81 GS750L in Tyler, Tx

[Guest]

Hello, all! My name is John, and I bought this good running bike a few years ago and took it apart to fix an oil leak from the cylinder head. Found other stuff wrong with it and ran outta money. It lay apart in a swampy garage (I know, shame) for a year, but now I am ready to restore her and have her in a climate controlled habitat!

IMG_20171118_203154.jpg

[Spyder]

Welcome, welcome ! ! ! You came to the right place to get her back up and down the road...

[Redman]

Welcome Golden John,

THat you in the foreground of the picture har har har
or a dog ? or a person with long hair? har har har

Leak from cyclinder head, you say.
Head gasket, I suppose.
If oil leak is Tach drive... or .. Cam cover end plugs, folks here will have some words of wisdom for you?

Lots of folks here willing to help with that and "other stuff wrong".
Good that you now have a place to work on the bike.

1981 750 L
Like this...? (cant see much in your pictutre)


GS 750 GL 1981
Overall Length: 2 225 mm (87.6 in)
Overall Width: 855 mm (33.7 in)
Overall Height: 1 190 mm (46.9 in)
Wheelbase: 1 510 mm (59.4 in)
Dry Weight: 241 kg (530 lbs)
Engine type: Air-cooled 748 cc inline-4, DOHC, 8 valves. 68 hp/ 8,500 rpm, 6,0 kg-m/ 6,500 rpm.

Click on the image for larger format.
Here's more Suzuki GS750GL info

[GoldenBoi]

Thank you, Spyder!

Yes, Redman, that is my Shi Tzu named Tootsie laying in bed with me. The pic is of an early 8 valve model, but the look is the same. I wish my bedroom was bigger but I was not willing to part with the Pioneer stereo. I don't always listen to Pink Floyd, but when I do, it's on a vintage component stereo!

[dorkburger]

John, welcome. No shaming about a project put on hold. We’ve all been or are there.
Good luck with project.

.... and there are some vintage hi-fi fans here as well.

[Redman]

Thank you, Spyder!

Yes, Redman, that is my Shi Tzu named Tootsie laying in bed with me. The pic is of an early 8 valve model, but the look is the same. I wish my bedroom was bigger but I was not willing to part with the Pioneer stereo. I don't always listen to Pink Floyd, but when I do, it's on a vintage component stereo!

Dog has similar appearance to our Maltese-Bischon-FooFoo doggie.

I did notice that photo appeared to be in bed room (with dog and other stuff obscuring view of the bike), did not notice any vintage stereo system. Yah, that, and vintage large speakers do take lots of room. (I speak from Pioneer SX-1000TW and Infinity Qb speakers). (Was a vintage stereo posting in CAmpfire not too long ago, so not say much about that here.)

Welcome, my friend, to the GSR Machine. Where have you been? Its alright, we know where you have been.

Do tell us more about the "other problems" you found with the bike.

You able to work on it there in the house?
Seems like having room to lay out the parts might be a challenge, well, if you want to do anything else in the house.

[GoldenBoi]

Thank you, dorkburger! I had it inside when I took it apart. In a giant party room we used for storage, in a house we rented up to just over a year ago. From there, the only place for it was the next place's garage which flooded occasionally during a hard rain. The head just lay there atop a box, the carbs on another box, the uncovered engine just open to the humidity. I can be very difficult to motivate to do much after a day at work. So I left it for 15 months. And I am ashamed. I knew better, just lazy.

My Dad helped pay for it while I was in school. And he collects antique glassware and likes things to look good. This bike looked terrible. Tank poorly painted satin black, no side covers, and the gauges look awful too. Wiring just running places in free air. And the pipes had been drilled yielding an pleasant sound. And the oil leak. Coming from the head gasket.

Upon removal of the engine top cover I found extreme exhaust cam wear. The followers were trash, too. And that was as far as I looked. I remember it was a noisy engine, and sometimes the clutch wanted to drag, but it ran fine. I bought a good used cam and followers, and a head gasket, but it was aftermarket and missing a rubber piece in the corner. no returns auction. And then I found everything ELSE wrong with the bike in general.

I wanted to restore it from the beginning, but started tearing apart the engine. I think now I should preserve what engine parts I can, build a bike minus engine, and then build my engine and carbs, then return it to service. Or keep it on the bedroom. It'll only be perfect once.

Thanks, Redman! A bischon frise/Maltese mix? Or? Ive handled both in the family dog salon. Fancy dogs. Grooming a bischon sucks though. Yeah, I say vintage stereo. Ive no idea what year it was manufactured, but it's nowhere near as old as my Dad's MCS 3323. But all in all bigger than his. Once I get the bike broken down to just the frame I'll have more room. The engine and carbs will stay in the house. I don't know what I'll do with the wiring.