New guy with high hopes...

[Guest]

Hey guys, new guy here. Just picked up a (I believe) gs250t. I still need to pick up the title, but everything is leading me to believe that's what it is (pics below). I got it in a trade with another bike for my daughter. I've been riding for a while, and this is bike #4 in the current stable, along with a '66 Norton Atlas, '81 Honda CM200T, and '05 Honda VTX1300C (my daily rider).

I'm hoping that I can get the GS to fill a spot that I need filled and that I can turn it into a scrambler of sorts. It seems to have all the makings of what I'm looking for, and I love my metrics . The guy I got it from rode it quite a bit, but he couldn't get it started after someone replaced the stator. You'll be seeing a post from me about that I'm sure. So he took a walkthrough scooter in trade for this and the running twinstar.

So there you have it. I'm sure you'll be hearing from me as I get through this project. Any questions, just ask. Thanks for having me!

Now for the pics:
How I got it:







How it's sitting today:

[Rob S.]

a trade with another bike for my daughter.

Nice bike, but you traded your daughter for it?!?

[tkent02]

WEll at least he got two bikes. Might be a good deal, depends on the quality and quantity of the daughter.

[Vicious]

I probably would have gotten the better end of the deal on that one, but I'm sure he wouldn't have kept her, she's a pain in the butt teen. She's just lucky I love her to pieces.

She got a ninja 250 for her birthday last year and proceeded to total it (and wreck herself in the process) when she stood it up in a turn. After she decided she wanted to ride again, we decided to get her something we wouldn't be hard pressed to make pretty again in case something else happens. We ended up with a honda helix scooter. She hated it, and jumped at the idea of swapping for the twinstar. I did, too, because I'm just not a scooter guy, no matter how fun it was. Throw in the GS and I couldn't say no. Now if I can get the GS running, I'll be cooking with gas!

[earlfor]

Welcome to the GSR. Congrats on the GS acquisition. However, in looking at the bike pic, I notice the most prominent tools behind your bench are a line of ten hammers. Now THAT is a little scary. LMAO hehehe They must be specialized mechanics hammers? lol One for tightening nuts and loosening bolts, another for installing light bulbs and a few for polishing and buffing maybe?

[rwnielsen]

Congratulations. You'll have it running in no time and I bet your daughter has a great time on it

[tkent02]

Welcome to the GSR. Congrats on the GS acquisition. However, in looking at the bike pic, I notice the most prominent tools behind your bench are a line of ten hammers. Now THAT is a little scary. LMAO hehehe They must be specialized mechanics hammers? lol One for tightening nuts and loosening bolts, another for installing light bulbs and a few for polishing and buffing maybe?

Sadly I only see about six pry bars.

I wish I could find a nice 250 like that for my daughter.

[Mista M]

welcome, now tell me about that norton. Link to a build for it?

[Vicious]

Welcome to the GSR. Congrats on the GS acquisition. However, in looking at the bike pic, I notice the most prominent tools behind your bench are a line of ten hammers. Now THAT is a little scary. LMAO hehehe They must be specialized mechanics hammers? lol One for tightening nuts and loosening bolts, another for installing light bulbs and a few for polishing and buffing maybe?

I was a millwright in a previous life, so I value my specialized hammers! If it doesn't fit, get a bigger hammer!

Congratulations. You'll have it running in no time and I bet your daughter has a great time on it

While my daughter will want to ride it, the CM200 is for her I think I want to keep this for myself. That said, she'll probably end up with it because I'm such a sucker.

Sadly I only see about six pry bars.

I wish I could find a nice 250 like that for my daughter.

That's only one wall, there are plenty of other options It was a right place / right time find, for sure!

welcome, now tell me about that norton. Link to a build for it?

Ah, the Norton. There is definitely a love / hate relationship with that one. My dad bought it when I was knee high to a grasshopper. He rode it, parked it, spent some money trying to get it back on the road, and then gave it to me. I completely rebuilt the motor and got it running like a scalded dog, and now my tank is leaking again. Such is life. Just another project for the list. It's fun, but not my daily rider.

I don't have any before pics from when it had blue metal flake and mini-apes, but here she is as she sits today. You can go here to see a few more http://www.viciouscustoms.com/?page_id=38

[storm 64]

Good luck on getting the little GS running. There are a lot of great guys and ladies with a wealth of information on this site. Also it's nice to see you have a sense of humor, these guys crack me up sometimes

[850 Combat]

I'm a Norton guy. I owned a '69 Atlas from '75 through 1993. I never had it fully sorted out. It was a fast street drag racer, and a slow but good looking cafe racer, and several points in between while I owned it. One thing that is for certain is that the Featherbed frame and Roadholder forks were better than anything else in those days. Those frames were winning GP races into the sixties. I've seen Vincent, HD, Triumph, BSA, and CB750 motors in them. It was the known way to make a bike handle, back in the day.

Mine, towards the end of my ownership. It weighed under 400 lb with gas in it.

[Mista M]

Thanks for sharing that norton info. Great looking bike

[850 Combat]

An Atlas has really bad vibration. Worse than anything else that I have owned.

[Vicious]

I can attest to the bad vibration, but it's still awfully fun! I am currently trying to decide what I want to do about the tank. The outside is pretty, but the inside not so much. I'm debating between red kote and an Indian sourced new tank. I've heard and read a lot of great things about red kote, so that's how I'm leaning. Just waiting until I have a little more downtime. I really want to hit a gentlemen’s ride next year.

[Phred]

The inside of the tank can be cleaned with Evaporust. I poured four liters into my tank, swished it around for a while, propped the tank up at different angles, and let the evaporust do it's thing. It removes the rust through chelation and does not affect the steel. It took about three days, after which I used compressed air and wrung a large towel through the tank. Amazing stuff.