New to Suzukis. Just got a GS1000G

[Jon]

That sticky telling people to click on it before going any further is mystifying - where's the information? Just seems like people arguing?

Anyway, I've just got myself a GS1000G, supposedly 1984 but I didn't think they were made after '82? I am hoping to learn quite a few things from this forum and I'm sure I'll ask questions that have already been answered many times. I don't get on well with search functions. And if the Triumph forums I belong to are anything to go by, those who know the answers rarely mind answering.

I'm collecting the bike on Sunday. At that point I'll have the frame & engine numbers, so hopefully I can find out exactly when it was made.

It has more oil leaks than my 1979 Triumph - hard to see exactly where from but top end generally. The revcounter drive is definitely leaking, maybe the cam cover? Fork oil seals are shot. It starts well and sounds good, and is very un-messed with.

 

[Brendan W]

Hi Jon and welcome to the Forum.
This place http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/ is a mine of information.
Check out a thread called ' Top ten newbie mistakes' , I don't recall exactly where it is right now.
Most questions have been asked and answered before, in great detail in many cases, so whilst you will get answers there is a lot more already there once you figure out where to look.
The half moon seals at the ends of the camshafts are another top end leaker.
Have fun and many safe miles.
There it is http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?171846-Top-10-Newbie-Mistakes/page14&highlight=top+ten+mistakes
Personally I put the electrical system near the top of the to do list. Nothing is going to run well until it's performing properly and you can end up on wild goose chases trying to get it to start and run.

 

[tkent02]

Welcome to the forum. I don't think they were made after 1979 or maybe '80. What part of England are you from?

 

[Jon]

Thanks for your replies. Tkent02 - I'm in Norfolk (the one in England, not on your map!).

Brendan - thanks for the links, some really useful stuff on there, I've downloaded plenty already.

I should be able to post the frame & engine numbers on Sunday night. It'll be interesting to see what members make of them, year-wise.

 

[Jon]

I'm finding the layout of this forum a tad confusing - I hope I'm posting this in the right place? if not, I'd appreciate it if somebody would let me know where I ought to be posting.

So, here's what I can tell you so far:-

Frame no: GS1000G 109207

Engine no: GS1000G 115505

This seems a little incongruous to me, having always had British bikes on which the frame and engine numbers match - did Suzuki really produce bikes with non-matching numbers?

OK, so let's suppose Suzuki did. Going by the frame number I've given above, can anybody say what year the bike ought to be considered?

I have a dating letter stating 1984 as the manufacture date, but for the life of me I can't find any record of a GS1000G produced after 1982.

I think I'm going to need to say what year my bike is when ordering parts, so any help with determining this would be very much appreciated.

 

[Guest]

Yes the bikes were built without matching #'s and they were only made 80-81

 

[Jon]

Yes the bikes were built without matching #'s and they were only made 80-81

Thanks HJ, I'm a step closer to understanding when my 'new' bike was made, and what exactly I've got.

Is there a way of telling the exact year/month of manufacture from the numbers?

 

[Jon]

Anyone know how I can get a definitive dating for my bike based on the frame/engine numbers? Does such a service exist for Suzukis?

 

[Brendan W]

There is this one http://www.ozebook.com/compendium/suzi/engine-nos/engnos.htm
This site has more some information. Unfortunately the 1000G appears to be one of the models for which frame numbers are not listed.
http://www.suzukicycles.org/All-Suzuki/all_suzuki_models.html

 

[trtsmb]

Anyone know how I can get a definitive dating for my bike based on the frame/engine numbers? Does such a service exist for Suzukis?

The VIN number stamped on the frame will give you the definitive information.

 

[Jon]

The VIN number stamped on the frame will give you the definitive information.

That's great to hear, trtsmb. The problem I have is that, although I have the frame number clear as day ( it is: GS1000G 109207 ), I have no idea how to interpret these digits so that they mean anything date of manufacture-wise. If you know how to do it, please let on! Nobody else (including Suzuki GB, who were very helpful I might add) has been able to give me any info other than GS1000s were not manufactured after 1982.

If you can help me track down the date of manufacture of my bike, I'd be very grateful.

 

[chuck hahn]

The VIN is just numbers..The GS1000G is the model. The 109207 is just the number of the frame. Married you have a VIN of what yours is. They started using frames numbered starting at 100001 and went up 1 sequential number as they went

IF you still have the VIN sticker on the neck youll see a date with the month and year. It will NOT have the actual day date so all youll know for sure is the bike was made in the "X" month of "X" year. If the tag is gone that info is lost. Suzuki wont know what month and year frame number X went down the line.

As a long shot you can call North American HQ and see if they just may be able to dig anything up...Phone number is.....714-572-1490

 

[Jon]

Hmmm - no Vin stiker to be seen. I'm amazed that Suzuki didn't make their frame numbers actually mean anything. I'm used to old Brit bikes, for which you can determine the month and year of manufacture just using the letters in the frame number.

I need to know which year this thing is, so I can get the right parts book etc (unless all GS1000Gs were the same? I doubt that though)

 

[chuck hahn]

im on the phone with them right now..they are`searching the vin

 

[Nessism]

Posting some photos of the bike may help us help you.

In the US the 1000G was built for the '80-'81 model years, so that means their production date range spanned from about midyear '79 to midyear '81. At that point the model was revised and the 1100G was born for the 1982 model year.

Again, in the US the steering neck contains what we denote a VIN label. On that label it typically lists a month/year of manufacture. Does your bike has this label? I'm not sure if they are installed for non US bikes.

Regardless of the exact details, the large GS shafty bikes are legendary. 100,000 miles is routine as long as basic maintenance is looked after. Great bikes.

 

[chuck hahn]

They said they couldnt find the month, but that VIN comes back to a 1980 GS 1000GT. Thats about all I got.

 

[chuck hahn]

She did ask me if I had the engine # ..maybe PM me that and I can call back???????

 

[Jon]

This is very good of you Chuck. I'll PM you all the details I've got (if I can figure out how to do PMs on this forum - if not, I'll just post them on here).

I'll have a go at posting some pics too. Shall I keep everything on this thread for now or should I start a new one somewhere else?

Thanks again to everyone so far your patience and help. I'm not at all computer-savvy so it takes me ages to get the hang of anything new, like this forum...

 

[Jon]

Here is a pic of my new bike. The staining on the board under it is just the Gunk I sprayed on the front and underside of the engine to start dissolving the oily grime. It came off a treat. I'm pretty sure all the oil was coming from the tacho drive unit.

Having removed the screen and rack, and cleaned it up a bit, I've realised just how original and untouched it is. Because somebody sprayed it green I'd kind of looked at it as a typically messed around 30+ year old bike, but it seems that the paint is the only think done. All the wiring looks original, all the pivoting parts (stands, brake pedal, gear linkage, handlebar levers etc) have very little slop, suggesting the mileage (about 28,000) could be true.

I'm already changing my mind on what to do with it. To begin with I thought I'd simply identify and fix anything necessary and just ride it. But I'm veering towards doing a full resto job now. I need to find some photos of the blue paint scheme from all angles so i can get it replicated. I have one pic of that scheme and it looks great: not so keen on the black or red, though I think this one was red originally.

 

[chuck hahn]

They usually dont paint the bottoms of tank when they do a repaint so there may be the original color under there....but red is one of the original colors.