Got Some More Things to do to the GS-1000...

So tonight I noticed a slight gassy smell coming from the garage. On inspection it would appear that there is a very small gas leak somewhere on the bike. It's gumming up one of the carbs pretty good, so I can only assume that it's got a stuck float needle.

Luckily for me, after spending so much time messing with the jetting on the Ninja, I'm basically what you would consider a pro when it comes to rebuilding carbs.

I was hoping not to really have to get into that on the GS...but if it must be done, it must be done. And I guess if I do it soon, I won't have to worry about doing it later.

Also lucky for me is that the carbs on this bike were used on TONS of bikes...so the rebuild kits are pretty cheap. Less than $50 shipped. That's not bad at all, really.

Also, I think I'm going to go about getting it out on the road the right way. I'll be doing some other things to the engine while I've got the carbs ripped out. The rubber "boots" that basically connect the carbs to the engine are old and brittle. While I've got the carbs out, I figure I might as well go ahead and replace all of those, as well. The rubber boots generally only last about 15 years or so...and they have probably never been swapped out. So doing it now will, once again, save me from having to do it in a year or so.

Next, while messing with fuel delivery, I think I'll go ahead and put a new fuel petcock on the bike. They go for about $30 or so. That way I'll be sure it's not the valves in the petcock that are contributing to the gas leak.

Those are the main things that I will be doing. I've found out that the fuel gauge doesn't work correctly...but that's not a big deal. If I can get that working, cool. If not, I'm not too worried about it. I don't know if I'd trust it anyways. I am pretty good about knowing when I need to stop for gas on a motorcycle.

These parts, all together, will probably run me about $100. Then it will take me a good afternoon or so to get them all installed. Not too bad, really. They are all things that COULD be just ignored or "Band-aid" fixed. Meaning, I COULD just install a shutoff valve in the fuel line and not worry about the fuel overflowing and leaking slightly. I COULD just use the boots that are on there and say "good enough." But, I want this bike to last me a good long time...so I'm going to be taking my time and getting it all set to go in the RIGHT way. No cutting corners like I did on some of my other bikes.

Like my Radian...man, I loved that bike. But it started nickel and diming me. Instead of fixing it right, I used Band-aid fixes and ended up getting so sick of "reapplying" the Band-aids that I really grew to resent the bike. I don't want that to happen with this GS. So I'll be making sure to do things right the first time!!!