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Hello all!
I have recently become the owner of an '83 GS450L in pretty nice shape. The bike has less than 10k on it and doesn't appear to have any damage. I am a card carrying member of the dark side so I am for sure going to mod this bike but I'm letting it live stock for now so I can appreciate what it was designed to be. So far I have only put about 10 miles on the bike. I am reading as much as can to figure out the "must do" items this bike needs. The bike does have some issues, though, and one is my fault.
1. I put the petcock it PRI thinking it was "off" (I've never owned a bike with this setting). Came back to gas all over the ground. It leaked out of the one of the tubes that connects the carbs to the airbox. I didn't smell gas in the engine but I'm going to change the oil anyway. I tried to idle it for 5 minutes and stopped when I wouldn't idle correctly. It did run and idle well before this goof up.
2. No filter in the airbox! The bike came like this, I discovered this when I was checking for damage from the first problem. I can't find a foam replacement, can I just cut one up out of a generic?
What I want to mod:
1. The seat. Burn it with fire! To me this seat is ugly and I'm for sure changing it. I feel confident that I can fab up something tasteful but the T model seat is also a possibility. The tank on the T looks different so I don't know how well they'll mate together.
2. The airbox. This by all accounts seems like the thing that is most likely to break me. Yes, I want pods, K&N pods. I feel confident about the seat, I got nothing for the carbs. From what I have thus far read it seems like I can't own this bike and not expect to fiddle with the carbs... I barely even understand carbs. I have more of an idea now because I read through some articles on BikeCliff's site but I am still a deer in headlights on this one. Obviously, I am in no rush to do this mod (unless my little fuel fiasco made it a must). Who knows maybe I'll just fall in love with the stock setup.
3. The exhaust. This one is not that big a deal in my mind. The only thing I want to change are the cans. I just don't like the look of them and would prefer something that ran parallel to the ground and was smaller.
4. The rear suspension. I want to raise the rear end just a bit. Found some good options on DCC. I really don't know if this is going to be necessary. The L model appears like it's dragging its rear end. The main reason seems to be the seat. The tank doesn't help but the seat is what's sending a false signal. It makes you think the subframe continues the slope of the tank but in reality the rear end is higher than the center of the frame. I might get a seat setup that cancels the purpose of this mod.
5. The bars. No biggie, just want to lower the grip a bit, maybe an inch or two.
Those are the big items. I have a bunch of little changes but they are not fully decided upon yet. I am putting together a document that outlines the design concept and inspiration for what I want. I have confidence that I can make the bike look good (to me) but not so much for the performance end. Definitely going to try because why else would I want to own a bike almost as old as I am. However, I'll pay someone to do it if it becomes overly not fun.
Thanks for reading!
I have recently become the owner of an '83 GS450L in pretty nice shape. The bike has less than 10k on it and doesn't appear to have any damage. I am a card carrying member of the dark side so I am for sure going to mod this bike but I'm letting it live stock for now so I can appreciate what it was designed to be. So far I have only put about 10 miles on the bike. I am reading as much as can to figure out the "must do" items this bike needs. The bike does have some issues, though, and one is my fault.
1. I put the petcock it PRI thinking it was "off" (I've never owned a bike with this setting). Came back to gas all over the ground. It leaked out of the one of the tubes that connects the carbs to the airbox. I didn't smell gas in the engine but I'm going to change the oil anyway. I tried to idle it for 5 minutes and stopped when I wouldn't idle correctly. It did run and idle well before this goof up.
2. No filter in the airbox! The bike came like this, I discovered this when I was checking for damage from the first problem. I can't find a foam replacement, can I just cut one up out of a generic?
What I want to mod:
1. The seat. Burn it with fire! To me this seat is ugly and I'm for sure changing it. I feel confident that I can fab up something tasteful but the T model seat is also a possibility. The tank on the T looks different so I don't know how well they'll mate together.
2. The airbox. This by all accounts seems like the thing that is most likely to break me. Yes, I want pods, K&N pods. I feel confident about the seat, I got nothing for the carbs. From what I have thus far read it seems like I can't own this bike and not expect to fiddle with the carbs... I barely even understand carbs. I have more of an idea now because I read through some articles on BikeCliff's site but I am still a deer in headlights on this one. Obviously, I am in no rush to do this mod (unless my little fuel fiasco made it a must). Who knows maybe I'll just fall in love with the stock setup.
3. The exhaust. This one is not that big a deal in my mind. The only thing I want to change are the cans. I just don't like the look of them and would prefer something that ran parallel to the ground and was smaller.
4. The rear suspension. I want to raise the rear end just a bit. Found some good options on DCC. I really don't know if this is going to be necessary. The L model appears like it's dragging its rear end. The main reason seems to be the seat. The tank doesn't help but the seat is what's sending a false signal. It makes you think the subframe continues the slope of the tank but in reality the rear end is higher than the center of the frame. I might get a seat setup that cancels the purpose of this mod.
5. The bars. No biggie, just want to lower the grip a bit, maybe an inch or two.
Those are the big items. I have a bunch of little changes but they are not fully decided upon yet. I am putting together a document that outlines the design concept and inspiration for what I want. I have confidence that I can make the bike look good (to me) but not so much for the performance end. Definitely going to try because why else would I want to own a bike almost as old as I am. However, I'll pay someone to do it if it becomes overly not fun.
Thanks for reading!
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