looking to buy bike- found Rough running 81 GS850L

[Anonymous]

I'm in the market for my first bike. I'm a rather large guy so I'm looking at 750 and 850 for size. I found an ad for a 1981 GS850L with 12k original miles, very good condition, but "needs tune up", price is $750. I called the owner to get more information, mainly concerned with the "needs tune-up". The owner stated he's 2nd owner and the bike was kept in his garage. He's only ridden about 200 miles each summer. The bike is now running rough when you drive it "coughs, sputters, etc". He believes it's something to do with the carbs. He just wants it out of his garage. I'm going to go see the bike and look it over more. Any tips, or comments about what to look for? Do any of you experts think it may just be needing a carb cleaning? I'm not sure if this is something I should get into or not, since I don't know what the exact problem is and I'm new to bikes. Any input would be hugely appreciated! BTW- Great site here, a friend of Luke's showed it to me, it's now my favorite site. The information on here is great.

Thanks.
Tim

[jimcor]

First thing to do is find a friend with a little riding/wrenching experience to take with you to look at the bike. The symptoms you mention sound like a bike with gummed up carbs, which comes wth sitting around in a garage for a season or two. One thing to check for tho' is for rust in the fuel tank. Look inside with the aid of a flashlight a rusty tank will set you back at least $30 (plus labor if you have it repaired instead of doing it yourself) or more if the tank will need to be replaced. The price you mention isn't too bad at all with gas prices on the rise.. :? but, see if the tank looks good check the bike over closely and if it's a go, offer about $400 for it! You can always pay more but never less than your initial offering. Good Luck, the 850 was one of Zook's best!

[Anonymous]

You're in luck....one with finding a clean 850 for $750 and two.... for me finding your post......LOL

You see, I just bought an 82 GS850G about two months ago. Like yours mine was always garaged and was in great physical shape but ran just a little rough.

I am VERY pleased with the bike. And I would buy it again 20 times.

But as with any 20+ year old bike be prepared to sink some time and money in it to make it safe and more fun. Most of the bikes of this age have probably never had their front fork springs and or seals replaced. It's a huge safety and handling issue. Ditto with the rear shocks and possibly the steering head bearing. Not to mention that at least one of the axels, if not both will need new brakes.

One of the best and cheapest stopping improvements you can make is to get rid of your 20+ year old rubber brake lines (do it quickly, before one bursts on you during a hard stop) and replace them with braided stainless steel lines. About $80 worth of parts and pieces.

Lastly to the rough running part.......I found out the hard way, by trail and error, that the air boxes on these bikes must be sealed extremely well AND the air filter needs to be in good shape or it will run very rough. On both of the 2 airbox doors (on my 82 they are Chrome and just forward of the side panels on both sides of the bike), there was once a factory foam gasket that sealed these doors from sucking air. On my bike they were completely deteriorated. I replaced them with some 3/8 inch packing foam I had laying around, worked like a charm.

Now, I haven?t done all that stuff to my bike YET?.because I like to ride more than I like to fiddle with it, but I?m working my way thru the list. In my case both front and rear brakes have been done, as has the SS brake lines for the front brakes.

The suspension is next.

Anyway, these GS's, and maybe the 850?s even more so, are just about bullet proof. You keep good clean oil and gear lube in the bike and change it twice as often as the manual says and these things will start time and time again. Oh ....and figure on a carb cleaning/rebuiild/Synchronization about every two years

If you want any more info feel free to send me a private email.

Best of luck

[Anonymous]

Oh.....BTW......I'm go about 250 and these 850's have plenty of power to spare.

Mine ran right up to the 100 mph mark without even breathing hard before I shut it down. I don't know if it will do 105 or 125 but the point is it has plenty of power for us "Big Boys.

[Anonymous]

I've been thinking that the "Garage" section of this site could use a checklist for bringing a bike back to life. There are a lot of things to consider--too many to put into a single post. Some of my thoughts include what others posted and a few more:

Replace the brake fluid
Replace the gear oil
Replace the engine oil and filter more frequently than usual at first
Replace the O-Ring on the oil filter cap
Run gas cleaner for a tank or two
Recondition the forks (new oil and seals, proper air pressure)
Check for oil leaks
Check the tires--they could be twenty years old
Check the brake pads--they could be original and new ones are better
Check the wheel bearings
Check nuts and bolts everywhere for proper tightness
Clean electrical contacts everywhere
Check the R&R unit ground wire modification (a recommended rerouting of the R&R unit ground directly to the battery)
Check for unusual noises
Check the charging system
Ride carefully until you build confidence in the bike
Ride carefully until you build confidence in your riding ability

Some other thoughts:

I weigh in at 250 and my 850 does fine.

I just brought my 850 back to life that I bought in February. The oil was the dirtiest I've ever seen. I changed the oil and ran the bike three or four times for about fifteen minutes each and then I changed the oil and filter again. I did this before I ever took it out of the shop. I have now changed the oil and filter four times and I've only put about 400 miles on the bike. The oil now stays clean and clear and the engine is running strong. A leak at the cam cover also quit leaking.

[Anonymous]

$750 is too much for a bike that's been neglected like this. Offer the guy no more than $300. If he gets insulted, remind the owner that it's his own fault for letting the bike go to hell. Count on spending an additional $1,000 or so, and lots of time, to make things right.

Steering stem bearings should be added to the extensive list karl_ibsen came up with.

Read my story in this website: http://www.thegsresources.com/storie...ometouring.htm . A thorough, professionally done carburetor cleaning and replacing of o-rings, gaskets, etc., costs about $400 to $500. I recommend you do that if you buy this bike. People here will tell you to do it yourself, but I disagree.

Nick

[Anonymous]

Karl,

Great post!!!!

That could possibly be the beginning of an excellent Tech Article. Maybe with a "Difficultly Rating" for each repair so newcomers can feel comfortable about doing some of the easy things first and not getting in over their heads too quickly on the more difficult stuff.

Whaddyathink??

It could provide a lot of value to new bike buyers in general and new GS buyers specifically.

You should do it!!!!

[Anonymous]

too late already sold

Well I called the owner back to setup a time to see it, but it had already sold. That's too bad, but I'm sure I'll find something else. Thanks for all the great information from everyone. You were a big help.



Tim

[Anonymous]

Flip through eBay and CycleTrader to get an idea of the bikes available in that price range. You'd be surprised. Here's just one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2479753152&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

I don't know if it'll go back on sale, and we can't tell what the reserve was, but the bids didn't go over a grand. Imagine how much money you'd have to dump into a neglected machine to reach the same levels of reliability and confidence you'd have in an 850 like this.

I just found a GS750 that started at $400. Ready to ride. It might bid up quite a bit, but it won't be a grand, that's for sure.

It's not that I agree with Nick -- nothing could be less likely -- but you're far better off letting some previous owner soak HIS money into an older bike. You'll never recover YOUR investment in time & money.

Unless you want a bike specifically to tinker with (and sometimes that's the case), look for something that's in daily use already. You might spend another $300 or so for the bike, but you'll bypass an endless, expensive parade of headaches.

[Anonymous]

It's not that I agree with Nick -- nothing could be less likely --

Same to you, robertbarr. Nothing bothers me more than agreeing with your last statement.

Nick

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of really nice bikes out there, if you just take the time to look. I've seen some on eBay that if it weren't for the fact my wife would kill me, I would have bought in a heart beat. One problem with auctions is that you often run across someone who's more interested in winning the bidding competition than the bike itself. It's also hard for me to pay top dollar in an auction when all I have to go on is a few pictures. The auctions are interesting to watch, however, if for no other reason than they provide good information about the value of a bike in an open market place. I bought two bikes this year, both from the classifieds, and I'm about to buy a third.

If you're into it for making money, you would do better to put your money elsewhere. It's not about money. If you just want to ride and don't want to work on the bike, then buy a newer bike that your local dealer still supports. If you're looking to find the joy and satisfaction of riding and tinkering with a great machine, then a GS is as good a way to find it as any I can think of. But be prepared to spend whatever it takes to make sure you have a safe and dependable machine. I think there are more than a few of us (GS riders/tinkerers) who have more than one bike so we can be tinker with one while we ride the other, or is it ride one while we tinker with the other.

One other thought: Now is not the best time of year to buy a bike. It's still early in the riding season.

[Anonymous]

Here's the way I see it. But I'm quite sure Nick will dissagree with me. He's like Mikey.....He always disagrees...LOL

If one wants a moderately inexpensive motorcycle that can last a while then the GS's have to be VERY HIGH on the list of good choices.

But the fact is .........anything you buy that's more than 5 or 6 years old is going to have many of the same isues that have been mentioned here in the previous posts and will require the expenditure of your time and money (more time-less money, less time, more money).

Accept it, it's reality.

The more money you spend up front the less you'll likely to have spend for basic safety upgrades and repairs. While it's never a good deal to wreck a bike, but wrecking something you paid $800 for is just a little more bearable than one you just spent $20,000 on.

Plus many times you can bring your old baby back to life without breaking the bank. And....if it can't be resurected, any new parts you put on her can likely be used on your replacement GS. That cannot be said for an expensive Bike.

A friend of mine was just recently test driving his friends late model Triumph (a 1200 I think....are they making them that big now??). Anyway, he dropped it coming to a stop at a light when his foot slid out on an oil spot. $2800 in damages. YOWSER!!! Apparently any cracks in the Triumph fairing require the whole wrap-around assembly to be replaced....OUCH!!!!

I think I'll stick with my old GS.

[Anonymous]

Glenn (gcastig) suggested I write a tech article about bringing a bike back to life. It's a possibility. I certainly appreciate the vote of confidence. What do you think? Is this worth a thread of its own? Is there anyone out there who would like to collaborate on such a project? It could be both useful and fun to do.

[Anonymous]

Karl,

You already know what I think. But here's another bit of encouragement for you. Go for it. It could be hugely useful.

Even though I'm new to this site I'm quite sure there is a pretty steady flow of newbie posts that will benefit from the knowledge and help of an experienced GS'er. Even if it's not permanenly placed in our tech section by "the editiors" think of how may times you'll be able to post a link to it.

I know I personally can beneifit from much of it. I can't help you with much of the tech stuff since I'm just getting back into riding after an 18 year hiatis. But as a new 2 month long GS owner I could possibly be useful to you as I'm experiencing first hand what many people will want to know.

I can offer to assist if you'll lead.


PS...I actually joined GSR 2 months ago but somehow, all of a sudden I wasn't there anymore so I had to sign up all over again last month.

[Anonymous]

What the hell is there to disagree with, Glenn?

I'm riding my fifth GS bike since 1986. Four 850's -- two 82's, one 79, one 80, and now my GK. My collection of parts is rather extensive. Lots of items are interchangeable.

Example: My 1980 GS850 I bought in 1998 for $175. Total investment, including the gas and motel to pick it up in Toledo, turned out to be well below $1000. I rode it for two riding seasons, then parted it out. I used many parts off the 82 (carbs), and the 79 (tank and seat).

GS ownership is indeed cheap. When I hit the deer 2 and a half years ago, I rebuilt the bike with used parts to make my Hybrid GK. Total investment, including Vetter fairing/lowers, trunk, new helmet, and many other items: less than $500.

The longer one owns GS bikes, the cheaper it gets. My GK has 79,000 miles, all but 25,000 are mine. Best value for the money.

Nick