I need opinions.

[pitbullmccoy]

I've had my gs1k for a couple of months now and it seems like I've been wrenching more than riding. Money has been tight so I've had to fix as i go for as cheap as possible. Luckily I'm coming into a little money and can do some real work and upgrade. I would like to get lots of opinions on the best bang for my buck. My limit is $1000 but less is better. What I know for sure, I will adjust valves new manifold boots and overhaul carbs completely (it runs too rich). Want to rebuild clutch but not necessity at this point. My biggest concern is the electrical system. Hopefully build my own wiring harness and do away with the 30 year old electronics. Maybe just stuff from a newer model zuki or Honda?

My bike is my daily driver. Reliability is my concern over performance. If it doesn't crank I have to take the car and leave the wife and baby home with nothing (which has happened a lot since I sold my truck and bought this bike). Any and all opinions are welcome. What would you spend the money on?

p.s. it already has Dyna S ignition but that's it for electrical upgrades.

Posted here because its more about upgrading rather than just an electrical question. If money is left over I will keep going. New shocks, springs, etc.

[kparkfan]

I would start with the valves and a good carb soak with new o-rings and replace the manifold boots if they need it. Then check all your electrical connections for corrosion and get those cleaned up..

[pitbullmccoy]

Yes sir. I'm ordering all my parts today and hope to get started on valves and carbs next week.

And also my Dyna S is the module only. Coils and other stuff is still stock.

[azr]

No need to put in a new wiring harness. Although someone on here did have one for sale a while ago. Just go through every single connector and clean them properly with Deoxit or something similar, lots of threads on here about cleaning connections. If your original coils are still working properly you don't need to replace them, you can just put in new leads and caps. The old wires come out with a bit of work. Do the coil mod that is described in Cliffs site. Spend some money on new brake lines if it hasn't all ready been done. Rebuild your carbs and get new intake and airbox boots if yours are not nice and soft. Replace the old rectifier and regulator with a Honda Reg/Rec combo, much more durable, if it hasn't already been done. Buy a new Stator to either put in or have on hand for when yours goes, if it hasn't already been replaced. Really if you do those things your bike is going to be pretty reliable. But really, working more than riding is pretty typical on these old bikes till you get a number of things done on them. Cliff has a list of 'what to do first' on his site as well as Ed "Nessism" has a pretty good list on his signature. Pretty durable bikes when they're taken care of. Just got back from a two week trip, two up with full camping gear, on my 78 1000.

[pitbullmccoy]

azr, the reason I was thinking of replacing the harness a)30 year old wires make me a little nervous b) the PO "fixed" some wiring issues. I've already had 2 shorts that were obviously his fault. I have to go completely through it anyway, I thought I might just buy some wire and duplicate. I watched the one for sale and it got sold right before i got the money to buy it.I had no idea the leads would come out of the coils. Thanks for that. I just bought a set of cbr coils cheap off eBay. Bike builder friend of mine said I could make them work. My coils work but the #1 lead has been cut too short. I will look at cliff's site shortly. I do have brand new k&n pods. They came on the bike but two were cracked badly and I bought a new set. I was about to buy a Honda r\r but my starter took a dump on me and I got distracted. Gonna take it out and clean it but if that doesn't work know where to get a good rebuild kit? EBay has them for $25 but I'm kinda Leary.

[sedelen]

I've had my gs1k for a couple of months now and it seems like I've been wrenching more than riding.

Why should you be any different that the rest of us?
30 plus year old bike will have it's share of issues, unless you got lucky and got it from an individual capable of and doing the frequent maintenance they require over time.
Your just going to have to go through it and see where it needs attention.
I'd start with the basic maintenance and get that all taken care and try to keep the costs down as best you can, replacing what has to be replaced, and keep the rest of the dough for the upgrades once you get the bike roadworthy.
As far as the wiring harness. Unless it is a complete botch job with upteen zillion splices, just go through it and clean all the connections, ohms check for resistance and shorts.
A new wiring harness is no longer available through Suzuki, that means E-bay, or elsewhere, I did see one pop up recently $100 it went for.