Might pick up a new to me 84 gs650

[Guest]

Looking at an 84 gs650 on Friday and wondering if it’s a good idea. I’m just excited so I’ll see past all the bad without thinking. So looking for advice. Guy says motor is good just needs gasket kits. (Assuming it’s been rebuilt recently) he said it’s his project he lost time for. Also hard tail professionally welded on and a peanut tank comes with it. The bike is not fully assembled. Sense I cannot start it. What are some things I can check for? Bike is $230 thank you all in advance. I’m excited to be part of this forum, I’ve got a big project ahead of me if this is a good deal

Chance

[Burque73]

Hey Chance, welcome aboard!

What is so appealing about that bike to you? Custom hard tail? The challenge of putting it all together? Do you like these old GS's and maybe had one years ago?

Personally, I'd walk away from that. It's a parts bike at best.

[glib]

Pass on it. There is a real reason why people sell projects that they “don’t have time to finish.” They realize they screwed up and there’s no way back. There are so many beautiful bikes you could have for a reasonable price. Keep looking—and keep posting em.

[UtahRedBeard]

Hey Chance, welcome aboard!

What is so appealing about that bike to you? Custom hard tail? The challenge of putting it all together? Do you like these old GS's and maybe had one years ago?

Personally, I'd walk away from that. It's a parts bike at best.

The hard tail is nice, the project is very nice to me. I need to keep my brain busy when I’m not at work. Im thinking I’m going to probably spread this project out over this next year, summer would be a nice goal but realistically I will probably tear into this and completely rebuild it to my liking. I’m mainly looking for good frame and good crankcase, head, and gears. Basically good bones. I just figured for 200 bucks, that seems like a good deal for bones to this project. I’ll check it out and I’ll keep my eye open for others as well.

[roeme]

The condition of the bike is hard to tell from the picture...the motor itself might be worth some bucks, but how many, that depends on a multitude of factors.

What's your background in regards to motorcycles and wrenching on them? I mean, if you have the skills,resources(time, money, space, parts, tools, etc.) _and_ experience, then yes, you might create something cool out of this bucket'o'parts.

Otherwise, this will simply drain your energy, time, money and take up space.

Edit: Oh and welcome to the forum

[Phred]

It might be a good parts bike, but you can find much better bikes out there for a bit more. If you want something to practice on I would really lowball him on what he is asking. Before you know it, you will have sunk a thousand into it or more, and for that much, you can get a pretty decent bike. Keep your eyes peeled, there are other bikes out there, not too far away. As for the peanut tank, you will be hopping between gas stations.

[UtahRedBeard]

Very valid points. I’ll probably end up passing on this due to it being takin apart and not being able to tell condition of the motor, unless I can talk him down more. Thanks For the advice everyone.

[Nessism]

If you have your heart set on a hardtail I'd go look at it focusing on the frame mod quality. If it's well done the price is worth the frame alone.

Most guys here aren't into such bikes because they compromise function too much. That part is your choice though.

Engines and mechanical stuff can always be fixed.

[chuck hahn]

If you want to "hard tail" a bike make steel connectors from the swing arm to the upper shock mounts and bolt them in place of the rear shock. That effectively hard tails it and does no harm if you want to put the shocks back on once you find out it brides like a petrified turd.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Looking at an 84 gs650 on Friday and wondering if it’s a good idea. I’m just excited so I’ll see past all the bad without thinking. So looking for advice. Guy says motor is good just needs gasket kits. (Assuming it’s been rebuilt recently) he said it’s his project he lost time for. Also hard tail professionally welded on and a peanut tank comes with it. The bike is not fully assembled. Sense I cannot start it. What are some things I can check for? Bike is $230 thank you all in advance. I’m excited to be part of this forum, I’ve got a big project ahead of me if this is a good deal

Chance

Welcome to the site Chance.

There's not a lot of negotiating room on a $230 bike, so even free it may not be a "good" deal, it will depend on what's needed to get it running.

If you can do 95% of the work yourself and are mechanically/electrically inclined you maybe able to get it back on the road for $2,000 but you could easily spend that and still have a $200 non running bike.

Many sellers are overly optimistic with their claims of what's needed, and if it was only that how come they didn't fix it.

Also you may want to verify the year of the bike (not sure they made a GS650 in 1984) and see what parts cost and if they are still available before you buy.

Is the bike chain or shaft drive?

https://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/c/suzuki_motorcycle_1984/parts

Good luck.

David

[UtahRedBeard]

Welcome to the site Chance.

There's not a lot of negotiating room on a $230 bike, so even free it may not be a "good" deal, it will depend on what's needed to get it running.

If you can do 95% of the work yourself and are mechanically/electrically inclined you maybe able to get it back on the road for $2,000 but you could easily spend that and still have a $200 non running bike.

Many sellers are overly optimistic with their claims of what's needed, and if it was only that how come they didn't fix it.

Also you may want to verify the year of the bike (not sure they made a GS650 in 1984) and see what parts cost and if they are still available before you buy.

Is the bike chain or shaft drive?

https://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/c/suzuki_motorcycle_1984/parts

Good luck.

David

it is chain driven. I’m gunna look at it tomorrow. I’ve talked myself in and out of this deal like 10 times haha I’ll give it a good look tomorrow. I’m reading up on frame numbers and engine numbers to find out what kind of bike I’m looking at here.

[Nessism]

That new photo you posted shows that the entire backbone of the frame was hacked off and a skinny pipe welded in its place. WTF? Run don't walk...in the opposite direction.

[BigD_83]

I'm siding with Ed (Nessism) on this one. That does not look to me to be a project worthy of any money.

A chain driven 650 was not sold in North America after '82...while not a hard-tail and maybe not your style, here is a link to a nice, cafe-version of one:

http://thebikeshed.cc/chris-gs650/

[roeme]

I agree with two previous posts. Do not invest a single penny in this, save the money for a bike that is a better starting point.

That frame is only worth what the scrap dealer will give you for the steel. I.e. next to nothing.

Again, what is your background in regards to wrenching on motorcycles? What is your aim here?

I keep asking because this greatly influences what kind of bike you should get.

[hillsy]

That's not a GS, but a GR650 or Tempter. It is a 2 cylinder, not a 4 cylinder like all the regular GS models. And as suggested, it is heavily cut up / butchered.

If you have no previous experience rebuilding bikes you would be better off walking away from this one and getting something that is at least running and rideable (not necessarily pristine, but at least rideable).