August 2026 Bike Of The Month
1983 Suzuki GS850G
Owner: Roger Brooks
aboveboard214@gmail.com
ID #440
A Note From The Owner...
10 years ago, during a trip From Albuquerque, NM to Denver, CO. I happened upon this 850 for sale. It was a week before my birthday so we decided it was a justified purchase. The owner was asking a fair price, I thought, for a running bike this old in such great condition. We had to wait until the following weekend to pick it up though. That whole week I was giddy with excitement. I had wanted another 850 since selling mine in 1992, but family kids, work etc. basically life happened.
It was advertised as road ready, needs nothing. On arrival, after an 8 hour drive to Denver, I discovered it had a dead battery, had 25 year old tires, all rubber bits were deteriorated and it only ran on three cylinders. But at least it ran. We negotiated the prics a bit and loaded it up to head back to Albuquerque.
Other than brake lines, seals, O-rings, boots, gaskets, and maintenance stuff, I haven't changed things too much as I love the original look. Mods are pretty minimal really like swapping the reg/ rec for a more reliable SH775, Sonic fork springs and Progressive rear shocks. I did do an ignition relay mod which made a huge difference with cold starts. I've added a tail rack with brackets to hold period correct Vetter side cases. It had a WindJammer fairing on it when I bought it. With that fairing, bags and a tail trunk, it was setup very nicely for long trips. I've made several trips to Southern CA., Vegas, Phoenix, and passed through seven other states on the way to and from Bedford IN. The only time I didn't make it where I was going was when the original R/R gave up and roasted the stator, otherwise I've had 40k trouble free miles.