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It's alive, IT'S ALIIIIIIVE, I tell you!
Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valour. I've learned a lot trying to restore my '82 GS750T, but the main thing I learned is... I should've given in and found a mechanic long ago.
Let me back-track a bit. A friend of mine had this bike a while back, and during a long road trip from Colorado to DC, blew the #2 cylinder and ended up cracking the block. I don't know how; he was too embarrassed to tell me. He had bought a replacement engine, but let it sit in his garage for 3 or 4 years, until his wife gave him the traditional ultimatum-- fix it or sell it! Being young and stupid^H^H^H^H^H^Hoptimistic, I said sure, I'd buy it for $900 and swap the engine out myself.
Oh my goodness where to start on THAT tale. Let's just be charitable and say I'm ambitious. Did I mention it's my first motorcycle, and my first GS? Getting the engine in place was easy. Getting it running... well, my ambition was a little higher than my (lack of) expertise.
I got it into my head to clean the carbs, which turned out to be necessary, but when I put them back together again, I couldn't get any gas through them. Well, I tried this, I tried that, and several varieties of the other, and nothing worked. I consulted relatives, in-laws, friends, neighbours, accosted strangers on the street, and nothing.
On top of all that, when moving (this bike followed me, un-rideable, through two moves), my wife threw out the alternator parts, the collars for the exhaust, and several other bits! So, another several hundred $ there. But I got it back on and had a darned good time doing it, too. So, yaay?
But still, the dream eluded me-- an actual rideable motorcycle that would make with the vrooming, already. The problem was, I couldn't find anybody who was willing to work on it! "It's too old", they told me. "Sorry, we don't work on anything more than 10 years old," they'd say. MAN! What the heck, says I. Well, this thing and that thing happened, and 4 years later, I end up moving to Chicago for a job, and lo and behold, there's Gary Mares of http://www.marescycle.com/ to the rescue! Not only does he work on old bikes, he knows and loves the GS! I begged the use of a trailer and truck from a neighbour, got it down to him, and in about a week, his guys had done what I couldn't manage in the past 4 years-- resurrected my sweet baby '82 GS750TZ from the dead!
Now, it's not perfect-- the tank has a poor sealant job on the inside (see my post on Parts Wanted), but it should be okay for now, at least. I need to put some sealant on the exhaust gaskets, adjust the fairing so it isn't knocking the mirrors out of alignment, and a few minor cosmetic things like that, but IT'S ALIVE, IT'S ALIVE, IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIVE, IT's
*ahem*
Calming down now.
Honest.
I just rode it home tonight, and I'm still buzzing from the experience! It's too dark now to get a proper photo, but I'll post some tomorrow. I swear, I'm giddy like a schoolboy in May. Seriously, this is one sweet bike, and I'm glad it's working while there's still decent riding time left in the summer! It's been many years since last I rode, so I'm just taking it on short rides for now, but I'll be commuting soon (free motorcycle parking at the train station!) and hopefully up to some good length rides before the season's over. I've spent maybe $2k on this bike all told, and it's STILL more awesome than some that cost 10 times that, if you ask me.
Whee! Anyway, pics tomorrow.
Let me back-track a bit. A friend of mine had this bike a while back, and during a long road trip from Colorado to DC, blew the #2 cylinder and ended up cracking the block. I don't know how; he was too embarrassed to tell me. He had bought a replacement engine, but let it sit in his garage for 3 or 4 years, until his wife gave him the traditional ultimatum-- fix it or sell it! Being young and stupid^H^H^H^H^H^Hoptimistic, I said sure, I'd buy it for $900 and swap the engine out myself.
Oh my goodness where to start on THAT tale. Let's just be charitable and say I'm ambitious. Did I mention it's my first motorcycle, and my first GS? Getting the engine in place was easy. Getting it running... well, my ambition was a little higher than my (lack of) expertise.
I got it into my head to clean the carbs, which turned out to be necessary, but when I put them back together again, I couldn't get any gas through them. Well, I tried this, I tried that, and several varieties of the other, and nothing worked. I consulted relatives, in-laws, friends, neighbours, accosted strangers on the street, and nothing.On top of all that, when moving (this bike followed me, un-rideable, through two moves), my wife threw out the alternator parts, the collars for the exhaust, and several other bits! So, another several hundred $ there. But I got it back on and had a darned good time doing it, too. So, yaay?
But still, the dream eluded me-- an actual rideable motorcycle that would make with the vrooming, already. The problem was, I couldn't find anybody who was willing to work on it! "It's too old", they told me. "Sorry, we don't work on anything more than 10 years old," they'd say. MAN! What the heck, says I. Well, this thing and that thing happened, and 4 years later, I end up moving to Chicago for a job, and lo and behold, there's Gary Mares of http://www.marescycle.com/ to the rescue! Not only does he work on old bikes, he knows and loves the GS! I begged the use of a trailer and truck from a neighbour, got it down to him, and in about a week, his guys had done what I couldn't manage in the past 4 years-- resurrected my sweet baby '82 GS750TZ from the dead!
Now, it's not perfect-- the tank has a poor sealant job on the inside (see my post on Parts Wanted), but it should be okay for now, at least. I need to put some sealant on the exhaust gaskets, adjust the fairing so it isn't knocking the mirrors out of alignment, and a few minor cosmetic things like that, but IT'S ALIVE, IT'S ALIVE, IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIVE, IT's
*ahem*
Calming down now.
Honest.
I just rode it home tonight, and I'm still buzzing from the experience! It's too dark now to get a proper photo, but I'll post some tomorrow. I swear, I'm giddy like a schoolboy in May. Seriously, this is one sweet bike, and I'm glad it's working while there's still decent riding time left in the summer! It's been many years since last I rode, so I'm just taking it on short rides for now, but I'll be commuting soon (free motorcycle parking at the train station!) and hopefully up to some good length rides before the season's over. I've spent maybe $2k on this bike all told, and it's STILL more awesome than some that cost 10 times that, if you ask me.
Whee! Anyway, pics tomorrow.
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