Is the GS850G up to this?

[shirazdrum]

Hi,
My name is Chris and I’m new to your board. I have a dilemma of choosing between two bikes to take on a trip to South America in August.
The first bike is Suzuki GS850G and the other is a Honda CB750.
The CB750 has the high production figures and relative reliability and availability of the parts but I’ve always wanted a GS850 as well.
The GS has the shaft drive, dual front disk/single back, better gas mileage, bullet proof engine, bigger gas tank,…But there are not many of it around. With only few short years of production I’m left with not so big of spare parts market.

I know that this is a GS forum and I’m not questioning your patriotism toward this bike but do you honestly think that this machine (GS850G) is capable of such a trip? Given the situation which bike would you choose and why?
Any knowledge of production #s south of borders or worldwide?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Dave8338]

Not only is the bike up to it...it may be the best all around mid-sized ship that Suzuki ever built. I had a CB 650 in the mid 80's and I can tell you this much...my GS 650 is nearly twice the bike.

The 850 has more than enough power and the comfort factor is VERY high. Treat it to a full tune up (enter Basscliff) and you'll be set. Plus, you can't beat the shaft drive for the reliable factor, can't beat it.

OH...welcome to the best little bike site on the web, hands down.

Dave

[Larry D]

Although I've never owned one, the 850's get more love here than any other model, I think.

Get one, do the proper maintenance required and ride that baby around the world if ya want to.......

[chef1366]

You're asking a Suzuki forum to choose from either a Zook or a Hondah??????
I've actually owned a CB750. Great highway bike and very smooth.
But I'll have to go with the Zook.
It also depends on the condition of the two.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!

Hi Mr. shirazdrum,

Providing you get your GS850 into good mechanical shape, it will give you very few problems. You'll have to do a couple of minor mods to the electrical system and bring all of the other systems up to good operating parameters. Then you will have THE most reliable bike on the road today. Let me roll out the welcome mat for you, then we can talk about a "total refresh".

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous forum. Don't forget, we like pictures. Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Billy Ricks]

If you get the 850 make sure you pull off the rear wheel and check the condition of the splines. Clean out the old grease and use new moly based grease.

[reddirtrider]

How about a chain vs. shaft mini-war. lol

[shirazdrum]

Wow, that was the 3 quickest replies I’ve ever seen. Must agree with you on the best little site.
I was secretly hoping for the zook, just needed a confirmation. It's just pain to clean and service the chain when you can just ride something without. Plus Hondas never had any good brakes either.
I’ve been looking around and I haven't found anything really clean yet. What do you guys consider clean (I’m pretty anal) and how many miles is too much? Say for an 82 GS850.
Any model specific modification you'd suggest? Luggage rack, panniers, crash bar,....

Regards,
Chris

[nity11us]

First of all welcome.

I've owned an old cb750. Ran excellent but very ugly. Not from the factory... no... no.. but from a metal flake blue rattle can paint job w/ the exhaust cut off under the frame with washers welded in for baffles. Besides the overwhelming noise factor. It rode down the highway well. Pretty smooth but not as smooth as my GS850GN does. No numb hands after a three hour ride. My longest on it so far. Have had it since early Dec. Love it! Would recomend highly .

--Al

[shirazdrum]

I can't even keep up replying. Thanks a lot for the warm welcome, I know I’m in a right place and people I can count on for information when I break down some where south of the border.
This picture has been my wallpaper for a long time; it's just elegant to look at.
Thought I would share

[dpep]

I've got 130,000+ on the '80 850 I bought new. On the '80 I bought a couple of years ago I have been all over the eastern U.S. from Wisconsin to Boston to Florida. On the 82 850 I recently traded I have been to Nova Scotia and back to Florida.

I have owned two CB750s. One I bought in London back in 1970 less than a year after they came out. Then I bought an '77 F model new. I loved them both. But the 850 is clearly superior, especially with regard to touring. For one thing having a sealed shaft drive instead of a chain exposed to the elements means less daily maintenance and greater peace of mind.

850s were sold somewhere in the world for at least 8 years. Because they are so durable there are still a fair number of them around. You aren't likely to need parts, but if you do, they aren't exactly rare. I buy my 850 case guards off JC Whitney. Anyway, in this day of the internet, UPS, and FedEx the odds of you getting stuck somewhere for lack of a part are slim. And if it is knowledge you are worrying about, all you have to do is get online and log in here; somebody will be able to tell you how to fix whatever is wrong with your GS.

Just make sure the bike is well prepped--new oil, middle and hub gear lube. Grease the hub splines. Get some case guards. Replace the stator and regulator/rectifier with quality units. Put on some braided brake lines. Carry some spare oil filters and oil filter gasket, spare throttle and clutch cables, a set of bulbs, and spare spark plugs. I recommend a set of Continental tires, Conti-Tour rear, Conti-Blitz front. I can get up to 15,000 miles on a set. That should get you most of the way there and back depending upon where you are going. I assume you are going to be sticking to paved roads, or at least gravel. If you intend to do much trailing or soft surface, you don't want either one of the bikes you are considering.

Keep us posted on your prep. There are a lot of long distance riders on here who can give you good advice.

[nity11us]

Thought this was interesting...part of the history of Suzuki GS Bikes.

--Al http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/4...uki/suzi1.html

[nity11us]

Being a noobie I was hopin' the high mileage boys would chime in!

Tell 'em fellas'

--Nity --al

I've got 130,000+ on the '80 850 I bought new. On the '80 I bought a couple of years ago I have been all over the eastern U.S. from Wisconsin to Boston to Florida. On the 82 850 I recently traded I have been to Nova Scotia and back to Florida.

I have owned two CB750s. One I bought in London back in 1970 less than a year after they came out. Then I bought an '77 F model new. I loved them both. But the 850 is clearly superior, especially with regard to touring. For one thing having a sealed shaft drive instead of a chain exposed to the elements means less daily maintenance and greater peace of mind.

850s were sold somewhere in the world for at least 8 years. Because they are so durable there are still a fair number of them around. You aren't likely to need parts, but if you do, they aren't exactly rare. I buy my 850 case guards off JC Whitney. Anyway, in this day of the internet, UPS, and FedEx the odds of you getting stuck somewhere for lack of a part are slim. And if it is knowledge you are worrying about, all you have to do is get online and log in here; somebody will be able to tell you how to fix whatever is wrong with your GS.

Just make sure the bike is well prepped--new oil, middle and hub gear lube. Grease the hub splines. Get some case guards. Replace the stator and regulator/rectifier with quality units. Put on some braided brake lines. Carry some spare oil filters and oil filter gasket, spare throttle and clutch cables, a set of bulbs, and spare spark plugs. I recommend a set of Continental tires, Conti-Tour rear, Conti-Blitz front. I can get up to 15,000 miles on a set. That should get you most of the way there and back depending upon where you are going. I assume you are going to be sticking to paved roads, or at least gravel. If you intend to do much trailing or soft surface, you don't want either one of the bikes you are considering.

Keep us posted on you prep. There are a lot of long distance riders on here who can give you good advice.

[salty_monk]

I have done two 2,000 mile in a week (or less) trips on my GS1000G with no problems.

Well maintained you should have no issues.

Anything most likely to go wrong that would stop your trip (for example a rectifier) are either easily available from Suzuki, aftermarket suppliers such as Z1 enterprises (on a next day service) or many HONDA ones can be substituted

Fork seals, brake pads, batteries, plugs, wires, coils are all pretty stock parts you should be able to get anywhere.....

Definitely worth checking condition of the wheel splines if it's a later model (1981+). The older ones are tougher, should come into your maintenance schedule anyway....

[bubba]

I never owned the 750, but I did have a CB900. Not a bad bike, very quick, but the parts from Honda are hard to get and the prices are in the stratosphere!!!! I could not believe how available and inexpensive the factory parts were for my Suzuki. After getting all the little quirks out of my Suzuki, it has been a great bike.