A one year rider and a 46 year old sport touring motorcycle - 1979 GS850

[Grimly]

I agree about Pledge on the visor or windscreen, it works well.

Don't make the mistake of using Pledge on your saddle - I'm convinced it degrades the vinyl. It doesn't happen overnight, but it falls apart a within a couple of years.
I know that anecdote is not evidence, but I had the situation where one saddle was occasionally cleaned with Pledge and another one was in storage and never cleaned.
When the first one fell apart, I laid off using Pledge on the second, it never had any and it's still perfectly sound.
Both covers were about the same age, give or take a year.

 

[dpep]

I have continuously owned at least one GS850 since December of 1979, including the one Redman mentioned a few posts above (still have it). Overall hundreds of thousands of miles on them.

I cast another vote for the Winjammer--for all of the reasons mentioned above plus one that I haven't seen elsewhere. It has been my experience that once moving the bike actually handles better with the fairing than without. I cannot tell you why, but my suspicion is that it shifts the weight bias forward and makes the front wheel feel more planted. Your results may vary.

The only drawback I have found is at very slow speeds and while pushing it around the garage. There it just adds to the existing top heaviness of the bike. For me that was/is an acceptable tradeoff.

 

[GS1000S]

You made a good choice with the GS850GN. A great and versatile motorcycle. I've owned the one below since 1990 and also was looking for a 1000G for more HP and torque but this one gets the job done and has carried me many enjoyable miles. They had 3 colors that year, red, blue, and black. I've never seen a black one except for pictures. A friend had a couple of red ones. One of which went away after a car pulled out in front of him. https://www.thegsresources.com/botm.php

 

[salty_monk]

I can't imagine the solvents in pledge being great for your saddle... probably not great for your paint either. Plexus is what I've used forever on the visor/shield but my friend in the UK reckons it's no good in the cold weather.

 

[GS1000S]

You made a good choice with the GS850GN. A great and versatile motorcycle. I've owned the one below since 1990 and also was looking for a 1000G for more HP and torque but this one gets the job done and has carried me many enjoyable miles. They had 3 colors that year, red, blue, and black. I've never seen a black one except for pictures. A friend had a couple of red ones. One of which went away after a car pulled out in front of him. Check out the Bike of the month for February 2023 if you want to see mine.

 

[salty_monk]

Part 2...

Suspension:
I don't feel like the suspension needs urgent addressing, but it is something I want to after the tires, brake lines, and electricals are addressed. I was thinking of getting the Progressive rear shocks or maybe saving up a bit for the Adjust-a-Ride Ikons. Are the Progressives good enough and the Ikons over kill or are they worth the step up? The front forks are still sporting the air forks that they came with and having adjustable front forks seems pretty cool but they seem troublesome from what I've read here. So I was thinking of ignoring them altogether and getting the forum favorite, Sonic Springs. From the chart, I should be using 1.00kg/mm spring rate. However, I do have a Windjammer mounted and I was wondering if that affected what spring rate I should use? I do plan on removing the Windjammer eventually so maybe I should just go for the 1.00kg/mm spring rate. The shop owner said that they fork seals have not been replaced and I currently don't see any seepage of fork oil, but at this age, everything should be replaced.

Brakes:
So I have noticed and intend on getting the twinpot caliper upgrade using the CBR600 rotors. I think that's the correct rotors. Anyway, I am making do with the current and original caliper and disc setup until I can get to the upgrade. The front brakes squeak when I apply the brakes so I'm not too pleased with that. And the brake lines are original, so they need to be replaced with steel lines. I don't know the status of the master cylinder so that probably needs to be rebuilt. Are those OEM Suzuki parts available? If not, what would be some good upgrade for the master cylinder? I guess the same question for the rear master cylinder as well. Whether there are OEM rebuilt kits or a viable replacement for it? If I weren't going for the twinpot upgrade, I would want to swap to the 1980s calipers and slotted rotors. However, the twinpot is for the front calipers and not the rear, if I recall correctly. Would the 1980s caliper and disc be an upgrade to the 1979 caliper and solid rotor or no?

Yes the windjammer will affect the spring rate for sure. Service the forks, straight weight springs and Cartridge emulators if you're feeling fancy.

Rear brakes - they are all the same, there are no real upgrades. A Modern MC can be made to work back there with minimal mods (I did a post on it). Always go OEM for brake rubber parts. KL stuff is not great. A lot of these bikes have a pretty shoddy looking bore in the rear MC when you get them apart these days.

For front brakes - I can't remember if the 1979 has round pads or the rectangular ones. If round then yes the later brakes are an upgrade but they are still nothing against the power of the twinpot conversion. (I do have a few bracket sets left). You can use the master cylinder from the twinpots (with the twinpots but even with stock brakes) for a cheap reliable upgrade path.

Oh... and welcome to the forum.

 

[GS1000S]

I can't imagine the solvents in pledge being great for your saddle... probably not great for your paint either. Plexus is what I've used forever on the visor/shield but my friend in the UK reckons it's no good in the cold weather.

A good friend Roy and my cousin Rick always used lemon Pledge on their bike finishes and windshields. Rick's, Hot Rod Pearl yellow 2001 GL1800, virtually never saw a bucket of soapy water but only Pledge and a rag. Both bikes always looked good for decades. I don't believe they used it on their seats though. I use Plexus on my helmet visor and windshield but not so much on the rest of the bike. At $40 for the large can it's too expensive for me. It used to be $11 for a large can but the price has gone crazy There's nothing better for a windshield or a visor though.