Project "good enough to ride"
Apr 12, 2012 18:59:49 GMT -6
Post by bobbed750 on Apr 12, 2012 18:59:49 GMT -6
Picked this 92 suzi gs500e up for 400 a few weeks ago, hadnt been started since '04 and was VERY purple lol
As it was delivered
After a rattle bomb and chopping off the rear fender
When i tore into the carbs i almost cried... They were SO gummed up and the fuel needles, seats and floats had fused together.
After looking up replacement parts i remembered that i had recently parted out a gsx750, and the side profile of the carbs seemed to be the same from what i remembered. went to the garage and dug them out, and to my VERY pleasant surprise... ALL of the parts i needed were direct swaps, even though they were just a tad bit different. I reassembled the carbs after letting them sit in carb dip for 3 days and finishing cleaning them with b12 chemtool. threw them back on the bike and after a few cranks and some starter fluid THUMP THUMP THUMP VROOM!
She revved to life.
Spent today repairing some mouse-eaten wiring, and rode her up to d and sons to get her inspected. As soon as i arrived i noticed a fuel leak... the tank had rusted through :-(
So I turned around to head home to assess the situation and possibly repair.
By the time i had got back home my leg was COVERED in fuel.
found several spots that were bubbled, picked at the bubbles and more holes... great...
Cleaned out the tank with dishwashing soap, as i have done quite a few times in the past
this is what came out... eww
and ground off the paint in the affected area's
swiss cheese... So kreem, or redkote isnt really an option at this point, and tank replacement is eminent... However, I can only find perfect tanks, and in the 150-250 range.. I intend on teaching my girl to ride on this bike and i dont want to put a good tank on it in fear of it being demolished, So i figured i would give welding the holes a shot.
Remember, I had said that I had cleaned tanks out with palmolive MANY times in the past as prep for welding... So I was REALLY surprised when it shot a fireball at me as soon as the torch touched it
Results:
the flames on my arm sprung to life....lol
Well.. That kinda scared me away from welding it, and the steel is really too thin from the rust anyway.
I dont care what the end results look like as long as it will hold fuel for the season, so I decided to fiberglass the bad spots just to get me on the road.
Its curing now, and hopefully tomorrow it will hold fuel so i can get it inspected. I will worry about cleaning it up later. Just want to ride.
And that's where i'm at now.
As it was delivered
After a rattle bomb and chopping off the rear fender
When i tore into the carbs i almost cried... They were SO gummed up and the fuel needles, seats and floats had fused together.
After looking up replacement parts i remembered that i had recently parted out a gsx750, and the side profile of the carbs seemed to be the same from what i remembered. went to the garage and dug them out, and to my VERY pleasant surprise... ALL of the parts i needed were direct swaps, even though they were just a tad bit different. I reassembled the carbs after letting them sit in carb dip for 3 days and finishing cleaning them with b12 chemtool. threw them back on the bike and after a few cranks and some starter fluid THUMP THUMP THUMP VROOM!
She revved to life.
Spent today repairing some mouse-eaten wiring, and rode her up to d and sons to get her inspected. As soon as i arrived i noticed a fuel leak... the tank had rusted through :-(
So I turned around to head home to assess the situation and possibly repair.
By the time i had got back home my leg was COVERED in fuel.
found several spots that were bubbled, picked at the bubbles and more holes... great...
Cleaned out the tank with dishwashing soap, as i have done quite a few times in the past
this is what came out... eww
and ground off the paint in the affected area's
swiss cheese... So kreem, or redkote isnt really an option at this point, and tank replacement is eminent... However, I can only find perfect tanks, and in the 150-250 range.. I intend on teaching my girl to ride on this bike and i dont want to put a good tank on it in fear of it being demolished, So i figured i would give welding the holes a shot.
Remember, I had said that I had cleaned tanks out with palmolive MANY times in the past as prep for welding... So I was REALLY surprised when it shot a fireball at me as soon as the torch touched it
Results:
the flames on my arm sprung to life....lol
Well.. That kinda scared me away from welding it, and the steel is really too thin from the rust anyway.
I dont care what the end results look like as long as it will hold fuel for the season, so I decided to fiberglass the bad spots just to get me on the road.
Its curing now, and hopefully tomorrow it will hold fuel so i can get it inspected. I will worry about cleaning it up later. Just want to ride.
And that's where i'm at now.
