82 GS850 will be my first bike... opinions?

[grayskull]

Good choice for first.For your size its perfect.I am 5foot 10 and 250lbs
and my 79 is my first bike.And the seat is like sitting on a Lazyboy recliner.
Like the other guys said, take your time.Driver under the speed limit until you get very comfortable with it.

[officerbill]

Since I own a simular model and it is my first street bike in many years I can tell you it has been the greatest fun I've had in an upright posstion in years
The dinizens of these forums know all that can be known about these bikes and the universe, and of course I know the rest. Ask any question and you will get your fair share of right answers, a smatering of smart *ss answers and some stuff that just leave you.
Enjoy your new metal pit above ground into which you will pour money.
bill

[Bamzride85]

I just rebuilt my motor and received my tank and side pieces today I'm so excited to finally have her back together few small ends to button up.Brads Bike picture.jpg

[GSXR7ED]

Posted thread date: May 30, 2009.

How did you come across this thread Bamzride85? That's a shiney Green bike you posted.

So...is the GS850 a good starter bike? She is heavy but the original poster seems capable of handling that 500+ lb bike.



Ed

[storm 64]

My first road bike too (though I raced moto-X for years).
6'1" - 190lbs.
If you plan on carrying it on your back, it's a bit heavy.

Is it a good starter bike? Depends on the color

I like this fellow's reply. Haha ☺

[Redman]

I just rebuilt my motor and received my tank and side pieces today I'm so excited to finally have her back together few small ends to button up.[ATTACH=CONFIG]48785[/ATTACH]

Good.
(but, ah, why post as a responce to posting by someone else 7 years ago)

.

[1948man]

I just rebuilt my motor and received my tank and side pieces today I'm so excited to finally have her back together few small ends to button up.[ATTACH=CONFIG]48785[/ATTACH]

Congratulations, nice bike. Were you EAdams as a past member, by any chance?

[kerrfunk]

I started on a 550L, then got the urge for more power and got an 1100GL. That was bigger and heavier than I really wanted, and I missed the nimbleness of the 550. I got a 1985 700E which was alright but then I missed the L seat and bars. I narrowed down my preferences and found a 650GL. Only complaint so far is small small tank. I think the 850 would be pretty close to the 1100 as far as weight. I wouldn't mind trying a 750L but I think you just don't see too many of those.

[Houndawg76]

I also have a 1982 GS850L, all original including the exhaust system. Last year I started riding with a club comprised of mostly late model Harley's and Victory's, along with a few assortment of big Japanese cruisers. So far I haven't had any problem not keeping up with them, plus I get a lot of complements on my bike. I figure I have as much in my GS total (including tires) as what these folks paid in sales tax on their bikes.

[850 Combat]

The only thing that the GS850G wouldn't do that I sdked of it was to ride up some unimproved mining routes between Boundary, AK and the Yukon River. The going was too slow, and it couldn't take all of the clutch work. The clutch overheated, and I had to wait a while and turn it around.

Couldn't continue up this "road"

[lurch12_2000]

The only thing that the GS850G wouldn't do that I sdked of it was to ride up some unimproved mining routes between Boundary, AK and the Yukon River. The going was too slow, and it couldn't take all of the clutch work. The clutch overheated, and I had to wait a while and turn it around.

Couldn't continue up this "road"

20 years later now you could put a Shinko 705 dual 120/90-17 sport tire on the rear and get better traction for that stuff and a little further. I did on my 850G that I'm presently riding. It's still a heavy bike to maneuver though in the rough spots. The 705 rides fine on the smooth paved roads too. Did you wear those shorts riding up that road? Even if I'm hot, I'll still use long pants...more because of always getting whacked off the shins with flying pebbles and rocks.

[850 Combat]

My problem was gearing, not traction. This is a smooth spot where we were able to stop and contemplate turning the beasts around. This isn't the place that overheated the clutch. First was too tall for the slogging. If the whole path was like the photo, it would not have been a problem.

It was a hot day, and I was wearing the stupid looking shorts. Summer solstice 1988 I think. I'll never be ATGATT. I was wearing a helmet though. Some other street bikes I have owned were capable of blasting accross the desert on streets, and I've done it. The extra 200+ lbs the G carries over my other street bike doesn't help any. I was able to feet-up broadslide it over the good quality gravel between Boundary, Chicken, and back towards Tok. It was so fun that I ran out of gas from winding it out in third and 4th. The Metzler Marathon I put on the back and R compound Lazer on the front transformed the bike. The original Mag Mopus tires sucked. In the photo, you don't see the 850G I was riding, a brown 1981. That is the red and black brand new 1983. You can barely see part of a black Samsonite saddlebag and trunk covers in the left side of the photo. We were taking a break after horsing one of these heavy beasts around in the soft dirt before tackling the other.

Here we are at Action Jackson's Saloon in Boundary. Boundary is the northern most Port of Entry in the USA.


And at the Chicken Saloon, in Chicken, Alaska:

[Motojoe2492]

This is my first bike I've ridden religiously, and I couldn't be happier. Just over a year and 11,000 miles. (Gotta love the commute! )