1979 GS1000 Rebuild

[cmerck]

Awesome, thanks a ton! I was just reading through your 1000C build. That is a very impressive bike! I can only hope my turns out half as good.

Another item I am debating on is the air box/pods debate. I personally prefer the air box look, but the bike had pods on it when I got it. I do plan on rebuilding the carbs to factory settings though. (already trashed the old pod filters)

[chuck hahn]

be sure to verify the jet sizes to go back to stock. Think its 95 main and 15 pilots....but see a parts fiche to be certain.

[cmerck]

I have made a large amount of progress over the past few days. I successfully stripped, and sanded the frame. I repainted the frame and finished the painting process, painted the swing arm, battery box, center stand, tripple tree and a few other parts I'm forgetting. The chrome on some of the parts was in rough shape so I cleaned it up the best I could. I've now began the process of cleaning and fixing the wheels up to my standards. The paint on my wheels is in rough shape, so I believe I will be painting them black, as I am going for a black and chrome look with the bike. I replaced the internals on my front forks and cleaned them up nicely. I'll post some pictures up tonight.

On to a few more questions: I would like to use a different set of shocks on this bike as the stock ones are pretty rough. Any recommendations? Next I would like to paint my brake calipers as they are rough. I've never painted calipers before, any good tips on that?

[Big T]

There is a lot of shock talk in the suspension forum

Calipers - there is caliper paint that is more brake fluid resistant. Check your local auto parts store. Lots of masking before paint

[cmerck]

Thanks Big T! I have successfully cleaned, painted and rebuilt the calipers, seat lock, and several other small parts. I still haven't decided on what shocks I will go with on the rear. My stock shocks cleaned up decently, but not to my standard. I will continue to research that, but for the time being, I have to figure out what to do to replace the pegs that the shocks mount on at the top of the rear of the frame. I saw in Chuck Hahn's build that he cut them out and then replaced and welded a replacement in from another bike. But my issue is that I currently don't have the ability to weld where I am. I do have the ability to cut though, so I have considered cutting the pegs out and replacing with a certain type of nut and bolt that will accommodate the shocks, etc. Today I plan to start working on the wiring harness, which is in a total mess. The previous owner had cut several places and there are some bad connections from previous tampering. I finally have been able to upload some pictures, which will follow this post.

[cmerck]

IMG_20180317_120809 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180318_164724 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180322_191002 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180321_184942 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180319_200406 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180319_200404 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180322_191010 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180319_200353 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180318_164730 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180317_095029 by Cole Merck, on Flickr

[Sam 78 GS750]

I went to your flickr page you linked to in one of the earlier posts... I started with the first pic and went through. Took a minute before I realized that the first pic was the latest. It made it seem like you were taking nice looking parts, stripping them down and then refinishing them to make them look crappy lol.

Looking good so far. Have you gotten into the engine at all? I'd suggest rebuilding the engine, reassembling, and then painting the whole shebang like Chuck did. I painted the individual engine components and then reassembled. Came out great, but then I saw Chuck's thread and was like "Ohhhhh....That looks much easier."

[chuck hahn]

Not only is it easier painting after full reassembly, you don't get as much grease and oil on things as you wrench.

[cmerck]

Don't worry, I haven't disappeared! I have been crazy busy the past few weeks and haven't touched the bike. Today that should change as I am preparing to work on the rear end of the bike. My new shocks came in and I have all new wheel components.

[cmerck]

Hi all! As I write this I am uploading some new pictures of the progress that I have made on the bike. I have put the brake systems back together, installed the new rear shocks after drilling out and replacing the old studs that held the stock shocks in place. My next step is to work on the wiring harness. I will admit that wiring is not my strong point. The bad news is that several of the wires have been cut on this wiring harness from the previous owner. I will be repairing all of that as I go along. Does anyone have a good link to a schematic for the wiring harness?

[cmerck]

IMG_20180415_200902 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180428_155702 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180415_182312 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180428_155707 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180428_155651 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180428_155733 by Cole Merck, on Flickr
IMG_20180428_165330 by Cole Merck, on Flickr

[Big T]

Nice progress

You haven't downloaded a factory service manual from BassCliff's site?

[cmerck]

Thanks BigT. So far I haven't downloaded one yet. I've been using a old paper copy the PO had. Unfortunately it's missing the electrical sections.

[cmerck]

So I have been stuck on 2 issues for the past few weeks. The first being a broken exhaust stud that I cant get out. I want to fix that before I remount the engine on the bike. The other is that my wiring harness is very confusing and has been molested by the PO. I am afraid I need to replace it, as I have not been able to figure out most of the wiring harness connections. Any suggestions?

[Nessism]

Harbor Freight sells a cheap LH drill bit set. Start with one of the smaller bits and work up, trying to stay centered in the old bolt. Work the bit sideways as needed to stay centered. As you get up to the larger sizes the old bolt will be a shell and it usually spins out when drilling.

The harness part isn't that hard as long as you have a place to spread it out. Suzuki dedicates certain colors to certain circuits so figuring out where you are on the harness as compared to the diagram isn't hard.