Vintage bike ownership experience...

[850 Combat]

All 3 of my 1000G are ready and equipped to cross the continent. Anything can happen, of course. Before I took off, I would have to check voltage, fix something if that doesn't look right.

In '09 my brothers and I crossed the country, with my brothers on old GS, one I paid $600 for. one was $1,100. The only vehicle drama was a boiled battery due to too much voltage drop on the sensor wire to the R/R. Rerouted it to the battery, and it was good for the rest of the trip. You just have to make it right, then it will remain right. A GS 850 will lose that kind of notchy shifting once they have 35,000 or so on them, and they are broken in. You will need to make sure the carbs work. The boots will need replacement. A replacement R/R with upgraded grounds is a good bet. These bikes are durable, and they can absorb a lot of abuse and neglect. Once you make it right, it will stay right.

 

[Guest]

Both my 1100 and my 900F start right up and run great. Would I consider taking them on 1000 mile trips? Probably not. Not because they wouldn't make it, but because I don't like long trips anywhere, except on a plane. I think I've pretty much gotten all the gremlins out of each bike, but I just don't like long rides.

 

[Guest]

Both my 1100 and my 900F start right up and run great. Would I consider taking them on 1000 mile trips? Probably not. Not because they wouldn't make it, but because I don't like long trips anywhere, except on a plane. I think I've pretty much gotten all the gremlins out of each bike, but I just don't like long rides.

This is a first. I don't think I have ever heard someone say they don't like long motorcycle trips. I'd rather ride anywhere than take a plane.

 

[Guest]

This is a first. I don't think I have ever heard someone say they don't like long motorcycle trips. I'd rather ride anywhere than take a plane.

Have you ever flown a plane yourself? fun

 

[GS1150Pilot]

This is a first. I don't think I have ever heard someone say they don't like long motorcycle trips. I'd rather ride anywhere than take a plane.

+1,000,000!!!

 

[limeex2]

This is a first. I don't think I have ever heard someone say they don't like long motorcycle trips. I'd rather ride anywhere than take a plane.

Being from Mn., I'm getting to the point where I starting not to care to ride for 1 really long day or 2 short ones to get to the premium riding. Just built a nice small trailer that my Fusion will pull. Feel much better when I get there and it gives me 2 extra days of riding. Been there done that.

 

[JTGS850GL]

This is a first. I don't think I have ever heard someone say they don't like long motorcycle trips. I'd rather ride anywhere than take a plane.

Makes for some cross-continental trips to be a bit... wet.

 

[dorkburger]

I had a vintage bike I considered dead reliable - my 85 1150e. I foolishly sold it. It was darn near perfect and the nicest bike I've ever owned.

As a younger fellow here, I have no experience of new GS ownership. My first GS, an 83 1100e, that was mecilessly abused by the previous 2 owners was 10 years old when I got it. Still, it carried me thru many fun rides, including a solo trip to Rochester NY from my central NJ home for a long weekend, a few trips to my cousins in Pa - all 1000 mile plus weekends, and many day trips. Never a problem, just one minor glitch, when riding in a deluge of a downpour along Lake Seneca when the ignition started playing up.

The 1150e was next. Sadly, only one longish trip on that one to Watkins Glen to see the vintage races.
The bike was flawless.

My current ride is the greatest bike I should have never bought. It came with bad mechanical
baggage....that still isn't completely resolved 18 years later. It really needs a full do over or replacement, but it always comes down to money. Again, I've still had a lot of good times and weekend trips on that one, and it only left me stranded once when the stator cooked.

I am of the opinion that if fully gone thru, there's no reason an old GS wouldn't be fully reliable.

 

[Guest]

I am of the opinion that if fully gone thru, there's no reason an old GS wouldn't be fully reliable.

Well getting mine to be "fully reliable" for the moderate amount of riding I'll be doing should be a piece of cake then. Just today, I finally got it running pretty close to "right" after installing new NGK plugs and plug boots. It transitions smoothly from idle (1000 RPM) to low throttle, it revs crisply, then settles back down to idle quickly and cleanly. I haven't taken it on any long rides yet (that's going to have to wait until I've gone through the Stator Papers), but in just the very short ride I've taken, it is really nice.

 

[dorkburger]

I read that elsewhere. Glad to hear that things are going well.

 

[Guest]

As a younger fellow here...

You bought a used 83' GS that was ten years old when you got it ( ie 1993). I didn't even start riding until 1995! You must assume the crowd here is pretty old, how old are you?

Is the GSR just assumed to be an old mans site anymore? ( haha)

 

[dorkburger]

Aaah, generally older then me, sometimes by a good margin. 45 next month.

 

[hillsy]

If I had all the bikes I have ever owned in the garage right now....and I had to choose one to ride across the country from a pure reliability aspect....I would probably jump on one of my XJ900's.

 

[sam000lee]

I have a GS750 I got in the fall that I'm going to try and ride cross country and back on (leaving Friday). It was in pretty good shape when I got it and I've done all the basic stuff, new oil/filter, carbs, SH775 R/R, fork springs, tires/sprockets. I believe that it can and might make the trip and have no hesitations to go, but know in the back of my head that SOMETHING will probably happen at some point (on either my or my my friends '77 GS550 that he is taking). Hopefully it won't be something that can't be fixed.

My backup plan if I couldn't get the 750 ready was to take my GS450. I've gone on 1000+ mile trips on that and loads of 200+ mile trips I didn't know about until the day of. I trust that thing to take me anywhere.


A big part of it is that if something breaks I have a shot at fixing it. Owning and subsequently working on a vintage motorcycle makes it so that you at least kind of understand how your bike works and gives you a familiarity with the machine. I know people who have modern bikes that are maybe `more reliable', but if they broke down in the middle of the woods somewhere, would have absolutely no idea how to even go about diagnosing what the problem might be. It's kind of like the couple that rides the BMW vs. the main character in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (I hate the book but it's a valid analogy).

 

[GSXR7ED]

You bought a used 83' GS that was ten years old when you got it ( ie 1993). I didn't even start riding until 1995! You must assume the crowd here is pretty old, how old are you?

Is the GSR just assumed to be an old mans site anymore? ( haha)

There's a thread here where you'll see the age groups. The majority are upwards of 50 with the eldest being in their 70s.


Ed

 

[GS1150Pilot]

If I had all the bikes I have ever owned in the garage right now....and I had to choose one to ride across the country from a pure reliability aspect....I would probably jump on one of my XJ900's.

The XJ900 remains one of my favorite UJMs of all time.

 

[aclaytonb]

Maybe I've been in the Army too long but I never count on anything being "dead reliable". Something ALWAYS goes wrong. I'm pretty confident that this 79 GS550 would be fine for 1000 miles but would you really want something that would be fine for 1000 miles? I bought this thing because I enjoy turning a wrench as much as I do riding. I really enjoy something in which I've invested sweat equity and I enjoy it even more when it breaks and I can fix it to the amazement of any bystanders. I've only been riding since '09 but I've ended up selling all my newer bikes in favor of older ones simply because a bike that never needs work is...boring. For me, the allure of dirty old machinery is the fact that it requires maintenance and always presents the user with a new problem to solve.

I have a different view of what sam000lee says about Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, however (love the book). In the pursuit of truth and understanding, watching the countryside whizz by at 50 mph isn't all that enlightening. I've learned more about myself from being stranded in the middle of hell and having to use my brain to bail me out than I ever did by taking a relaxing ride somewhere. Owning a vintage motorcycle is much more about my own character development that it is about "riding". I honestly hope this thing is never "dead reliable" because that's the day when this bike will become worthless to me.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

If you bought an old Triumph, you could become Aristotle!

 

[GSXR7ED]

Dead reliable is a stretch...not to be taken seriously but with a grain of salt.

One would want your bike to "get you home" so you could take care of the condition which reveals the bikes age. Case is point: I rode the heck out of my "T" in NM. Eventually, the fork seals started leaking. It wasn't bad enough to put me on the side of the road but I stopped riding since then...and I have all the replacement parts to do the job but have not done it.


Ed

 

[hannibal]

Maybe I've been in the Army too long but I never count on anything being "dead reliable". Something ALWAYS goes wrong. I'm pretty confident that this 79 GS550 would be fine for 1000 miles but would you really want something that would be fine for 1000 miles? I bought this thing because I enjoy turning a wrench as much as I do riding. I really enjoy something in which I've invested sweat equity and I enjoy it even more when it breaks and I can fix it to the amazement of any bystanders. I've only been riding since '09 but I've ended up selling all my newer bikes in favor of older ones simply because a bike that never needs work is...boring. For me, the allure of dirty old machinery is the fact that it requires maintenance and always presents the user with a new problem to solve.

I have a different view of what sam000lee says about Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, however (love the book). In the pursuit of truth and understanding, watching the countryside whizz by at 50 mph isn't all that enlightening. I've learned more about myself from being stranded in the middle of hell and having to use my brain to bail me out than I ever did by taking a relaxing ride somewhere. Owning a vintage motorcycle is much more about my own character development that it is about "riding". I honestly hope this thing is never "dead reliable" because that's the day when this bike will become worthless to me.

This deserves a standing ovation. But after 6 months without being able to ride my bike, riding has become important in the mix. Nothing a 2nd bike can't fix.