My obsession begins Here.... (Caution bad spelling/grammar likely) Part 1

[Guest]

Wow...where to start hmm as lit professor would say...'from the beginning' ...alright lets try that.... In the begging*cut and fast forward 'many many many years* =) ...

Suppose it all started when 'my friend AKA Tmwnni' started the and bought his 1983 GS550E from a buddy we know named Slippy...yes we call him Slippy...he was upgrading and buddy got it for a great price. Still not having ones endorsement that certifies one has completely lost one’s mind on wanting to be totally exposed to possible bodily harm and possible death in the quest to stand out from what some would call normal and sensible people.

You could even say when you go out searching for your own sense of identity...

After some time of the bike standing around Tmwnni, decided it was time to get the states seal saying 'congratulations here's your endorsement, please check here for organ donations... I figured I would tag along and take the course myself just in case I would like to ride a motorcycle myself. We favored taking a course out away from the big city generally because the waiting list was way longer in the city and the class sizes would likely be smaller anyway nice way to spend a three day weekend…decided on Grays Harbor Motorcycle Education http://www.ghme.net for those in WA State.

We arrived late Friday night in time for the instructor introductions and reviewing the signs and signals for the rider’s course. General stuff…this is the clutch, throttle, how to apply breaks…usual stuff. Got to do some role playing of how to mount a bike via a donated school chair...I took it one step further and put on my Arnold shades for my turn…might as well have a little fun not at expense of taking in all the information though. After five hours of that we turned in for the night and retired to the hotel in prep for the big day Saturday morning…

Arrived Saturday morning to the bikes all neatly lined up and purring…they were only small 150-250cc bikes but given I had never really sat on a motorcycle until now it was a little freaky but I had enough understanding from driving standard transmissions…though getting the hand eye coordination and working all the controls took some getting used to. During panic stops locked my rear tire I almost ran over the instructor… not a good way to pass the class I don’t recommend it.

Still recovered my wits and released and turned away for a second run, instructor was not mad since I recovered and came to a stop after…it took me a lot of repetition but I got it by time the road test came up where everything counted. Passed the written which most can say is common sense and directly out of the book they give you to study anyway.

Tmwnni, and I both passed our exams with flying colors needless to say. The instructors were rather impressed since we both had no real experience prior to the course. Here is where the obsession began… I had so much fun doing this I knew I wanted to get my own bike and get riding. Within the first month after the course was completed I had scoured the internet and found what would become my first GS...

To Be Continued…

[egent]

Great start of the story, just remember to keep it going as you will get a following. Looking forward to part two.

[Kcwiro]

Great start of the story, just remember to keep it going as you will get a following. Looking forward to part two.

I assure you this will be on going.. as I am still wokring on this bike as we speak.. more work just got added.. I will get installments out and won't leave long hangings =)


...speaking of that here is another....

[Kcwiro]

My Obsession - Part 2

My Obsession… – Part 2

After getting my seal that I now know what a motorcycle is and I know how to turn on and off the petcock I felt this unexplainable urge to get my own bike… and that is where I will begin.

Let’s get right back into it shall we….

I won’t lie about why I was looking for a Suzuki… Tmwnni had one and I figured I would learn how to work on car engines better by working on something smaller. Theory it is easier to move a bike that does not run as opposed to a full on car that does not move while you tinker….also I figured we could learn about the stuff together and work on our bikes if both of us had similar models then knowledge would be easier to pickup and pass on as anything happened. So I have Tmwnni to thank for the type of bike I would be looking for…..Moving on…

I can say without a doubt I had no clue to what I was doing and I knew zero nada zilch about motorcycles besides that they had two wheels, an engine that runs, and no protection from the world’s worst case of road rash someone could ever get in one’s lifetime…that and this statement comes to mind ‘The second you don’t respect this it kills you’.

When it came to looking for Suzuki bikes the pickings seemed very remote since I at the time did not know of these excellent forums, and detailed information of the questions to ask and what to Do and Not do. I did find some general questions to ask and things to check; however, this good information is for someone who might already know something about bikes in the first place. I pretty much could use a wrench and hold a beer at the same time… that is about it at the time.

Upon scouring the internet and looking at random old bikes with among local listings I managed to find a pair of possibilities. One was a Black Suzuki 425L with hard bags on the sides, and if I remember right it had a small windshield on it. This one was a much hopeful shot but it was not to be and I promptly lost out because I took too long. I was spooked about not ever finding a bike at this point I believe I was searching like *cough* two weeks…

I was looking for something not big and not really sport/crotch rocket style either just did not feel the need for speed I suppose… (some others who know me could say otherwise, mainly the King County Sherriff, Washington State Patrol, Kirkland Police Department, and the Snohomish Court, I swear they must take a drawing l on who gets to nail me each day =)…something like five speeding tickets and an at fault accident come to mind) I was not even 18 and I had a notorious MVR who would have guessed…

Digressing… anyway I was more interested in a cruiser deal. Eventually I found another listing by a guy not too far away for a 1980 GS750 Blue. My Favorite color being blue was hooked with that line, you could probably even say I’d ride a shopping cart if it were blue =P…. Pics were there and it did not look half bad asking price was $1200 … again I did not know any better, looked up the blue book price and figured I could get him down to something lower…this was before even going out. I called and it was still up for sale, got the usual he has another person coming out to check out the bike speech. But I setup a time with him the same day after this other guy was supposed to check it out.

Called up Tmwnni saying something hey I think I found something here, will you drive up in your bro’s truck with me to go look at this. Just in case I decide to snag it up? …he agreed

A good thing to think of before doing this is you have to have the means to get the bike into the truck first… using some spare wood he had laying around we made a small ramp. And we grabbed another warm body to help with loading and off we went.

I got to the guys place and he had the bike out sitting on the corner. I probably noticed the blue color first, missing side covers second, worn out rear tire third. There were others but you get the idea Don’t think I need to draw a map here… =)

After a rather brief introduction we got right down to business the owner listed off a couple things he had done on the bike wheel bearings, what he was using the bike for, why he is getting rid of it etc. tried to start the bike and the battery was toast just ‘click’ and nothing…but it had enough juice to turn on the headlight and everything else but not start the bike funny how that always works…that’s great I can get a new battery no big deal... I can blind someone’s dog with my high beams later\\/… he then rolled it down the hill and compression started it which it did start:shock: ... hearing that I think I zoned out on all the bad things that were wrong with it and just listened as he circled back up to us with the engine rumbling… not bad sounding for a at the time for a 25 year old bike…

At this time I requested to get on the bike and ride it up the street myself which he was happy to do. I sat down and felt the vibration of the motor the feel of the grips in my hands and it was like a magnet totally calling out. With a few revs of the throttle and some play with the clutch. When I got ready to take it off the side stand I was surprised briefly by how much weight this guy was and how my feet did not touch flat on the ground more the angle of the driveway and curb I was on…I knocked it into first and let the clutch out…. I wish I could say I took off like a bat out of hell… but it was more of an inertia thing as I coasted down the hill. My joy was short lived as I managed to stall it at the bottom of the hill and had to have the owner help me push it back up the hill….But I still could not take my eyes off this machine…

We talked a little more and I finally decided with making an offer on the bike for $700…

Thinking back now I would say that was probably dead on fair with that offer if I were able to explain with some fountain of knowledge about what I was going to have to do just to get the bike road ready/safe. Instead when he said I’ll let it go for $1000 … this is where I should have continued haggling but for some reason I just said ‘ok, and I’ll take it’ I even shocked my friends I had brought along… but as Tmwnni told me.. Hey it’s your bike…

Money was exchanged the bike was loaded up on the truck off into the evening sunset we drove with my very much used BLUE 1980 GS750E off to a new home…

And here is where my story really begins…..Stay tuned for the next installment.

[scottp8113]

man keep it up... i'm getting all tingly with excitement!

[Redman]

Hey, now, you got me reading this . . . . .

huh?

Huh?

[pita1028]

for some reason I can't stop reading this even though it sounds like its about to go bad..."very much used"

[Kcwiro]

To my readers...

I am working on the next piece after I get home from work today and will see how far I can push it out... next part will be out tonight or tomorrow in the AM in PST if that matters. :-D

Stay tuned....

[Kcwiro]

My Obsession - Part 3

My Obsession - Part 3

Brief recap... in the last part I had just bought my what Non-GS Riders would call a relic of a motorcycle. Parts were missing left and right and even the battery was dead...pushed it on to truck on to the new home.

Now lets begin.....

Upon arriving back at the house my friends and I rolled the bike down and just reached the ground when the ramps snapped...was the bike burning its bridges since we now could not reload the bike into the truck if necessary... hmm...

I sidestanded the bike and I plugged the tender into the battery still thinking maybe if I charged it somehow it would miraculously work...three hours later....click....click...click...click....click *insert what we all know goes here* .... got friends to come out of house and give me a push.. took me a few tries to realize I might actually want to push the starter button as I was trying to do this... thankfully the road we were on was long and slanted otherwise we'd never get any exercise...500lbs uphilll pushing solo... we have all did it at one point I'm sure...

Finally got the bike to fire up and got to ride it up and down the street a few times... friends say I was gone for three hours at least sicne when I got back they were all totoally wasted. It was also said that each time they heard the bike go by they just went ... 'there he goes again' I won't lie I was in complete heaven...what goes up must come down guess what happens ....*sigh*

....Give up?....

....I stalled the bike one mile away from the house and you guessed it .. a hill in both directions... I was sweating bullets by the time I got to the top...turned around tried to compression start it and failed.... back up the hill again... more sweating...failed again....there apparently is a mercy rule because some folks who driveway I passed came out and gave me a strong push and I got it fired back up. By this time I was completely worn out and pulled into the garage at the house.

*sniff *sniff... what is this mist coming out the front of the bike?... exhaust gaskets are leaking, and my clamps that hold the pipes together are loose....closer observations revealed my valve cover was ****ing all over my motor and the exhaust was happy enough to burn it up....shut the bike off and wanted to top off the fuel. Tank inside is rusty...not rough rust but it had its share...oh and my odometer is busted... so I thought bike had 40k on it... but who the heck knows.. the title just listed exempt... suspension has zero damping left...discovered some jbweld on the bottom case, and some scuff marks indicating the bike had tumbled before... why I did not see this all before?...no idea.. I think I was too focused on the bike being blue!!!!

Oh and did I mention that the first numbers on my license plate is ahem... *gulp* '666....' is this bike going to take my soul next in addition to my $1000 bucks? .... I'll be sleeping with one eye open and the light on for sure tonight....



Stay tuned.....will get next one out later...that is ofcourse assuming there is a later Goodnight....

[seuadr]

awesome read. i think the vast majority of us fell in love and spent too much on our first bike. it's par for the course!

[GearHead]

Iv'e had a few instances like that on my gs400. push started that thing too many time to count. Learned to ride and wrench on that old girl. Now she is getting the rebuild she deserves. :-D

[Tmwnni]

Great Read! Takes me back to those early GS days....

[BentRod]

Wait till you open the air box and instead of finding a foam filter element, you get either an oily gym sock, or a ball of window screening or an t-shirt...

Then the bolts start breaking off at the head.... oh oh or the imperial UNC bolts are jammed in the 6mm holes!

sounds like great fun!

[Kcwiro]

Wait till you open the air box and instead of finding a foam filter element, you get either an oily gym sock, or a ball of window screening or an t-shirt...

...actually bats man... big ones.. with really sharp teeth and... LOOK AT THE BONES!!!! LOL

[Kcwiro]

On with the show...

My Obsession Part 4

What a Pyle!!! - When I first got this bike it sucked so bad it could pull a golfball through a garden hose.....

Well I survived the night and did not get sacrificed to anybody so I guess that is a plus:-D...

Anyway, on with show... after getting a new battery from the sargent
'whatever' behind the counter ....that is after they remembered to actually place my order. Somehow when I talk to them about it they did not process it and I show up when they told me to only to find out they had never ordered it in the first place..... I mean how do you screw that up...WTH....I cannot fathom this in the slightest... and some ask why I don't order stuff at coutners and choose the internet instead... then I am only dealing with a anonomous site and it even says thank you for the order! 8-[ .... and it even gives me the important numbers and tracking ...GOSH ... best to say I did not go back to that place after that...

...oil change... was off riding.. until I foudn out my rear suspension is jsut totally useless...it has to be replaced NOW!

The progressive fellas were very nice and a much better example of good customer service than the goodfellas.... I talked to someone they got my information and suggested the right components for my new rear suspension.. arrived on time and ready to go... my butt was saved! ...

Note: about installing new shocks.. it is really smart to make sure the rear tire is not under load / on the ground... don't ask how I know... just just don't do it!

Replaced the tires and chain while I was at it...it was the right thing to do and what the hell.. safety first!

Now as the summer was going on someone decided to break into the shed that had our bikes in it and jack all the tools that were not nailed down... I lost over $300 in tools from me alone...my buddy lost everything, I just had what I had not left there... some I had just purchased a few weeks prior...insurance for me was no help at all since my deductable was $250 so I would get a whole $50 back.. woohoo I did not even bother filing...scouted pawn shops and turned up nothing dammit; is this just a bad dream or what...they even took my new suspension box.... the must have just saw progressive and figured... EXPENSIVE... and took them... I did get the last laugh on this though... they stole my old worn out stuff... SO AHA... good luck with that you losers!

The new rear shocks were amazing and I could hit bumps on the road without feeling like the wrong end of a bad homosexual joke... :shock:

Fast forward couple months...fall is starting to set in and I figured lets check everythign and get the winter list down.. I already knew about the oil leaks and everything else so I knew gaskets were all being replaced... compression test.. wow... 90 PSI per cylinder *this after like 10-15 cranks*....oil in the cylinders upped the numbers but yeah.. not good... so engine overhaul here I come....how hard can it be.. I have my manual ... this should be fun...

... Oh haha ... if only I knew what laid in wait for myself and Tmwnni (yes I was going to kidnap him into helping me) .... all I have to say is there's Henry's and he is happy...

...GETTER DONE!!!