Help with bike lying up

[Hooli]

I'd drop the headstock & have a look as a minimum. Everytime I've changed them on a 14 the bottom one has been solid rust long before they became loose.

[Suzuki boi]

@grog thanks lad. Slowly but surely she's getting to brand new state.
@Hooli  ye I tightened the head bearing up and it was too tight,I loosened it up a bit but now wants to shake a little bit. I can definitely feel a notch in the middle and to the right
So I've ordered the head bearings and front and rear wheel bearings. Hopefully here by the end of the week.
Using it everyday and love the bike itself. Torque is Amazing.
I have another issue to trace now. Starting can be an issue.
Most mornings when I go to start for the first time. It won't start and makes a bang noise.
Then the needles on the cluster reset and do there sweep again and the clock itself resets everytime this happens.
Battery connections are all fine.
Will need to trace wiring. Could still be the indicator relay causing these issues.

One thing I sorted was the leaky fork leg.
I asked about the copper washer in the other thread.
Took the fork off and cleaned and sorted the washer on the bolt. No leak the past 2 days

[Hooli]

Clocks resetting like that is typical of a dying battery. I can't recall if you've replaced it, but I'd check the earths too as it's been sat around corroding.

[Suzuki boi]

@Hooli unfortunately it is a new battery and all earth's and connections are tight

So before the steering was shaking and felt off so last week I decided to change the steering head bearings.
The top bearing seemed ok,still greased up, not to many marks on the outer race.




But the bottom outer race,by God that was horrible





Bone dry
Dusty as hell.

I managed to get the top outer race out but couldnt get the bottom one out,I didn't have anything with a bend at the bottom to knock it out so unfortunately I had to just clean it up and stick alot of grease over it.
But today I managed to get it out and fitted 2 new tapered bearings
Also Got to fit 2 new bearings for the front wheel.
I had bought a front wheel and rear wheel koyo kit on eBay a few weeks ago and only noticed now that it was missing one of the front wheel bearings
So had to go to a local spot and pick a new one up.
Unfortunately changing these hasn't fixed the shaking when braking
I noticed the front wheel sticks while moving the front wheel so I have a feeling the pistons are sticking or something is up with the caliper.
As far as I remember there's no sliding pin on these calipers. So I've a feeling it's the pistons.

[froudy]

Ouch..Those head bearings were well past their sell by date 
The upper bearing is easy to remove, but the lower one is a pain in the arse if you dont have the correct tool for the job..I struggle every time and end up slitting it with a Dremel and bashing it out.

You can buy caliper rebuild kits from Powerhouse.

Assuming that you still have the 6 pot calipers fitted then this is the kit you'll need....
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suzuki-GSX-1400-front-brake-caliper-seal-rebuild-kit-K1-K2-K3-2001-2002-2003/150958308691?fits=UKM_Make%3ASuzuki&hash=item2325d0fd53:g:FK8AAOSwUKxYiznQ

I fitted Tockico 4 pot calipers to my bike for ease of maintenance. The 6 pots don't like the salt we put on our roads in the UK over winter, and if not regularly cleaned the pistons will seize causing all sorts of nasty problems.

[Suzuki boi]

@froudy
Ye they were well past there date!!
I wouldn't be surprised if they were the originals from the Suzuki factory !!!
I had rebuild the 3 calipers earlier this year.
New pistons seals, the whole lot,just like the link you put up.
To me they seemed like brand new. Unless I messed one up I don't know.
Anyhow I'll have to take the calipers off and have nosey in at some stage.
I can't see these wavy discs being warped unless it had been through some intense heat before I got my hands on it!

[froudy]

Have a read here..It might help...

http://blackshadow-uk.co.uk/Fitting.html

[Hooli]

Typical 14 that, the bottom bearing rusts & rots while the top one is fine. My suspicion is condensation in the frame tubes from the heat of the engine causes moisture that runs down & sits on the bearing. I always put too much grease on the replacements, so there is a barrier above the bearing to keep the water off them. Then regrease it every year or two.

As for shakey brakes, check the bobbins the disc should float on. They seize up & can make the disc slightly warped causing what you've found. Freeing the bobbins allows the disc to return to flat. Just soak the in brake cleaner & spin them slightly, a bolt done up through them gives more grip if needed.

If the discs have been off, it might be worth removing them again & making sure the mating faces are smooth & clean too.

[Suzuki boi]

So lads the bike has struggled to start in the mornings. Have had to use my booster pack to jump start it.
And I've mentioned in the thread it takes a few presses of the starter button to get her to start,and everytime I hit the button first time the clocks and dials would reset and make a band noise.
This noise never happens when I use the booster pack.
Now I went out to test the battery and before I started it voltage was at 12v.
With the bike running I'm only getting 12.45-12.5 v
Before I thought it was the battery (only bought last June and used for the past 2 months).
But now with it running and I'm not getting 14volts.im thinking now it's the stator or regulator?
Any thoughts ?
I would of thought with even a bad battery with the engine running it would still be getting 14volts or am I thinking wrong?
I put on a pair of Oxford heated grips and I see they don't get overly hot and thinking it's related to this battery/voltage issue

[KiwiCol]

Was it starting ok before fitting the heated grips?  The symptoms you describe indicate a flat or tired battery (for the starting) and a charging issue with only getting 12.5v running.   
Incidently, while it's running, are the grips turned on?  if so, try turning them off & see what voltage you get at the battery whilst idling.  If it comes up, the issue in the grips. 
I've not got them fitted, so only go on what you describe, the 14 doesn't have a lot of power left over to run accessories, but many have these grips fitted without issue, maybe your installation isn't the same?

[Suzuki boi]

Was it starting ok before fitting the heated grips?  The symptoms you describe indicate a flat or tired battery (for the starting) and a charging issue with only getting 12.5v running.   
Incidently, while it's running, are the grips turned on?  if so, try turning them off & see what voltage you get at the battery whilst idling.  If it comes up, the issue in the grips. 
I've not got them fitted, so only go on what you describe, the 14 doesn't have a lot of power left over to run accessories, but many have these grips fitted without issue, maybe your installation isn't the same?

Ye before the grips were put on the battery wasn't great anyway
So nothing to do with the grips.
Ye the next port of call is to test the stator.
Hoping it's not that as it seems a pain in the ass to remove!!

[Suzuki boi]

Ok so I've done a few tests on the stator.
Resistance between each coil is 0.9ohms.
No continuity between ground and any cable so that's all good.
But at about 5k revs I'm only getting about 42-45volts at each cable.
Does this mean the stator is fried?
Also now when I tested after putting everything back together.
Voltage is at 13.12v . When I rev the bike to 5k rpm it actually drops to 12.8v

[Hooli]

Only time I've seen voltages drop with revs are raised is when a diode has failed in the reg/rec.

[Suzuki boi]

@Hooli  Removed the rectifier .
Tested with the multimeter and readings all perfect according to Haynes manual.
Stumped now.
Unless that voltage decrease in the stator is the cause. But that wouldn't explain why the voltage drops when the rpm goes up.

[Hooli]

I'm on my third stator, they do fail. I've had one burn out & two where the wires to the stator went brittle & snapped inside the side cover.

I assume you've done all these checks with the bike basicly cold? I ask as I once had a diode pack fail when hot on a car, it'd charge for 10miles or so & then the voltages dropped... That took some finding.