[dak]

hi guys, new member here from arkansas. i just bought an 81 gl500 yesterday for $300. guy didnt know much about it, said he was told it needed clutch work and some tlc. throttle tube was also broke so all he could do was start it but not rev it for me.



well, i have been messing around with it yesterday and today and so far have noticed a couple of things

1- there appears to be a little water in the oil, i have found the writeup on changing the mechanical seal

2- crankcase hose is puffing out a good bit of air

3- right side exhaust seems to only puff out about half of the left side

4- left side plug looks nice, right side is oily and oil looks to be leaking from the exhaust manifold

5- i rigged it to where i could rev it some and it also smokes a little from the right side, not while idling tho



speedo reads to have 34,000 miles







sound like rings?

 

[dak]

oops, double post

 

[dak]

The engine seems to be solid, sounds good. No knocks, ticks, etc

 

[dak]

yep, plan on the carb clean as it wont idle without the choke. have rebuilt carbs, but never this style, always a round slide or lawnmower type. have not ran it long enought o know if im losing coolant, i did remove the cap today and could see water. didnt have a flashlight handy so i couldnt note the condition. what is a normal amount of blowby? heres the story on the blowby issue- i got the bike home yesterday and i was having problems starting it so i took off the side cover to the airbox, there was some water in there i figured prob from rain. when i tried to start it it was bubbling water up through the bottom. took off the airbox and the box that the crankcase tube goes into and that box was full of water. finally got it started and sitting on the bike it felt like an exhaust leak was pattering on my leg, go tto looking around and it was coming from the crankcase tube. that amount didnt seem normal and the only thing that i know that causes that is worn rings, no?

 

[dak]

does the engine need to be warm when doing a compression test? ive also heard that throttle and choke being open or cosed will affect readings, this true? what range am i looking for? thanks guys

 

[dak]

So, should I just try to run it as is or put some oil or sumthin in that cylinder to try to loosen the rings?

 

[dak]

WOOHOO! Well, I got off work last night and went out to try a different tank on the bike. I noticed that the vacuum line was off of the carb, put it in and voila! Both exhausts are putting away.....couldnt run it long as it was 2:30 this morning, but im feeling good guys. Supposed to get a throttle tube and oil filter tomorrow, so wont be able to ride it til then

 

[dak]

Picked one up today