1979 GS1000 Rebuild

[Guest]

Hi all! I have recently purchased a 79 GS1000 to rebuild and use as a weekend toy.

So the background on it: I purchased it from a guy who meant to repair it, but didn't. You all know the story. I picked it up for a great deal of $300 with a clean title.Basically it had been abused, left outside at some point, modified and overall just forgotten about. I plan on making a few slight modifications to it, but mainly keeping it with the original look. Below is a picture of when I picked it up. I plan on stripping it down to bare frame, then rebuilding over the next few weeks.

https://www.flickr.com/cameraroll

[Nessism]

Looks like a fun project. Please post up your photos to a 3rd party hosting site like flickr and then link the img code so your photos will show up here in high resolution! We love photos here!

Good luck

[cmerck]

Alright will do! Thanks

[steve murdoch]

Welcome to the site, cmerk.
"stripping it down and then rebuilding in the next few weeks"???
It can take me a few weeks just to find all my tools.

[cmerck]

Haha thank you! Yes I hope to have it down to frame in a few weeks. I don't think I will start the building process for a while haha.

[cmerck]

I made a good amount of progress the past few days. The big things I accomplished were taking off the wiring harness and engine. That is a huge engine by the way. I plan on cleaning on painting everything, so the next few days will be big for the project. I'll add some pictures

https://www.flickr.com/photos/156078375@N08/?

[Big T]

https://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?248066-Blue-78-1000C-project

I'm posting Chuck's rebuild as a guide for you. You have a slightly different model, a GS 1000 L

[Nessism]

If you post up the BB Code the photo will show up like this...

IMG_20180314_195305 by Cole Merck, on Flickr

[cmerck]

Ahhhh thank you Big T and Ed. I appreciate the help. I have a ton more pictures I will put up tonight. I managed to get the bike down to the frame. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to clean it and begin sanding it.

This leads me to a part that I am not all that good at. The Engine. This engine has a little over 18 thousand miles on it. Before I put it back on the bike I would like to check everything over and clean it up nice. I will honestly say I have never worked on the inside of an engine. So now I will ask you all what all I should do? Thank you!

[chuck hahn]

Its out of the bike and has sat a while. If it was me, the cylinders would come off and a light run with a 320 grit ball hone to deglaze the liners, and since it open, new rin gs arent that expensive in the big picture. New valve stem seals and a good valve lapping job at a minimum to refresh the head is in order also.

One of the 1000 Manuals here should be the right one..as I dont know what model your 1000 is. Anyways just follow the manual and ask questions if your unsure of what something means.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

[cmerck]

IMG_20180316_192432 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180316_183517 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180316_191306 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180316_195739 by Cole Merck, on Flickr

[cmerck]

Thanks Chuck Hahn! As far as lapping the valves go, are there specialized machines that I would need for that?

Secondly, I have discovered that my exhaust pipes has been fully rusted through in several areas. They will for sure need to be replaced. Any advice on good setups for these bikes? I am also debating on replacing my rear shocks without a better setup, so any suggestions there would be appreciated. Sadly this bike has a ton of evidence of it being neglected. Today I found a snake skin attached to the frame......

[chuck hahn]

yes... a suction cup ended stick and valve lapping paste. use as fine a grit as you can and you can hear the smoothness when they are cut in.

https://mobiledistributorsupply.com/valve-lapper-1.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw1q3VBRCFARIsAPHJXrHCxP7T2WyAO1Mg3fv1cBQQe4syTOZm9lvsEGj8SwKfoLaYpMv_-o8aAttsEALw_wcB#

[cmerck]

Awesome, thank you very much!

[chuck hahn]

here.

https://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?250657-valve-lapping-process&p=2457458#top