megawatt

No, as you say , it's the wrong way around. Before you change the oil , it might be worth degreasing the clutch plates to get rid of the old oil?

It could also be a breather pipe. Can you post a piccy or microfiche drawing or a link?

Have you recently filled up with petrol or gone onto reserve or nearly ran out? Drain fuel out of float bowls into a clear container, then drain fuel tank?

I've stripped and rebuilt engines in the pits at Santa Pod! Lovely engines these aircooled Suzukis. No bloody shell bearings to faff around with!!!! As long as the crank bearings are OK

Found a bit of time to split the engine today and have a look inside. Started by removing head and block, alternator and ignition covers. Then remove anything inside the engine that stopped the top and bottom halves being seperated. At the back of the clutch are a couple of retaining plates that need removing and another one that needs the oil ways blasting through with degreaser and compressed air. http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1267.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1280.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1281.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1282.jpg Then it was time to remove all the M6 and M8 bolts from first the top half http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1276.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1277.jpg . Then the bottom half. http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1284.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1285.jpg The engine is normally split with the top half upside down on the bench, retaining the crankshaft and gearbox in place. Next job was remove the fabricated sump and undo the main bearing bolts hidden inside. Note; the sump fabricator has put his initials in there, a good sign. http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1286.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1287.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1288.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1289.jpg sump filter was nice and clean. Also housing modified for racing. http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1290.jpg Removed the last two M8 main bearing bolts and tried to seperate the two halves. No joy!!! Did anyone spot the deliberate mistake? http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1279.jpg Look at the right hand side of the gearbox? Yep, left an M6 allen bolt in there!!!! Removed it, flipped engine over, couple of taps with a mallet and voila! http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1292.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1294.jpg Found one slightly galling problem when I split the casings. A small piece of loose aluminium in the top half. http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1296.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1297.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1299.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1298.jpg It's the cam chain guide holder, but I can fix or replace it. Other than that, all looks pretty good. Later I started cleaning gasket goop off the sealing faces and cleaning up the M6 threads. http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1295.jpg More tomorrow or Thursday !!! Phew!!!

If you have one good bolt that is the correct thread for the damaged bolt hole, you can use it as a "tap" to clean up the damaged thread. Put head of bolt horizontally in a vice. Use a hacksaw with a new blade to cut a slot about 2mm deep at a 45 degree angle on the threads. Turn the bolt in the vice by two flats , 120 degrees, and repeat the hacksawing. Repeat again and you will have a bolt with 3 sets of cutting edges on it. Next, file the end 3 threads so that the first has almost gone, the second is a bit higher and the 3rd is nearly complete. You now have a tapered start to your bolt. Lastly clean the threads and cuts with a wire brush. You now have a bolt that you can use to clean up the damaged threads. Put a drop of oil on the bolt threads, then make sure it is at 90 degrees to the bolt hole and with firm pressure screw it into the hole. If you think you can't do this , pop it in the post and I'll do it for you and post it straight back?

Good write up mate

Well Pendine Land Speed Records event is scheduled for June 20 to 23rd. So , Yes, hope so

Kin ell Bob, just checked on Orient Express website. Straight cut gears , $600, billet clutch , $600 !!!!!

Made some progress this weekend. Got talking to some of the guys featured in the BBC2 documentary Speed Dreams and some guys on the Oldskoolsuzuki Facebook group, said I was gonna build a flying mile bike for Pendine sands and got some great offers from people I've never met. Drove up to Waltham Cross on Saturday to meet an OSS stalwart called Ian Foxon. Had a brew and drove to his workshop , where we unloaded some goodies from me to him. Main one being a very old, very small, lathe that needed some brackets making and the drive motor mounting to make it work. Once we'd unloaded the Passat and stopped admiring the Katana and EFE in his workshop, we drove to his lockup in Barnet. There, he presented me with a virtually complete GSX1100 engine. It turns out it wasn't just any GSX 1100 engine. It came with a standard EFE cylinder head( bigger valves and ports than the earlier engines). We then went to his mums garage, where he gave me a rusty Harris exhaust system, a Bandit 1200 swingarm and an undamaged ET headlamp unit. Well today I managed to unload the parts and got to work stripping the engine for cleaning and checking. The good surprises just kept coming!!! http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1267.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1259.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1261.jpg GSX1100ET headlamp and lockup clutch with crankcase extension!!! http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1262.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1265.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1266.jpg Standard GSX1100 clutch baskets are known for turning into tambourines and eventually exploding when used in tuned drag race engines. This is compounded by Suzuki fitting helical drive gears to the clutch and crankshaft. The solution is to replace the gears with straight cut gears and the clutch backplate with a billet steel one. All riveted together and the rivet heads welded to the backplate. This mod would normally cost at least £300 to £400 !!! http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1268.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1269.jpg Another drag race mod is to replace the standard GSX oil pump gears with GS750 items. These run faster, providing more oil for cooling! http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1271.jpg http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r240/megawattblade/All%20bike%20pix/GSX1100%20project/IMAG1272.jpg

Should make some progress next week mate.

Should have some progress on this on Sunday night. Heading up to Welwyn to meet PJ and attend the inaugural Pendine LRC meeting. Will probably volunteer for a job to help PJ out . The payback is I'm heading to Ian Foxon's place on the way there. He has offered to lend me a load of engine parts and so has PJ. Once I have crankcases I can make a start on engine brackets and sorting a back end out. I'll be talking to Dixiethedog again on Monday as he has offered a pallet load of stuff including an extended swingarm, Propipe and back wheel. !!!

I bow to your superior knowledge Stu. Just had a look at a few 650 and 600 exhaust systems and all the linkpipes look like they plug IN to the collector and have a fairly thick wire wound gasket. If it is not an exact fit, I am positive we can sort it out without the need for another linkpipe. BUY IT NELL!!!

If things work out right it may cost you nothing extra or just a few quid. Don't give up now if it's a bargain?

Thanks Stu. Wonder if Delkevic linkpipe is supposed to go inside or outside. I'm sure we can sort it. Can anybody loan Nell some digital calipers for Sunday?

"on the bandit the link pipe goes in to the collector" hhmmm, that's not the usual way of doing it?

Yes Nell, most aftermarket silencer Inside Diameter is 50.8mm(2"), but not all are. I will need standard linkpipe outside diameter, if it's possible to use that. If not , I will need replacement linkpipe Outside Diameter. If neither will work I will need the collector O/D, one of the linkpipes to check angles and the silencer I/D.

Pretty sure I can sort a linkpipe for ya Nell Still owe ya an ice cream!

Did you check the float needle for leaks as I sugested?

Shut fuel tap, remove the carb floatbowl, with carb still on bike if you can. Lift the floatbowl until you feel resistance, open fuel tap briefly and reclose. There should be no flow of fuel. If there is fuel flow the tab holding the float valve in position should be carefully bent upwards slightly to make the valve shut earlier. Repeat test, if fuel still flows, remove float and valve , clean valve tip and clean valve seat in carb with a cotton bud. Repeat test.

Never heard of the hammer and flat screwdriver method? When I remove a flywheel or rotor, I stop the crank from turning and then undo the bolt and remove it. I then screw the flywheel puller outer thread into the flywheel and then screw the puller centre bolt in until it is very tight against the end of the crank. I then hit the centre bolt with a lump hammer and it usually falls off the crank. If it doesn''t, I hire a hydraulic puller and repeat the process.

Luke, don't apologise for asking questions, that is the correct thing to do. You can't go wrong with 10/40 semi synthetic. I use the Halfords stuff in my Blade with no problems.

Alex, you may have a badly made rivet link. When I used to fit them to my race bike, I used to squeeze the outer plate on with mole grips and then rivet it on with two hammers. A 4lb lump hammer at the back and a ball pein hammer at the front. Never had a problem using this method and putting over 200BHP through it. Nowadays they supply a soft rivet link , with a dimple in the end of the pins to spread with a rivet tool. That link is no good using method two and I wouldn't advise a chap with your experience to use method one. So you have two choices, 1/ buy a proper rivet link or 2/ fit a split link, If I were you, I'd fit a split link, but what do I know? only been doing this for 37 years

It's more nostalgia than anything else Martin. I raced my GSX1100ET, with a 998cc Katana engine in in 1983 and won all the under 1000cc Sprint FTDs, trophies and two national championships. I converted it to a 1260cc ProStocker in 1984 and then went up to 1325cc until 1988, when my money ran out. I'm not gonna win anything against the newer engined bikes this year cos I haven't got the sorta money I used to plough into the dragbike. I am on a mission to convince younger sprinters that you don't need masses of power to go quick on the strip. In 83 my engine was totally stock and reliable, but my chassis weighed nothing. It was built to comply with the rules at the time, which didn't include a starter or an MOT. I managed 10.67 secs ET without an air shifter and 10.35 secs with one. Riding on sand will be a whole different ball game. No hard launches, just a gradual increase in speed towards the start timing lights. I will need to hold max speed for about one mile and then very carefully slow down. PJ told me to either remove the front brake or connect it to the rear brake master cylinder!!! If I can build a reliable air cooled engine that does decent times that will be great. I have been offered complete oil cooled engines for less money than the air cooled lumps, but it's all about the nostalgia

Two questions. Is it lightweight and is it cheap or on loan or free? This is a very, very low budget project. I don't need a bike that goeas around corners! Just long straight lines. I am toying with the idea of putting it on the road at some point, with vaguely drag bike looks?