Howdy from St. Louis, '79 GS750

[thefoolofemmaus]

Hey, I'm a 33 year old married father of 3, and because that does not keep me busy enough I picked up a '79 GS750 a couple weeks ago. She came with a vetter front fairing, less the windscreen, and a sissy bar on the back. I drained the old gas and added some seafoam along with fresh gas, but am not yet getting crank. The battery is currently charging, was only pulling 9.5 volts, so I am hoping that was the issue. In the mean time I pulled the vetter fairing and back rest.

Side note about that vetter, the way it was wired into the system meant that the neutral and oil pressure lights no longer work now that it is gone. Pretty sure I just need to reconnect the wires that it had been spliced into, but any suggestions would be welcome. I have not had a chance to look over the instrument panel wiring diagram.

Once she cranks the first order of business will be an oil change. I know the carbs need cleaning since she had been sitting since last spring, and no idea what the valve clearance is looking like. I also think I need to swap out the front brake master cylinder; the breaks engage and stop the bike cold, but the fluid level window is shattered. I also need to reinstall the stock headlamp and front turn signals; thank heaven the former owner held onto them. I am hoping like hell to get some riding in this summer and not spend all this glorious good weather on maintenance.

Any and all advice is welcome, it has been more than 10 years since my last restore project ('69 Honda XL250, great little bike) and I am excited to get back to wrenching on something beautiful.

 

[Steve]

Nice-looking bike, with the possible exception of the rusty header pipes.

If it had old gas in it, I would not worry about trying to get it to start just yet. Crank it long enough to see that it's not seized, then let it rest.

The Vetter fairing should not have affected the operation of the neutral light or the oil pressure light. Both of those wires are under the tank, nowhere near where the fairing would have been connected. The neutral light wire has a connector that would be near the frame backbone, probably above carb #2. It is a single-wire bullet connector, but will be right next to a 6-pin rectangular connector for the gear position indicator. It should be a blue wire. The oil pressure sensor wire can be somewhat easily followed by tracing the wire from the sensor to the main harness. It is green/yellow.

Valve clearance on these bikes isn't just important, it's CRITICAL, since it is so small. Check out our library, where you will find a tutorial on valve adjustment. There is also a tutorial on VM carb rebuilding.

There have been a few ideas posted about replacing the sight glass in a master cylinder. My favorite is to use a small piece of Lexan plastic, file it round, just a little bit smaller than the outer edge of the opening. Use some 2-part epoxy, apply a bead around the lip. Drop the Lexan disc into place, then dribble a bit more epoxy into the gap around the disc. Let it cure overnight, then install it on the bike, fill, bleed, etc.

You will have to remove the fork tubes to put the headlight ears back on. That would be a good time to also change the fork seals. Since you have the forks apart to do the seals, it's an even better time to upgrade your fork springs. Sonic Springs are a favorite here.

If you are not comfortable rebuilding your carbs, there are a few of us on the forum that offer that service for a modest fee.
And, I would also invite you to take advantage of the offer in my signature.
The spreadsheet helps you compute your shim requirements and has a handy service log.

.

 

[LAB3]

That bike looks like it should clean up pretty good! I've resurrected a lot of bikes over the years and THIS forum is by far the best one I've found yet for help. Here's a tip: When working on the bike in a spot with a dirt floor or outdoors somewhere, put a tarp down underneath the bike. It helps you stay cleaner but more importantly makes it easier to find pieces-parts when they inevitably get dropped.

 

[thefoolofemmaus]

Thanks for the tips, Guys! The collective wisdom on here seems strongly in favor of the valve job and new air intake boots, so I am ordering the parts for that today. I know the carb will have to be rebuilt soon, but I am trying not to fall down a "while I'm at it" rabbit hole that leaves me with a pile of parts that used to be a bike.

 

[LAB3]

Thanks for the tips, Guys! The collective wisdom on here seems strongly in favor of the valve job and new air intake boots, so I am ordering the parts for that today. I know the carb will have to be rebuilt soon, but I am trying not to fall down a "while I'm at it" rabbit hole that leaves me with a pile of parts that used to be a bike.

Good idea on taking it one step at a time. As to the carbs, most of us are familiar with carb rebuild kits but in the case of Suzuki's it's a matter of merely getting a new set of o-rings. A forum member here has taken the guesswork out of it and sells sets of the ones you need at cycleorings.com. You'll be wanting to dip (More accurately soak) the bodies of the carbs in a solvent can overnight specifically made for this purpose such as Berrymans or Gunk carb dip although an old timer taught me that Pine Sol works too (which is what I use) You can find carb rebuild tutorials and a WHOLE LOT MORE Suzuki specific repair info at http://gsarchive.bwringer.com/

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

On the MC sight glass, no doubt Steve's method is tried and true. I went with what I found to be a cheaper (unless you already have the lexan and epoxy), and less time consuming (once you have it in hand, since it ships from East Bumf##k Asia), was a $.99 replacement glass, metal ring, and o-ring I found on ebay. Here's the thread: https://www.thegsresources.com/_for...Sight-Glass-Replacement&highlight=sight+glass. It's a nice, tight press fit, no messy epoxy, and it looks stock.

 

[dorkburger]

Welcome. Good luck with the recommissioning.

 

[KillRamsey]

Welcome! Bike already looks pretty good. Good luck.