suzukigsxr.net: Well.... times change.

It's gone now... but before it left....

Rambling on….

A 1986 GSX-R Odyssey

I bought it on ebay. It was advertised as “for parts or restoration”. It was $950.00. It cost $500 to ship. Total $1450.00. Was it worth it? Pheeeeew…… well, we’ll see. The Gixxer arrived in reasonable shape- as advertised at any rate. It was certainly in need of some love- though I must admit- it had been well stored- it was no ‘coastal shed’ bike. Arizona and So-cal warm air for this grand ol’ gal. The list of parts needed/ parts missing wasn’t to bad… no throttle, no air filters or airbox, cracked (as in TOASTED) upper fairing, horribly useless and completely rotten tires and a smattering of miscellaneous brackets and bolts. A bit more ebaying and most of the needed parts were found.

The arrival…..

It’s got yellow wheels. I can’t abide them. It is also afflicted with a sad case of the over-bling. The red windscreen has got to go. Someone spent a fair amount of time and energy covering EVERY oil, brake, battery and fuel line with stainless weave. No ACTUAL stainless lines, simply useless bling and an ass-load of little hose clamps. NIIiiiiiice. Ghetto Royal. They also chromed the clip-ons, sprocket cover, and, unfortunately, the GSXR 1100 fairing and headlight bracket. I say ‘unfortunatley’ because they failed to realize that there are actually a few small differences between the 750 and the 1100 bracket which render them NON-interchangable. At least if you want to run the stock gauge cluster… Oh well. Whomever did all the chroming must have been responsible for the single WORST cosmetic modification that can be inflicted on a sporting motorcycle. The POLISHED upper fork triple-clamp. Polishing this part has probably been responsible for more UFO sightings, sunburned eye-lids, and retinal burns than any one cares to admit to… Dumb move. Unless you live and ride underground. I am getting it powder-coated black yesterday.

The obvious lack of air cleaning apparatus…. A minor issue… easily remedied…

Some genius also painted the front and rear rotor centers yellow to match the wheels…. WITHOUT removing them from the wheels. Bonus. Just for fun I test fit a mostly-complete set of blue/white body work. I descide I will run this when I have it completely sorted mechanically. I love the blue and white. In the mean time- I yank the carbs and give them a thorough cleaning.

Looks good huh? Yeah……..

The dart board is what I throw things at when plans go awry…

I charge the battery and install a throttle and air-cleaners while I’m cleaning the carbs, then - fill it with some 10W-40 and a bit of premium unleaded. Oh, boy. It takes awhile but it finally coughs and spits and fires… it doesn’t want to run. Surprise, surprise. I finally get it to run for a few minutes and then shut ‘er down and do a plug check. BLACK. Waaaay rich. Hmmm. Also there is a disturbing puddle of oil forming under the engine as well as several alarming trickles from the top-end. ‘For restoration or parts’ is starting to sound like parts… BUT never say die, right? I dig in….

Life during wartime.

I discover all kinds of lovely things. First I find a hairline crack at a case bolt near the rear of the case. I descide that JB weld will do until I feel REALLY bored in the winter months. Once I am into the motor I find there is a stripped tappet lock nut- only three out of four valves in the number 1 pot were actually opening and closing. I find that someone used about a QUARTER TON of gasket goop on the RUBBER valve cover gasket. It’s RUBBER dude. Chill. They also applied the same theory to the head gasket… which since they RE-USED a bent and battered head-gasket could almost be mis-construed as a savvy move, almost. SO, needless to say- new-so-clean-so-fresh head gasket, head re-torqued, valves adjusted, stripped nuts replaced, valve cover saved from being embalmed in sealant and we’re ready to try firing ‘er up again. I have also taken this opportunity to fit black wheels and some fresh(er) rubber. Replaced a few other miscellaneous missing bits.

Pretty huh?

Now we’re getting it… I can taste the love… It fires without too much trouble… running flat tho’… I muck about with the carbs- adjust the needles a bit and realize the vaccum ports for the emission system are wide open. I close them off and BAM. She’s crispy and happy. Sounds decent. Wow. I rip ‘er around town for a few minutes pull back into the driveway. Ok the motor feels Ok… but the fork feels like it is made out of 2X4’s. Ruff- and it’s got a cracked pre-load cap on the right side. I flinch at every pot hole- visions of springs embedded in the eye-socket will haunt my sleep. It’s late and I am tired- I go inside the house. I come back out in the morning and ‘My- what a large puddle of oil you have grandma’. F**K. I take me about 20 minutes but I finally track it to the clutch push-rod seal. Jesus. Ok. $3.50 part. No biggie. While I am doing that I’ll fix the forks.

Don’t drop anything into that slot in the middle… just FYI.

The first test-ride- pre fork repair and still marking it’s spot.

Some 5wt Bel-Ray and a little time- HOLY CRAP. I wish all fork overhauls were so gratifying. An hour and a half and the front end is transformed- now the back feels like poop. LOL… can’t win. So we’re oil-tight- the forks are on and I take ‘er on the maiden voyage- to work. 10 miles away. Yes- I did hit 120 on the way… felt alright. The back tires a bit roached tho’ slides ALLL-over. Every corner… kinda fun though- I feel like a GP star for about a minute.