'82 GS650G Rescue

[bzflag]

Picked this thing up off the local CL for cheap. It's a little late in the season for a full rebuild with my schedule, so the goal is to get this rideable and safe(ish) on the cheap. Pretty, reliable, and done right will come over the winter. I've got a ton to learn about this beast and that's why I'm here, to listen.

Little backstory: Guy I bought it from broke the bike down. He bought it non-running with the carbs removed, planned on restoring it, and lost momentum. Carbs look good, linkage all moves freely. Pulled the cam cover and there's no scoring on the lobes or anything obviously wrong. I'm hoping, with y'alls help, getting it running won't be too painful. Decent rubber front and back and it came with new o-rings and a carb rebuild kit still in the mailing envelope.

Any advice before I get started?

 

[Guest]

Decent working space, organized, and patience. Nice first post with location and pics, and for later threads, including model in your sig (at the bottom) helps with latecomers to newer threads you post. Also be willing to use the search feature on here, and be willing to spend time on-line here and elsewhere to learn as much as you can about your bike.

 

[Charlie G]

Welcome to the site. For what it's worth your front fork is an L model type.

 

[Chum]

Welcome to the site. Good luck on the build. I'm certain you'll have it all figured out because all info regarding these older Suzukis starts here on TheGSR.
Cheers

 

[BigD_83]

You're miles away from having it on the road, unless you work at TKent's speed, but I'd be double checking the tire dates. The rubber MIGHT look decent, but 10 year old tires are trouble waiting to happen.

Just get yourself organized at first. Do an inventory of what you have/are missing so you can do a parts order en masse. There is also no shortage of G/GL bikes out there so post in the Parts Wanted section to try finding what you need before going the new route.

I see an airbox on there...that's GOOD. I wouldn't even think about pods until you get it running decently, but I see some potential for turning this thing into a nice cafe/bobber/whatever, depending on your tastes and skills.

If there is rust, et cetera, now would be the time to strip the frame and repaint.

Oh yeah, don't forget...it's supposed to be fun!

Welcome to the GSR.

 

[bbjumper]

Good luck with that one, a lesson in motorcycle maintenance and restoration. It will definitely keep you busy for some time. That's ok, it'll keep you outta the bars at night.

Cheers

 

[eil]

Hi! That name, "bzflag", that's an old-school tank combat game for Linux, right?

Anyhow, it certainly looks like you have your work cut out for you. Only two things off the top of my head:

1. Did you get the title with it? If not, get that squared away first before you put any money into it.

2. Check the date codes on those tires. I bought a GS850GL off craigslist assuming that the rear tire (a zero-miles Pirelli Sport Demon) was good to go until someone on the forum badgered me into checking the date code. Turns out it was about 12 years old. Shelf life on a motorcycle tire is not much more than about 5 years. Visually, I'm guessing that front tire has already seen its last trip.

Other than that, wait for your mega-welcome and read everything you possibly can. You'll find that almost every question you can possibly ask will already be answered somewhere between the service manual, the guides on BassCliff's site, and this here forum.

Welcome!

 

[tkent02]

Part it out and buy a complete one that isn't an L. There are a lot of parts there that are worth some money. Complete bikes needing a bit of effort are dirt cheap now. Hell, complete bikes in running condition are cheap too. You can easily sink a year's time and effort and $1500 into this one and have a bike you can't sell for $900. A lot of guys on this forum do this. If it's your lifelong dream bike that you have wanted forever, that's one thing but this is a 650L. Also it's hard to tell what's missing if it's not there to see it. Putting that together if you don't know what it's supposed to be there will be problematical.

 

[bzflag]

Decent working space, organized, and patience. Nice first post with location and pics, and for later threads, including model in your sig (at the bottom) helps with latecomers to newer threads you post. Also be willing to use the search feature on here, and be willing to spend time on-line here and elsewhere to learn as much as you can about your bike.

All that crap you see in the background of the picture is my neighbor's stuff. I'm slightly more organized.

And done.

Welcome to the site. For what it's worth your front fork is an L model type.

Good spot! Thanks!

You're miles away from having it on the road, unless you work at TKent's speed, but I'd be double checking the tire dates. The rubber MIGHT look decent, but 10 year old tires are trouble waiting to happen.

Just get yourself organized at first. Do an inventory of what you have/are missing so you can do a parts order en masse. There is also no shortage of G/GL bikes out there so post in the Parts Wanted section to try finding what you need before going the new route.

I see an airbox on there...that's GOOD. I wouldn't even think about pods until you get it running decently, but I see some potential for turning this thing into a nice cafe/bobber/whatever, depending on your tastes and skills.

If there is rust, et cetera, now would be the time to strip the frame and repaint.

Oh yeah, don't forget...it's supposed to be fun!

Welcome to the GSR.

Thanks for the tips. No real rust on the frame, but the pipes have a good bit where they wrap under.

Hi! That name, "bzflag", that's an old-school tank combat game for Linux, right?

Anyhow, it certainly looks like you have your work cut out for you. Only two things off the top of my head:

1. Did you get the title with it? If not, get that squared away first before you put any money into it.

2. Check the date codes on those tires. I bought a GS850GL off craigslist assuming that the rear tire (a zero-miles Pirelli Sport Demon) was good to go until someone on the forum badgered me into checking the date code. Turns out it was about 12 years old. Shelf life on a motorcycle tire is not much more than about 5 years. Visually, I'm guessing that front tire has already seen its last trip.

Other than that, wait for your mega-welcome and read everything you possibly can. You'll find that almost every question you can possibly ask will already be answered somewhere between the service manual, the guides on BassCliff's site, and this here forum.

Welcome!

Sure is! I still play occasionally and it's lots of fun with very low hardware requirements which makes it ideal for certain situations. I started useing it as a handle years ago and it's stuck around. The occasional person picks up on it, but very rarely.

No title yet. But the VIN came back peachy from the PD and my insurance. Fortunately, getting a replacement in Alabama is pretty easy.

I'll definitely check the tire date before it sees the road.

Part it out and buy a complete one that isn't an L. There are a lot of parts there that are worth some money. Complete bikes needing a bit of effort are dirt cheap now. Hell, complete bikes in running condition are cheap too. You can easily sink a year's time and effort and $1500 into this one and have a bike you can't sell for $900. A lot of guys on this forum do this. If it's your lifelong dream bike that you have wanted forever, that's one thing but this is a 650L. Also it's hard to tell what's missing if it's not there to see it. Putting that together if you don't know what it's supposed to be there will be problematical.

This is definitely an option. I know I could make a few bucks parting it out and I'm not emotionally tied to this bike at all. It just seems wrong to do on a no-rust, straight frame bike. Anyone else feel like parting it would be a better option?

I'm having a tough time searching for the differences between the G and GL.
-Gas tank
-Bars
-Front fork
-Seat
-Anything else?

Any particular reason a GL is a worse base to start from?

 

[Steve]

Any particular reason a GL is a worse base to start from?

Some don't like the amount of chrome on the L, some don't care for the ergonomics, but it's all personal taste.

If you happen to be short, the L might fit you better, but the pull-back handlebars are only comfortable for parking lot maneuvers, and get rather uncomfortable out on the road. The stepped seat also limits how much you can move around to change your pressure points. The smaller gas tank also limits your range on a day-long ride, but considering the (lack of) ergonomics, it's probably a good thing. Tkent happens to be one that does not appreciate the Ls at all, and was being surprisingly gentle about telling you about it. His advice, though, is spot-on.

The bike's mechanical bits are pretty much the same, it's just the way it looks and the way it fits.

A couple other differences: the L has chrome fenders and a fender-mounted tail light, as well as shorter mufflers.

.

 

[bzflag]

Some don't like the amount of chrome on the L, some don't care for the ergonomics, but it's all personal taste.

If you happen to be short, the L might fit you better, but the pull-back handlebars are only comfortable for parking lot maneuvers, and get rather uncomfortable out on the road. The stepped seat also limits how much you can move around to change your pressure points. The smaller gas tank also limits your range on a day-long ride, but considering the (lack of) ergonomics, it's probably a good thing. Tkent happens to be one that does not appreciate the Ls at all, and was being surprisingly gentle about telling you about it. His advice, though, is spot-on.

The bike's mechanical bits are pretty much the same, it's just the way it looks and the way it fits.

A couple other differences: the L has chrome fenders and a fender-mounted tail light, as well as shorter mufflers.

.

None of those are a deal breaker for me. Those are all things I was prepared to replace eventually to get the bike looking and riding the way I'd like. If I had a non-L, I'd be in the same situation replacing parts to get the perfect look or feel.

I'm having trouble locating exactly how the fork is different or why I might want one version vs the other.

 

[Guest]

The axle in the 'L' is mounted in front of the forks, as opposed to directly beneath the forks on other models. There may be a difference in steering head angle (rake), but I'm not certain on that.

 

[bzflag]

The axle in the 'L' is mounted in front of the forks, as opposed to directly beneath the forks on other models. There may be a difference in steering head angle (rake), but I'm not certain on that.

Ah, gotcha. I suppose moving the axle extends the wheelbase a smidge and gives it a slightly longer, lower look. What effect does this have on handling? (off to search)

 

[tkent02]

Ah, gotcha. I suppose moving the axle extends the wheelbase a smidge and gives it a slightly longer, lower look. What effect does this have on handling? (off to search)

Actually it reduces trail, which would make the steering less stable and more twitchy. Suzuki avoided this by using a different steering head which corrects the geometry. What screws up the handling is the ridiculous handlebars, and the stepped seat which allows only one seating position.

An E or a G model is a whole lot better to ride, especially riding for any distance at all. Anything more than around the block or down to the store.
But that's just me, I have disliked them since my first ride on one in 1979.

 

[Charlie G]

I believe GL's only have a single front disc brake as well.

cg

 

[eil]

bzflag, don't get too put-off just because most people around here don't like the L models.

It's true that for most classic UJM aficionados, the non-L GS models look more sporty and have a better seat. But that doesn't make the L models bad bikes, in my opinion. The seat can be remade to your liking, the handlebars are easily swapped out, and after that, the only things that are different are costmetic: gas tank and rear fender. The bike will feel and ride like any other GS otherwise.

tkent02 said that this is easily a $1500 project, on top of whatever you already paid for it. He's absolutely right when he says that you'll never get that money back. The L models are very common, and not generally sought after even in tip-top shape.

But... some people are okay with that. Like myself. I bought a 1980 GS850GL back in December as my first motorcycle. I got it to dip my feet into wrenching on bikes. Didn't matter to me that it's not a collectible; it was cheap and complete. There are still some bugs to work out, but I'll bet by the time I'm done, I'll have paid at least $2000 in parts and tools, and that's without touching any of the cosmetics. I would be extremely lucky to get even half of that back whenever I go to sell it. But I'm fine with that, because I consider the difference to be the cost of the experience gained.

If you want to make money on this transaction, part the machine out on eBay. If you want a good fun project with guidance from the most amazing online community, bring it back to life!

 

[JvZ]

Well put Eil .:clap:

You simply cannot look at any GS as an investment, even a bargain will cost you if you price in your labour. If you're going to do it you have to do it for the love.

I have 2 gs550s. One E and the other an L. It makes no difference to me at all because I have no interest in restoring to stock condition. My E is already a cafe racer, and well, I have something special planned for the L.

The engines are identical and there is not a whole load of difference in the frames so your project can be whatever you envisage, irrespective of the base model and to some extent the parts.

Have fun with it !