1981 Gs 850l

[hartleygs]

Hey everyone, I guess my main question is this. After messing with my bike and reading this forum every day, I am hoping that every time there is a 20 degree difference in temp or the sun is not shining just the right way, I dont have to be doing a jet change or... you get what im saying here. I love this bike and it is cool looking and seems to be built like a tank but I want to ride at a higher percentage than tinkering. If I correct all of the major issues addressed in this site will there still be constant tinkering or am I overwhelmed with all the troubleshooting info in this forum? Not at all being a jerk or anything like that just want an honest answer. I am known for worrying to much according to some people. "my wife" Ps I realize there are always general maint issues. This is not what im talking about. Thank you, Shawn

 

[Nessism]

Most of the problems I read about here are 1) maintenance related or 2) self inflected.

A 25 year old bike is naturally going to need some work. When I bought my bike(s) the first thing I did was pull the carbs for a full rebuild (not just a spritz out with spray cleaner), adjust the valves, plugs, air filter, chain, tires, brake system rebuild, ect. The ideal is to do the work up front because even if the bike is seemingly working okay, it won't be for long unless the maintenance is done.

In terms of self inflected, I'm referring to pods/exhaust mods which seem to give people fits.

Even after all the basic stuff is done there is likely going to be something electrical related or a dried up oil seal, but the work will be far less if the basics are done up front and the mods are thought through.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Steve]

I am hoping that every time there is a 20 degree difference in temp or the sun is not shining just the right way, I dont have to be doing a jet change or... you get what im saying here.

Set and forget. Or something like that. \\/

Like Nessism, I had a few issues to resolve with my wife's '82 850GL. First, cleaned the carbs, checked the valves, checked the stator and replaced the r/r (I knew it had charging problems when I bought it). It has stock airbox and pipes, so stock jetting is retained, just tweaked a bit. I have run the bike in temps from 35 to 105, it starts and runs beautifully every time.

If you really want to worry about something that is easy to check, just make sure your tires are up to correct pressure every time you go for a ride. Can't tell you how many times I have run over something pulling in to a restaurant or gas station, checked the tires before leaving and found pressure a bit low. :shock:


.

 

[focus frenzy]

these are motorcycles not helicopters. for the most part they are total reliable and you can roll up a lot of miles with little more than regular oil and filter changes.

I put 30,000 miles on my 1000G and the only thing beyond regular oil changes I had to do was a valve clearance check, before something quit (original R&R quit)) it took alot of work to get there as it wasn't running when I got it, but it now has over 150,000 miles on (got it just short of 100k) and I have no reservations in taking old Bob on a long road trip, even with his asortment of oozes and dribbles.