I need a little help.

[ninjar]

Im trying to ID my bike with the vin number but I can only find 11 of the needed 17. Bike is a 78/9 gs750e.

Also how do I go about getting a lost title.

[skreemer]

the 17 character VIN didn't become the de facto standard till at least 1980... That may be the reason for the short VIN.

as for a title.. I've heard of folks using this place... http://www.its-titles.com

What state(province) are you in? Is the previous owner the last registered owner?

If your DMV isn't hell that it is in Illinois AND the previous owner has the bike registered you might be able to have them do a title search with just a notarized letter and bill of sale from the previous owner...

[ninjar]

the 17 character VIN didn't become the de facto standard till at least 1980... That may be the reason for the short VIN.

Well thats a breathe of fresh air.

as for a title.. I've heard of folks using this place... http://www.its-titles.com

What state(province) are you in? Is the previous owner the last registered owner?

If your DMV isn't hell that it is in Illinois AND the previous owner has the bike registered you might be able to have them do a title search with just a notarized letter and bill of sale from the previous owner...

Im in ohio. I got it from my old auto teacher and he has no idea where the title is, he got it for free.

[BassCliff]

Greetngs and Salutations!

Hi Mr. ninjar,

Let it be known that on this day you are cordially and formally welcomed to the GSR Forum as a Junior Member in good standing with all the rights and privileges thereof. Further let it be known that your good standing can be improved with pictures (not you, your bike)!

Perhaps you've already seen these, but I like to remind all the new members. In addition to the carb rebuild series, I recommend visiting the In The Garage section via the GSR Homepage and check out the Stator Papers. There's also a lot of great information in the Old Q&A section. I have some documentation on my little BikeCliff website to help get you familiar with doing routine maintenance tasks (note that it is 850G-specific but many tasks are common to all GS bikes). Other "user contributed" informational sites include those of Mr. bwringer, Mr. tfb and Mr. robertbarr. And if your bike uses shims for valve adjustments, send an email to Mr. Steve requesting a copy of his Excel spreadsheet that helps you keep track of clearances, shim sizes and other service work.

These are some edited quotes from one of our dear beloved gurus, Mr. bwringer, with ideas on basic needs (depending on initial condition), parts, and accessories.

***********Quoted from Mr. bwringer************
Every GS850 [and most other models] has (or had) a set of well-known issues that MUST be addressed before you have a solid baseline for further troubleshooting. It's a vintage bike, and it's quite common (as in, every single GS850 I have had contact with) that there are multiple problems that have crept up and slowly gotten worse over the years. It's not like a newer vehicle, where there's generally one problem at a time.

These common issues are:

1. Intake O-rings (install NEW OEM or Viton only - common nitrile O-rings will quickly deteriorate from heat)
2. Intake Boots (install NEW -- these cannot be repaired)
3. Valve clearances (more important than most people think)
4. Carb/airbox boots
5. Airbox sealing
6. Air filter sealing
7. Petcock (install a NEW one)
8. On '79 models, install new points or Dyna electronic ignition (or at least verify that the old points are working correctly)
9. On all models, it's fairly common to have problems with the spark plug caps. These are $3 or $4 each, and often worth replacing if you're keeping the stock coils/wires.
10. Stock exhaust with NO leaks or holes -- good seals at the head and at the junctions underneath.

Carburetor maintenance:

Replace the intake boot o-rings, and possibly the intake boots. Here's the procedure:

http://bwringer.com/gs/intakeorings.html

Here's an overview of what happens with this particular problem:

http://cycleorings.com/intake.html

You'll also want to examine the boots between the carbs and the airbox. There's a good chance these are OK, but check them over.
And finally, if things still aren't exactly right, you'll want to order a set of o-rings for BS carbs from the GS owner's best friend, Robert Barr:

http://cycleorings.com

Once you receive these rare rings of delight, then you'll want to thoroughly clean and rebuild your carburetors. Here are step-by-step instructions that make this simple:

http://thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

OEM Parts/Online Fiches:

I would definitely double and triple the recommendations to use Cycle Recycle II and Z1 Enterprises as much as possible. These guys are priceless resources. Z1 tends to have slightly better prices, CRC2 has a wider range of goodies available. If you're near Indy and can bring in an old part to match, CRC2 has a vast inventory of used parts.
http://denniskirk.com - Put in your bike model and see what they have.
http://oldbikebarn.com - seems to be slowly regaining a decent reputation, but it's still caveat emptor. They don't have anything you can't get elsewhere at a better price anyway.
http://www.babbittsonline.com/ - Decent parts prices. Spendy shipping. Don't give you part numbers at all. Useful cross-reference if you obtain a part number elsewhere. Efficient service.
http://bikebandit.com - Fastest. Middlin' prices. Uses their own parts numbering system to obfuscate price comparisons -- can be very confusing for large orders. Cheapest shipping, so total cost usually isn't too bad.
http://flatoutmotorcycles.com - Slow. Cheapest parts prices, crazy shipping costs. Don't expect progress updates or much communication. Real Suzuki part numbers.
http://alpha-sports.com - Exorbitant parts prices. Different type of fiche interface that's quite useful at times, especially with superceded part numbers. Real parts numbers. Shipping cost and speed unknown due to insane, unholy pricing.

Stainless Bolts, Viton o-rings, metric taps, dies, assorted hard-to-find supplies and materials, etc:

http://mcmaster.com - Fast, cheap shipping, good prices. No order minimum, but many items like bolts come in packs of 25 or 50. Excellent resource.
http://motorcycleseatcovers.com - Great quality, perfect fit (on original seat foam), and available for pretty much every bike ever made. Avoid the textured vinyl -- it's perforated.
http://newenough.com - You DO have riding gear, don't you? Great clearances, always outstanding prices and impeccable service.
***************End Quote**********************

Additional parts/info links:

GSR Forum member Mr. duaneage has great used upgraded Honda regulator/rectifiers for our bikes. Send him a PM.
New electrical parts:
http://stores.ebay.com/RMSTATOR or http://www.rmstator.com/

http://www.ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/index.php

http://www.electrosport.com/

For valve cover and breather gaskets, I recommend Real Gaskets (reusable silicon):

http://www.realgaskets.com

Carolina Cycle

http://www.carolinacycle.com

Ron Ayers Motorsports

http://www.ronayers.com

MR Cycles

http://www.mrcycles.com

Moto Grid

http://www.motogrid.com

Salvage/Used

http://www.ricepaddymotorcycles.com

http://www.ozpowersports.com/

If all else fails, try this:

http://www.used-motorcycle-parts.org/

Used bike buying checklists:

http://www.amadirectlink.com/roadride/Riderresc/checklist.asp

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html

Lots of good info/pictures here:

http://www.suzukicycles.org

http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Motorcycle_Wiki

http://www.bikepics.com
Basic motorcycle maintenance/repair:
http://www.dansmc.com/mc_repaircourse.htm
Online Clymer manuals:
http://search.ebscohost.com/ Click on "Small Engine Repair" then "Motorcycles". User=library, password=library. Note: This link may not work if you are on a school campus.


Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed of your progress. There's lots of good folk with good experience here.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
(The unofficial GSR greeter)

Click here to visit BikeCliff's website.

[ninjar]

So much reading. But thanks for the warm welcome

[ninjar]

Can someone check my vin info for me please? gs750e34039

[lucabond]

With this site you can figure out what your bike is, Good luck

http://www.suzukicycles.org/_misc/identification.shtml

[Nessism]

Can someone check my vin info for me please? gs750e34039

The VIN number is on the frame at the steering neck, the VIN number should be visible after you move the wires and cables out of the way. That number looks about right for an early bike but we can't verify ourselves from the computer.


Good luck.

[ninjar]

Oh that is it, I was just wondering if there was some kinda carfax thing someone could get for me.

[LarryA_Texas]

carfax?

Can't speak for Ohio, every state is different, but here it Texas it's pretty straight forward. You need to go to DMV and ask them what to do in your state.

First, you ask them to trace the VIN and see if there's a registered owner. They can check nationwide to see if its' reported stolen, but only in-state to see if it's still registered, or who it was last registered to. That can be a nightmare unless it happens to have a tag or inspection sticker that might help you pin down one state to look in. If you find a registered owner, even if it's expired, you try to find them by certified mail. If you can, you get them to sign it over to you or apply for a lost title.

If there isn't any history you go to the next step. Here you have three choices: 1) get a bonded title. This is kinda like an insurance policy. You own the bike for 3 years or so and if someone else comes forward to claim ownership their claim is paid off by the bonding company. If no one claims it you get a clear title. 2) a mechanic's title...which is like saying you built it from scratch and want to register it as a home-built. Not likely if there's a VIN number. 3) here in TX you can do all of the stuff in the top paragraph, and with no luck, you take the required documents to a title hearing and they issue a title. Clean, pure and simple, after you do all the leg work.

It's possible none of that applies in Ohio, but you gotta know to ask the right questions. Good luck.

By the way, any police department can tell you if it's been reported stolen.

[LarryA_Texas]

Gs750e

By the way, are you sure you have the VIN number there? It looks like the engine number. That's on top of the transmission. The VIN for the motorcycle isn't on the engine, it's on the frame. It's the front tube in two places. If there is still and id plate it's on printed on there, and on the right side of the tube it's cut into the metal of the front frame tube...behind the headlight...under the wires and throttle cable. VIN numbers should start with JS1GS..... which identifies it as a Suzuki made in Japan. (this may not apply to older bikes)

[ninjar]

Yeah looks like im gonna have to goto the DMV and get it all sorted out, and i got that vin from the front tube it was branded into the frame and on the sticker.