Hi from the Netherlands!

[Tijmen]

Hey all,

I've been silently reading threads on this forum for quite some time, but never really bothered making an account. Few days ago I had a "technical failure" on the highway, previous owner made a bit of a mess of the starter relay, the poor thing was dangling above my chain and apparently the chain finally caught it that time. It pretty much got rid of the battery plus cable attached to it, so the entire bike just died. A few hours of diagnosing later I decided to clean the starter relay up a bit and zip tie it to a more appropriate place... see there I uncovered the dirty wire.. or should I say what was left of it (a bit of insulation). I already created an account in the mean time, since I really did not understand what the heck was wrong with the thing. Probably a good life lesson, clean your **** up a bit before you assess the situation

Anyho', got 2 Suzuki GS models here in the garage, along with a Jawa 634 350cc twin two stroker. My daily driver, a GS450E from 1988 (lovely bike), and a GS650L (really could use more regular use). The GS450E is engine wise in a top notch condition and recently got itself some fresh tires. The GS650L, from 1981 I believe, was imported from the US. I don't know much of the history of the bike, but it hasn't been ridden a lot for 10 years. Every now and then it goes out for a walk, say once every 2 months or so. When it does it rides perfectly, we take the battery out and put it on a trickle charger when it isn't used for longer than a month (quite often). But it does smoke out of the left exhaust. It isn't dark blue or anything, not even close to my two stroke barrel, but it does smoke and smell bad. I know it is burning oil, not sure how badly. Left exhaust pipes are a colder than the 2 on the right, can't touch the right ones for long. Other than that completely fine and no complaints about the performance.

The GS450E is my first proper bike, before that I drove the Jawa (2 banger), which is quite special; 2 stroke powerband and drum brakes that... brake not so well. Fun bike for around town, scary on the highway. So I decided on getting a Suzuki twin.. best decision I ever made as a beginner. What an absolute blast, friendly handling, easy to maintain yourself, GOOD fuel economy and most of all forgiving.

So yeah, I'm quite enthusiastic about the GS series. Suits my calm highway rides to work and university completely I'll try and post some pictures soon!

PS: I've been riding for around 2 years, before that I had my trusty old moped from 1961... hence I thought it would be "fun" trying an old 2 stroke motorcycle

[eddie21]

Welkom Tijmen, what part of Holland is your location? You mentioned university, Leiden perhaps?

[Charlie G]

Welcome to the forum! I haven't seen a Jawa in the states since I was in grade school. I had a lot of fun with my 450e. Glen, you hit a 1k posts, cool!

cg

[dorkburger]

Welcome to the funhouse. Good luck and enjoy your bikes.
Im a 2 stroke fan as well.
Along with my GS I also own an old 2 stroke scooter that's a hoot to tool around on.

[Buffalo Bill]

I thought your post said “Hi from the Neanderthals!”
Wow, I been watching too much PBS.

[82Suzie]

Welcome to the board.
Many years ago I spent four months working in the Netherlands, most time spent was in Amsterdam, but I spent a couple of weeks in The Hague.
Driving around town was Okay, but finding parking for my car was a real challenge. I wish I had a motorcycle while I was over there. I must say I miss it.

[recycled64]

On the 650, out of curiosity, is it stored on the sidestand most or all of the time, or on the centerstand?

[Tijmen]

On the 650, out of curiosity, is it stored on the sidestand most or all of the time, or on the centerstand?

Sidestand! But so is my GS450E without any problems. Interesting observation though. I was going to do a compression test with a bit of oil, to eliminate the piston rings from the equation. It does get less after riding for a little while, but it does consistently, I think, burn oil throughout use.