THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD .... NOT!!!!

[Snoopster]

It all started at the end of my trip in Eureka Springs for the Arkansas TWT Rally. See linky (http://www.twtex.com/viewtopic.php?t=2174)

Once we got back & took a look at the engine the crankshaft would not turn. It was completely frozen. :-? We determined that it would be cheaper to get a used motor & do the work ourselves than try & fix the original motor.

Patrick at M/C Unlimited helped us locate a used motor in California. He had used this shop in the past & they have a good reputation. They did a compression check on the motor that came out very nicely & gave a 90-day warranty. While waiting for the motor, Scott "Tourmeister" & Will "Dower" along with my helpful manual reading, pulled the old motor & removed the gas tank, air box, exhaust & back fender leaving a very naked bike. This process took a little over 2 hours & was remarkably easy seeing that neither of the guys had ever done this before. They were very careful to mark hoses & cables & take pictures as they progressed.

It took about a week & a half for the motor to be shipped via Yellow Freight. We finally picked up the motor which was wrapped in plastic wrap & shipped on top of a tire. The look on my face was probably priceless when we unveiled the motor. :shock: I knew that this motor was used & quite a bit older than my 2001 motor but I didn’t except it to look like it did. For one thing, it was black. My motor is silver & it never occurred to us that it would be different from mine. Also, it looked like it had been sitting up for a long time.

After regrouping & looking over the engine we determined that the engine could be painted. Scott shows me a black engine in a silver frame in the Suzuki manual which put my mind at ease. Lucky for me, our good friend Rebecca "Squeaky" agreed to paint the motor for me. :hail She had all the air brushing equipment & this would give her practice with her painting. Will came over to prep the motor by cleaning it & sanding it. Rebecca used a gremmel to remove the old paint in between the fins. Once she taped over the areas that did not need to be painted, she went to work meticulously painting the motor. She allowed this to dry & the next day put on another coat.

Now it’s time to install the newly painted motor w/o scratching it up. Of course the manual states to do everything in reverse. The motor is placed on a couple of jacks & seems to weight a ton while trying to fit it back into the frame. A lift would really be nice right now. Things seem to be going fine until an engine mount bolt snaps. We are using the proper torque but determine that this bolt may be a little softer than the original one. Longer bolts were replaced earlier when the engine guards were added. After the engine is back in place, we immediately decide that the ugly exhaust needs to be painted as well. We now have to prep the exhaust and then Scott takes over the painting chore.

Once the bike is all in tact we try to start it. It acts like it wants to but no luck. We put it on the charger for a while & then try again. Hummm .... still no luck and then a light comes on. Did we turn the fuel on while installing the gas tank????. This does the trick but I immediately notice that the bike is not sounding right. Unfortunately we can not take it for a spin w/o the mounting bolt.

The next day Scott starts the bike up & hears a clanking noise. The bike starts smoking b/c the paint off the exhaust has not cured. We call Patrick up with a description of the noise & he says to bring it to him & not ride it. At the bike shop they determined that the top end noise was from a valve leak & a valve adjustment is needed. Once this is done, Brandon takes it for a test ride & now a thumping noise is coming out of the bottom end . The conclusion is that we need another motor. :angryfir: Luckily we are still in the warranty but now we have to start over again. Two months later & we‘re back to square one. :headbang:

[Fangs]

Sorry Debbie....I know it's frustrating.

[Texian]

awww man, that scks :-( ...I hope you have more patience than I do. Good luck with the next one.

[Vee Dub Nut]

Ive been there... only with a VW though... I know how frusterating it can be somtimes.. just keep at it.. It will get better I promise :mrgreen:

[kurt]

I'm sorry to thear that, but on the bright side, at least you are in warranty. You'll feel much better riding a new SV 650 while waiting on the motor so you can auction off the GS. :-D

[Squeaky]

Oh well.... I can paint the next one too!

[scratch]

Hang in there, Deb and try to look on the bright side: the next motor install should be easier and faster considering the practice you guys have had now.

[10-95]

Patrick at M/C Unlimited helped us locate a used motor in California.

Wow. All the way in Ca? I've always heard these guys can get you anything you need:

North End Cycle, Beaumont,TX (http://www.fullthrottlecycles.com/)

Hope you're up and running soon!

[Tourmeister]

I believe Patrick called those guys and pretty much everyone else in Tx. No one seemed to have that particular engine right now. Bad timing I guess :shrug:

Adios,

[Jack Giesecke]

Wow, that tale just plain sux. :-( All except the warrante part. :-D The clunking was a con rod big end or other crank bearing????? It could just need a new crank, not a tough job on that motor at all. Patrick's as good as they come, though, he knows his stuff.

You really NEEEEEEED an SV, ya know. ;-) I kinda like that westrom 650 for tours/sport tours/adventure tours/commuting, what ever else except pure racing. :lol: Just picture yourself loading the optional bags on that DR650 for a ride to Laguna Seca next year... ;-)

[Jack Giesecke]

OH, BTW!!!!!!!! Try http://www.findmypart.com and enter a used GS500 motor. Ebay might be a try, too, but that site is awesome. Give it a week, though, for salvage dealers to contact you with pricing and details via e-mail.

[dower]

:tears: :tears: :tears: :tears:

That's all I have to contribute!!!


:chug:

[pdef]

You have an R1 or R6 to contribute! ;-)

[VFRinAustin]

Wow Debbie, that really blows. Hope you can find a new engine soon.

[Squeaky]

I say Will gets his track-ready R6 back to street legal and lets you borrow it until you get something worked out. It's not like he can ride both at the same time - and track days won't start back up until spring.

Will.. can you be a nice guy here and help the poor girl out instead of just crying like a baby?

[Tourmeister]

Or just let her take the R1, what the heck!? :-P I'm sure she will do just fine on it in the gravel :angel:

Adios,

[Tx Rider]

Hmm I always used a salvage yard down on Long drive just south of the south loop by Telephone road well between Telephone road and 610, I looked that up and came up with Union Motorcycle Salvage.

I haven't been there for years, but it seems like they used to have tons of old motors and such.

Back when I used to go there they had a lot of stuff they didn't know they had, and walking around hunting was the only way to go. Bikes piled up all over.

Might be worth a shot anyway.

[Jack Giesecke]

There's Union and there's Sam's Cycle Salvage downtown, Sam Romeo. Also, there's one I've been to in Pasadena, Houston Cycle Salvage I think it was. I'd call 'em on the phone to see before making a trip, but I know Patrick knows Sam and knows about the others.

[AggieVFR]

Good luck Debbie. I got my VFR about a month after the engine in my 500 bit the dust. I spent the last year or so trying to get it running in my rare free time. I finally got it back together and road worthy in June, rode it a bit, and it ate another cam. It would seem my coolant leak is due to a crack somewhere in the block or head. Since they only made my bike for 3 years, getting a good engine is unlikely. Fixing what I've got would cost WAY too much. Looks like I'm going to have to shoehorn a Magna 750 engine into the frame... :twisted: I hope you get it back on the road soon. I completely understand the pain and frustration you feel. Maybe this is the motorcycle god's little way of telling you that you need to get an SV. ;-) It worked for my VFR. :-D

[gotdurt]

Beat someone up, that always make me feel better...

A B-6 motor should fit in there quite nicely...

[VFRinAustin]

BTW Debbie

If you all decide to go out on any hill country rides, you can surely take the SVS out. Just to let you know. :-)

[Thermalser]

Maybe I should have "accidently" let that little GS "fall off" the trailer somewhere in Arkansas. ;-)

[scratch]

Maybe I should have "accidently" let that little GS "fall off" the trailer somewhere in Arkansas. ;-)

Stuart, I'm shocked! SHOCKED!! - that you would even suggest such a thing.

:mrgreen: ;-)

[Squeaky]

Maybe I should have "accidently" let that little GS "fall off" the trailer somewhere in Arkansas. ;-)

Stuart, I'm shocked! SHOCKED!! - that you would even suggest such a thing.

:mrgreen: ;-)

Uh... It was Deb that thought of it - I mentioned it on the way back but the darn thing didn't even wobble. I should have let one of the ties grt frayed... then take a sharp curve...
Stuart's bike moved around a bit, but that was easily remedied.

[scratch]

So you're saying that you were all potential partners in crime? I'm sure it was very tempting, but I salute you for not yielding to that urge. They say a life of virtue is it's own reward, but...I wouldn't really know. :roll: ;-)

[Tx Rider]

Well maybe it's different than it was years ago when I went to union, but back then I always went to look around myself as they never had a good list of what was out there. Then again they would tell ya that when ya called.

[HiSPL]

Sorry about the engine. What I do with my inline fours for removal and replacement is lay the whole thing on its side supported by stands and wood. Then unbolt the motor and lift the FRAME off the engine. It's much easier because there are many more handles to grab and the frame just lifts straight up off the motor.


Better luck next time.


Ya know, I always wanted to put a DR650 thumper engine into a GS500 frame and cafe the thing.... :twisted:

[Snoopster]

You have an R1 or R6 to contribute! ;-)
Will.. can you be a nice guy here and help the poor girl out instead of just crying like a baby?

Will did actually offer to drop off Lucy on his way out of town today. I've ridden Trinity before but not her.

If you all decide to go out on any hill country rides, you can surely take the SVS out. Just to let you know.

Thanks Andy, you are so sweet to offer. Patrick actually told me I can borrow an SV from him & I told him, "Be careful what you offer." :-P

Thermalser: We were suppose to do that back in September. :angel:

Tourmeister: I've already taken Interceptor's SV out on the gravel & about had a stroke. I don't think I want to do that again. :eek:

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Right now it's in the hands of J.C. Motors in CA to locate another motor. I'm praying that this whole process does not take another 2 months. I'm hoping I'll be on a new bike come Spring. :roll:

[Rdslvr04]

Sorry to hear of your engine problems Debbie. Hang in there. It will be all that much more enjoyable when you start riding again. Until then I know it stinks. Had to go through it twice with my Buell. What a wonderful bike that was. :brainsnap

[buck000]

I've ridden Trinity before but not her.


What'd you think of it? I'm skeered of such bikes, but love the look and the promise of such a machine.

[treybrad]

Give Argon5w a try from GST. See this thread:

http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13648

Looks like he's got a few spare engines lying around for the GS. Good luck with it.

trey

[Tourmeister]

Thanks for the heads up! I have PM'd him so we'll se where it goes from here.

Adios,

[Snoopster]

Thanks to Trey for helping us locate another motor. :-D Tourmeister & I spent yesterday evening stripping the bike down again to remove the used motor. We are getting a full refund on the motor from CA. Tourmeister went down to Houston today to check out the motor -- unfortunately I had to work. :-( Hopefully I will hear from him this evening & he will be bringing back a working motor. Keep your fingers crossed. :hail

[Squeaky]

My fingers are crossed...

I'll be up there late Saturday into Sunday, so I can help get the motor in if everything else is in order.

[Dirtrideroader]

Tourmeister went down to Houston today to check out the motor -- unfortunately I had to work. Hopefully I will hear from him this evening & he will be bringing back a working motor. Keep your fingers crossed.

Hope the new motor works out. Good luck.

[Texian]

OK...now I'm getting addicted to this thread like an edition of "This old house" or something !!
How about some pics on the process/progress !! :lol:
Good luck with the new engine. :-)

[treybrad]

Thanks to Trey for helping us locate another motor. :-D

Good deal, I'm glad that worked out for you guys.. I got to help out people on BOTH my bike forums! :chug: Good luck getting it in there!

trey

[Tourmeister]

Well, Beth and I went down to Houston to meet Richard and pick up the motor. It was still in the frame and Richard started it up for us so we could hear it run. Purrs like a kitten! After a few minor delays, Richard and I managed to extract the motor from the frame in about thirty minutes. We got it strapped down to a pallet and put it on the trailer and then headed back home to Huntsville. The motor looks to be in great shape. It is out of a 2000 GS and only has 4900 miles on it. It is silver like the original motor.

I'll post some pics eventually.

Adios,

[mrcleanvfr]

We got it strapped down to a pallet

Scott,

Don't you know the correct method for transporting an engine is to place it on an old tire!

[Tourmeister]

yeah yeah... we just didn't have one at the time and the pallet worked fine ;-)

Adios,

[Snoopster]

Well ..... the GS is finally back. :lol: It was resurrected last night when we (Tourmeister, Dower & I) installed the new motor that has less than 5,000 miles. It just needed a little jump w/ the battery but it started right up. We remembered to turn the fuel guage to the on position this time.

My old motor will hopefully be sold or parted out and the motor from CA will be shipped back. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to take it for a spin yet. Of course, it's raining right now but maybe the weather will improve by the weekend. :-D It's been over a month since I've rode. Hopefully I still remember how. ;-) Scott promises to add pics to this thread .... right???

[Low]

So Glad your back on two wheels... :chug: Now if it will just stop raining :-| ... you can enjoy it...

[VFRinAustin]

Glad to hear you are up and running again. Yeah this weather sucks, hope you can get out soon.

[Steve strom]

YAY !

[Tourmeister]

Okay... here are the pics to date:

Deb looking at the skeletal remains of her little bike after we've finished removing the dead engine.
http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/GS500/DSC02597.jpg

When the "new" motor arrived from Californica, it was not quite what we were expecting. For starters, it was black and the original motor was silver. Deb was not happy. However, I showed her some color pics in her manual of some GS's with the black engine and she started to warm to the idea. The engine was still in rough shape so Rebecca "Squeaky" volunteered to make it pretty:

Pics removed at Squeaky's request :-(

Other than the small gouge on the right side case cover, the engine looked new when Rebecca was done with it :clap

Here it is after we got it back in the bike. Deb still is not so sure about the color though...
http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/GS500/DSC02724.jpg

The silver cover on the top is off of Deb's original motor, the one that came with this one was in BAD shape cosmetically. Here you can also see the small horizontal gouge near the front of the case. Personally, I like the blacked out engine. I think it would look even cooler if the fin edges on the heads were silver.
http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/GS500/DSC02725.jpg

Will and Deb lining things up so we can slide in the engine mounting bolts. We managed to pop the head off of the front upper mounting bolt!! IT had been replaced with the longer bolt that came with the OEM case guards and is apparently a softer metal than the original bolts. We had not even come close to reaching the required torque value when the head shot across the shop like a bullet! :eek:
http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/GS500/DSC02726.jpg

Deb holds the clutch cable out of the way while Will reinstalls the stator cover.
http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/GS500/DSC02727.jpg

Have you even seen two people having more fun? :-P
http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/GS500/DSC02728.jpg

In the foreground, hanging from the ceiling, is the repainted exhaust. when we went to reinstall it and saw how nasty it looked next to the pretty engine we could not stand it. So we sanded it down and gave it a nice coat with high temp BBQ paint. It stinks and smokes, but hopefully after a little riding that will stop...
http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/GS500/DSC02730.jpg

Here's Will trying to maintain his buff appearance :-P
http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/GS500/DSC02731.jpg
:tab Amazingly, he never got any gas in his eyes... :roll:

And for the final install...
http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/GS500/DSC02821.JPG

http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/GS500/DSC02822.JPG

Deb expressing her short lived excitement...
http://www.twtex.com/linkfiles/GS500/DSC02823.JPG

:tab When we remembered to turn the gas valve to the on position on the bottom of the tank, the bike fired right up and seemed to run fine. There was a LOT of smoke from the paint and the stench was pretty bad :lol: It was late and we were still missing an engine mount bolt so we called it a night. The next day I backed the bike out into the driveway to fire it up and let it do some smoking. I started hearing some very odd noises coming from the engine and did not like it. I shut it down and we decided to truck it down to Patrick at Motorcycles Unlimited. Let me just say right here that he has gone above and beyond the call of duty in helping us out with this bike. Anyway, after they do their diagnostics, it is decided that something is fubarred in the bottom end of the motor. Fortunately, it has a warranty and Deb will be getting a full refund. While at the shop picking up the bike, we got the original motor back as well. It is frustrating that after over two months of messing with this, we were right back to square one. :-(

:tab After we found out the second motor was shot, a TWT member pointed us to a post on the GSTwins website. It seems someone was cleaning out their garage and getting out of racing and they had a 2000 motor with less than 5000 miles on it for sale. I got ahold of him, we'd meet in Houston and pick up the motor after seeing and hearing it run. That was a whole nother story for another day. Suffice to say we have the motor. Will came up Sunday and with Deb's help we got the third motor installed. It looks nice, started right away once we jumped the battery, and seems to run great. The exhaust pipes are still smoking from the paint but not as bad so hopefully we will be done with that soon. The bike has been sitting on the battery charger and will be ready to ride tomorrow. Deb has bowling tomorrow evening so if Beth can hold the kiddo in till at least the evening, I may take the bike out for a shakedown run :twisted:

:tab No pics of the bike or the reswap procedure. We were on a mission to get it done and I forgot to get out the camera :oops: I'll try to take a few soon.

Adios,

[Vee Dub Nut]

Glad yall got it all fixed up. Always nice to hear it run again...

[Tourmeister]

IT"S ALIVE!!!! Muhahahaha!

Yeah, so anyway... I took the GS out for a short ride this evening to make sure everything is hunky dorey. After getting the throttle cables, choke, idle setting, blah blah blah, set correctly, it runs great! After spending time on my GS, getting on Deb's little GS made me feel like I was a circus clown riding a miniature bike in a parade :lol: Still, it was fun to take the bike and run it down a nice twisty little road. The little parallel twin was buzzing it's heart out in sheer joy to be back on the road after nearly three months of downtime!

Adios,

[treybrad]

That's great, glad it's up and going again! The garage is no place for a GS. Sounds like it's a pretty straight forward swap.. I know who I'm going to if mine ever dies on me!

Anyway, glad you got it running. And after ALL that.. you still want to sell it Deb?? With such an ordeal I'm surprised you haven't gotten re-attached to the old girl. (I can't say I wouldn't rather have an SV...)

trey

[mrcleanvfr]

Debbie,

Do you have your heart set on blue? I'm sure you could get a good deal (read: "steal") on "Ally". Play hardball babe!!!


Paul

[Squeaky]

I would love it if Ally could stay in the TWT "family", but it seems she really is set on blue. I could paint it blue...

I'm so glad the bike is back on two wheels and can't wait to ride behind it again soon!

[scratch]

Congrats to Dr. Friday and his surgical team on a successful moto-heart transplant! :chug:

[VFRinAustin]

Congrats to Dr. Friday and his surgical team on a successful moto-heart transplant! :chug:

Its probably good that this was not a real patient, would have probably died on the table :lol:

[Snoopster]

Well I took the GS out this weekend & racked up about 400 miles between the two days. It was great to be back on the road. :lol: The new motor is working out great. Patrick tweeked the carbs when he had it last & I definitely have more get up & go. Now I just have make her all shiny & put her up for sale.

Thanks to Tourmeister, Dower, Squeaky & Patrick for helping me revive her. :bigokay: :pound: :bigokay: