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New member, new GS 850 project bike.
This past Friday, June 13th, my wife and daughter drove up from Boise, Idaho, to visit with me in my rental home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where I stay during the week due to work constraints. They were coming to spend Father’s Day with me and to help me move out of my 3br/2ba home into a new (to me) apartment. That’s an eight-hour drive, just so ya know. Long day for them, but I was glad they were in for the weekend.
Earlier that afternoon, unbeknownst to the wife, I had cancelled the apartment lease for reasons I will not discuss. When my wife and daughter arrived I explained to them that I had cancelled the new apartment lease, and that we did not need to move any furniture this weekend. Excellent! Everyone was relieved, and there was certainly no disappointed regarding the new plan. After all, who really likes moving furniture?
So, what to do with all the time? What was the new plan? I had an idea.
I called a guy on Craigslist that had a GS850G listed in Cheney, Washington, which is a town about 60 miles west of Coeur d’Alene just off of I-90. The owner said that he still had the Suzuki, and said he had just dropped the price from $740.00 (?) to $625.00. I had not seen the bike in person, but it looked complete according to the pictures on Craigslist. It was not running, and would need some work. It had not been running for about 10 years. The owner thought it had carburetor issues. Imagine that, huh? No battery, not running, needs work. Hmmm…. What the heck! It was a 1981 GS 850G model with 18,256 miles on it, so I decided I was gonna get it.
I asked the owner to not sell it until my wife and I got a there with the money and a trailer. I would have to go to the U-Haul store to rent a trailer, and I needed to stop and get some money from the US Bank office. I told the owner that my wife and I were on the way, and that we should be there in about 2 hours, around 6:00-ish (p.m.) We were on a road trip, and we had a worthwhile mission!
In case anyone’s wondering, the wife did not even bat an eye about the prospect of hopping back into a car (after having traveled 8 hours from Boise); so we got into the Jeep Compass and headed for the U-Haul center. I was going to get another GS!! Hadn’t had one since 1997, and boy was I excited.
The U-Haul center was loaded with plenty of open trailers. No issues. Done. US Bank had lots of money in the vault. Six hundred bucks withdrawn out of the ATM. No problem. Done. Exxon was still selling gas. Filled the car with petro. Check. Done. Time to head out to Cheney, Washington, to get the Suzuki GS 850. We were finally on the road!
When we arrived in Cheney (around 6:00 p.m.), it was a fairly simple matter to find the owner of the Suzuki. Smart phones work well for that task. The Suzuki and the owner were in the driveway when we arrived, all smiles and shining chrome…NOT.
This GS was complete, as I mentioned earlier. But she was rough, rough, rough. Craigslist is famous for making the stuff look better than it really is. But everyone knows that. First thing I noticed were that the mufflers were rusted out, totally shot. Then I noticed a lot of oil on the fork sliders, caused by leaking fork seals, obviously. The fork springs were shot. This thing was practically on the ground. It would hardly stay up on the side stand.
More bad news to come, though. There were no side covers. Deal breaker. The owner found the side covers in the odd looking saddle bags. I twisted the throttle, with a great deal of effort, and immediately noticed that the throttle did not return to the stop. Gooked-up carburetors, for sure. I grabbed the front brake. The lever slammed all the way to the throttle grip with no resistance. When I looked there was tons of brake fluid down on the left caliper and the wheel. Toast. The tires had some air in them, and even though they were aged, they were not cracked or rotted, and they were (sorta) holding air. Mental note: Will need tires soon, but the ones that were currently mounted would hold the bike for now.
The oil level window was showing full. I removed the oil fill cap to check the oil condition, and the oil in the crankcase smelled like gas. That sucks. Hope the previous owners hadn’t let the carburetors flood the crankcase and wash the oil off the cylinder walls. When I asked, the seller said that fuel had run out of the carburetor when the fuel petcock was in the on position. Not good. That worried me. Oh, well.
No battery. Good. That means no one had been (recently) sitting there spinning the motor over. The output shaft area was covered with yuk and dirt. Leaking seal? That looked like a lot of work.
Nothing bent, scratched, gouged or hanging loose. Positive news.
The bike showed 18,256 miles on the odometer, so I had a decision to make. Buy a (supposedly) low-mileage, none-running, clapped out, but complete, Suzuki GS850G war warrior, or walk away. Hmmm… What to do? 18,256 miles. Decent chrome, decent aluminum and paint, original decals and emblems. Cast wheels. Vetter fairing in good shape. Case guards. 18,256 miles. All the good parts were there. Good seat. Didn’t look like it had been down. 18,256 miles.
I offered the guy $500.00. He said no, and that he needed the full amount, $625.00. I countered with $550.00, and the cash would be in his pocket immediately if he said yes. He said he needed $600.00 dollars. I again offered $550.00. He said that $580.00 was as low as he would go. What’s 30 bucks, so I said we had a deal, we should load ‘er up!
Load ‘er up? This bike was on practically on the ground, had almost flat tires, weighs 600 pounds, hasn’t run (rolled) in 10 years, and we were on a sloped gravel driveway. The owner had roommates, however, so three roommates and one wife later, and considerable grunting and shoving, we had the lump loaded and strapped down to the U-Haul.
So off to Coeur d’Alene we went, with a fresh and the new project bike hooked to the back of the Jeep Compass. It was good to be in the wind with an air-cooled classic from the 80’s.
Back in Coeur d’Alene, about an hour and a half later, I dropped the wife off at the house. She had had a long day, and was ready for a nap. I decided to hose down the dirty GS before unloading it, so after I unloaded the co-pilot, I headed out to find an open wash bay somewhere near our subdivision.
That plan turned out to be a good call. The bike looked considerably better after a few gallons of soaking soap and some power washing. I could actually see paint and chrome and polished aluminum engine parts. Even the wiring and tubing looked to be intact and in order.
Maybe this thing was going to turn out OK after all.
Happy Father's Day to all of you.
Earlier that afternoon, unbeknownst to the wife, I had cancelled the apartment lease for reasons I will not discuss. When my wife and daughter arrived I explained to them that I had cancelled the new apartment lease, and that we did not need to move any furniture this weekend. Excellent! Everyone was relieved, and there was certainly no disappointed regarding the new plan. After all, who really likes moving furniture?
So, what to do with all the time? What was the new plan? I had an idea.
I called a guy on Craigslist that had a GS850G listed in Cheney, Washington, which is a town about 60 miles west of Coeur d’Alene just off of I-90. The owner said that he still had the Suzuki, and said he had just dropped the price from $740.00 (?) to $625.00. I had not seen the bike in person, but it looked complete according to the pictures on Craigslist. It was not running, and would need some work. It had not been running for about 10 years. The owner thought it had carburetor issues. Imagine that, huh? No battery, not running, needs work. Hmmm…. What the heck! It was a 1981 GS 850G model with 18,256 miles on it, so I decided I was gonna get it.
I asked the owner to not sell it until my wife and I got a there with the money and a trailer. I would have to go to the U-Haul store to rent a trailer, and I needed to stop and get some money from the US Bank office. I told the owner that my wife and I were on the way, and that we should be there in about 2 hours, around 6:00-ish (p.m.) We were on a road trip, and we had a worthwhile mission!
In case anyone’s wondering, the wife did not even bat an eye about the prospect of hopping back into a car (after having traveled 8 hours from Boise); so we got into the Jeep Compass and headed for the U-Haul center. I was going to get another GS!! Hadn’t had one since 1997, and boy was I excited.
The U-Haul center was loaded with plenty of open trailers. No issues. Done. US Bank had lots of money in the vault. Six hundred bucks withdrawn out of the ATM. No problem. Done. Exxon was still selling gas. Filled the car with petro. Check. Done. Time to head out to Cheney, Washington, to get the Suzuki GS 850. We were finally on the road!
When we arrived in Cheney (around 6:00 p.m.), it was a fairly simple matter to find the owner of the Suzuki. Smart phones work well for that task. The Suzuki and the owner were in the driveway when we arrived, all smiles and shining chrome…NOT.
This GS was complete, as I mentioned earlier. But she was rough, rough, rough. Craigslist is famous for making the stuff look better than it really is. But everyone knows that. First thing I noticed were that the mufflers were rusted out, totally shot. Then I noticed a lot of oil on the fork sliders, caused by leaking fork seals, obviously. The fork springs were shot. This thing was practically on the ground. It would hardly stay up on the side stand.
More bad news to come, though. There were no side covers. Deal breaker. The owner found the side covers in the odd looking saddle bags. I twisted the throttle, with a great deal of effort, and immediately noticed that the throttle did not return to the stop. Gooked-up carburetors, for sure. I grabbed the front brake. The lever slammed all the way to the throttle grip with no resistance. When I looked there was tons of brake fluid down on the left caliper and the wheel. Toast. The tires had some air in them, and even though they were aged, they were not cracked or rotted, and they were (sorta) holding air. Mental note: Will need tires soon, but the ones that were currently mounted would hold the bike for now.
The oil level window was showing full. I removed the oil fill cap to check the oil condition, and the oil in the crankcase smelled like gas. That sucks. Hope the previous owners hadn’t let the carburetors flood the crankcase and wash the oil off the cylinder walls. When I asked, the seller said that fuel had run out of the carburetor when the fuel petcock was in the on position. Not good. That worried me. Oh, well.
No battery. Good. That means no one had been (recently) sitting there spinning the motor over. The output shaft area was covered with yuk and dirt. Leaking seal? That looked like a lot of work.
Nothing bent, scratched, gouged or hanging loose. Positive news.
The bike showed 18,256 miles on the odometer, so I had a decision to make. Buy a (supposedly) low-mileage, none-running, clapped out, but complete, Suzuki GS850G war warrior, or walk away. Hmmm… What to do? 18,256 miles. Decent chrome, decent aluminum and paint, original decals and emblems. Cast wheels. Vetter fairing in good shape. Case guards. 18,256 miles. All the good parts were there. Good seat. Didn’t look like it had been down. 18,256 miles.
I offered the guy $500.00. He said no, and that he needed the full amount, $625.00. I countered with $550.00, and the cash would be in his pocket immediately if he said yes. He said he needed $600.00 dollars. I again offered $550.00. He said that $580.00 was as low as he would go. What’s 30 bucks, so I said we had a deal, we should load ‘er up!
Load ‘er up? This bike was on practically on the ground, had almost flat tires, weighs 600 pounds, hasn’t run (rolled) in 10 years, and we were on a sloped gravel driveway. The owner had roommates, however, so three roommates and one wife later, and considerable grunting and shoving, we had the lump loaded and strapped down to the U-Haul.
So off to Coeur d’Alene we went, with a fresh and the new project bike hooked to the back of the Jeep Compass. It was good to be in the wind with an air-cooled classic from the 80’s.
Back in Coeur d’Alene, about an hour and a half later, I dropped the wife off at the house. She had had a long day, and was ready for a nap. I decided to hose down the dirty GS before unloading it, so after I unloaded the co-pilot, I headed out to find an open wash bay somewhere near our subdivision.
That plan turned out to be a good call. The bike looked considerably better after a few gallons of soaking soap and some power washing. I could actually see paint and chrome and polished aluminum engine parts. Even the wiring and tubing looked to be intact and in order.
Maybe this thing was going to turn out OK after all.
Happy Father's Day to all of you.
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