Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Around The House). This thread is read-only.
Hey guys and gals,
A little background on me. I went to school for motorcycle and small engine repair. Got my degree in that and then went back to school for marine engine repair. Apparently they are two different programs. Worked in the industry for about 3 years, got sick of the low pay and switched to a technology job. Now I run all of the applications and software for a bank.
1979 Suzuki GS750
So this is my winter project that i thought I would share with you. I picked up this beauty in November for a whopping $700. Guy told me he “went through everything and its in top running condition”. Well I go the bike home and the carbs started leaking instantly. So i pulled the tank and cabrs. Did a full rebuild with new o-rings, cleaned the jets, set the float height ect. Then it came time to check the valve clearances as thats probably the most looked over part of maintenance for any bike. Well every valve was too tight to get even my smallest 0.02 feeler gauge into. So I had to get a smaller shim and run it through ever valve to get a baseline of what I needed. Finally got all the shims needed and put them all in. Ended up twisting a bolt off on the cam holder. Nothing a left handed drill bit and an EZ-out cant fix. New gaskets and shes back together. Adjusted the clutch actuater and and cable so now its how its suppose to feel. Im not quite done with her as i need to get new wheel bearings, tires, brake lines ect. Ill try to keep this updated. In the mean time, here are some pictures:
Just got her back home
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Tank and Carbs off. Very dirty
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valve cover off
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This was almost a bad night
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The zip ties help keep the valves open when pulling the shims out
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Might as well pull the cams out so its easier to put the new shims in
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This is a good tool to speed up installing bolts that cant be torqued too high as would happen with my impact
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These are as good as everyone says
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All buttoned up. For now
NICE!
Awesome. That’ll make a great fun bike.
Love looking at motorcycles, but I’m afraid to ride one especially around the public. Looks like your doing a great job!!
great project / motorcycle. I used to do that too during the winter seasons back in Germany.
Nice job and a good score. Too bad that working on a motor doesn’t pay the same or even near the same as a tech job.
That was a score on the bike and it looks great too. Hope it runs as good as it looks.
Nice bike and welcome to forum
Well i put new o-rings in behind the intake boots. All of them were cracked and that causes big issues. Now im on the hunt for a new factory airbox as mine has been “modified for better airflow”. Hope to be done by February with everything but these things never go as planned.
nice, I’m more into indians and HD but still really cool
Thanks for the kind words guys. Im into anything on 2 wheels or 4 wheels. I would love to get into woodworking but dont have the shop room or tools yet.
Currently waiting for some brake parts for the handlebar switch as i seem to have misplaced mine. I’ll be getting new charging system parts too, a new regulator rectifier and probably a new stator depending on what the current one looks like. New SS braided brake lines are in order as well. Just thought id give an update.
Thats a good looking screwdriver
nice oldie….
Sounds definitely like a fun project
Did a little more work on it this weekend. Got the gear indicator to work so now it tells me what gear I’m in! Thats a pretty damn cool feature for a bike from the 70s. I guess they clear coated all of the connections so i couldnt melt the solder at all. Finally scraped it off and got to re-solder it. My petcock started leaking pretty bad after i put a hose clamp on it so I think its time for a new one.
Also went to the tool depot and picked these up
Nice!!
Hey guys just an update:
Got a few more things fixed on her. Petcock is still leaking after i took it apart so i ordered a new one. Took her for a ride last night while it was a balmy 22 degrees. Also picked up another bike to work on. We she just needs a little cosmetic work. Got it for….$500. Not even kidding. Killer deal from a friend. Runs just fine after i did a little maintenance on her. Here she is:
cjanderson_90 wrote:
Hey guys just an update:
Got a few more things fixed on her. Petcock is still leaking after i took it apart so i ordered a new one. Took her for a ride last night while it was a balmy 22 degrees. Also picked up another bike to work on. We she just needs a little cosmetic work. Got it for….$500. Not even kidding. Killer deal from a friend. Runs just fine after i did a little maintenance on her. Here she is:
Dang that looks sick.
I have the same locking pliers
Haha I have only used the pliers once and it was to work on this bike. My choke cable slipped off its peg(stupid design) and i used this on the outside end to use the choke. Worked well.
Samuel L. wrote:
Dang that looks sick.
It looks even more sick. Ive added handguards and am adding a front fender. Going for a supermoto look
Looks nice and for $500 bucks that’s a cool deal man!!
Oh ya too good of a deal to pass up since she books at right around 3k. Here is how she sites currently:
That’s a beuty bro very nice!
ya thats definitely a great hobby
damn man!! you got one hell of a deal on that Buell that thing looks great.
what model is that?
Its a 2005 Buell XB9SX or CityCross as they call it. “Urban Assault” bike is what they marketed it as.
Thanks, I love the look of it
Well I put new levers on the Buell and have a new petcock on the way for the GS. I had plans to sell the GS to a friend of mine but now that Ive ridden it I’m second guessing selling it. Its a fun and comfy bike, even if I’ve only put like 3 miles on it.
New petcock installed on the suzuki and no more leaks! Its 45 degrees here today and looking like 50 for the next 10 days so I hope to do a lot of riding. Had to revert to factory brake lever for now on the buell as it was too close to the bars and very uncomfortable. Ill do a little carb tuning on the suzuki tomorrow morning to see of I can get it to run a little better.
Well I got the suzuki running. And then I sold it. More money for the buell, which is slowly turning into a sport touring adventure bike. Im very pleased with it. Pictures soon
Well a lot has happened since i posted last. Ive been on numerous trips with the bike and I’ve managed to put about 6000 miles on this year so far. And the bike has changed colors finally. Ive done a lot of maintenance on it too. Here’s how she looked when I went on my last trip:
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Ill be doing some moto vlogs too here shortly as Im waiting for a new mic for my helmet cam.