD 2015 Suzuki DR 650 2015 RPS Hawk 250 - SOLD 2016 Ural Gear Up
	0

02-07-2021, 05:21 PM	#8
franque Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Marseille, France -> Conakry, Guinea Posts: 1,481	I asked on an Facebook group I'm a part of... The tricky part is the 50mm spacing. One of the guys said he's got some parts kicking around, but he's in the UK. You could either get a Pingel petcock, or an idea that I had was to make a Pingel style adapter plate, but then use a metric nipple to then use a Honda style petcock, or even a metric 'stud' nipple that could screw into the hole and the petcock. Depending on the availability/pricing for the Suzuki part, a Pingel might be cheaper. If it's a 44mm, that might be more doable, you just need to measure, I found this: https://speedmotoco.com/fuel-valve-p...z1000-j-model/ Last edited by franque; 02-07-2021 at 06:12 PM.
	1

02-07-2021, 12:48 PM	#6
franque Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Marseille, France -> Conakry, Guinea Posts: 1,481	Nice project! If it's one of the vacuum operated petcocks that Suzuki looked to use, you might want to switch to a standard some, I've seen them fail a bunch.
	1

02-08-2021, 05:40 AM	#9
Emerikol Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Carrollton, GA Posts: 1,465	Franque, I think I may just pick up a piece of Aluminum bar stock and mill my own. A run of the mill petcock should be easy enough to find, and I can just use a piece of flat rubberized gasket to make the seal to the tank. I checked for spark yesterday and at first just the outside cylinders (1 and 4) were firing. I put the jumper pack on the charger for a while, and once it was topped up I had spark across all four plugs. It wasn't a very strong spark, but it was there. Today I plan to dribble some gas into the cylinders, put the plugs back in and see how it sounds. it won't run for long giving it gas that way, but it will at least let me know if this was a good use of $250, or if this is going to be a very expensive project. I'm pretty sure I'll have time to get the carbs reassembled correctly and on the bike today, too. The PO gave it to me without any oil in the crankcase, but a new oil filter installed. I used about a 50/50 mix of Rotella T-4 15W-40 diesel oil, and some Yamaha 10W-40 motorcycle oil I had left over from the latest oil change on the V-Star. That should be good to get everything back up and running, and then I'll do another oil change and decide if I want to run straight Rotella since it's an old air-cooled bike, or if I want to run a motorcycle-specific oil. Overall, pretty happy with picking this one up so far. __________________ First Rule of Aviation: -Never Pass Up The Opportunity to Pee I was struggling to get my wife's attention; I sat down on the couch and looked comfortable. That did the trick! My wife says I only have two faults. I don't listen and something else... If at first you don't succeed, try doing it the way I told you to... The Stable: 2005 Yamaha V-Star 650 - SOLD 2015 Suzuki DR 650 2015 RPS Hawk 250 - SOLD 2016 Ural Gear Up
	0

02-08-2021, 05:58 AM	#10
TxTaoRider Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: Flower Mound Texas Posts: 904	The vacuum diaphragm on these bikes dont act as a pump, just a safety feature. The old float needles tend to seep some and the diaphragm only allows gas to pass while the engine is running. When the petcock is on "pri" (prime) the fuel flows threw without the engine running. This is used to get the bike started after its sat for a few days and the carbs have dried out. It you forget your turn the valve from "pri" to "on" or "res" after you've ridden it and you park it for a few days you'll be in for a surprise. All of your gas will be in the cylinders and leak into the crankcase. Nothing like 2 gallons of gas in your oil. Just about all of us old gs owners have done it at least once (I've done it at least twice-lol). So my view on a pingel petcock is you're asking for trouble. You'll forget to shut it off everytime and flood the motor. Www.gsresources.com. Great source of information. __________________ 2021 Tao Tbr7 - "Lucille" Mods so far- Brozz swingarm, 21" front rim (Bridgestone Tw302 rear/Dunlop D606 front tires), Digital gauge cluster, pz30b pumper carb, after market hand guards, aftermarket brake and clutch levers, round fold away mirrors, Fly handlebars shortened slightly, 13t front sprocket 2009 Q-link Legacy 250 1982 Suzuki GS1100ES - "Jolene"
	1

02-08-2021, 07:54 AM	#11
franque Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Marseille, France -> Conakry, Guinea Posts: 1,481	I've seen more bikes with crankcases filled with gas, 2,(Suzukis in particular) from a failed vacuum petcock than I have with bikes that have a standard mechanical petcock, 0. When riding a carbureted bike with a mechanical petcock, one develops the discipline of turning it off, unless they're accustomed to not needing it. I always turn mine off, but I guess having a mildly leaky and unavailable float bowl gasket will do that to you. The main time that mechanical petcocks fail is when they're not used and cycled like they should be. I've rebuilt mechanical petcocks like that for that reason, but they never filled the crankcase like a Suzuki with a bad petcock. Unless you're accustomed to Suzukis and don't use the petcock, if you've ridden many carbureted bikes, you get accustomed to the drill of stopping and turning off the petcock, lest your shoes/boots get covered in gas/you develop a leak in the garage.
	1

02-08-2021, 08:42 AM	#12
Emerikol Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Carrollton, GA Posts: 1,465	So I can tell you both that I appreciate the feedback, and I am the 100% WORST about turning off the fuel valves. I just never do it in all the years I've been riding. The worst part is that I KNOW I should turn them off, but I just don't. It's especially bad on the DR, since I have the 5.3 gallon fuel tank on that beast. 5 gallons of gas has a lot of potential energy in the form of static pressure pushing down on the needle and seat. And because it's a single cylinder thumper, there's only one very large carburetor on it. That's a recipe for disaster, but so far I've not had any problems at all. In any event, I just ordered a new battery and a petcock rebuild kit from Amazon. Everything should be here on Wednesday. __________________ First Rule of Aviation: -Never Pass Up The Opportunity to Pee I was struggling to get my wife's attention; I sat down on the couch and looked comfortable. That did the trick! My wife says I only have two faults. I don't listen and something else... If at first you don't succeed, try doing it the way I told you to... The Stable: 2005 Yamaha V-Star 650 - SOLD 2015 Suzuki DR 650 2015 RPS Hawk 250 - SOLD 2016 Ural Gear Up
	0

02-08-2021, 01:18 PM	#13
Emerikol Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Carrollton, GA Posts: 1,465	Status Update: IT'S ALIVE! I cleaned and gapped the plugs, and dribbled a little bit of gas right down the intake ports. Gave it a quick tap on the starter button and it took right off! It revved up (higher than I would have normally liked an engine sitting that long to have revved), and promptly died. It also spit about 400 metric tons of rust out the tailpipe. Actually, that's an exaggeration for dramatic effect. It really just dusted a light smattering of very fine rust particles. The engine isn't making any expensive sounding noises (it actually sounds really, really good!), but I'm going to have to bench build those carbs and take everything apart and put it all back together to proper specs. There's so much on them that isn't in the right spot, not torqued properly, or not adjusted properly it'll just be easier to do a full on overhaul rather than try to get it running and then fix things as I go. But for right now, I certainly think I got my $200 worth! __________________ First Rule of Aviation: -Never Pass Up The Opportunity to Pee I was struggling to get my wife's attention; I sat down on the couch and looked comfortable. That did the trick! My wife says I only have two faults. I don't listen and something else... If at first you don't succeed, try doing it the way I told you to... The Stable: 2005 Yamaha V-Star 650 - SOLD 2015 Suzuki DR 650 2015 RPS Hawk 250 - SOLD 2016 Ural Gear Up
	4