Will Switching Final Drives Work????

[Anonymous]

I took my 1980 GS850GT to the dealer today for some new fork bearings and while the head mechanic was looking at it he mentioned that he really liked the "Old GS's" and liked the 850 but not how "buzzy" it was at highway speeds. (75mph) He also said that he could put a GS1000G final drive in it for me that would allow me to run at highway speeds at a lower RPM and get rid of most of that buzziness. Will this work? My only real problem with the GS850GT is that it is not good at high speed because of the high rpm's and buzz. If this will work it will cure that problem!!

If anyone knows about this let me know. If anyone has a GS1000G final drive available please let me know also!! He thought any year GS1000G final drive would fit my 850.

Thanks!
Terry

[bwringer]

Nick... paging Nick Diaz... O Great Shafted One, hear our plea....

Anyone got the shaft-signal?

Where the heck has he been, anyway?



If the final drive units use different gear ratios, this could work. You'll give up a little acceleration, of course.

That's a big IF, though.

We'll need someone who has ridden and wrenched both to answer this.

[Anonymous]

My mechanic said that they use different ratios, and that he had made the change on a number of GS850G's in the past, but he couldn't remember what year GS1000G final drive worked the best. He said my engine would run slower at highay speeds and that I would loose a little quickness but that's fine with me. I don't race my 850 ever and I would really like the engine to run slower at high speed.

Terry

[SqDancerLynn1]

I have a GS 850 & i have looked into changing the ratio. THE GS 1000 is the same differential ratio that the GS850 has. The difference is in the beveled drive gears, THEY ARE NOT interchangeable. The ONLY way to change the gearing would be to find a differential from & 83 GK1100 SOME not all of them used a 2.9 gear ratio The common ratio for the shaft drive is 3.1 I would stick with the stock gearing!
GS850 11/34
GK1100 11/32

[shortlid]

How is the Gs850G diff. from the GS850GT???

My mechanic said that they use different ratios, and that he had made the change on a number of GS850G's in the past

What is the diff. between a GS850G and a GS850GT??? 8O

[mcycle-nut]

Nick... paging Nick Diaz... O Great Shafted One, hear our plea....

Anyone got the shaft-signal?

Where the heck has he been, anyway?

He left in a big huff saying he was sick of all the Bush bashing or something. Too bad, we lost a generally cheerful person with a great deal of knowledge.

[Anonymous]

"GT" is Suzuki's coding for a touring style GS850 that was made in 1980. It just designates that it is not a cruiser style "L" model. Each year the flat seat touring model was assigned a different letter after the "G" to show it wasn't a cruiser.

Terry

[Anonymous]

I have been reading about this final drive interchangability and it seems that the final drive from a GS1100GK might fit onto my GS850GT. Does anyone know if this will work, or has anyone done this?

I'm looking for a final drive that will slow down the speed of my engine at highway speed. Too many RPMs and too buzzy at 75 mph!

Thanks,
Terry

[SqDancerLynn1]

The smaller GS shaft drives use a different differential. For the big GS/GK 850/1000/1100 their are only 2 different gear ratios. They are physically exactly alike except for there gear ratio. Only the GK models some 83 models & some 84 Don't assume it will be the higher ratio without checking It's changing from a 3.09 to a 2.9 ratio

[duaneage]

A larger rear tire will help somewhat but there is a limit to what you can expect. I went from a 130 to a 120 on my 650 and the engine speed increased approximately 250 rpm at 60 mph.

Not a great deal but if I went from a 120 to a 150, all else being equal it would theoretically allow the engine to run 750 rpm slower. Handling and tire clearance become an issue if you change too much.

Leaving the front tire alone preserves the speedometer accuracy