What does she ride like after 100,000? What have you done to the motor if anything?
I ask because in reading some of your posts and replies I gather you ride the **** out of your bike and also gather you have no problem spending time above the 6000 mark on tach.
Do tell us what the secret is please!!
A lowly 850G owner with a wimpy 23,000 on the clock wants to know.
Jim
Lots of people on this forum know that I'm the previous owner of a 1984 GS1100GK, which I sold a year ago to TheCafeKid. In turn, TCK has bequeathed the bike to his roommate.
When I arrived iin Dayton in August, 2008, to deliver it to Josh, the bike showed 132,500 miles on the odometer. When I bought it in late 1999, it had a little over 25,000 miles.
Josh says that at approximately 140,000 miles, catastrophic failure of the middle gear bearing took place. I'm told the mighty GK is now back on the road, gathering up more miles.
Keep in mind that the GK's design is basically identical to the 850's. The bikes share many engine and chassis parts, or are easily adaptable and/or retrofitted. What goes for the GK also goes for the 850G, the 1000G, and the 1100G. Before the GK, I owned four consecutive 850G's from 1986 thru 99.
What's the secret of longevity for a GS shafty? Simple. You gotta run the hell out of it! You can't baby it. You must run it hard, and you must run it often. The stock engine is so mildly tuned by Suzuki, it's practically impossible to screw it up, unless it's purposely abused, run out of oil, dragged raced, modified, etc.
When you run your 850G, you must run it for at least 20 miles, letting the engine vapors escape via the exhaust. You must never let it idle for long. You start it, let it warm up a bit to run it without choke, (should not take long, or there's something wrong with its state of tune). Then you go for an extended ride, where you wind it up through the gears, upshifting and downshifting often.
You must change the oil and filter quite often, say 2000 miles. Brand of oil and filter is not important if your changing interval is short. The motorcycle must be in state of tune. This is a binary issue -- it either is in tune, or it is not. There's nothing in between.
Carbs must be clean and synchronized. Valves must be correctly set. Fresh fuel through the carbs all the time, as is fork oil and brake fluid.
Speaking of fuel, your 850G should take 87 fuel with no problems. If it doesn't run on regular, there's something wrong with the bike. Any fuel brand will do. Some knuckleheads on this forum will tell you that ***** brand is best for the bike. BS! They all work just fine.
Worry about what is important: Riding the bike. Don't make up problems. For example, I bought cheap brake pads on eBay, the cheaper the better. I couldn't tell the difference, ever, because more important than brand of pad is freshness of brake fluid and braided-steel lines. That's what makes the biggest difference. I'm a cheap bastard. I like cheap things, like cheap gas, oil, brake fluid (generic Walmart Dot3 works well...).
Again, the secret to a long life for your 850G is to ride it. Ride it hard, ride it often, take good care of it, but don't baby it or stress out over it. Keep it clean, and that includes all connections and fasteners.
By the way, in the 9 years I rode that GK, the head was never lifted off the bike. It still had the original stator and regulator/rectifier. I trust it still does.
I own a Yamaha Venture now. I could repeat the same advice to any Venturer on the Venture websites (except I must include the fluid in the hydraulic clutch and the engine coolant
)
If you don't ride it long and hard, it will not perform. The GS shafty is a workhorse, a Clydesdale, a Percheron. You don't let a Percheron sit in a barn -- you make the damn thing work for you and earn its keep.
Nick Diaz
Middletown, MD
keep rollin
