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    GS1100 winter project

    Hi everyone. This is going to be the build document on my 1982 GS1100G. I'm not really a bike guy, I've had a few when I was a teenager, but I was just a rider of them then, so it's unfamiliar territory for me.

    What really got my wheels turning on this was Daryl's CB750 on The Walking Dead lol. It just kind of struck me that a bike made perfect sense, since it could get around traffic snarls, etc. Then, my wife reads cheesy zombie books pretty voraciously, and a common theme in them is that an EMP is used, either to stop people from being mobile, or as an attack. So I though, well, points would solve that.

    So anyway, the idea rattled around in my head for awhile, I have lots of imaginary builds in my head lol. Then I was perusing the Facebook Marketplace and came across a GS1100G that had seen better days for sure, only 250 bucks though.

    My comfort level with these wasn't really high enough to dive in, for all I knew it was a parts bike, (it may be still lol), so I saved it and moved on.

    I was into a shaft drive though, and after a few CB's fell through, I contacted the kid, asked what he could tell me about the bike. He told me he had been riding it, some stuff was broken, some stuff was missing, his dad basically wanted it gone lol.

    So I headed over there with the dog and sure enough, it fired right up on the charger. It started and ran, and moved, and for me, that was good enough for 250 bucks. So money and titles changed hands.



    I've since gotten it home and gone over it, it has a busted shock mount, the front forks are smoked, I believe the regulator is bad, it's charging a little higher than seems normal, at 15.2v at idle, rear brakes are non-functional, front brakes are marginal, dash is smashed, and rear swingarm doesn't move at all.

    This weekend I plan to strip the tank, dash, wiring and start on cleaning up the frame, it's got a lot of surface rust and poop.

    The goal is a minimalist build, I don't know that I would call it a Cafe Racer or Bobber or whatever, but I'm not intending to put anything on it it doesn't need, so I'll probably re-wire it to be simpler, headlight and tailight only. I intend to do the regulator upgrade, rebuild the front forks, possibly replace the rears, or rebuild them.

    My goal is to have this done for 1,000 total, so I can then turn my attention to a bike for my wife so we can ride together.

    Anyway, thansk for reading my little book, and I'll see you guy's around.
    Attached Files

    #2
    Looking forward to your updates. Somewhat of a similar story for me...rode a lot in my teenage years, then life got in the way. Now that I’m an empty nester (and have always been a motorhead), decided I needed something to wrench on. Long story, but pulled the trigger on an ‘’80 GS1100L(T) (didn’t know that was the only year they made that model). I am just nursing it back to near perfect running condition. Won’t be modifying anything. Just wanted something to tinker on (and I got my money’s worth with that, having a starter clutch/crank nut issue from day 2 onward, and a crappy charging system...eventually remedied with a great Compufire R/R. Learning a lot...e.g. had never crimped a wire connection in my life until now LOL!
    Again...looking forward to seeing how she turns out.
    Steedracer
    Brentwood, TN

    1980 GS1100LT......
    1974 Yamaha DT360 Enduro
    1975 Kawasaki KE125
    1973 Kawasaki G4TR
    1967 Honda Cub 50

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Steedracer View Post
      Looking forward to your updates. Somewhat of a similar story for me...rode a lot in my teenage years, then life got in the way. Now that I’m an empty nester (and have always been a motorhead), decided I needed something to wrench on. Long story, but pulled the trigger on an ‘’80 GS1100L(T) (didn’t know that was the only year they made that model). I am just nursing it back to near perfect running condition. Won’t be modifying anything. Just wanted something to tinker on (and I got my money’s worth with that, having a starter clutch/crank nut issue from day 2 onward, and a crappy charging system...eventually remedied with a great Compufire R/R. Learning a lot...e.g. had never crimped a wire connection in my life until now LOL!
      Again...looking forward to seeing how she turns out.
      Building is fun! And bikes seem alot cheaper than turbo charged trucks lol.

      I started today on building a stand for it, bought the wrong screws couldn't build it, got depressed, gave up for the day and left it on sketchy jackstands lol.

      1 by Marvin Gunn, on Flickr

      2 by Marvin Gunn, on Flickr

      Comment


        #4
        Today I managed to get my temporary stand made out of a furniture dolly and some 2 x 4's, it's good enough for now, I'll work on it some more at a later date.

        20181104_181505 by Marvin Gunn, on Flickr

        20181104_183833 by Marvin Gunn, on Flickr

        20181104_185727 by Marvin Gunn, on Flickr

        Comment


          #5
          Interesting that you're the second one here in the last year to do a Walking Dead inspired build...
          Good luck and enjoy.
          sigpic
          When consulting the magic 8 ball for advice, one must first ask it "will your answers be accurate?"

          Glen
          -85 1150 es - Plus size supermodel.
          -Rusty old scooter.
          Other things I like to photograph.....instagram.com/gs_junkie
          https://www.instagram.com/glen_brenner/
          https://www.flickr.com/photos/152267...7713345317771/

          Comment


            #6
            Wow! Good luck...not to be discouraging but that's a "Whole Lotta Love" your bike needs.


            Ed
            GS750TZ V&H/4-1, Progressive Shocks, Rebuilt MC/braided line, Tarozzi Stabilizer[Seq#2312]
            GS750TZ Parts Bike [Seq#6036]
            GSX-R750Y (Sold)

            my opinion shouldn't be taken as gospel or in any way that would lead you to believe otherwise (30Sep2021)

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by GSXR7ED View Post
              Wow! Good luck...not to be discouraging but that's a "Whole Lotta Love" your bike needs.


              Ed
              True, but I don't feel even a little bit bad about chopping it up or gutting it lol. If it were complete, I probably wouldn't want it.

              Comment


                #8
                My videos run a little behind my actual progress, it's stripped of the harness and carbs now, tomorrow I intend to pull the engine and tear it down to the bare frame for powdercoat.

                Be sure to check us out on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at The Driveway Engineer. For your Suzuki GS needs, check out www.thegsresources.com

                Comment


                  #9
                  Seat, shocks, shock mounts, frame hoop, and fork seals ordered and inbound. Probably hold off on the fork rebuild until I have my frame mods done.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Today I got the old busted shock mount, and the other side as well, cut the frame for the initial chop, and started removing obsolete brackets.

                    1 by Marvin Gunn, on Flickr

                    3 by Marvin Gunn, on Flickr

                    2 by Marvin Gunn, on Flickr

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Trimmed some more brackets off, ground some more frame, seat came in today, got that mocked up for now at least. Going to need a new tank, so I'm holding off on anything permanent until I get a new one.

                      20181114_202714 by Marvin Gunn, on Flickr

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I feel like L bikes are made for this.
                        I build Pipers

                        https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4842/...b592dc4d_m.jpg

                        Comment


                          #13
                          This EMP problem wont be solved with this bike nor would the 750 Nighthawk like the Walking Dead bike, since neither come stock with a point system. You will need to get a pre 80s point plate, points, rotor and coil system. I think they will bolt up, but don't hold me to that as I don't think I've seen anyone here go that route. It's usually someone that is converting the pre 80s bikes to an electronic ignition. Seach threads where that is happening and see if they will part with there old system, most get thrown away.
                          :cool:GSRick
                          No God, no peace. Know God, know peace.

                          Eric Bang RIP 9/5/2018
                          Have some bikes ready for us when we meet up.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by gsrick View Post
                            This EMP problem wont be solved with this bike nor would the 750 Nighthawk like the Walking Dead bike, since neither come stock with a point system. You will need to get a pre 80s point plate, points, rotor and coil system. I think they will bolt up, but don't hold me to that as I don't think I've seen anyone here go that route. It's usually someone that is converting the pre 80s bikes to an electronic ignition. Seach threads where that is happening and see if they will part with there old system, most get thrown away.
                            Yeah, i figured that out when looking at it. According to Dynatek, the GS750 setup will fit it, since it has no mechanical advancer or anything in it mechanical at all. Kind of dissappointing, but live and learn. There's quite a bit of debate over whether ignition systems would be susceptible to EMP or not anyway, all the studies are sketchy.

                            At any rate, I'm not in any serious way attempting to prepare for a zombie apocalypse anyway, just having fun building my first motorcycle.

                            Parts are starting to come in, got my shocks today, so I can make some progress fitting things up and getting all the brackets where I need them before pulling the engine.

                            I also got my stand video completed, it's not pretty, but it was cheap,

                            Building a rolling stand to facilitate the tracker build over the winter. Basically, laying the groundwork for what's to come. Made out of wood and cheap parts.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              They will bolt up, i put the electric pickup from an 81? 1000g on a 79 850 to get it to start once
                              I build Pipers

                              https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4842/...b592dc4d_m.jpg

                              Comment

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