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Purchase Help

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lawdog
  • Start date Start date
L

Lawdog

Guest
I am new here but figured that all of you would be able to help me out the most with this decision.

I am looking at buying a 1983 GS850GL and the problem I am having is why the current owner isn't riding it right now.

He said that the last time he rode it that it started loosing power and wouldn't go any faster than 55 mph and after a little bit just died. He said that when it died it spit some oil out of the airbox. According to him the airbox being cracked and an old head gasket are all it needs fixed, as well as cleaning and adjusting the carbs.

I haven't had much experience with these and was wondering if this sounds like a good deal? He said that it will crank over but not start and that the new airbox and head gasket would fix that. I was wondering if anybody had ever heard of that happening to a GS and if so is there something more I might be looking at fixing if I pick it up.

Again I'm new here and would greatly appreciate any advice you could offer. Thanks!
 
Whether or not it's a "good deal" would depend on how much he's going to pay you to take it off his hands. :rolleyes:

The basic bike is a good choice (notice the list in my sig, click on them to see them), but it could easily take several hundred dollars to get it back on the road reliably.

Gasket set ~ 125
Clean/rebuild carbs ~ 50
Carb sync tool ~105
Tires ~125
Brake rebuild kits ~100 (includes kits for both master cylinders and all three calipers)
Brake pads ~ (no clue)

plus any other little items that you find necessary.

Since it's basically a "non-runner", it's not worth much more than $500, unless the rest of it is in "showroom condition".

Of course, it's only worth considering if it has a title.

.
 
He said that it ran fine for the previous two years and he never had a problem during thhat time. It could use a little overall TLC but nothing serious (of course I've been on the wrong side of that statement before). As for price he is only asking $500 hence my problem with deciding between taking on another project for the winter or sticking with a 82 V45 Honda that I'm not sure will run or not.
 
Lawdog said:
He said that it ran fine for the previous two years and he never had a problem during thhat time. It could use a little overall TLC but nothing serious (of course I've been on the wrong side of that statement before). As for price he is only asking $500 hence my problem with deciding between taking on another project for the winter or sticking with a 82 V45 Honda that I'm not sure will run or not.
Click to expand...

If you're asking whether to put your time & money in the GS or the V45, you're on the wrong forum. :rolleyes:

$500 is high for a non-runner, regardless of what the owner THINKS is wrong with it.

BTW - change your sig to add your location. If you pick up the GS, there may be other forum members close to you that are willing to help.
 
I realize that the bias would be towards the GS over the Honda I have but after looking into it I'm not going to get the GS because I know there isn't anything seriously wrong with the V45's engine but there is most likely a ring or two blown on the GS and since I don't have the resources to rebuild the engine the way I would want to if I bought it I figure it's better to wait for another time.

However with that being said the bike is located in Minot, North Dakota and you can see the ad for it on bismanonline.com at the following link so if anybody is near that would want it give him a ring.

http://www.bismanonline.com/1983_suzuki_gs850gl
 
Greetings and Salutations!!

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. Lawdog,

The current owner is not riding his GS because it is a 30 year old motorcycle that needs 20 years worth of maintenance. Once that maintenance is completed it will be good to go for about 100,000 miles providing regular care is performed.

The GS will be much easier to work on and will be a lower total cost of ownership over the V45. I know a little about this since I own a GS850 and my brother owns a V45. However, if you want to just buy something and ride, I can't blame you. Chances are the rings are fine on the GS. Have you done a compression test? Sometimes the rings get stuck and the motor just needs to be run for a while to get them to seal again.

Anyway, if you're still here, let me dump a TON of information on you and share some GS lovin'. :D

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


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!"....
hat1.gif


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...

carpet.jpg


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! :D

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed. I will put you on my prayer list.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
My main reason for not getting the GS myself right now is that I have the V45 sitting in my garage and the only problems are general maintenance and then adjustments once I get everything put back together and running.

If I had the time and space I would get the GS and make it a nice project bike but I already have too many projects. After looking around on here though I am sure that one of my next bikes will be a GS as I have been pretty impressed with the following as compared to similar Honda and other bikes.
 
He could have had nothing more than a faulty petcock allowing fuel into the crankcase via the vacuum line. That could be the reason for it puking oil. Pull the vacuum line off at the carb and see if there is fuel in the line. That's if there is any fuel in the tank. If no fuel flows suck on the line and see if it holds vacuum. If not the diaphragm in the petcock is shot a letting fuel get into the engine.
 
PASS!!!

You can do BETTER!
$500 for a bike that needs a top end rebuild, carbs and God knows what else!

He's trying to push a bike with 20+ years of neglected maintenance.
(obviously he's proven that, since it has a cracked airbox, neglected carbs,etc,etc.)

You should be able to get a RUNNING GS for $500.
 
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