'82 1100 restoration

[Tenrilid]

Hello everyone. I am new to the site as well as to riding. After lots of time spent looking for an older bike to start w/ I have decided to get my dad's old '82 GS1100E back in running condition. Here's a brief history on the bike. It was an awesome bike back in the day but about 18ish years ago it got parked and never rode again. My parents didn't have the time to keep it going and it's not exactly a good family vehicle LOL. He now has an '07 bandit 1250s so he has no need to fix up the old one so I have decided to make that my first bike.

With as long as it has been sitting, I wanted to get some feedback on what types of problems to expect and what fixes may be available that I can do myself. It still has all fluids which I know will need to be flushed. I am a bit of a gear head myself so I'm not new to engines in general.

Thanks for any help I can get!

[spyug]

Welcome aboard. Nice project you have in mind. Post some pics so we can all see what your dealing with.

The depth of the project depends, of course, on your plans. some guys like myself like to do frame off refurbs i.e pulling everything off of the frame and cleaning, painting and rebuilding everything for reassembly. I am always concerned about checking and replacing safety stuff like bearings, brakes, tires etc but am not big on engine rebuilding unless absolutely essential. some guys like to do the whole hog including freshening the engine.

There are several excellent rebuilding going on at the moment with at least 3 on Katanas like mine.

If your looking to just get roadworthy and dependable I would say you need to look at the following as a minimum:

Check all bearings, head, swingarm and wheels
Dissassemble clean and rebuild front forks with fresh seals and oil.
Dissassemble, clean and rebuild all brake components including claipers and master cylinders. Replace old original hoses.
Replace tires.
Check wiring for corroded connectors and or broken or missing insulation cleanup and or replace.
Charging is a known issue and is more than well covered in the Stator Pages on the main page of this site.
Dirty and gummed up carbs and split o-rings are another known issue so read over the carb cleaning and rebuild tutorial as you will need to do this too

Bike Cliff will be along shortly with the mega-welcome including a host more info and reference to his excellent site chock full of tutorials. Read through it all.

There is much more you can do so read what others have done and are doing and find what fits your plans.

Enjoy, it can be lots of fun and keep us informed of your progress.

Good luck.
Spyug

[rapidray]

I specialize in 16 valve 1100s & 1150s &, if you want, you can give me a call & I will help you with whatever I can. My # is 714-356-7845 & you can call even if you just have questions or need help with locating parts or whatever. Welcome to the site, Ray.