1980 GS1000L ups and downs.

[Ricardomontoban]

So I have my GS for a number of years now (going on 6 years), and finally got it running in November of 2016. After putting as much elbow grease in as I could, I gave up and brought it to a local mechanic. The reason it wasn't firing up was because they guy I bought it from had messed with the timing chain. This is my first real bike and I did everything except check that. Well $500 later and a very frustrated mechanic, he was certain I screwed up the timing and didn't tell him, I rode it as much as I could. My steed is below.




I rode as much as I could, it was a warm winter here in the Northeast that year.




I even rode up to Bear Mountain in December of 2016. It was on old dry rotted tires, one was over inflated and the other was under inflated. I checked my pressure after arriving back home . I learned my lesson after that about pre-ride safety checks. I soon purchased some new Shinko tires and mounted them myself.



Before putting the new rubber on I decided I'd spray paint the rims a semi-gloss matte color. I spent two days washing, priming and painting the rims, only to have all the paint fall off like talcom powder, I wasn't close enough for the paint to adhere.

I spent the rest of the year riding as much as I could, when the mrs. would let me get out.

The bike stayed primer red the whole time I was riding, people would say, oh it looks great, then I'd tell them it was primer and they'd be like, "oh." I just couldn't bring myself to stop riding long enough to paint it.

The last thing I did before winter arrived was purchase a set of Hagon shocks from Dave Quinn Cycles, money well spent. Highway riding in Northern NJ and NYC was a little hair raising before I made the upgrade. Since then it's just as scary, but way more comfortable.


Out with the old in with the new.

I'm going to attempt to keep a running list of what I've done/ am doing to the bike, just so I have somewhere to go back and reference what changes I've made.

[Ricardomontoban]

The last change I did to my bike was painting the gas tank from a primer red, to a light blue color. I rattle canned it, but took my time, I think the results are pretty decent.


First coat after primer.



Taped up.


Final color going on.


All done.

The problem I'm having now is the damn thing won't start. It went from having a blown headlight, which I now think was the fuse, but I switched to an LED unit, to not starting at all; even with a standard H4 bulb. I've taken apart my turn signal control switch multiple times, I suspect this is the culprit, but have had no luck. I took it apart again this morning to try and clean everything one last time before I try and order a new control switch (aftermarket).
Once I get my turn signals working again I plan on making some new side covers. The left side cover keeps cracking no matter how much I plasti weld it. I'm going to try and make a mold from the existing covers and work from there. My main priority is getting this bad boy running again.

[Ricardomontoban]

After doing some research I was able to locate some threads about re-assembling the left hand controls:

https://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?220770-Turn-Signal-Switch-Lubrication&highlight=left+hand+control

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?185729-Four-way-switch-reassembly-Is-this-correct&highlight=Left+switch

These are very helpful for seeing how everything goes back together. I have never come across the ball bearing everyone seems to have in their switch assemblies, but my switches have always worked.

After going through the entire electrical system one night; disconnecting and reconnecting every wire from headlight to the tail light, I found the loose connection. It was under the gas tank, I took a photo to cross reference with the wiring diagram.



After reconnecting the loose wire the headlight came right back on. I then plugged in the LED and it also worked. The switch is definitely on its last legs, but I working for now. I plan on getting something aftermarket with a optional on/off switch for the headlight. Once the bike was running I hopped on and rode as much as I could.



My next projects will be finding a solution for the side covers, cleaning air box, and making some mounts for the grab bar I bought from eBay. The description said gs1000L but it’s definitely for a 650; the mounts aren’t correct. I’m hoping to do that this weekend. I’d also like to do something about the seat before the end of this year.

The only other other thing I did today was change the fuel filter I put between the tank and the carbs. It was plenty dirty:


Hopefully this helped with keeping the carbs cleaner. I will say that when I’ve been stuck idling in the tunnel on the way to NYC I think the filter might create some evaporation issues with fuel,I find myself having to blip the throttle every now and then. In the end it’s totally worth it to have the extra insurance of a inexpensive second fuel filter, then the slight issue of gridlock traffic, which I’ll overheat in anyway.