Still active? Running strong! GSX1200S Oil-cooled Katana inspection, Deco-mainte, sidestand repair, and more

It’s been pretty warm lately, so our sense of the seasons is getting all mixed up.
And before you know it, December’s here and the year’s almost over.

I finally got to write about the move on the blog, so things feel like they’re settling down a bit.

Let’s keep moving forward with the remaining work.

The base frame side of the step is bent.

The request was to check the step bolts, but…
It looks like it got knocked over at some point without anyone noticing.


Now I understand why the sidestand pin broke
and why the handlebar was so far out of alignment.

The frame-side base plates on the Inazuma 1200 and GS1200SS are really soft and bend easily.
If you make a simple attachment like this and work it back and forth, it straightens out no problem.

But if someone drops it over and over, the threads on the frame side can get totally stripped, which gets messy, so be careful.

I’ll disassemble the control systems and lubricate them.

I disassembled and lubricated the levers, throttle sleeve, and accelerator cable too.
When the controls are smooth, riding becomes so much more fun! (*´ω｀*)

The spark plugs were all rusty, so I’ll replace them.

They looked okay to use, but I’ll replace them just to be safe.

If a Watanabe ignition is installed,
replacing the NGK NT4245 at the same time gives you extra peace of mind.

I made sure to replace the brake fluid too.

The brake and clutch masters are set up for bar-end controls,
so it would be safer to swap them out for ones that work with clip-ons at some point.

Since they’re mounted horizontally but being used at an angle, even a small drop in fluid level could cause air to get in, so you need to be careful.

If the air filter looks questionable, replace it! It usually smells like gasoline.

It’s not so much that it got dirty from lots of riding, but more that blowby and backflow discolored it.
Even if the mileage is low, if time has passed, replacing it will freshen things up.

And that wraps up the work!