New to the bobber Scene

[Mista M]

You seem mechanically able, so download the service manuals from Bass cliff's site. Use the wiring diagram to hotwire the ignition and clutch switch. take the carbs off and try to crank it off ether.

[tkent02]

Just to give a heads up, and maybe I should upload some pics so you guys can see (when I get home). There is no key, battery, tank, or controls in general on this bike, it was mainly a parts bike but more so for the minor things. Engine is put together with the exception of the shift lever is missing, but it is in neutral. I can transfer some of the parts off the 850 over to the 550 just to get it to fire up, but I plan on doing a complete rebuild from ground up pretty much. But if you guys think I should run it before going anywhere that's what I'll do!

Just run it so you know what you have. It would suck to do a top end rebuild only to find out the case is cracked or the crankshaft is bent, or perhaps tear it completely apart only to find everything is as new inside.

[Shafty850]

You seem mechanically able, so download the service manuals from Bass cliff's site. Use the wiring diagram to hotwire the ignition and clutch switch. take the carbs off and try to crank it off ether.

Yeah I had considered doing this, just wasn't sure where to get that diagram, now that I know, I will go check it out.

[Steve]

There is no key, battery, tank, or controls in general on this bike, it was mainly a parts bike but more so for the minor things.

Hopefully you got a title for each bike.

It would really suck to put all that effort into a bike that you could not register.

.

[brownford]

Hopefully you got a title for each bike.

It would really suck to put all that effort into a bike that you could not register.

.

We have a fix for that now too, its called Vermont.

[Shafty850]

Hopefully you got a title for each bike.

It would really suck to put all that effort into a bike that you could not register.

.

Actually they didn't come with titles but, I'm in the process of having them re-titled under my name, its kind of a long drawn out process and I'll have to bond the titles when everything comes through. The DMV by my house has been very helpful in getting all this put together, and the titles should be available for me in about 2 weeks!

[Shafty850]

Here's some pics, they are in rough shape however, both did turn last night, was able to compression check both and all cylinders had between 135-150ish, so I'm thinking everything is in pretty good shape internally. Just seems weird to me that it would be that way considering the age and how long it sat etc. In any case, frame tear down starts either tonight or saturday night, so I can get going on any frame work she wants to change. I apologize for the garage mess, moved in about a year ago and have been remodeling so not much space inside the house for everything!

[smooth_358]

looks like the pair that were on craigslist not too long ago?

[Griffyn]

Air boxes look to be there, I see a side cover on the ground, turn signals are there, pipes appear whole... Honestly, not that bad of a start.

[tkent02]

Oh, they're L models. They are born to be bobbed, chopped, cafe'd or anything else your heart desires.

Go for it!

[cougar]

Before you strip it down plan what your wanting first with ride height etc
remove the shocks and lower to height and fit a bar on shock points to keep height if your going to hard tail it as you can use the old frame to a lot of the pipe work
then work out the seat shape height etc

[bwringer]

You'll definitely want to grab valve cover gaskets (Suzuki OEM only) and check the valve clearances. Other than that, don't take apart the engines. Yes, you'll see some carbon when you look through the intakes. Perfectly normal on an air cooled engine.

It's a tossup as to whether neglected valve clearances or missing titles have killed off more GSs.

Lots of survivors have the same sad story of neglected maintenance: the bike slowly gets harder to start and runs less and less well, until one day it won't start (usually somewhere between 12,000 to 20,000 miles) and the clueless owner shoves it into the back of his Mom's garage for a decade or three and possibly nurses a lifelong grudge against Suzuki.

Valve clearances, at least, are easily put right. The gasket isn't all that cheap, but it can be re-used many times. The shims are only $5 or $6 each.

Sounds like you've got a handle on the paperwork. Here in Indiana, it's virtually impossible, and the harridans at the BMW will actively block you from even getting information on the process.

[Shafty850]

looks like the pair that were on craigslist not too long ago?

Yeah they were out in circle pines, dude was pretty cool and helpful loading them up, was in and out in about 10-15 mins. The picture makes it look like they are in worse shape than the actually are, but most of what I need is there. Overall I'd say it was a good buy for $300 total, I'm just a little stircrazy and wanna get crackin on these things. Just need to finish up house stuff first =(

Also, as a side note since it snuck into the pic, anyone want to buy a 883 sporty? haha

[smooth_358]

Ya. I tried to get him to sell me the seat off of the one. Id say you did alright. I just didnt want to deal with the no title situation when I saw them on there.

[Shafty850]

Ya. I tried to get him to sell me the seat off of the one. Id say you did alright. I just didnt want to deal with the no title situation when I saw them on there.

Well i don't plan on keeping that seat if you still want it!