Restoring a Garaged 1979 GS850

[hcaz]

Hey Folks,

On my way back from a ski trip from Mammoth Lakes, CA I saw a fancy old BMW bike in Bishop with a "For Sale" sign on it. Thinking it'd be on Cycletrader, I searched and accidentally stumbled across a 1979 Suzuki GS850 with ~6900 miles on it that has been garaged for a bit. I've always wanted to get into restoring old cars, and my girlfriend and I figured this would be a cheaper intro into the world of restoring things. The price was reasonable, so I got a trailer and hauled it back home and I'm now in the process of getting it running.

As far as myself or the previous owners know, the bike was garaged and hasn't been run or registered since '83 (it still has the plates on it from 1983). It's not in fantastic condition, as it absolutely looks like it tipped over, with a bent clutch lever and scratches on the engine/engine guards/tank. On top of that, it has all expected wear and tear that time does to a bike including rat droppings, chewed wires, etc.

I don't know if it'll run, or what will come of it, but here's what I've done so far:

• - Bought a new key (no key was included in the sale, but the key code was on the seat box)
• - Installed a replacement battery (it didn't have one when I bought it)
• - Disassembled and cleaned the ignition cylinder (even with the key, the contact pads were heavily worn). Now that they're cleaned, I can turn the key and get lights on the dashboard/tail lights/etc
• - Ordered replacement carb o-rings
• - Removed the air box and carbs - the intake air boots look great for their age, but the carb boots do not and will be replaced shortly.
• - Bought a bunch of carb cleaner to eventually clean/disassemble the carbs
• - Bought new tires and removed the old ones -- the bike is currently standing on its center stand and a jack for the front tire, waiting on the tires I bought to show up
• - Slightly polished the exhaust as a test - aluminum foil and saltwater has been like magic, and removed most of the rust
• - Drained the gas tank, surprisingly no rust! The petcock does leak when set on on/res, and will be replaced entirely rather than be rebuilt
• - Removed the fairings. The vetter touring fairings are fantastic, but while the bike isn't running it doesn't make sense to have something on there that gets in the way of working on the bike

I've got a long way to go to getting it back to running condition, but I think time is a predictable b**** that has expected effects on a bike from this era.

My biggest fear is for a bike this age, with so few miles, I'm searching for what stopped someone from riding it for so long.

Outside of that, I'll try to post updates for other members to document the process and contribute to the knowledge base that is this forum. While there is a lot of GS specific information, so far I've found it hard to find '79 GS850 specific info so hopefully through this rebuild I can contribute a bit.

What I plan on doing next is:
- Rebuild the carbs with the o-rings I've purchased
- Put in a new air filter and seal it properly
- Check compression on all cylinders and replace all spark plugs
- Drain and replace oil/oil filter, throw in Shell Rotella 15w40 diesel oil
- Replace (not rebuild) the petcock
- Replace the air filter and seal it properly
- Check valve clearances
- Rebuild front and rear brake calipers per the caliper rebuild series - https://www.thegsresources.com/brake_rebuild.php

The engine does crank with the starter button as well as the kickstarter, but I'm going to hold off on trying to crank the engine again until the main components are rebuilt and cleaned (engine/valve clearances, carbs, air box, etc).

If anyone has any questions or tips/advice, I'm happy to chat! I bought this bike with the knowledge that I'd do anything to get it running again, so I'm in it for the long haul and was not looking for an easy project.

[Johno]

Looks like you have the basis of a good bike.

Just needs plenty of TLC.

Definitely check the shims before trying to start the bike after such a long lay off.

[roeme]

Welcome to the forum! Obviously we need don't need to point out our resources; since you really did your homework already.

Looking forward to tag along to your restore.

As for:

My biggest fear is for a bike this age, with so few miles, I'm searching for what stopped someone from riding it for so long.

I think that's down to the PO's nature, not to the bike. Maybe the damage you encountered isn't from tipping over in storage, but from a (minor) accident. It can make some people stop riding altogether.
Or life happened...PO lost interest, but not enough to sell the bike, or couldn't be bothered to sell it.

Either way, seems like you have an ideal base to get your feet wet and the bike back on the road.

Edit: Since I didn't see it - have you planned on tackling the charging system? (replace R/R, reroute handlebar loop)

[steve murdoch]

Welcome to the site, hcaz.
Excellent first post.

Sounds like you have a good game plan started, should also add manifold o-rings to the list.

http://www.cycleorings.com/

[alke46]

Do a proper carb clean with a dip into a can of Berryman's carb cleaner. Best to do a 24 hr. soak per carb. Remove everything from the carb body and soak it well. There's lots of info on this site about doing it properly.

Congratulations on finding this bike and wanting to bring it back to life. And also, welcome to the site.

[gs850gee]

That looks like a bike worthy of a resto , it is all there. The 79 GS850 will become the rare one in time , the most sought after , it has kickstart and slide carbs. All that chrome could be made look a lot better with fine stainless steel wool or copper , used with bit of lube , either wd40 or wash up liquid with lots of elbow grease.
Carbs will need a little bit more than an overnight soak , make sure the passageways are clear by blasting carb cleaner through .

[Phred]

Congratulations on your purchase. Looks a lot better than mine when I first started. To do the carbs I started with Kleenflow carb cleaner, no Berrymans available here. Ended up picking up a small ultrasonic cleaner which got more stuff out of the small passages with a waterbased carb cleaner. Looks like a fun project!

[salty_monk]

Congrats!


Where in LA are you?

You should also look at upgrading the Rectifier/Regulator (RR) to a Shindengen SH775 type and possible perform the "relay mod" to make sure you have 12v at the coils & headlight. Go through the wiring loom and clean all the connections.

That model still uses points - A Dyna S ignition is a great upgrade.

The plug wires sometimes hide splits in the outer casing that lets it spark to the head through the side of the wire. Check them over carefully. You can change them (even though it looks like you can't).

Make sure you change the O rings behind the carb intakes. You may need to change the intakes & the connectors to the air box. They get very hard with age & sometimes come away from the metal or split. You should reseal the airbox lids and the filter cage (foam door insulation). - looks like you're on this one already

Note your vetter headlight has a different bucket so if you intend to remove the fairing you'll want a stock headlight bucket or a copy of it (Z1 Enterprises does a good copy in it's list of Z1000 Parts).

Those Early brakes are terrible... Our bikes are heavy & our local traffic terrible. You should look at upgrading them instead of spending money on the stock ones. There is a link below in my signature. That bike is one that works well with it.

Welcome to the madhouse!

[grcamna2]

That bike will run again.I think it's nice that you're "in it for the long haul" which will keep you going until it's complete.
Did you get any documents with the sale for registering it later ?

[GSXR7ED]

Decent bike to begin your task.

Welcome!

It's a heavy bike so that might explain the bent clutch lever.

All-in-all, looks like you are prepared for the unknown...at least, you're eager to get things done by asking for advice here.

Good luck and include more pics when you can!

I grew up in LA...around El Sereno area...my mom lives in the Inland Empire...and I have sisters who live in Alhambra & Whittier. I left in 1986 and use to visit when I changed duty stations during my 25 year US Air Force career.

I'm on the east coast now...livin' somewhat of a country life compared to LA. My sister calls me "Green Acres". lol

Ed

****

[hcaz]

Thanks for all the information folks, and I appreciate the welcome. I've done a lot of work so far and it still isn't running, but I'll sum up all that work in a later post in the "Projects/Rebuilds" section.

Definitely check the shims before trying to start the bike after such a long lay off.

I ended up reading this after trying to start it, but it turns over completely fine (with low compression). I have a shim tool coming in soon, and the carbs/air box are removed at the moment for cleaning. Once those tools show up, it'll be easy to check the shims. My hope is that since there are 6900 miles on the bike, the PO did maintenance at 4000 miles and left the next interval to 8000 miles, but I'll still check it just to be sure.




This is the shim tool I grabbed: https://www.amazon.com/Motion-Pro-08...dp/B000UKIN8Q/

I think that's down to the PO's nature, not to the bike. Maybe the damage you encountered isn't from tipping over in storage, but from a (minor) accident. It can make some people stop riding altogether.
Or life happened...PO lost interest, but not enough to sell the bike, or couldn't be bothered to sell it.




Either way, seems like you have an ideal base to get your feet wet and the bike back on the road.




Edit: Since I didn't see it - have you planned on tackling the charging system? (replace R/R, reroute handlebar loop)

I agree that it's "down to the PO's nature" as to why the bike was garaged or what stopped it from being used/tipped over, I'm still just in for the ride of getting it running again.




For the charging system, I plan on fixing it when I see that it is a problem. I'm tackling things in order of "make it safely rideable for a mile in the neighborhood" then thinking about "do I trust this on a 500 mile adventure". If it fails while I'm testing everything else I'll replace it, until then I'm replacing everything I find that is obviously bad under standard maintenance intervals through time or mileage.

Welcome to the site, hcaz.
Excellent first post.




Sounds like you have a good game plan started, should also add manifold o-rings to the list.
http://www.cycleorings.com/

Thanks! I actually ended up buying this kit: https://www.ebay.com/itm/293416953239
I haven't rebuilt the carbs yet, but is the seller here recommended?

Do a proper carb clean with a dip into a can of Berryman's carb cleaner. Best to do a 24 hr. soak per carb. Remove everything from the carb body and soak it well. There's lots of info on this site about doing it properly.




Congratulations on finding this bike and wanting to bring it back to life. And also, welcome to the site.

Glad to hear that Berryman's is still recommended -- I've got a can of it in my garage, just waiting on gaskets to show up before starting the full carb cleaning process.

That looks like a bike worthy of a resto , it is all there. The 79 GS850 will become the rare one in time , the most sought after , it has kickstart and slide carbs. All that chrome could be made look a lot better with fine stainless steel wool or copper , used with bit of lube , either wd40 or wash up liquid with lots of elbow grease.
Carbs will need a little bit more than an overnight soak , make sure the passageways are clear by blasting carb cleaner through .

You're absolutely right -- the chrome looks infinitely better after a bit of elbow grease. I know I said I'd post more in the projects forum, but since you mentioned it, here are some photos of the exhaust after a good cleaning: https://imgur.com/a/Ymm39Hr . The handlebar cleaned up just as well.

Congratulations on your purchase. Looks a lot better than mine when I first started. To do the carbs I started with Kleenflow carb cleaner, no Berrymans available here. Ended up picking up a small ultrasonic cleaner which got more stuff out of the small passages with a waterbased carb cleaner. Looks like a fun project!

Due to space in my garage in LA I'm limiting the number of extra gadgets I buy (like an ultrasonic cleaner) -- I'll start off with the Berryman's dip bucket and some pressurized cleaner and see if that works. If it doesn't, I'll definitely post about it.

Congrats!








Where in LA are you?




You should also look at upgrading the Rectifier/Regulator (RR) to a Shindengen SH775 type and possible perform the "relay mod" to make sure you have 12v at the coils & headlight. Go through the wiring loom and clean all the connections.




That model still uses points - A Dyna S ignition is a great upgrade.




The plug wires sometimes hide splits in the outer casing that lets it spark to the head through the side of the wire. Check them over carefully. You can change them (even though it looks like you can't).




Make sure you change the O rings behind the carb intakes. You may need to change the intakes & the connectors to the air box. They get very hard with age & sometimes come away from the metal or split. You should reseal the airbox lids and the filter cage (foam door insulation). - looks like you're on this one already




Note your vetter headlight has a different bucket so if you intend to remove the fairing you'll want a stock headlight bucket or a copy of it (Z1 Enterprises does a good copy in it's list of Z1000 Parts).




Those Early brakes are terrible... Our bikes are heavy & our local traffic terrible. You should look at upgrading them instead of spending money on the stock ones. There is a link below in my signature. That bike is one that works well with it.




Welcome to the madhouse!

I'm in Palms/Culver City area, happy to show off the bike to any local forum members nearby.




I'm definitely experiencing the pain of cleaning the wiring loom - like I mentioned, I had to fully take apart and clean the contacts on the ignition cylinder. I'm still trying to clean the left handlebar controls which are spring loaded in the "disassemble everything" position, but I'm waiting on fixing those until I have the engine running. Same goes for the vetter headlight -- I definitely need a functioning headlight and original parts to get the bike registered and working, but the engine is the priority right now.




As much as I want to upgrade the brakes, my thinking is in the same as with the headlight. Once I get it running and safe to ride around the block, then I'll think about performance modifications.




Good call out though on the relay mods and the ignition upgrades -- I really appreciate it and will look into it further.

That bike will run again.I think it's nice that you're "in it for the long haul" which will keep you going until it's complete.
Did you get any documents with the sale for registering it later ?

Yeah, I got it for a good price but given the age and condition I plan to break even on the project at best. I got a full bill of sale which will help to register it in CA.

Decent bike to begin your task.




Welcome!




It's a heavy bike so that might explain the bent clutch lever.




All-in-all, looks like you are prepared for the unknown...at least, you're eager to get things done by asking for advice here.




Good luck and include more pics when you can!




I grew up in LA...around El Sereno area...my mom lives in the Inland Empire...and I have sisters who live in Alhambra & Whittier. I left in 1986 and use to visit when I changed duty stations during my 25 year US Air Force career.




I'm on the east coast now...livin' somewhat of a country life compared to LA. My sister calls me "Green Acres". lol




Ed




****

In terms of being prepared for the unknown, I hope so - sometimes it feels like I'm staring at a black box that is unknowable, but with enough effort I hope to work through it. Great to see more folks that have lived on both coasts, I'm originally from the east coast/the appalachian region but moved to CA only 5-6 years ago.




I'll post a lot more information and photos in the "Projects/Rebuilds" section later, but again, thanks for all the suggestions and I hope to have more to share soon.