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    What's next for this old girl...

    I couldn't decide if I should post here or in general discussion. Anyway, Here's the story. I am the very proud owner of an 81 GS110EX. Some of you may recognize my name from previous posts as I've been a member for a while. I love this site and have gotten addicted to it and old Suzukis in general- just can't get enough! All summer long my ride has been in sick bay with a good friend at the helm. I have no garage, live in an apartment building, and just don't have a place to rip apart the bike and give it the royal treatment. This guy said he would do whatever I wanted for $15 / hr., so I took him up on it. It has about 34k miles on it and was given to me by my best friend. He bought it with around 20k on the clock, never really did any maintenence on it, and then gave it to me when he bought a brand new bike (about 6k miles after he got it). He and I both thought the Suzuki would crap out soon, but it never did. This is why I never did any work on it. Every springtime I would simply drop the battery back in and she would fire right up. I became more and more fond of this bike every time I went for a ride. This year I discovered this web site and the rest is history. I am now in the middle of a very badly needed facelift. Here is what I have done so far:

    1. The head was getting very noisy- Dan (my repair guy- I trust him, we go drinking together) pulled it apart and said it was trashed. I put the word in on this site and the next day Terry Conant had a nice replacement in the mail. Dan mounted it up. Got a gasket kit from a member- oh yeah, the head leaked like a sieve.

    2. The bike hadn't had a carb cleaning in years and was loseing power. Dan pulled 'em apart and de-funkified them.

    3. Clutch was slipping- repalced it.

    4. Bike had been layed down once by my drunk best friend. Aint he a peach? God love him. Stator cover had hole in it that was filled with high temp epoxy. Another member here sold me a nice new one.

    5. Oil drain plug stripped (from aforementioned drunk buddy). Helicoiled it.

    6. Replaced sprockets ft and rear, and am waiting for a chain (can you believe it? all this and now it's the chain the parts store can't get? Well, it's all the best stuff).

    I have bought the entire body from a guy I found off e-bay. All extremely good condition and in my original color. Even the seat, and it's like new. much better than my rotted old duct tape seat. I've taken the pan from that old piece of trash and mounted a sweet double bucket Travelcade cover on it for when the wife wants to come along. When the chain comes in (should be in the next day or two) I will take the bike back from Dan, and mount the body myself. That will be the fun part, because these parts are so new, and the ones are compleate junk! It will look like a new bike.

    Finally the question! As you can see (those of you who would read such a long post) I have invested quite a sum into this bike. I love that machine! The tally so far will be around $1200.00 and I am not afraid to go further if I have to. Does anyone have suggestions as to what else I should do to ensure I am riding this bike for years to come?
    Currently bikeless
    '81 GS 1100EX - "Peace, by superior fire power."
    '06 FZ1000 - "What we are dealing with here, is a COMPLETE lack of respect for the law."

    I ride, therefore I am.... constantly buying new tires.

    "Tell me what kind of an accident you are going to have, and I will tell you which helmet to wear." - Harry Hurt

    #2
    I didn't notice you saying anything about changing the oil. That might be a good start.

    It probobly wouldn't hurt you to clean any electrical contacts either.

    Comment


      #3
      Yeah, oil has been changed and I will have to change it about 500 miles after I get it back. I forgot to mention that Dan has repacked all the bearing assy.- wheels, swingarm and steering head. We also made sure the fork seals were good- they are ok. I am going to do a brake overhaul in the next month or so. What kind of job is the electrical point cleaning? Also, I think I will change the fork oil (even though the seals are good). What does that entail- do I need to take the forks off to dump the oil out? Will that require I change the seals?
      Currently bikeless
      '81 GS 1100EX - "Peace, by superior fire power."
      '06 FZ1000 - "What we are dealing with here, is a COMPLETE lack of respect for the law."

      I ride, therefore I am.... constantly buying new tires.

      "Tell me what kind of an accident you are going to have, and I will tell you which helmet to wear." - Harry Hurt

      Comment


        #4
        Some of the things I replaced on my bike when I got it (was in storage for 20 years) were all cables, brake pads, oil filter, brake lines, wiring harness as needed, battery, regulator/rectifier (with electrex), replaced sealed beam with halogen headlight, new turn signals, new tires, new handlebars (old ones rusted), new switches, new mirrors, and grips. Tank was cleaned, inline fuel filter installed, carbs cleaned, jets replaced. Intake boots replaced, fuel petcock replaced (pingel), spark plug boots replaced, new coils, new air filter, new fuel hoses/lines. Pipes and mufflers removed and polished. Never seize applied to head pipe bolts, valves checked, timing checked, carbs balanced and adjusted and the engine cases polished. Also disassembled the clutch adjuster, cleaned and lubed it. Replaced chain and sprockets, checked wheel bearings and steering stem bearings. Changed oil in fork tubes. That oughta keep ya busy for a couple evenings. :-) :-)

        Earl
        Komorebi-The light filtering through the trees.

        I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion. H.D.T.

        Comment


          #5
          Yeah, thats a full plate. Sorry I asked. Just kidding.
          Currently bikeless
          '81 GS 1100EX - "Peace, by superior fire power."
          '06 FZ1000 - "What we are dealing with here, is a COMPLETE lack of respect for the law."

          I ride, therefore I am.... constantly buying new tires.

          "Tell me what kind of an accident you are going to have, and I will tell you which helmet to wear." - Harry Hurt

          Comment


            #6
            One thing you may consider of doing (you ole maintenance addict ) is replacing fork-oil. I have done this recently because I had no clue when this was done. For all I know, the original stuff was still in there. After I replaced the goo with desent oil, I had a new bike !!! At least, thats how it felt.

            Its only a small job, takes about 2 hours max, and won't hurt to check up on springs and brakes. On my GS750 the manual said to remove all the plastic decorations (fairing) and take out the whole darn fork. I didn't do this and just dismantled a miniumum of parts. It worked fine! (and now I am considering applying as Tech Author at Suzuki)

            Good luck!

            Comment

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