1983 gs850g

[xcskiier23]

First post here in the GS Resource forums, been seeing some great rebuilds and projects on here! I have been around motorcycles since I was a kid, my uncles being my major motivator behind my passion. We have a small dirtbike track in upstate NY that I grew up putting around on various two strokes, then after high school I finally bought my own YZ450F, and have been racing motocross(poorly) ever since! This summer, I came home from school in Montana with finally getting a street machine hot on my mind. I drove two hours to look at a twin Kawasaki 750, title was sketchy, so walked away. On the drive home, I decided to look at one more since I was in the area. I stumbled across this:









A single owner, 1983 GS850G shaft drive! The guy was sad to see her go, he bought her when he was my age, but I explained to him my familys love for vintage cars and bikes, so he felt a little better. Still had all the paperwork and manual. Took her down the road when I looked at her, she bogged pretty bad in the low RPM's, but he said he had never taken the carbs off so I knew they just needed to be cleaned.






I thought it was funny to note the smiling carburetors! So the tank was full of some pretty bad gas, some rust was found in there but cleaned her out. The carbs had a very fine what I can only explain as rust dust, which had congealed in the corners of the bowls. The jets all got cleaned out, and after I put her back together it was running much better! I put some SeaFoam fuel stabilizer in the tank to run through the system, seems to have aided the carbs a bit more!

 

[xcskiier23]

Right after working on the carbs, I rode my dirtbike a bit, and one of my uncle's friends brought over a 1975 Bultaco 360, which I got the opportunuty to take around my track!




Also took some time off the bike to work on my brother's 1970 Charger! He is in the Marines, followed in my father's and my footsteps. My dad was a Huey pilot, I was a grunt, 0311! Anyways, the 440 in that Charger is something else!





Back to the bike! I was goofing around in my uncles garage, and found this awesome helmet, which I paired with some "blue blockers", needless to say the ladies could not keep their hands off




At this point, I realized their was a leak in the exhaust, located in the "H" section near the drain plug. My uncle actually had an old GS750 engine in his shed that had a Kerker 4 into 1 on it! He mentioned this in a passing conversation, so I immediately went on the forum to find out that the 750 and 850 engines can use the same exhaust! Here it is after I pulled it off the old engine, next to the stocker. Something to note, he had this engine in a KX 250 frame for ice racing, then in a hand built go kart, also for ice racing, this exhaust has seen a lot!




I also changed out the stock bars for some lower ones, and took her out for one more ride with the stock exhaust. I just love the way this thing rides. I enjoy the speed and rough ride of a crotch rocket, but this just fits me so well, and always brings a smile to my face.

 

[xcskiier23]

So now the fun began. I pulled the stock exhaust off, and 4 bolts snapped off in the head during the process! I was pretty bummed about this, however working on a lot of old vehicles and bikes has taught me that this happens more often than not. I decided that the pitted chrome just wasn't for me, so my uncle's sandblaster came out and I sprayed on some black VHT, came out looking better than when it started.



Then started the snapped bolt removal process. My uncle, who is a full time mechanic, just bought a new Rotary lift for the garage, and he was nice enough to let me use it! Here she is all strapped down and ready for work.




The Marines taught me a lot, but one that will stick with me for a while is the "Hurry up and wait" mentality. This was very evident taking out these bolts. It was a slow process, and I eventually broke down and bought a Helicoil set. My uncle took over and did those for me, his watchful eye could take no more of my newbie mistakes working on the bike! I try my best, but only being 24, I am a bit behind his expertise.

I also took the time while the bike was in the air to do the valve cover gasket, which I know you guys understand, lots of scraping... my uncle and I said maybe 30 words to each other while we worked away at the cover and the head itself. 6 hours of cursing at the snapped bolts and working the Helicoils finally resulted in this!






I decided to get rid of the center stand, and also had to grind down the one exhaust bracket and drill a new hole. It was a long day, and finished well with a quick ride down the street without the exhaust baffle. I have never been so scared of an exhaust noise in my life. It was so loud while accelerating, and the pop of the exhaust when you let off the throttle and downshifted made my day. I was shaking when I got off the bike, a smile from ear to ear! I know I am stupid for wearing shorts and t shirt( Australian safety gear), however I just took it down the road. This is not an excuse for my stupidity, but I usually am in jeans and a jacket, I promise!



I had bought a baffle of of eBay for the 4 into 1, and it needed a bit of massaging to get into the pipe, but eventually got it to work. Used some Toyota high temp sealant at the end, and she now sound like a tamer version of when I took it out without the silencer.



I think it looks neat with the contrast of gloss/flat!

Here is another shot of the finished product.





And a little personal touch my dad got me, Semper Fi!




Oil has been changed and she is running great. I used to own a Subaru STi, which I was always modding and working/tinkering on, so I have switched my love to motorcycles. Up next, I will probably change out the brake fluid, and maybe take the covers off the engine for a proper polishing! For my fist bike, I am both excited and proud of the ol' girl.

If you guys have any info or input on what I should do next, feel free to tell me! I am not an expert by any means and am learning as much as I can. Thanks for reading and I hope to add more to this soon!


Also I am funding this project with my summer job: working on pools! New liners, filters, pumps and heaters. Here I am enjoying a day getting rid of an old liner. Let me just say the smell is "FRESH". Really makes me appreciate being on the bike when your in situation like this!

 

[Guest]

Welcome to the forum. GS Shafties are some of the best bikes out there.
Somebody loves the Chargers and Coronets. Oh those Duke boys!
Great intro to the forum, you'll like it here. This is the place to be, please check out our Riding Game and join in.

PS You might want to take the time to change the tranny and differental oil.

 

[retcol]

Welcome to the forum. You'll like this forum because everybody goes out of their way to help. Don't hesitate to ask any question at all, somebody on here will know the answer.

1. Great looking bike, you done good kid.
2. Great job painting those pipes, they look good.
3. Must be nice to have an uncle who has such a nice shop with great tools. I didn't mind the posters on the wall either. They look good.
4. Thank you for your service in the USMC.

Keep the pics coming, we all love to see projects and results. Safe riding.

 

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. xcskiier23,

Thank you for your service and thank you for an excellent first post, into, and background. I wish more young men were like you. You do everyone proud. :clap:

It's important to go through the maintenance lists in your "mega-welcome below, to make sure all systems are go. Skipping steps or taking shortcuts will be frustrating at best and dangerous at worst. You'll find lots of GS850G goodness on my little website. I'm sure you're going to like (most of) this community.

If you are here you probably have a 30 year old motorcycle that needs about 20 years worth of maintenance. In the links below you'll find maintenance lists, documentation, wiring diagrams, "how to" guides, vendor links, tips, tricks, and a whole lot of GS goodness. This is your "mega-welcome". Let's get started.

Let me dump a TON of information on you and share some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please Click Here For Your Mega-Welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

More links to helpful threads in the forum:
Help! Your Bike Won't Start
DON'T DO THESE THINGS
Help! Your Bike Won't Run Well
Oh God! Pods!


Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[xcskiier23]

Thanks guys! Yes, my family has a love for those old Mopar cars, I will probably get one here pretty soon! My uncle, although sometimes not the nicest person, definitely goes above and beyond for me and my family when it comes to cars/bikes. I have come to meet his frown with my smile, and although I screw up a lot and forget what part goes where, he ends up always helping. Like I said, I was a grunt, we are not known for our brains! I will be sure to check and probably replace the trans and diff oil tomorrow after work. My low beam stopped working today after a ride with some buddies, and I still have a small oil leak that I need to track down, but man did it ride well! Had a few good laughs while riding, my buddy just started into motorcycles, he stalled A LOT! However, like the Marines told me, never leave a man behind! I rode last in line, so I would hold up traffic till he got going again. Again, thank you for the warm welcome, hope to contribute to the forum the best I can!



The other bikes are a Virago and a Hurricane, was a great but windy ride. I will be sure to look through all the info provided!