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it all started when i posted an add on craigslist stating "wanted, old bike, must be repairable, title not important as i plan to use it mainly offroad". 2 days before i left for terlingua i had a response, gs450t + a box of spare parts for $50. po and a friend had bought the bike to rebuild, then the second half of the tag team was shipped overseas, the bike had been sitting for 3 years in the garage and hadn't run since they purchased it.
the spare parts box consisted of 2 extra fenders, 4 extra carbs, the suzuki factory manual and misc assorted stuff.. needless to say, i bought it sight unseen, brought it home, and started going over the wiring. 2 hours later, 2 new fuel lines, and 3 broken wires later, it started right up.
not taking the time to rejoice, i stripped the turn signals, replaced the brake light, fabbed a mounting bracket for a set of cats eye fog-lights (bike had no headlight) and quickly wired them up. tested the brakes, started it up, and rode it to my truck to load it.
500 miles or so later, unloaded it in terlingua. the bike handled back roads and dirt roads well, while keeping up with highway traffic. my land is 12-15 miles from the nearest paved road and 30-50 miles from town. i drove it daily on the dirt roads and highway to get back and forth for small supply runs and work. i built a stone fire pit / cooking area after the first month there and found that i could start a fire, prep food and put all of it on the fire, then take the bike out for a nice leisurely night ride.. once i smelled the food and not the fire, would take the bike down from my favorite stargazing hill, eat, relax and prep for the next day.
during the rainy season i had to go to a neighbor's to pick up my inverter so i could get some work done, this lead to my first and only accident with the bike (actually two accidents, one going, and one coming). i thought the road was dry enough but forgot that i was dealing with clay instead of dirt.. about halfway to the neighbor's house the bike started really struggling, you could open the throttle and move maybe 5 feet while digging a ditch with the front tire. i ended up dropping the bike when i put my foot down and it slid out from under me. picked up the bike, opened the front bleeder, and still locked up. turns out that clay when packed into that tiny fender area forms a really great solid block friction brake.. finally got the fender off, picked up the inverter, and headed back.. which lead to accident #2.
i was heading up one of the hills leading to my place, and the lack of fender showed itself with a good chunk of mud across my goggles. that in turn lead to me not seeing the nice slick spot, slid off the road towards a canyon, kicked off the ground and hit the throttle, managed to keep it upright and jump back on the road. i figure i was about 10 feet and 1-2 seconds from meeting my maker, luckily it didn't seem he wanted to meet me that day
after a few years like this, and many many nights of riding, watching stars, and sleeping next to the bike on various hills and mountains, i decided to come back to san antonio to look after my parents. i drained the gas from the carbs and parked the bike in terlingua fully intending to come pick it up in a month or two. 1-1.5 years later, i finally made it back. my work/sleep shack had blown across the land and taken out my stove and the back end of my jeep, the jeep had moved 2-3 feet due to wind and slick land, the bike was still sitting where i left it looking like it was waiting for me.. i slapped in a new battery, put in some gas, turned the petcock on, and it started right up... loaded her in the back of my truck, and headed back to san antonio..
now she has a future as my friend's first bike, he is already loving how easy it is to work on and modify, i wouldn't be suprised if he becomes a life-long gs'er. the gs was the most trouble free work horse of a bike i have ever owned, while it was in big bend it was running on one cylinder about 70% of the time (spark plug boot was bad on the same cylinder that had the broken exhaust bolts). even with that, it would routinely do 60 on the highway with no issue, and yes, i did run it for over a year with the bad spark plug wire, etc... it still ran great and saved my skin on numerous occasions.
now i have an 850gl, i look forward to stepping it up a notch and letting the gs450t be passed down to a new rider. although i did stipulate, if he decides to get rid of it, i have first chance at buying it back
the spare parts box consisted of 2 extra fenders, 4 extra carbs, the suzuki factory manual and misc assorted stuff.. needless to say, i bought it sight unseen, brought it home, and started going over the wiring. 2 hours later, 2 new fuel lines, and 3 broken wires later, it started right up.
not taking the time to rejoice, i stripped the turn signals, replaced the brake light, fabbed a mounting bracket for a set of cats eye fog-lights (bike had no headlight) and quickly wired them up. tested the brakes, started it up, and rode it to my truck to load it.
500 miles or so later, unloaded it in terlingua. the bike handled back roads and dirt roads well, while keeping up with highway traffic. my land is 12-15 miles from the nearest paved road and 30-50 miles from town. i drove it daily on the dirt roads and highway to get back and forth for small supply runs and work. i built a stone fire pit / cooking area after the first month there and found that i could start a fire, prep food and put all of it on the fire, then take the bike out for a nice leisurely night ride.. once i smelled the food and not the fire, would take the bike down from my favorite stargazing hill, eat, relax and prep for the next day.
during the rainy season i had to go to a neighbor's to pick up my inverter so i could get some work done, this lead to my first and only accident with the bike (actually two accidents, one going, and one coming). i thought the road was dry enough but forgot that i was dealing with clay instead of dirt.. about halfway to the neighbor's house the bike started really struggling, you could open the throttle and move maybe 5 feet while digging a ditch with the front tire. i ended up dropping the bike when i put my foot down and it slid out from under me. picked up the bike, opened the front bleeder, and still locked up. turns out that clay when packed into that tiny fender area forms a really great solid block friction brake.. finally got the fender off, picked up the inverter, and headed back.. which lead to accident #2.
i was heading up one of the hills leading to my place, and the lack of fender showed itself with a good chunk of mud across my goggles. that in turn lead to me not seeing the nice slick spot, slid off the road towards a canyon, kicked off the ground and hit the throttle, managed to keep it upright and jump back on the road. i figure i was about 10 feet and 1-2 seconds from meeting my maker, luckily it didn't seem he wanted to meet me that day
after a few years like this, and many many nights of riding, watching stars, and sleeping next to the bike on various hills and mountains, i decided to come back to san antonio to look after my parents. i drained the gas from the carbs and parked the bike in terlingua fully intending to come pick it up in a month or two. 1-1.5 years later, i finally made it back. my work/sleep shack had blown across the land and taken out my stove and the back end of my jeep, the jeep had moved 2-3 feet due to wind and slick land, the bike was still sitting where i left it looking like it was waiting for me.. i slapped in a new battery, put in some gas, turned the petcock on, and it started right up... loaded her in the back of my truck, and headed back to san antonio..
now she has a future as my friend's first bike, he is already loving how easy it is to work on and modify, i wouldn't be suprised if he becomes a life-long gs'er. the gs was the most trouble free work horse of a bike i have ever owned, while it was in big bend it was running on one cylinder about 70% of the time (spark plug boot was bad on the same cylinder that had the broken exhaust bolts). even with that, it would routinely do 60 on the highway with no issue, and yes, i did run it for over a year with the bad spark plug wire, etc... it still ran great and saved my skin on numerous occasions.
now i have an 850gl, i look forward to stepping it up a notch and letting the gs450t be passed down to a new rider. although i did stipulate, if he decides to get rid of it, i have first chance at buying it back
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