GS Appreciation thread...SUZUKI that is...

Bit of a dead thread, but so's my work day, so bring out the paddles.....whomp....whomp....beep - beep-...


My first motorcycle was a 1980 Gs850G. Here it is, the day I picked it up:



Oddly enough, I found this goodie on CL for $350. I bought it from a dealership in early February, and got the backstory. 1 pervious owner, drove it round for a while, but brought it in to the Suz dealership the pervious summer after not having ridden for a season, and discovered the cost they wanted for the tune-up would be better spent on a new bike. So, in the back of the shop it sat, as a $350 trade in, until Feb rolls around and they needed space for new stock.

This was my first motorcycle. I learned a lot on it, including a good deal about rebuilding carbs and replacing stators and rectifiers. I did a lot of reading on the internet about whatever I could find, and had a hell of a time.

Here's a picture of me later that year at Mt. Washington. I was on my way home from a motorcycle gathering in Abbot, Maine, where I showed up with a barely working motorcycle, and got a hell of a lot of help from good people to get me back on the road home safely:




Sometime in the weeks following, I had my first motorcycle crash. I don't remember all the details, but I had a low-side under the FDR in NYC near 96th street. It had started to rain, and I was riding at a speed beyond my skills. Wrecked shoulder, but the bike was a champ. I watched it slide down the road into a jersey barrier wheelside first. Much to my disbelief, it then road up the side of the barrier and flipped 180 degrees, landing on the opposite side. In shock, I collected myself and my bike from the road, and drove to the nearest gas station before I realized how seriously screwed my shoulder was. A friend drove it home for me the following day, and I haven't ridden it since.

I had problems with the electrics on this one, and at some point told myself I'd be rebuilding the harness. I started a tear down:



Currently, the ol GS has gotten its tank, fenders, side covers, saddle bag covers and fairing repainted, but I haven't put it all back together.

It sits, quietly waiting, in my storage shed, for the time when I might have some weekends to get it back on the road. I'm currently getting demonic ideas of sidecars in my head.



So there's my story, and my GS. Good bike. Got my first PA on it, too. 98mph, according to the LEO, and on a highway exit. I think he was exaggerating, but my speedo only goes to 85 and then vibrates around like a kid on a sugar bender, so what do I know?

Thanks for stopping by & reviving this thread. I'm glad you got the bike for a price that justifies putting some bucks & time into it. The old G-model shafties are great rides.

I'll be posting up a pictorial on working on my '81 GS1100E as soon as I'm done. Nothing huge; just some deferred maintenance along with fixing some stuff the PO screwed up. Might help some GS newbies.

Please post up when you're done!

Otis

I certainly will.

What work are you doing?

Has anyone tried tubeless tyres on these alloy rims?

This is the bike. Not too shabby as-is.










What started it; PO put K&N's on.
When you eliminate the air box, you remove any rear support for the carb bank. He left the carb bank bouncing around with just the rubber intake tubes to support it. This led to a crack in the #1 intake rubber. #4 was starting to crack also.
So once I got into it, to replace the intakes & support the carbs, I decided to give it a good looking over for what repairs I could do while I was at it. At least anything that didn't cost much.
The new intakes are on (Bike Bandit parts). Then I just started lookin' 'round.

The "still to do" list...
-Rubber grommets for the side covers dried up & dead. Tail-piece loose. Right side-cover rear mount broken. Left filler piece has rear "tab" broken.
-Tach not working.
-Front brake VERY soft and spongy feeling. Bled 'em, but no air came out, no improvement. I'll get new lines when funds allow. Have new pads, not yet in.
-New carb vent hoses (had none!), and fuel and vacuum (petcock) lines (old, dry & hard).
-Try to figure out how to mount the fairing.
The bike came with a color-matched Tracy fairing. It had been mounted at one time (you can see the "mark of Tracy" on the sides of the instrument panel, where the upper mounts rest/rub against it). But the PO didn't have the bar mounts. Rods that go from bar mounts to fairing are there, as are the fairing-to-headlamp-bucket mounts.
I'm old enough to remember when these were new . The ball-and-socket mounts were Crap, but the fairings were made pretty well and gave good wind protection . They later changed the mounts, so I guess this is an early one. Parts seem to be unobtainium in my internet searches so far, but I'll get serious about networking with the "Old Guys" I know. Or just rig something up myself.

Had a sticking #4 carb float on occasion. Fixed by running a couple of bottles of Techron through the last few rides, & pulled plugs to inspect them. Yep, #4 black. Changed plugs, will ride and re-check plugs later.

And some other little stuff I can't remember right now. I'll have to go back to the pics I took to remember the rest .
===========================

Because my job takes me out-of-town for days to a week at a time, on "standby", on short notice (The boss once called at 8:30 AM. Picked me up at 9:30 AM to drive me to the airport :eek1 ), this is gonna' take awhile....
And it's 12-16 hour days when I DO work, so no time to even read the forums, much lest reply or post up (back home today, gone again tomorrow).

And this is all stuff I was going to do "over the winter"..... until I broke my ankle in January... and missed two months work&pay (I work on a "contract" basis).

Oh well. Ride the 2002 Goldwing when I can, work on the PlayBike when I'm able (and when I can afford parts. that 2-mos down put a Hurt on My Wallet!), and DON'T EVEN LOOK at the "future project", ANOTHER '81 GS1100E!!).
I'll post up more, w/ pics, Someday. Hopefully before Winter!

Good Luck w/ your project.

(Arnie Voice - "I'll Be Back!" )
Otis

Well, just got it a couple weeks ago. My Father-in-law finally let his daughter(my ole lady) take his old MC home. It saw the sun for the first time in three years, and got trailer-ed to it's new home.

It was cool, my old 86 Bonneville towing the 82 Suzuki GS850, on a 81 trailer.

Good condition, needs gone through, but it drove to Indiana from Cali, then got parked. Aired up the tires, they are holding, hope to get to it here in the next couple of weeks.

73,000 miles, all original, My ole lady's Grand father bought it brand new, handed it down to her Dad, now it's hers. Three generations, on one bike.

She's thrilled, she loves that bike, and hates my KLR .

I think I have a new riding buddy.

Pics to come.

This is how I found it....


There's our new pretty


First time outside in three years!


My '86 pulling an '81, with a '82 on it.

Just kinda like that.


Made it home




New stablemates


Ready to go.....?

Reserecting a thread here.
I've been inspired by this thread here. So I've got a 1980 GS1100E sitting in my garage. Lots of history between me and that bike. I'm thinking of turning it into a cafe bike for the occasional weekend twisty ride and maybe a track day or two. To that end I'd like a little better suspension. I've got works shocks on it now and they're find but the front forks are the weak point.
I know that you can put a Hayabusa front end on them pretty easily but the price is beyond my budget. Just wondering if any one knows of a cheaper alternative. I've been over to gsresources and all they're suggesions are either GSXR or Hayabusa forks. Maybe somebody here has a better idea.


Thanks

Well, we Guzzi folk are cheap bastiges...so maybe this will be useful

When researching some Cafe Goose options, the best conventional forks were the 2000-2003 era 600 supersports (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki)

They are massive (43-47mm tubes), have sophisticated (and adjustable) damping, really light and effective four-pot brakes, and generally look great.

They also have the flatter T-clamps you will need. You will be swappig from a 19" Front to either an 18" (early GSXR) or 17" (later). Either will sharpen the steering, but you must run flatter T-clamps (more trail)

And yes, you can get great 18" tires

If you are as boring as I am, and I pray to whatever Deity there is you are not, generally you can get the parts fiches online for both your bike and the possible donor. The key is to find out what wheel and steering head bearings each uses. I would start looking at 2000-2003 GSXR 600 legs.

But the Honda CBR600R (2000-2003) does use smaller bearings as I recall, so may in fact be a better choice.

Now here is the good news. All the kool kids want upside down forks. Which means a lot of these really nice 600 legs have been tossed aside in the name of fashion. You should be able to score the forks, T-Clamps, Calipers, Rotors, and maybe even some controls for $300-$400 total. On ebay

Ebay is a scary place to buy forks, but I have had great luck there. You get a feel for whether someone is reliable or a flake. And as with all things ebay, to get a deal and good stuff you must wait and then snipe when the time is right. Usually takes me about 2-3 months to find what I need.

Anyways, that is the cheap Guzzi way to a 1000% front end improvement. JMHO - YMMV

my 1150/1229 6,000 mile asphalt melter. wisco 1229 -10.5:1 compression, mega cycle cams, v%h ported, polished, flowed head, falicon welded, balanced crank, orient express back cut tranny, 38mm mikuni rs', kerker exhaust, raask rear sers, more.



my newly procured 1978 suzuki gs1000e with 6,000 original miles. purchased from the original owner. bike has been sitting untouched for twenty five years after the owner got spooked and quit riding. a CL find in new york.
$750.00 + $300.00 to ship. can't believe no one locally jumped on it. i get it next wed.

I've always admired Guzzi riders and their inovative solutions. I don't really like the looks of an USD fork on those early 80s bikes anyway and certainly finding something conventional from about Y2K should be a heck of an improvement. Probably more of an improvement than my skills would allow me to take advantage of. Plus a conventional fork would have the correct aesthetic for what I'd like to end up with. And if anybody doesn't think aesthetics are important they should look at this.

Thanks for the reply Jinx.

So, who was driving through Birmingham AL with a GS 1000L in the back of their truck the other day? Looks like someone was headed home with a nice garage find, even if I don't care much for the L models.

So I know a guy with a GS1100L sleeping in his back yard, out in the weather. I don't need another project but if anyone is interested I could inquire further. New baby on the way could hasten a sale.

This is awesome. I've always loved the 1150's, and ride a 1000.

Very cool! Keep it in the family.

I'm in Indy. Holler if you need a hand!

I'm under the same username over at thegsresources.com , but I don't think I've seen you over there yet, or at least I haven't noticed anyone from WL. There are a couple of GS-ers in your area, and several of us in Indy.

Your 82 1100G (shaftie) should already have wheels ready for tubeless tires -- the wheels will have lettering cast into them that says "TUBELESS TIRE APPLICABLE".

Some models have cast wheels that are not originally approved for tubeless use, such as the 82-83 GS1100E (chain drive) and most 1980 and earlier models.

However, lots and lots and lots of people have converted alloy GS wheels to tubeless with excellent results. Please do a search on thegsresources.com for the full story and the raging debate (no need to rehash it here).



Crap -- just noticed that your question is a few months old... oh well.

<a href="http://s134.photobucket.com/albums/q109/bomberdave/?action=view&amp;current=gs1100e.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/b/bomberdave_gs1100e.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>



1982 gs1100e i picked up yesterday with 19k original miles- pretty clean shape, not perfect- i want to build it into a highway tourer for visiting family on the west coast. my friend dan (behind bike) taught me how to ride on his '82 a long time ago. yeah i know, ha ha... he is hating me in this pic for buying this bike...

sounds sweeeet with the vance and hynes 4 into 1 but im already collecting dirty looks from the neighbors...

needs shocks,fork seals, tires, bars and a rack, maybe a tiny fairing. slap on my tank bag and make for the horizon

that uni sticker is just to cover a hole in the tail section where there used to be a flushmount turn signal. the air box is still intact-

My GS500, its great around town. Thought I'd revive an good ol' thread. Previous owner had dropped it so i was in the process of putting on new SV650 mirrors. All the exhaust, side cover, etc are new to the bike replaced by yours truly. Just got a new set of rubber, front springs and a rear katana shock to go along with it!