New GS850 owner

[Han Solo 22]

Hi there, my name is Hans Burgers and I live in the Netherlands. I recently bought a GS850 ('79) with sidecar which needs "some" attention. The 850 is not a stranger to me because I had one 20 years ago and I remember it as a very fine and reliable machine. The new one is a few years older than I was used to and I was shocked by the poor front brakes. I certainly will do a caliper upgrade. But apart from a sweaty head, a sidecar with a will of its own, messy electrics and a faulty alternator the machine looks good!


Suus3.jpg

[Burque73]

Welcome, Han.

850's are indeed fine reliable machines. Will you keep the sidecar? I always thought they looked fun. From what I've seen riding behind a buddy with one it makes for a totally different riding experience.

[Han Solo 22]

Yes, riding a sidecar is totally different. My son loves riding with me on my normal xj900f but he has gotten epilepsy so a sidecar is safer. I had a Russian ural with sidecar 25 years ago and that was fun, but the braking experience on that one was...well....pretty terifying haha. That is why I want to replace the calipers and discs first, the rest is for the winter. The engine needs an overhaul but will last this summer for some short rides. These engines are bulletproof but I will be cautious for doing real dammage to her.

[rphillips]

GS 850 needs an overhaul?, that's kind'f odd. How many mi. on that baby?..Oh yeah, Welcome

[MapleK]

Welcome from a fellow ‘79 850 owner! Any pics of the side car side? That’s the money shot

[Han Solo 22]

She has done 95000 km (59000 miles) with the extra weight of the sidecar, which isn't that much but she needs attention. The headgasket is sweating, cilinder 3 has less compression, gearshifter is leaking so, in the winter I will lift out the engine and pull the head off. And replace all the parts that are in poor condition. I will take some extra pictures next weekend!

[oldGSfan]

Yes, riding a sidecar is totally different. My son loves riding with me on my normal xj900f but he has gotten epilepsy so a sidecar is safer. I had a Russian ural with sidecar 25 years ago and that was fun, but the braking experience on that one was...well....pretty terifying haha. That is why I want to replace the calipers and discs first, the rest is for the winter. The engine needs an overhaul but will last this summer for some short rides. These engines are bulletproof but I will be cautious for doing real dammage to her.

Welcome to the forum Hans. I had a 1951 BMW R51/2 with a Steib sidecar, I bought it in Athens and shipped back to California. The braking was white knuckle and pray experience, suspension was horrific, and the bike rode like it had several hinges in the middle. I nearly sideswiped a parked car once. Such fun!

[zuluwiz]

Before you tear into the calipers, try sliding some modern brake pads in it. Made a great difference to the braking on my '81 850 (the RatZuki). It had the original (1981) pads in it and the braking was lousy till I had some new organic pads installed. Of course you might want to rebuild the calipers anyway, thats your choice. But I always try the cheaper , easier way first.

[Burque73]

Yes, riding a sidecar is totally different. My son loves riding with me on my normal xj900f but he has gotten epilepsy so a sidecar is safer. I had a Russian ural with sidecar 25 years ago and that was fun, but the braking experience on that one was...well....pretty terifying haha. That is why I want to replace the calipers and discs first, the rest is for the winter. The engine needs an overhaul but will last this summer for some short rides. These engines are bulletproof but I will be cautious for doing real dammage to her.

That's a darn good reason to keep the sidecar! I really hope the caliper upgrades help.

[salty_monk]

Hans make sure you look up the "stator papers" and fitting an SH775 Series Mosfet Regulator Rectifier. That should cure any charging issues you are having. Also take out the loop that takes one of the stator wires up to the light switch.
I personally always run a Direct ground wire to the RR too. On some models they rely on the bolts but going through the battery box which is rubber mounted.... Not great electrically if the threads go rusty.

There are other modifications listed (such as the "relay" mod to make sure you get full voltage at the coils for example) but a really good cleaning of all the connections is a great place to start.

The Dyna S electronic ignition is a good update for that bike too.

Good luck. We don't see much sidecar action in here so it'll be an interesting one to follow!

[Han Solo 22]

Ahhh, thanks for the warm welcome. I already ordered the upgradebrackets from Dan. Horrible braking with a sidecar is an adventure which I already had in the past with an old Rusian rig and I will not go through the experience again. I will certainly look into the stator pages. I already orderded an new rectifier because output was fine. Yes, I know of grounding issues because I had a CB550 once which ate rectifiers for breakfast until I grounded it proparly. I made these myself from diodeblocks and thick aluminium plates because the original ones were poor and expensive.

I love BMW sidecars and a twin boxer is a fine engine. And yes, I was looking for a BMW rig but they are very, very expensive these days. When I came across this one, I remembered my GS850 and decided that whatever the state it was in, it would not be a big problem to solve. Or expensive. But first the brakes now!

[GSDoubleDyl]

Welcome indeed to the forum Hans. I was talking yesterday about wishing for a sidecar for my '79 850 and today I see yours here on the forum. Nice find for you. Look forward to seeing more pictures.

[Han Solo 22]

I will start a project and post the foto's there

[Grimly]

Also, keep your eyes open on ebay and other places (or even let it be known amongst sidecarists) for a 15" rear rim. I have one that came from a GS850 or 1000G sidecar outfit. Rare as hen's teeth and wildly expensive new, but mine only cost 80-odd Euros.
The big advantage for sidecar use is the ability to fit 135r15 tyres and give you far greater tyre life, plus it lowers overall gearing, which can only be a good thing when on a rig.
You can see from the pics, it's a hub from a GS shaft wheel and a car alloy 3" rim that have been machined to very close tolerances and then shrunk fit. Absolutely excellent piece of engineering.
A similar wheel today wouldn't leave you much change out of €1000.

[Redman]

Welcome
to TheGSR.

Be aware that are a few design changes from the 79 850g you have now and the 80/after that you had before. In the 80 model year the ignition changed from mechical points to electronic, the stator was made bigger, brakes improved and a few other things to be aware of when looking for parts.