My 1982 GS450L Restoration

[Guest]

Picked up an 82 450L two weeks ago. It runs, but needs work. Hopefully nothing a tune up won't fix, but I'll find out eventually. It's mostly complete. Pretty everything that can rust has, but it appears to be mostly surface rust- nothing a little elbow grease can't fix.

[boingk]

Good stuff mate, the guys'll be here in a sec to welcome you. No doubt you know you're in for carby cleaning, oil and brake fluid changes and new filters. Oh, and valve clearances, too

Once you're started with a known good state of service it'll make finding any future problems much easier.

Cheers, and welcome to The GS Resources!

[pete]

Hey mate, good to see another 450 coming to life!

We need pic's though

[Outofmymind]

Well, here's what he looks like now. Still need to remove the forks and swingarm.

Well, as it turns out the biggest issue with the rebuild isn't funds or parts- it's time. I'd conveniently forgotten that the last time I had done this much work to a bike I used a week of vacation to do so. Well, I'm in no hurry, and this gives me something to look forward to while I'm plugging away at work.

[Big Rich]

That "elbow grease" turned into some major sweating pretty quick!

Good to see another 450 around. Any plans for upgrades while you have it apart? Or just restoring it to stock?

[Outofmymind]

Restoring it to stock. The only change I'm planning on is changing the handlebars. I found the position of the original to be uncomfortable while riding.

[Outofmymind]

Well, finally getting back in to the swing of things after work's kept me away. Was able to get a lot done this weekend. Finally put the engine back in. And just for kicks, I threw the rest of the pieces together, to get an idea of what it's going to look like when it's done. The new shocks should arrive later this week. Looking forward to getting them on.

[pete]

That's not lookin' bad at all! Should turn out very neat...

[Outofmymind]

Well, just about done. Still waiting on the decals. The only real thing I have left to do is some of the wiring. Can't seem to find the pictures I took of how it went together, so I'm doing the tedious task of comparing everything to the wiring diagram. Can't wait until it's finished and I can take it for a spin!

[Charmayne]

welcome to the form.
Nice bike.