GS anxiety

[Guest]

Picked up my 82 GS1100L last Monday in Champaign IL. Brought it home to KY in the back of my mini van. (See pic below) I got to ride it very cautiously for about 60 miles because it still has what i believe is the original front tire and only the second rear tire that the bike has ever seen oh and by cautiously i mean nothing over 75 mph blast down back roads. Man she is a real beast.

I know it wasn't a smart idea but I had to ride her. Then I had to leave for work in IL and I haven't seen it since. Talk about going crazy. I want to tear it down and do all the maintenance so I can really take her out and flog her but I'm 350 miles away and won't be home till Tuesday night then I have to leave Again Thursday morning for four more days. The only thing keeping me sane is reading all the info and stories on here.

[terrylee]

Welcome! Looks to be a pretty nice bike from what can see in pic. Don't ride again till those tires are changed, only takes one blow out. terrylee

[azr]

That would drive me nuts!

[Roland5color]

That would drive me nuts!

Exactly thus the anxiety . To make things worse I haven't had a motorcycle in almost two years. I was almost killed by a 18 year old when he pulled out In Front of me and I hit him going 55 mph. After the accident I bought a 08 cbr1000 but the wife and kids weren't ready for me to ride again so I sold it. Wife just recently gave me the green light to ride again so I picked up a classic this time. Only 16000 miles on her and she runs like a top. The bike that is not the wife. However she's 43 and runs like a top herself

Oh and by the way the only reason I'm here typing this is because of my gear. I flew 60 ft through the air and landed on the left side of my face and left shoulder. Slid like that for a few feet like a break dancer then started flipping. I was wearing a full face helmet that cracked on the left side, a tour master centurion full suit that had the left shoulder armor eaten away by the blacktop all the way down to the inside liner and alpine star racing boots. I ended up with zero road rash, a fractured lower right leg and broken right hand that now has some titanium bits and pieces in it. So all that money I spent on gear instead of aftermarket exhausts and go fast goodies finally paid off. If I wasn't knocked out on impact I could have walked away lol. The car and bike were totaled. Well sorry about the off topic rant I couldn't help myself I'm going nuts waiting to ride again.

[Roland5color]

Welcome! Looks to be a pretty nice bike from what can see in pic. Don't ride again till those tires are changed, only takes one blow out. terrylee

Yeah it's in great condition. Funny you should mention the blowout because it was going through my mine the entire ride. Plus on the way back home the last mile or two of my ride had several switch backs. To my surprise when I got to that section of road it was wet. It had rained while I was gone. Did I mention the front tire was almost bald as well. Talk about a pucker factor lol I slowed to a crawl and almost idled the rest of the way home. So don't worry no more rides like a moron till I get new tires.

[Tamara]

You found a nice looking bike. Definitely don't ride again until you get those tires changed out. I'm impressed it fit in the back of a minivan .

[Rover]

I also am amazed you fit that bike in any passenger vehicle.Stay safe.

[Roland5color]

You found a nice looking bike. Definitely don't ride again until you get those tires changed out. I'm impressed it fit in the back of a minivan .

I had to put it through the side door it was a chore for sure but I had incentive to make it fit. I would have had to leave the van there and ride the GS 450 miles on those old tires if it didnt lol. There was no way in the world that I was leaving the bike behind. The best part was the anchors in the floor for the back seats made perfect points to attach my ratcheting straps to.

[jknappsax]

Even after you get new tires, please don't ride like a moron! It would give Suzuki riders a bad name! Glad your ATGATT paid off. Now that your wife has given you the green light to ride, has she heavily insured your life? Just asking !

[Roland5color]

Even after you get new tires, please don't ride like a moron! It would give Suzuki riders a bad name! Glad your ATGATT paid off. Now that your wife has given you the green light to ride, has she heavily insured your life? Just asking !

Hey do you know my wife or something? First thing she said was you can have the bike but you have to have a bigger life insurance policy lol. I really don't ride like a moron that's the reason the wife gave me the green light. Yeah I like to ride a little spirited at times but there is a time and place for that. I just love to ride its in my blood. I ride 365 days a year. Minus of course the days the roads are a snowed or iced up. Have been out a few times though and got cought in the snow. Besides you and the rest of the Suzuki community have nothing to worry about my old GS1100 only goes 80 according to the speedo anyway

[jknappsax]

Ya gotta thank Joan Clayborne when she was head of the NHTSA; make the world safer by making speedos only read 85 mph! I have a 1984 Mustang GT convertible that had an 85 mph speedo, and not long after I got it I was ALSO only doing 85, the speedo pegged, and then the needle fell off! I replaced it with a 145 mph unit, and it's amazing how much faster the car got! I'm sure you don't ride like an idiot, otherwise you would have been wearing a doorag, shorts, flip-flops, and a wife-beater when you had your accident, and wouldn't be here to write about it. Another member here, Skip, is a drag-racer, and he hit a patch of oil that someone left when they blew their motor, and unloaded at 95+ mph. He ground the back of his helmet down flat, but got up and limped away! ATGATT!

[Roland5color]

One of the ironic things about my accident was when I woke up face down in the road one of the first people to stop was another rider I remember he was wearing a do rag And t shirt. I just thought to myself maybe this guy will get some gear now then I passed out again. To each his own but I prefer to not eat my food the rest of my life from a straw, breath from a tube in my throat and have my wife changing my diapers after severe brain damage or worse have my kids grow up without a dad because I was to selfish not wear a lid. I've been down twice in my life out of the 20 something years I've been riding and neither were my fault. Both times I was ATGATT and I walked Away with only surgeries and few new pieces of hardware in my body.

[jdknicks]

Hey Roland5color,

I can definitely relate with your anxiety, although to a lesser extent. I recently bought an 81 GS1000G, and drove 26 hours with my dad to pick it up! Anyway, it has been sitting in the garage for 4 weeks while I wait on a gasket, and I can't wait to ride it! In the meantime, I'm riding my 750 daily, and loving every minute of it.

I hope you get yours up to par soon, and grats on the "new" bike!

Josh K.

[Roland5color]

Thanks JDknicks. It will be at least 3 to 4 more weeks before I even come close to getting the old girl on the road. I have to check the valves, get new tires, new brake lines, change all the fluids, go through all electrical connections, and replace a few old rubber components in the intake system. She has a slight hanging idle which I am sure is air leaks caused by 31 year old rubber parts. All this has to be done while I'm trying to get my new house renovated so we can move into and I drive back and forth between IL and Ky for my job. So my time to work on the bike is very limited. I just keep telling myself though at least you have the bike now. It's only a matter if time before you will be going through sets of tires and countless gallons of fuel.

Good news is the jetting for the 4 into 1 V&H exhaust is pretty good. Won't know exactly how good though until valves are done and air leaks fixed. One of the best parts of my great buy was that the guy had the original exhaust. The headers are In excellent shape but the two mufflers have some rust on the bottom with possibly a few small holes caused by normal everyday condensation. Nothing that couldn't easily be repaired though if I decide to put them back on. Hope your gasket arrives soon so you can enjoy the power of that 1000.

[850 Combat]

That appears to be a beautiful example. It deserves to be preserved, in my opinion. Take good care, and enjoy it!