1979 gs1000

[Guest]

Greetings! I'm new to the GS Form...due to purchasing a 1979 GS1000 from the original owner. It has 47000 kms on it and was purchased new by the PO kitted out with full vetter luggage and Windjammer fairing with lowers and an aftermarket touring seat. ( He didn't even pick up the light bucket or original seat when he picked up the bike from the dealer, lol).

I'm in the process of cleaning it up and then I'll give it the once over after a fairly lengthy ride. Hopefully, that will bring to light any leaks or issues. Battery is relatively new along with sprockets, chain and tires. Carbs were rebuilt about 8 years ago but will likely need some attention again. Rear brake pads are good but the fronts are original so I'm thinking of rebuilding the master cylinder and front caliper. A full service manual is included with the bike.

I'm open to suggestions as to what should be done to a GS1000 to bring it back to it's touring glory!

Cheers, Def

[azr]

Welcome to the site. Post up some pictures of that beauty if you haven't looked thru Cliffs site it well worth it. It's like a manual all in its own.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

[trevor]

Yes, welcome to the forum! KMS?? Canadian? Where are you?

Cheers, and pics please.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Welcome to the forum Dale, nice bumping into you this morning, and a very nice bike, even it wasn't co-operating at the time I saw you.

Here is Dale with his new bike about to get loaded into a friends pickup truck.

Looks like he lost all power, maybe dead battery or??

What did you find out?






Cheers,

David.

[azr]

Love the touring bike, the seat maybe not. Too bad about the no starting, souns like it's time to test the charging.

[Def]

Yeah, thanks for the warm welcome and it was very nice to meet you today, David!

I was wondering who that old fart was looking at my bike in the pics....geesh, I thought I looked a lot more like Brad Pitt in real life....guess not, lol.

Anyway, I put the battery on the tender and it was almost fully charged right away so I put the key in the ignition, turned it...and nothin! Time to re-check the main fuse but it looked fine at first glance. I'll change it anyway. Any tips are always welcome! Did I mention that the bike ran exceptionally well just prior to the "no electrical syndrome"?

[Darren]

Welcome to the site there is a wealth of info here I just joined myself, you have a nice looking Bike there, I'm in riverview new Brunswick Canada take care...Darren

[Sandy]

Welcome to mad house David. I'm over in Cranbrook and have the same bike yours only it's got black clothes on. Doesn’t take long but have a look at the back of your fuse box. Two phillps screws, turn it over, pop the back cover off and check to see the solder joints are OK and nothing has worn through any of the wires. I had instant no power one day it turned out to a partial short when one of the lumpy solder joints chafed through a wire.

[Def]

Okay, so I found my problem....a little embarrassed, I must say!! Yup, it was the main fuse. I couldn't see it initially. The fuse is not blown but the end cap slipped right off. Here's a pic of the fuse.

[Charlie G]

Welcome Dale! I had the same thing happen to the main fuse on my 450. Sneaky little fuse. I hope you like beer and ride quickly....?

[tkent02]

There are quite a few threads about improvements to the original electrical system, virtually all of them include going to modern fuses. The glass ones are nothing but failures waiting to happen. The electrical system requires a bit of maintenance as well, cleaning wire connections, replacing burnt and melted connectors and testing charging voltage is important.
Once this is done (along with the other routine maintenance) the old GS will be as reliable as anything made before or since.

Congrats on the bike, looks like a nice one.

[azr]

That could easily be the original fuse. You might want to spend $10 and replace all your fuses and like Sandy mentioned having a look at your fuse box is always a good idea. Pick up some electrical contact spray when you buy the fusez and give your fuse box a good spray while you're in there. With that all done you should be good to go for at least another 30 years. And Charlie's only joking about beer and speed..........sort of.