am i stupid?

[Rilla]

maybe im just dumb...but. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT IN THE HECK THIS IS?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Suzuki-Parts-Microfiche-GS850-GS-850-79-83_W0QQitemZ8062285442QQcategoryZ38663QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

let me know,

[Grif]

My guess would be microfishe containing parts diagrams. Probably something similar to what Bike Bandit (?) has on their website. Tells you the name and probably the factory number of each part in each subsystem.

[ruddy]

These are the original microfishe sheets that require a special microfishe reader to view them. The parts diagrams you see on Bike Bandit are the same as these.

[relic-rider]

All of the dealers used to use these. They would have a big card file and when you went in for a part, they pulled out the one for the bike you had , put it on a reader(like a big magnifier). They moved it around to find the part you needed. All they are are transparent plastic sheets with the parts diagrams printed in miniature on them. This saved space, so they would have needed a library to house full size diagrams of all parts for all the bikes they sold and serviced.
Many of these are now being sold as these diagrams are now widely available online, so no manual fiche reader is needed. Most dealers use some sort of computer or online diagrams. Only they old time dealers still use the fiche. I wish some had them as a backup. I recently went to my Suzuki dealer and they were useless for parts as the whole Suzuki parts fiche system was down! They had NO way of looking up my parts. So much for the great computer age! No backups. Anyway, most libraries have fiche readers as some old magazines and newspapers are put into this format to save space.

Dan

[scotty]

yeah just dumb :shock: sorry. I thought it was brown plastic Gage

[bwringer]

So do you get just one microfiche or do you get all the ones pictured?

I already bought a fiche for my '83 GS850GD at http://repairmanual.com/ for $15, but the engine is mostly 1981 vintage and the head is 1980. Or maybe it's the other way around. It would be nice to have them all.

I spent about $16 in spare nickles and dimes and an hour and a half in a local library making printouts with their fiche reader. I tried our high res scanner here at the graphic design agency where I work, but 3200dpi wasn't quite enough resolution -- you could almost make out the part numbers. Almost.

[ruddy]

Try here: http://www.zedder.com/index.htm I got a CD with all of the parts diagrams for '82/'83 GS850s from them.

[ronin1166]

Man, reading this thread is really making me feel OLD.

Ted

[rustybronco]

32 years in the parts business and i still use them from time to time.
man i AM old!

[GSstiny]

Unless you have a viewer sitting around that youre just itching to use, Id wouldnt fool with them. I worked in heavy truck parts for a while and we had to use them to find part#s for older trucks. Its really fun to spend half an hour finding one TINY little part for a 20 year old semi, and when you finally find it the fiche is so screwed up you cant read the part number. :shock: