New owner, experienced rider, nice bike, big project, great community

[Guest]

Hello All! I'm recently retired Air Force. (only six weeks) As a retirement gift, (I got to choose my own) I ended up with a 79' GS550e. When I met the seller via craigslist, it fired right up and then proceeded to spew a half gallon of gas on the ground. This greatly effected the asking price... The PO told of me his "restoration" intentions but ended up choosing a old Porsche to devote his time on instead. He purchased it from and estate auction as it had been sitting in a barn under a drop cloth for 12 years. She ran long enough to get a quick run up and down the street...and I was smitten. I learned to ride on the streets of Tokyo. This bike is actually a large drop in displacement as I previously owned a Triumph Daytona liter bike. It was a blast on the abandoned roads in the mountains outside of the city. Now that I'm back stateside and unemployed, I needed something to work on and I found my GS and that needed some love. I've been wrenching on it ever since.
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[portdave]

Congrats on the project and purchase and thank you for your service.

[Cyrano]

Nice cindition, looks like you're off to a good start.

[steve murdoch]

Tarp life usually leads to rust and oxidization, that one looks great.
Nice to see the stock exhaust in good shape.
Welcome to the site and thank you for your Service.

[argonsagas]

For a barn bike, that one looks very nice, indeed. That said, after twelve years, it wILL need some work to lube all the moving parts both interior and exterior.

You have found the best place for any advice you may need.

Good luck with your new bike......looking forward to see how and what you do with it.

[AMK]

Nice bike, good find.
+1 on your service, thank you!

[dorkburger]

Welcome. Nice that you found something fun to keep you busy. The bike looks like a great starting point for a resto, or a simple de mothballing. Good luck and enjoy.