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Name: Shelby / Bike: 1982 Suzuki GS450TXZ
Hey gang,
I've been a long-time lurker (a few years), and just never got around to making a proper introduction... SO HERE IT GOES!
1972 had the warmest July 9th on record for Lexington, Virginia. Mother tells me I was the quietest of her twins. Quietest of all five of her children for that matter. Father worked his fingers to the bone down at the brick yard. Sixteen hour days, yet Dad still made all five of us kids feel like we were his only mission in life. Mom said his ulcer would send him to an early grave, us kids only saw him go early to bed. He was a firm man. He came from nothing, but would "guaran-damn-tee" you he wouldn't leave this earth without giving us a life to be proud of. Mom had it a bit worse. She used to tell us how the first house she remembers had dirt floors. "Mama used to have us go outside and sweep the dirt driveway nice-n-clean just in case family came-a-callin' ", she would say. Both of my parents raised gardens as children just to help put food on the table. Maybe that's why my own two girls love working the earth with their bare hands.
"Daddy!", Reese said. "Riley keeps throwin' grubs and roly-polies at me! She KNOWS how i HATE those things!".
"Ain't done no such thing!" Riley screamed...
~SCRAAAAAAAAAATCH~ (record needle scratching to the outside of the record)
Waaaaaaay too early in my story. Let me start again with a more relevant time frame =)
After a short departure from my "hobby riding career" (a couple of years due to an motorcycle accident where a young distracted driver cut me off and destroyed my left knee and almost took my life), MY STORY CONTINUES...
I picked up my bike from a guy on Craigslist back in 2015. It was a Frankenstein-ish heaping pile of rust that had been deteriorating out under the stars behind the sellers trailer for years. He actually got it to start and rode it around his property as a display of it's excellent mechanical state /end sarcasm. Once I really started looking at the bike, he quietly added that "oddly enough" he hasn't been able to get it in 2nd gear for a while. I quickly adjusted the clutch cable and fixed that issue. He presented the title, and I presented exactly seven, one-hundred dollar bills. I extended six and looked him square in the eyes, saying nothing. He said "seems fair." and we made the exchange. (The first one to talk always looses you know.) My father and I loaded the bike into the bed of his old yellow truck and we headed for home.
This would be my 8th motorcycle, but I never seem to keep more than just one at a time.
(listed bikes in order of appearance)
I spent the next week reading info about my GS450 online, buying a battery, putting Seafoam in the gas tank, and helping my father bring HIS 1982 GS450LX home from a different Craigslist seller =) His bike was 100% stock, ran well, but was leaking fuel from the T between the two carbs. Easily fixed.
We spent the rest of that season just riding our bikes around town and enjoying the hilly back-roads. Every couple of weeks I was messing around with small stuff on the bike. Minor adjustments, mind you. That winter I decided to modify my bike because It ran like crap and looked even worse. Rust-Oleum Hammered Black rattle-can paint job out of the way, I decided to further complicate mechanical issues with the following mods:
2016 came and went with minimal riding because I compounded any minor issues with the self-inflicted mods above. The thing spent more time charging the battery than on the road.
~sigh~
In 2017, my wife, two beautiful children, and myself were preparing to move from my childhood home (purchased from my parents many years ago) to a town with a much better school for the kids. The bike got buried somewhere on page 112 of the "Things To Do AFTER We Move" list. It was moved to my fathers barn across town for safe keeping.
~TIME-WIPE: 2019, one year after moving~
"Huzzah! The last item of page 112 needs my attention!" i said giddily.
The riding season is in full swing, so I called up my father and made plans to bring my beloved bike home at last. Since then, I have posted a few topics for help and information within this forum. I have learned a great deal from several experienced members here at TheGSResources. I still have sooooo much to learn about these older bikes. 47 is just around the corner, and as I grow older I've found there is so much truth in the saying 'The Devil is in the details'. My brain processes a bit slower, my eyes need better light in which to see, and the injuries of my youth are here to relentlessly haunt me =).
This season I have:
I am ever so glad I found TheGSResources forum, and look forward to getting my bike to the point where I am not scared of a mechanical break-down every time I put fuel in the tank =)
...My story continues on My Build thread...
I've been a long-time lurker (a few years), and just never got around to making a proper introduction... SO HERE IT GOES!
1972 had the warmest July 9th on record for Lexington, Virginia. Mother tells me I was the quietest of her twins. Quietest of all five of her children for that matter. Father worked his fingers to the bone down at the brick yard. Sixteen hour days, yet Dad still made all five of us kids feel like we were his only mission in life. Mom said his ulcer would send him to an early grave, us kids only saw him go early to bed. He was a firm man. He came from nothing, but would "guaran-damn-tee" you he wouldn't leave this earth without giving us a life to be proud of. Mom had it a bit worse. She used to tell us how the first house she remembers had dirt floors. "Mama used to have us go outside and sweep the dirt driveway nice-n-clean just in case family came-a-callin' ", she would say. Both of my parents raised gardens as children just to help put food on the table. Maybe that's why my own two girls love working the earth with their bare hands.
"Daddy!", Reese said. "Riley keeps throwin' grubs and roly-polies at me! She KNOWS how i HATE those things!".
"Ain't done no such thing!" Riley screamed...
~SCRAAAAAAAAAATCH~ (record needle scratching to the outside of the record)
Waaaaaaay too early in my story. Let me start again with a more relevant time frame =)
After a short departure from my "hobby riding career" (a couple of years due to an motorcycle accident where a young distracted driver cut me off and destroyed my left knee and almost took my life), MY STORY CONTINUES...
- Name: Shelby
- Bike: 1982 Suzuki GS450TXZ
I picked up my bike from a guy on Craigslist back in 2015. It was a Frankenstein-ish heaping pile of rust that had been deteriorating out under the stars behind the sellers trailer for years. He actually got it to start and rode it around his property as a display of it's excellent mechanical state /end sarcasm. Once I really started looking at the bike, he quietly added that "oddly enough" he hasn't been able to get it in 2nd gear for a while. I quickly adjusted the clutch cable and fixed that issue. He presented the title, and I presented exactly seven, one-hundred dollar bills. I extended six and looked him square in the eyes, saying nothing. He said "seems fair." and we made the exchange. (The first one to talk always looses you know.) My father and I loaded the bike into the bed of his old yellow truck and we headed for home.
This would be my 8th motorcycle, but I never seem to keep more than just one at a time.
(listed bikes in order of appearance)
- 1980's Yamaha 110cc (can't remember exact details)
- 1980's Honda 125cc (can't remember exact details)
- 1972 Motobecane Mobylette 50cc
- 1981 Honda CM400E
- 2008 Lifan 200cc
- 2006 Kawasaki Ninja 250R
- 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R
- 1982 Suzuki GS450TXZ (current bike)
I spent the next week reading info about my GS450 online, buying a battery, putting Seafoam in the gas tank, and helping my father bring HIS 1982 GS450LX home from a different Craigslist seller =) His bike was 100% stock, ran well, but was leaking fuel from the T between the two carbs. Easily fixed.
We spent the rest of that season just riding our bikes around town and enjoying the hilly back-roads. Every couple of weeks I was messing around with small stuff on the bike. Minor adjustments, mind you. That winter I decided to modify my bike because It ran like crap and looked even worse. Rust-Oleum Hammered Black rattle-can paint job out of the way, I decided to further complicate mechanical issues with the following mods:
- removed the air-box and replaced them with Uni Filters. (mistake at the time).
- cut the mufflers off and replaced them with EMGO Shorty's (bigger mistake at the time).
- replaced the handlebars with adjustable Cafe' style bars. (love these to death).
- replaced stock mirrors with handlebar-end mirrors. (i prefer the cleaner look).
- added bad-ass 50cal ammo boxes to the rear-sides. (excellent for carrying tools, registration info, etc.).
2016 came and went with minimal riding because I compounded any minor issues with the self-inflicted mods above. The thing spent more time charging the battery than on the road.
~sigh~
In 2017, my wife, two beautiful children, and myself were preparing to move from my childhood home (purchased from my parents many years ago) to a town with a much better school for the kids. The bike got buried somewhere on page 112 of the "Things To Do AFTER We Move" list. It was moved to my fathers barn across town for safe keeping.
~TIME-WIPE: 2019, one year after moving~
"Huzzah! The last item of page 112 needs my attention!" i said giddily.
The riding season is in full swing, so I called up my father and made plans to bring my beloved bike home at last. Since then, I have posted a few topics for help and information within this forum. I have learned a great deal from several experienced members here at TheGSResources. I still have sooooo much to learn about these older bikes. 47 is just around the corner, and as I grow older I've found there is so much truth in the saying 'The Devil is in the details'. My brain processes a bit slower, my eyes need better light in which to see, and the injuries of my youth are here to relentlessly haunt me =).
This season I have:
- cleaned a few years of grime/fun off the bike.
- replace the old dead battery (1 cell wouldn't hold a charge since I left it sitting with no juice for 2 years).
- fresh oil change.
- fresh brake fluid (will replace these line with SS once I get the bike to 'daily driver' status.
- new spark plugs.
- completely rebuilt the carbs 100%.
- removed about half a pound of rust from the fuel tank (not kidding).
- lubricated clutch and throttle cables.
- inspected front and rear brakes for season readiness.
- swapped out the 2001 rock-hard tires that came with the bike for 2019 Kenda DualSport 761's (returning to the twisties so i can bend the knee!).
I am ever so glad I found TheGSResources forum, and look forward to getting my bike to the point where I am not scared of a mechanical break-down every time I put fuel in the tank =)
...My story continues on My Build thread...