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Good Evening, everybody out there. A quick snippet about me: I'm Wade, am 38, live in California, got my M1 endorsement on my driver's license in March, have about 10 hrs experience riding motorcycles, and my mom gave me my dad's old motorcycle. My background is 10-1/2 years Navy, and 10 years law enforcement.
I just brought the bike home (a couple weeks ago now, actually), it's a GS750. The bike is in need of some major work, and now and then I ask myself if I'm really up to the task. Before I go into what's wrong with it, some info about it:
I believe it's a '79, though I'm not certain. For some reason I was thinking that it was a '77, however I got to thinking:
-My Dad moved to Arizona in '78. The gas cap has a pin-looking thing on it that says "Motorcycle City Scottsdale." Obviously he bought it after he got to Ariz. and didn't bring it with him.
-There's a sticker that says the motorcycle conforms to 1979 regulations.
-The serial number sticker says it was "MFD 9/78," and we all know that the new model years come on the fall prior.
So, It appears I have a '79 Suzuki GS750. With 18k miles on it. I think it's the Sport-Touring model, because the VIN is GS750E-#####.
I remember, growing up, I think my dad gave me 2, maybe 3 rides on it. It would always sit at the inside-most area of the carport, often under an orange blanket. He would always say the brakes need work. Always something about the brakes.
Now, yes, the brakes need work. The motorcycle has sat and collected dust for at least 20 years now. I will need to replace the brakes, probably the lines, too, just to be safe.
The tires are rotted. I'm sure there's no oil in the front fork. The chain is rusted (which is odd, as it was in the valley in Ariz its whole life).
The carburetors are removed and missing pieces. It appears two floats are gone, all four float chambers are gone, and I'm sure various bits are missing. I'll have to dismantle each of them and figure it out and order parts (or order 4 new carbs?).
Air box is missing. No battery.
The entire electrical system needs overhauled, I imagine. I don't think it'll be that hard, once the seat and gas tank are off, it's a matter of running wires, correct?
The engine.
The engine....
No idea. Starter should get replaced. The gear box will need going over, I imagine. But should I open the engine up?? I don't know.
I have so many questions about what to do with this motorcycle, and in what order, I am quickly feeling overwhelmed.
I do have a few questions to start with, with everything tumbling around in my brain.
Carburetors: The Haynes manual (and about everywhere else, it seems) says that the motorcycle uses VM26-SS Mikuni carbs. I can't find anything about those on the web except that that this motorcycle used them. Whenever I do a search, the VM26-606 carbs come up. Are they interchangeable? So long as the specs line up, they should work? Should I try and rebuild/find parts for the old, or buy new? New is about $300 based on what I've seen so far. Rebuilding may cost as much in the long run.
Wheels/Tires: The tires are rotted and falling apart. The bike doesn't run yet. Is it pointless to go out and get new tires? It would be a helluva lot easier to move this thing around without flats.
Motorcycle stand: The bottom of the engine (or gear box? no idea) hangs down below the bottom of the frame. Would a motorcycle stand work for this bike? There's a center stand, but I can't seem to get the bike up on it, and I imagine it would be easier with air in the tires (which brings me back to wanting to get tires).
Anyhow, there's my intro. I don't expect answers to my above questions here, those are just a few examples of what's whirling through my head. When I get to it, I'll post appropriately in the forum after first searching through the threads to see if it's already been answered. Right now I'm off to remove the gas tank and seat, to better get at what's underneath.... Cheers.
~Wade
I just brought the bike home (a couple weeks ago now, actually), it's a GS750. The bike is in need of some major work, and now and then I ask myself if I'm really up to the task. Before I go into what's wrong with it, some info about it:
I believe it's a '79, though I'm not certain. For some reason I was thinking that it was a '77, however I got to thinking:
-My Dad moved to Arizona in '78. The gas cap has a pin-looking thing on it that says "Motorcycle City Scottsdale." Obviously he bought it after he got to Ariz. and didn't bring it with him.
-There's a sticker that says the motorcycle conforms to 1979 regulations.
-The serial number sticker says it was "MFD 9/78," and we all know that the new model years come on the fall prior.
So, It appears I have a '79 Suzuki GS750. With 18k miles on it. I think it's the Sport-Touring model, because the VIN is GS750E-#####.
I remember, growing up, I think my dad gave me 2, maybe 3 rides on it. It would always sit at the inside-most area of the carport, often under an orange blanket. He would always say the brakes need work. Always something about the brakes.
Now, yes, the brakes need work. The motorcycle has sat and collected dust for at least 20 years now. I will need to replace the brakes, probably the lines, too, just to be safe.
The tires are rotted. I'm sure there's no oil in the front fork. The chain is rusted (which is odd, as it was in the valley in Ariz its whole life).
The carburetors are removed and missing pieces. It appears two floats are gone, all four float chambers are gone, and I'm sure various bits are missing. I'll have to dismantle each of them and figure it out and order parts (or order 4 new carbs?).
Air box is missing. No battery.
The entire electrical system needs overhauled, I imagine. I don't think it'll be that hard, once the seat and gas tank are off, it's a matter of running wires, correct?
The engine.
The engine....
No idea. Starter should get replaced. The gear box will need going over, I imagine. But should I open the engine up?? I don't know.
I have so many questions about what to do with this motorcycle, and in what order, I am quickly feeling overwhelmed.
I do have a few questions to start with, with everything tumbling around in my brain.
Carburetors: The Haynes manual (and about everywhere else, it seems) says that the motorcycle uses VM26-SS Mikuni carbs. I can't find anything about those on the web except that that this motorcycle used them. Whenever I do a search, the VM26-606 carbs come up. Are they interchangeable? So long as the specs line up, they should work? Should I try and rebuild/find parts for the old, or buy new? New is about $300 based on what I've seen so far. Rebuilding may cost as much in the long run.
Wheels/Tires: The tires are rotted and falling apart. The bike doesn't run yet. Is it pointless to go out and get new tires? It would be a helluva lot easier to move this thing around without flats.
Motorcycle stand: The bottom of the engine (or gear box? no idea) hangs down below the bottom of the frame. Would a motorcycle stand work for this bike? There's a center stand, but I can't seem to get the bike up on it, and I imagine it would be easier with air in the tires (which brings me back to wanting to get tires).
Anyhow, there's my intro. I don't expect answers to my above questions here, those are just a few examples of what's whirling through my head. When I get to it, I'll post appropriately in the forum after first searching through the threads to see if it's already been answered. Right now I'm off to remove the gas tank and seat, to better get at what's underneath.... Cheers.
~Wade
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