6k mile survivor

[Guest]

1982 GS650GL
Sat under tarp for 18 years. Father-in-law finally gave in.
Carbs done, new plugs, filters, and had to lose fairing and ugly highway pegs.. Runs like new.
Original tires, paint, and seat are nice but flat spot and hardness of tires are unbearable.
Bars and tires will have to be changed soon.
LIVING IN THE 80's BABY!

[Dogma]

Congrats! But 18 year old tires should be changed sooner than soon.

What do you have in mind for bars? Daytona, GP touring, euro bend, superbike?

[fm67gt]

Agreed! Tires (33 years old) have only been used in the parking lot so far.
Suggestions for bars?... newbie here!

[fm67gt]

Before Pic!GS650GL barn find.jpg Complete with barn find dust still intact.
After pic is my profile pic. Son trying it on for size. Couldn't upload for some reason.
Need some advice of some good mods that update but keep it looking fairly original.

[Dogma]

Nice! That should clean up well.

If you're going without the fairing or any kind of windscreen, one of the bars I mentioned above should be in the ballpark. Exactly which you prefer will depend on riding style and your particular anthropometry. Fortunately, bars are relatively cheap and easy to swap. For sitting behind a windshield or faring, I don't know. Stock bars from G model perhaps. How do you plan to ride it and are you of relatively average proportions?

[Dogma]

Nice! That should clean up well.

If you're going without the fairing or any kind of windscreen, one of the bars I mentioned above should be in the ballpark. Exactly which you prefer will depend on riding style and your particular anthropometry. Fortunately, bars are relatively cheap and easy to swap. Based on that tiny pic, I'd guess that the Daytona bars might get you leaning forward a bit instead of sitting straight up. I prefer the euro bend. They're a little lower, and straighter.

Edit: I just noticed you said that's your son on the bike.

[fm67gt]

No, I am 6-3 so the stepped seat may have to go. The frame modified as well. I hate to hack this thing up but at least it isn't a highly collectible model.
Thanks for the help.

[fm67gt]

After pic!

[Dogma]

Putting a flat seat on a GL is not easier than finding a G to replace it, but the job has been done (By DantheMan. I don't know if he has a thread on it). You get a bigger tank with a G model as well. See if you fall in love with it before you put all the effort into an irreversible change. It'll sell better whole, especially a pretty one like that. Even with a flat seat, you'll need to learn to move around on it for long rides.

I'm around 6'2". The Daytona bars on my 850GL sit me up a little too much, and aren't quite straight enough. I'll revise my recommendation to the euro bend or superbike bars. I've done consecutive 300 mile days on the 850 with the stock stepped seat and Daytona bars. I've done the same on the 1000G with the flat seat and euro bend. In both cases, I have to move around a lot and take a break every hour to prevent soreness. Fresh seat foam is what I really need. But I definitely prefer the lower bars I have on the 1000.

[fm67gt]

Thanks Dogma!
You are probably right, may be better off selling it whole. Sure had fun bringing it back to life.
I like original bikes and would hate to cut it up anyway.
Will keep looking/dreaming for a big Katana, the one I wanted back in the day. Guess I will have to pay to play with the value of the litre bikes rising, especially Kats.

Any ideas of the value of this 650 L if I decide to sell? Seat and paint are near perfect with no dents, chrome is an 8/10, zero issues ,starting, driving, noises, smoke, etc., other than the hard original tires.

[eil]

L models tend not to fetch a whole lot unless they are in really good shape with low miles. A very nice example that's been fully gone through and is in perfect running condition, between $1500 and $2000. Unfortunately, you tend to spend almost that much bringing an 18 year-old bike back to roadworthiness once all is said and done. But it all depends on season and location, so who knows. If that fairing is in good shape, it can raise the price significantly for the right buyer. (Others might pay extra to have it taken off!)

[fm67gt]

Thanks Charles!
Fairing is mint but it had to go. Hated the look of it. Will throw it and all the hardware with it in the deal to the next owner or maybe flip it on eBay.

[JerryBB]

After pic!

Hi, it looks much better for the clean and removal of the fairing. I have one of these, not stock and as you say not very collectable but a good ride. Better to sell it as is than try to convert it when it is so good after all these years.