I picked up this bike a year ago this spring - put 6,500 miles on it
last year. At the end of the season, I had the entire rear brake
system replaced - the rotor (bad when I bought it, but didn't realize
HOW bad) had eaten into the piston behind the brake caliper. Whoops.
Even had the master cylinder replaced - as the shop claimed they
couldn't get it to pump up after the new rotor went on. Evidently the
rear tire that was also replaced at the same time was actually the
wrong size - lead to handling issues that I couldn't pinpoint since
the rear tire was actually hitting on the frame of the bike under
cornering. (Rear of the bike would just slide sideways with no warning
- or at least thats how it felt, the tire itself never broke loose,
just felt like something was broken in the suspension)
At the start of last season I installed (with considerable
help from my Dad) an electronic ignition system to replace the faulty
points.
At no point did I think I was running a bike with really bad
carb problems. At the end of last year when I started getting a slight
knocking sound something wasn't quite right. Smart money was on the
valves being out of adjustment One look at the shimming procedure on
this bike was enough to make my eyes cross. I elected to haul it into
a shop for that. A large part of that decision was finding out what
the local Suzuki dealer was going to charge me for the shims.
So I rode the Suzuki into the shop about a half hour away and
dropped it off.
Most of this next bit is what I was told.
Unfortunately my own mouth got me into trouble and I asked
them to 'fix everything'. Yeah. Whoops. Well after the valve
adjustment job was done, they figured out that it wasn't running
terribly well - even after the valves and ignition timing were
adjusted. Making the logical assumption that after the spark plugs
were changed (I asked for that) the carbs must be the problem. When
the carbs were removed and disassembled - a large amount of rust was
found - jamming into the jets I understand. After several days in the
dunk tank and four carb rebuild kits - they came out all shiny and
new.
While all of this was going on an oil leak was discovered. I
was told about it - but I had a hard time believing that an oil leak
so bad that it couldn't be ridden would have spontaneously developed.
I guess I'm wrong - perhaps the winter in the cold shed opened up a
seal.
At some point I'm going to give it a very detailed once
over after I've checked the oil level and see if I can put my eyeballs
on where the problem lies.
-Joey
On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 9:08 AM, nighthawkin <[email protected]> wrote:
> so what did the dealer do for 8xx.xx bucks then!? so you say it didnt leak
> when you took it in there? or is this a new/used bike you just picked up?
>
>
> On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 9:02 AM, Joey Kelley <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> All,
>> Allow me to clarify.
>> The oil leak is so bad that when I rolled into my driveway
>> after 30 miles there was enough burning on the exhaust that it
>> appeared there was a white cloud coming from the right hand side of
>> the bike.
>> It appears to be burning on the #4 exhaust pipe. Upon
>> further inspection the entire right hand side of the bike has oil
>> splatters, along with my right pants leg.
>> The oil currently in it is 10w40 Kawasaki branded oil, but
>> when I rode it in there it had Castrol in it - also 10w40 JASO/ MA
>> spec. According to the dealer it was leaking when I rode it in.
>> Ever since I've owned it I've had to add oil periodically
>> but come on - its got 56,000 miles on it and its 34 years old - it's
>> gonna use a little oil.
>> As to the amount - all I can tell you is that the sight
>> glass (which BTW is a HORRIBLE way to check oil level in my opinion)
>> was completely empty when I got home - in all fairness I'm sure the
>> bike wasn't exactly level, but even where it was sitting it should
>> have read at least something.
>> My Girlfriend, who was following me, made the comment that
>> she thought she smelled a distinct burning smell but actually thought
>> it might have been her car.
>> The irony of the whole thing - that 30 mile journey was
>> probably the best 30 miles I've had on that bike. I had no idea how
>> badly the carbs were crummed up - it would appear that not long after
>> I bought it I must have sucked some rust into the carbs and partially
>> blocked one or more of the jets. It has never run better since I've
>> owned it.
>> Still frustrated - but I haven't been back out to look at
>> it since last night when this was discovered.
>> -Joey
>>
>> On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 5:40 AM, Allen Thomas <[email protected]>
>> wrote:
>> > Sorry to hear that Joey. I'm assuming the oil is leaking externally and
>> > not being burned up in the motor, correct. Where does the leak seem to be
>> > coming from? I know of a couple places where they are known to leak. Front
>> > sprocket seal, lower rear head gasket, valve covers, and also there are
>> > some
>> > o-rings people suggest replacing when doing a valve job because they can
>> > leak oil into the exhaust. Were the people at GSR any help? They would
>> > probably know more bike specific stuff, but I'm willing to help figure it
>> > out.
>> > Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
>> >
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: Joey Kelley <[email protected]>
>> > Sender: [email protected]
>> > Date: Sat, 26 May 2012 22:52:29
>> > To: <[email protected]>
>> > Reply-To: [email protected]
>> > Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Well it appears I'm hanging up my Leather
>> > Jacket
>> >
>> > All,
>> > I really wanted to tell you all the good news:
>> > I picked up my GS-1000 from the dealer I had working on it.
>> > Here is the bad news - well - two fold: One they had it over a
>> > month and two the bill was $869.
>> > Here is the even worse news:
>> > There is an oil leak so bad coming from some place they couldn't
>> > identify. To be fair I'm not exactly sure - but it appears to have
>> > leaked out and burned at least two quarts of oil on a 30 mile ride
>> > home from the dealer.
>> > The dealers opinion is that they cannot identify it without
>> > pulling the engine - possibly splitting the case - and figuring out
>> > what is leaking.
>> > The problem is - I have no place to work on the bike, not
>> > enough knowledge of the internals and (evidently) not enough money to
>> > be able to afford someone else to fix it for me.
>> > I have now doubled my purchase price in repairs - and I can't
>> > ride it.
>> > Thoughts? Suggestions?
>> > Graham - want another GS-1000? Allen?
>> > -Joey
>> > PS - No I'm not happy. :-(
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > -Joey Kelley
>> > JoeyKelley.com - My Life Online
>> > JoeyFixesComputers.com - Its What I Do!
>> > JoeyKelleyPhoto.com - Photographing Today, For Tomorrow
>> >
>> > --
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>> >
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>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> -Joey Kelley
>> JoeyKelley.com - My Life Online
>> JoeyFixesComputers.com - Its What I Do!
>> JoeyKelleyPhoto.com - Photographing Today, For Tomorrow
>>
>> --
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
>> "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group.
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>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
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>>
>
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--
-Joey Kelley
JoeyKelley.com - My Life Online
JoeyFixesComputers.com - Its What I Do!
JoeyKelleyPhoto.com - Photographing Today, For Tomorrow
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