New Member

[Guest]

Hi everyone. Shane here. Just acquired a bike from a friend....he decided to purchase a new bike and didn't know what to do with his old one so he gave it to me! Im a lucky guy (hopefully). Bike is a 1981 Suzuki GS1000L from what he tells me and what is on the side of the bike. I have been told and shown that the bike starts great but is not running very well....wont run for long and will not idle properly. Haven't had a chance to even look at it yet as I just picked it up yesterday and got it into the garage. Winter has arrived here now so I guess i have about 7 months to get this bad boy running top notch. Will be browsing the forums trying to learn as much as i can and by the looks of things i have a lot to learn....know very little about bikes but want to learn. Im a sparky by trade but have dabbled in mechanics for a while now so I'm not afraid to take things apart and check them out.
Anyhow just thought I would say Hi and thank everyone for being a part of the is community - I'm sure there are some great people on here that will be an awesome resource for a new GS owner. Really hope when the snow melts i will be able to take it for a ride. Here is a pic of the bike!
Cheers!
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[terrylee]

Wow! nice friend! If it's been sitting a while probably needs carbs rebuild. Check out Basscliff's welcome in this section and you'll find tons of info. terrylee

[williampkerr]

so he gave it to me! Im a lucky guy (hopefully).

In my opinion recieving any free bike makes you a lucky person. terrylee is right, probably just needs a carb rebuild. My bike sat for many years when I procured it. Once I rebuilt the carbs she started right up:-)

[GSXR7ED]

Welcome!

Welcome, yes...very nice friend indeed. I paid $475 for my "T" and the guy rebuilt the carbs and changed the clutch plates.

Plenty of helpful members here. You'll know immediately if you've mentioned something incorrectly. If it's one thing I've noticed is...things don't go un-noticed.



Ed

[steve murdoch]

Welcome to the site.
There are a couple Alberta members on the site, not sure about them being from the North.
Good man, working on the bike over the winter instead of snowmobiling.

[BigD_83]

In my opinion recieving any free bike makes you a lucky person. terrylee is right, probably just needs a carb rebuild. My bike sat for many years when I procured it. Once I rebuilt the carbs she started right up:-)

...depends on the bike, but assuming the giver is a TRUE friend and wouldn't saddle you (that is SknirB) with the expense of a basket-case, then you've lucked out. Hard to tell from the attached thumbnail, but it looks to be in decent shape. How far north in Alberta are you? Most people think Edmonton is north, but some of us know the difference

Have fun with it. I'm sure there won't be much wrong that you can't sort out and turn into a fun summer ride.

[Steve]

Plenty of helpful members here. You'll know immediately if you've mentioned something incorrectly. If it's one thing I've noticed is...things don't go un-noticed.

OK, in the "things not un-noticed" department:
1. It's not just a 1000L, it is actually a GS1000GL, even though the side covers don't have the "G". It is shaft-driven, hence the "G".
2. Not sure if that is a stock color for that year. In fact, not sure if it was ever offered. Looks decent from that side.
3. The cylinders have been painted. Suzuki had black engine parts starting in '83, but they would be larger, 1100cc. Look at the front of the base of #1 cylinder to verify engine size.
4. There appears to be a 4-into-1 exhaust system installed. Hopefully the carbs have been re-jetted to match, but you can verify that when you rebuild the carbs.
5. Shocks appear stock-ish, probably due for replacement. Good time to change the fork springs, as well.
6. Check date codes on tires.

There is a long list of stuff that you should check, even though you were just given this by a friend. Unless you were there to actually see him do something, assume that it hasn't been done, and check it yourself.

References have been made to BassCliff's site or BassCliff's Welcome Page, (<-- ) click on the links for a visit to the library.

.

[eil]

Wow, I need to make some new friends. Not a single one has given me a free motorcycle yet!

Read up on the boat-load of maintenance the bike will need (carb cleaning is necessary but not sufficient if you value your life at all). Ask quesitons, but do your own research first.

Nice bike you have there. Is it your first one?

[SknirB]

Nice bike you have there. Is it your first one?

Yes it is my first street legal bike! Just got my licence this summer...will be buying a bigger bike next year but this will be a good bike to tinker with and hopefully have some fun with....if nothing else i can use it to teach my wife how to ride - the price was right haha!

[SknirB]

OK, in the "things not un-noticed" department:
1. It's not just a 1000L, it is actually a GS1000GL, even though the side covers don't have the "G". It is shaft-driven, hence the "G".
2. Not sure if that is a stock color for that year. In fact, not sure if it was ever offered. Looks decent from that side.
3. The cylinders have been painted. Suzuki had black engine parts starting in '83, but they would be larger, 1100cc. Look at the front of the base of #1 cylinder to verify engine size.
4. There appears to be a 4-into-1 exhaust system installed. Hopefully the carbs have been re-jetted to match, but you can verify that when you rebuild the carbs.
5. Shocks appear stock-ish, probably due for replacement. Good time to change the fork springs, as well.
6. Check date codes on tires.

There is a long list of stuff that you should check, even though you were just given this by a friend. Unless you were there to actually see him do something, assume that it hasn't been done, and check it yourself.

References have been made to BassCliff's site or BassCliff's Welcome Page, (<-- ) click on the links for a visit to the library.

.

Awesome. Thank you Steve. In terms of the points that you made....
1. The previous owner did tell me that it was a GS1000GL....but the side covers just say "L" - possibly replaced?
2. Had a good look to see if it has been repainted but don't see any evidence of it....maybe it did get a new paint job somewhere down the line. Im amazed that it looks as good as it does considering how old it is.
3. Stamp at the bottom of #1 says 997cm3....so either this bike got new engine parts along the way or is it possible that it is an 83?
4. There is a 4-1 exhaust installed....im going out on a limb to say the carbs have been re-jetted to match because the old owner rode this bike right up until about 3 months ago when it stopped running properly. Guessing that if they weren't re-jetted to match there would be more issues
5. Shocks do seem like stock but are working really good - bike handles me sitting on it fine and I'm not a little man....may be another thing to take care of over the winter
6. The previous owner gave me the receipt for the new tires he installed this year so i know they are almost brand new. Had a look at the tires quick last night but didn't see a date code on them....is that info hidden somewhere? Will have to ask google - she knows everything lol

Thanks for the info - I'm sure this forum and the people will be a great resource for me!

[SknirB]

...depends on the bike, but assuming the giver is a TRUE friend and wouldn't saddle you (that is SknirB) with the expense of a basket-case, then you've lucked out. Hard to tell from the attached thumbnail, but it looks to be in decent shape. How far north in Alberta are you? Most people think Edmonton is north, but some of us know the difference

Have fun with it. I'm sure there won't be much wrong that you can't sort out and turn into a fun summer ride.

BigD - I am up in Fort McMurray....so a little further north than Edmonton haha. Yes there are some people out there that think Calgary is far north! As for the friend that gave me this bike - he wouldn't saddle me with a piece of junk - he was very open that the bike seemed to start having problems this year and he thought it was a timing issue or something but didn't have the time to figure it out (does anyone up here have time for much other than working?) so its not like he gave me the bike with the promise of it being ready to go....I understand that i will have to tinker and play with it. I just hope it is not anything too serious - like i said I'm an Electrician not a mechanic lol. We did start it up and it starts no problem and runs for about 5 mins before cutting out so i don't see it being anything too big.

I am going to have some fun with this thing for sure!

[SknirB]

And thanks all for the warm welcome! Glad the previous owner told me about this site....i can see already that i will be visiting here often and doing a lot of reading lol

Cheers!

[EvMac]

Hey Everyone! Just got my first bike, a 1981 GS550L. Got it from a friend who took good care of it. Runs like a dream, and is in pretty good cosmetic shape (considering the bike is older than me!) I had plans to get more of a cruiser type (V-Star, Intruder, etc.) but I stumbled on this deal and couldn't past it up. Couldn't be happier, either. For a beginner bike, it's exactly what I need. I'm glad he suggested this forum, as well. Over this winter, I'm going to be researching a lot of know-how from you fine folks. I've seen some really cool GS bobber's, and that's my goal. Thanks in advance! - Evan

IMG_20141019_172813.jpg

[GSX1000E]

SknirB, some "friend" giving you an L model! He probably had enough planter boxes around already. J/K

Just the fact that the cylinder head and cylinder are different colors is a good sign that perhaps a head gasket leak was fixed and the new (good looking) paint job also shows that it was loved.
DO take a MSF riding course ASAP to learn how to ride that beast before you get yourself hurt. Looking forward to seeing you make progress on the bike and your riding skills.

[Steve]

I will comment on your replies

Awesome. Thank you Steve. In terms of the points that you made....
1. The previous owner did tell me that it was a GS1000GL....but the side covers just say "L" - possibly replaced?
No, the GL models (shaft-driven Ls) never had the G on the emblem, just the L.
2. Had a good look to see if it has been repainted but don't see any evidence of it....maybe it did get a new paint job somewhere down the line. Im amazed that it looks as good as it does considering how old it is.
Yes, it does look good, just don't remember that color, and most of the bikes were actually two colors.
3. Stamp at the bottom of #1 says 997cm3....so either this bike got new engine parts along the way or is it possible that it is an 83?
That confirms it as a GS1000L, which was only available in '80 and '81.
Block must have been painted. That is nothing new, I have done it to my '80-'82 bikes.
Suzuki started painting the engines black for the '83 model year.
4. There is a 4-1 exhaust installed....im going out on a limb to say the carbs have been re-jetted to match because the old owner rode this bike right up until about 3 months ago when it stopped running properly. Guessing that if they weren't re-jetted to match there would be more issues
All depends on how it was ridden. If he never really got into the main jets by opening up the throttle, he could have gotten away with stock jetting. Get off that limb, VERIFY. You probably need to rebuild the carbs anyway, good time to read the numbers on the jets and hope that they were not drilled bigger.
5. Shocks do seem like stock but are working really good - bike handles me sitting on it fine and I'm not a little man....may be another thing to take care of over the winter
Sitting on the bike only tests spring rate. Damping goes away far quicker than spring rate over the years.
Many of the magazine testers back in the day felt that the damping was worn out by the time they got the bikes onto the street, as they left the dealer.
6. The previous owner gave me the receipt for the new tires he installed this year so i know they are almost brand new. Had a look at the tires quick last night but didn't see a date code on them....is that info hidden somewhere? Will have to ask google - she knows everything lol
No need to Google, just look for the DOT code on the tire. The last 3 or 4 digits will be the date code.
If they were just recently put on, I would hope that there are 4 digits there.
The first 2 digits are the week number, the last 2 are the year. 3413 would be the 34th week of 2013, or about mid-September.

Thanks for the info - I'm sure this forum and the people will be a great resource for me!