'79 GS1000E project start

[oldGSfan]

Got busy with the tank today, after 2 days drying the Spraymax 2K clear I wet sanded with 1500 then 2500, then compounded and polished with the orbital buffer. It was pretty tired looking and came out as well as I could have hoped. There are some nicks and dings here and there, and there is a big nasty area where there was a tank pad. I'm just going to throw another one on it to cover up the sins.

[tatu]

Make sure the rubber seal on the adapter plate pickup tube seals tight over the oil feed port down into the oil distribution cavity or oil won't flow properly through the system. And consider ditching the cooler entirely. It's needless plumbing which can leaks and cause pumping losses in the oiling system. A cooler is not needed unless you plan to hammer the bike in heavy traffic regularly and/or race.

What Ed says....
I see you stuck with the oil cooler, maybe a set of GS750 oil pump drive gears might help what with the extra long flow that the oil now has to travel? Many chuck these in as a matter of course I have on my S, I also had set from a drag racer lady in UK called Clair Rule she had a few sets made specially. I see also that you can get other special hi-flow gears from a couple of UK suppliers on ebay.
Those Mag Mopus tyres look exactly the same as the OEM from when these bikes were uncrated.

[oldGSfan]

That line off the takeoff just does a U turn at the moment, it's not rigged to the cooler as I am still on the fence. I trust Ed's advice, these are already low pressure systems.

Regarding the tires - indeed they are the zero mile 1982 takeoffs from my GS1100E. Green stripe and nubs (and Suzuki wheel weights) still on them, hard as a rock but not much dry rot surprisingly. They will be interesting to take off later today. Would suit a bike that sits in a museum but not much call for that I guess. It was nice to find out that the wheels are the same on the '82, as the '79 had an 18" 2.15 width swapped on it. One way to get a new rear sprocket.

What has me tempted is to throw the gold EPMs from the Turbo onto the '79, as the gold and black would be stunning. I am not sure if the discs will swap or if the better slotted ones will fit on the '79, I'll check today. I can always swap the wheels back

What Ed says....
I see you stuck with the oil cooler, maybe a set of GS750 oil pump drive gears might help what with the extra long flow that the oil now has to travel? Many chuck these in as a matter of course I have on my S, I also had set from a drag racer lady in UK called Clair Rule she had a few sets made specially. I see also that you can get other special hi-flow gears from a couple of UK suppliers on ebay.
Those Mag Mopus tyres look exactly the same as the OEM from when these bikes were uncrated.

[Rob S.]

You might try mounting the oil cooler upside down. That way, the lines just go straight up into the tank tunnel. My Z1 was like that.

[tatu]

That line off the takeoff just does a U turn at the moment, it's not rigged to the cooler as I am still on the fence. I trust Ed's advice, these are already low pressure systems.

Regarding the tires - indeed they are the zero mile 1982 takeoffs from my GS1100E. Green stripe and nubs (and Suzuki wheel weights) still on them, hard as a rock but not much dry rot surprisingly. They will be interesting to take off later today. Would suit a bike that sits in a museum but not much call for that I guess. It was nice to find out that the wheels are the same on the '82, as the '79 had an 18" 2.15 width swapped on it. One way to get a new rear sprocket.

What has me tempted is to throw the gold EPMs from the Turbo onto the '79, as the gold and black would be stunning. I am not sure if the discs will swap or if the better slotted ones will fit on the '79, I'll check today. I can always swap the wheels back

Those slotted discs have a different pattern to my ones, I don't remember but I think my ones are slightly larger in diameter than the standard '79 ones. I upgraded to the later calipers with the square type pads. Much more effective than the old round pad kind. Dan is the brake expert I'm sure he can tell you all you need to know. I didn't do his super upgrade because i wanted to keep the bike looking as original as possible.
I put the 750 pump gears in anycase, many do.

[oldGSfan]

Thanks, yeah they won't work. Nice looking bike!

Those slotted discs have a different pattern to my ones, I don't remember but I think my ones are slightly larger in diameter than the standard '79 ones. I upgraded to the later calipers with the square type pads. Much more effective than the old round pad kind. Dan is the brake expert I'm sure he can tell you all you need to know. I didn't do his super upgrade because i wanted to keep the bike looking as original as possible.
I put the 750 pump gears in anycase, many do.

[Grimly]

Fwiw, I swapped wheels to and fro between 79 and 80 850s with no problem, even when one still had the crappy 79 calipers on it.
The discs are the same size and offset. The same 275mm discs were use across a whole helluvalot of the range, with the exception being the single-disc fronts.

[oldGSfan]

Well I got the Shinko 712s mounted & balanced as I've had enough of pinching tubes and futzing with the balancing... for now. I put on the wheels and chain/guard, and chain case cover. I mounted the bodywork for a look-see and it looks good, a couple spots to dab with black along the bottom seam . Carbs off because I need to adjust the float level and check out rich condition which I suspect is the choke plunger but also the air screw setting, as the bike ran well (good idle, all in sync) but rich. the idle fuel mixture screw is nearly all the way in so I think I need to back out the air screws.

The tank polished up well but when I peeled off the old funky segmented tank pad the paint came off with it, so I found a suitable replacement which just covers the area that was peeled. So I'm pretty happy with the progress but need to sort these VM26SS carbs.

The seat cover came out well, it was off eBay for $60. I had to rivet in upholstery tack strips front and rear as several of the triangular tabs broke off.

My rebuilt Fox shocks are holding 150 lbs of air, wish I had a way to get nitrogen but if air stays inside it'll be fine.

I need to source some rear or a set of 4 turn signals, either I go with the cheap type that are on the front for $20 (for now) or splurge and get reproduction K&S ones I guess.

[Rob S.]

Shame about that tank pad. I guess the PO didn't want to scratch the paint when he laid down on the tank? Except the prevention is worse than the problem.

When my Sporty was new, I remember being concerned about scratching the tank with my leather jacket's big zipper. I quickly decided that any such marks, as long as they were made at more than 80 mph, were nothing to be ashamed of.

[oldGSfan]

Yeah I reckon so Rob it's for the zipper not to scratch when tucked in. It's not ideal, but in the end I'm OK with it, as the general character of the bike is a cleaned up runner. Plus with the tank being black it doesn't stick out like dog's ballz. The pad I found just covers the area, and is pretty low key IMO. It is a relief to not have to paint. I really detest having to paint.

Shame about that tank pad. I guess the PO didn't want to scratch the paint when he laid down on the tank? Except the prevention is worse than the problem.

When my Sporty was new, I remember being concerned about scratching the tank with my leather jacket's big zipper. I quickly decided that any such marks, as long as they were made at more than 80 mph, were nothing to be ashamed of.

[oldGSfan]

A little UJM evolution

[dorkburger]

That is simply beautiful.

[alke46]

Nice collection. I just love those '82 champagne colored Suzie's.

[oldGSfan]

Hoping to be able to this soon but my son's not too keen on riding on the back!

[grcamna2]

Tom,I like the gold wheels you have on your GS1100EZ,are they tubeless tire applicable ?
I had an 82' 1100E of the same color in the early 90's and always wanted to install new tires without tubes,but..