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Hi all,
First post from a forum lurker, and new owner of an 80 GS1000G (album link). I'd been on the hunt for the ideal (for me) bike for quite a while now, with the goal of having a tall-guy-friendly, faired commuting/touring bike. As much as a Wee-strom probably would have been ideal, I really wanted a UJM for my own reasons (I'm a kid of the 70s). I had recently narrowed down the selection to the GS1000G, a KZ1000ST, and a DOHC CB (either 750K or 900C), decent examples of which were all locally available. What tipped the scales for me (in addition to the GS's all-around good reputation) was the amazing wealth of resources and support available for the GSes, both on this forum and on Cliff's site. Also, the overwhelmingly positive attitude I've seen here really contrasted to what I'd found on some other forums.
The bike itself appears to be in very good mechanical condition (to the best of my ability to check so far). I have no way to know if the 15K on the odo is honest, but compared to my previous bike (an 82 750E with unknown mileage, probably around 50K), she shows a lot less mechanical wear in the expected spots (pedal, shifter, etc). The PO was honest and detailed about what had been done to it in the 10 years he owned it, including the fact that he had never inspected or adjusted the valves, so a full overhaul is definitely on my winter to-do list.
The bike is basically stock, including exhaust, suspension, carb guts (I'm told), paint, and pinstripes. I intend to keep it that way, though I may upgrade the suspension, and I'm debating on keeping the paint/pinstriping, or replacing. I tend to be a purist when it comes to classic bikes, but the original paint has been touched up in spots, and there's one rust spot on the tank directly beneath a pinstripe which needs to be addressed. There are also noticeable flaws with the matching striping tape on the fairing and hard bag. I have not had luck finding the original gold pinstripe kit for the 80 (tape code 764). I'm considering doing a full repaint with the original black, and then perhaps adding the striping back on over the clearcoat if I eventually find the kit. On the other hand, I might just decide to repaint the whole thing in something non-stock... the end result will be "mine", and in any event, this is meant to be a rider, not a showpiece.
The Suzuki / Calafia fairing needs some TLC, but that's a subject for another post after I research plastic welding. Hopefully there are others on the forum with the same fairing, but I've had very little luck finding any discussions about it (here or elsewhere).
Thanks in advance for all of your future advice! (And yes, I'm working my way through the newbie info before asking too many questions
) Every time I look at my GS sitting in the garage, I'll know I have a great group to folks to fall back on for advice!
Chris
First post from a forum lurker, and new owner of an 80 GS1000G (album link). I'd been on the hunt for the ideal (for me) bike for quite a while now, with the goal of having a tall-guy-friendly, faired commuting/touring bike. As much as a Wee-strom probably would have been ideal, I really wanted a UJM for my own reasons (I'm a kid of the 70s). I had recently narrowed down the selection to the GS1000G, a KZ1000ST, and a DOHC CB (either 750K or 900C), decent examples of which were all locally available. What tipped the scales for me (in addition to the GS's all-around good reputation) was the amazing wealth of resources and support available for the GSes, both on this forum and on Cliff's site. Also, the overwhelmingly positive attitude I've seen here really contrasted to what I'd found on some other forums.
The bike itself appears to be in very good mechanical condition (to the best of my ability to check so far). I have no way to know if the 15K on the odo is honest, but compared to my previous bike (an 82 750E with unknown mileage, probably around 50K), she shows a lot less mechanical wear in the expected spots (pedal, shifter, etc). The PO was honest and detailed about what had been done to it in the 10 years he owned it, including the fact that he had never inspected or adjusted the valves, so a full overhaul is definitely on my winter to-do list.
The bike is basically stock, including exhaust, suspension, carb guts (I'm told), paint, and pinstripes. I intend to keep it that way, though I may upgrade the suspension, and I'm debating on keeping the paint/pinstriping, or replacing. I tend to be a purist when it comes to classic bikes, but the original paint has been touched up in spots, and there's one rust spot on the tank directly beneath a pinstripe which needs to be addressed. There are also noticeable flaws with the matching striping tape on the fairing and hard bag. I have not had luck finding the original gold pinstripe kit for the 80 (tape code 764). I'm considering doing a full repaint with the original black, and then perhaps adding the striping back on over the clearcoat if I eventually find the kit. On the other hand, I might just decide to repaint the whole thing in something non-stock... the end result will be "mine", and in any event, this is meant to be a rider, not a showpiece.
The Suzuki / Calafia fairing needs some TLC, but that's a subject for another post after I research plastic welding. Hopefully there are others on the forum with the same fairing, but I've had very little luck finding any discussions about it (here or elsewhere).
Thanks in advance for all of your future advice! (And yes, I'm working my way through the newbie info before asking too many questions
) Every time I look at my GS sitting in the garage, I'll know I have a great group to folks to fall back on for advice!Chris
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