GS850 is it worth it?

[Guest]

I'm looking at a1979 GS850. It doesn't run, wiring is bad, possible compression issues... Seller is asking 550. Is it worth that?

[Nessism]

No.........

[alke46]

Ditto what Nessism said.

[Sam]

What's it worth?

[Burque73]

It's probably worth that in parts if it hasn't been hacked up.

Look through this thread. It was started with intent to answer the question you asked.

https://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?251091-GS-bikes-that-have-been-SOLD

[Burque73]

Also, you're not too far away. Look at this. They say it's an 80 but I'm thinking 79. Hacked up but runs. Come grab it and the one you mentioned and maybe between the two you'll have a good bike.

https://albuquerque.craigslist.org/mcy/d/1980-suzuki-gs850-cafe/6587291377.html

[Nessism]

What's it worth?

You have provided very little information about the vehicle so there is no way for us to determine value. If forced to place a value I'd say it's a parts bike which is worth about $200, assuming it's close at hand.

[Admiral Beez]

I'm looking at a1979 GS850. It doesn't run, wiring is bad, possible compression issues... Seller is asking 550. Is it worth that?

No. I paid $900 CAD ($700 USD) for a perfectly running GS650G.

If it was me, and you liked the bike, I'd offer him $900 if he gets it running to a level your mechanic approves of. I tried that on my first GS650G lead, where there was an obvious hole in the exhaust and intermittent failures in the brake lights - I offered him $200 over asking to fix those issues (his son was a professional bike mechanic), and he refused, and I walked.

[bwringer]

I may get flamed for this, but if I were in the market for a GS850, I would definitely get a 1980 or later model. It's really a different bike with the CV carbs.

And $550 for a one-year model that's not running and hacked up... nope, that's fantasy land. If it's in the usual crappy condition with random stuff missing, that's "pay someone to haul it away" territory.

Of course, if it looks gorgeous and just needs a little wiring and carb sorting to get going, that's different. The wiring on these things isn't that complex.

[850 Combat]

I may get flamed for this, but if I were in the market for a GS850, I would definitely get a 1980 or later model. It's really a different bike with the CV carbs.

And $550 for a one-year model that's not running and hacked up... nope, that's fantasy land. If it's in the usual crappy condition with random stuff missing, that's "pay someone to haul it away" territory.

Of course, if it looks gorgeous and just needs a little wiring and carb sorting to get going, that's different. The wiring on these things isn't that complex.

People like the '79 for the kick start. I don't mind the points, either, but I'm not a giant fan of them. I don't like the incandescent light bulb, which is reasonably easy to update, and I certainly don't like the one year only stator and rotor. The throttle pull is much lighter and nicer on the CVs, which is important on a tour. The tendency for the CVs to compensate for elevation changes is also an improvement for touring. I've got a vrey pretty 850G in Maine that I haven't used for a number of years. 10000 miles. Ran perfectly when parked, after a coast to coast trip under my brother in law, but not seen since. Its in my nephew's garage. At worst a carb cleaning, battery, and who knows. It may have sat long enough to have developed braking issues. All extremely easy to remedy. I'll do $600 on that. Cosmetically brilliant, except for a Sargent seat cover, and a slightly tweeked front fender from a deer strike on Lolo Pass. It had 1300 miles when I bought it (for way too much money), and looked new. I let my brother in law put all the miles on it, on the family tours I was hosting at the time. I switched seats with my 1000G, because I didn't like the Sargent cover I had put on the 1000. A Pit Replica seat cover, which looks stock, will go with it.