New to me GS1000G

[JTGS850GL]

As I said in an earlier thread, here is the newest addition to my stable. It's a 1980 GS1000G in exactly the condition I purchased it in. Final purchase price was $400 plus about $40 in gas and carrier rental. It came with no battery, a bucket of brake parts, some Suzuki badged leather saddle bags and the Vetter fairing.

Now for the pics:


Oil cooler with questionable hose routing:


I think it's the stock exhaust. Seems to be in decent shape:


Obviously some wear on the seats:






Odometer shows 21941 miles:


Paint sure does leave room for improvement but the tank seems to be in good condition. Not too much rust when I looked inside:


Everything on the front brakes are in a bucket in pieces except the hoses. Front fork seals are shot with no fluid in them and very weak springs. The Vetter fairing doesn't help matters:


Already ordered the carb O-rings anticipating the future carb rebuild. New battery is installed and charged so I can track down any electrical issues.
Well, That's where I am as of now. The plan is to get the engine running and see if there are any issues with it or the trans. From there I'll decide on what direction I go in.

[Dogma]

That's nicer than the one I got for $400, and I had to trailer it home from MI. Nice find. The exhaust does appear to be correct and in good shape. The engraving near the outlet will confirm for sure whether it is correct to the bike (or properly for an 850G, which has smaller tubing and clamps at the head).

Based on my experience, you won't need that oil cooler unless you're on the track or climbing mountains all day. The only time I ever thought about a cooler was the day I was playing on a certain mountain on the border of VA and WV.

Since the front brakes are off, you have an opportunity to apply the fabulous twin pot brake upgrade and have 2-finger braking in any circumstance. Yum!

[Guest]

Subscribed!! I just love these G's.

[tkent02]

Since the front brakes are off, you have an opportunity to apply the fabulous twin pot brake upgrade and have 2-finger braking in any circumstance. Yum!

+1, excellent upgrade. Great deal on a great bike too.

[JTGS850GL]

First problem found: It seems like the starter disconnect switch has issues. The starter wont turn over unless the clutch is engauged. If I pull in the clutch lever the starter will stop turning. Kind of backwards. I'm betting it's a problem with the alignment of the switch at the clutch lever. Has anyone else seen this issue?

[tkent02]

I think if you use the brake switch on the clutch, and mount it in the normal way, it works backwards. Can't remember for sure, I have just been bypassing them inside the headlight since the clutch switches came out in 1980.

[eil]

Lots of options on the clutch switch: You can clean/adjust it, bypass it in the headlight bucket, or order a new one for a few dollars.

Two bikes now, that officially makes you a GS addict. Looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this one.

[Flyboy]

Another 1000G, following along for sure.

[SVSooke]

Good deal for sure,kind of looking for something like that here.

[GSX1000E]

One heck of a great deal with that little mileage showing. It is barely broken in by GS standards.

[Dogma]

I think if you use the brake switch on the clutch, and mount it in the normal way, it works backwards. Can't remember for sure, I have just been bypassing them inside the headlight since the clutch switches came out in 1980.

+1 to that. Not that having a clutch safety interlock isn't an arguably good idea (I go without also). The sliding contact switches are a little fragile, and a little finicky. I don't like to trust it on the brake (I think my 850 still has one), and I know I wouldn't want to deal with it on the clutch. Both my GSs have it disabled in the headlight bucket. Instead, I've developed the habit of both brakes engaged when I start the bike. I don't think I've ever accidentally tried to start the bike in gear with the clutch out. On purpose, yes. But not accidentally.

[JTGS850GL]

OK, I'll take a good look at the switch and see what's the deal. I'd like to get it working right since I'm likely to be the one that will screw up and try to start the bike in gear when I'm not even sitting on it. To complicate things, the neutral light isn't working right now either.

Started the carb rebuild process. Carbs are off and deganged. First carb has been disassembled except for the dreaded enrichment screw. Still have to remove the cap and then get the darn thing out without stripping the head. I know that LOTS of heat here will help. I did have a "practice set" of carbs that I just recently rebuilt just to prepare for it. Not really very had once you get all the pieces sorted out.

[JTGS850GL]

Here are some more pics of the progress to get her running. My plan is to get the engine sorted out and verify that trany shifts well. That will determine the direction I go with this project.

Tank, airbox and carbs are off:


I found what I thought was a missing screw but in fact it was a broken screw on one of the intakes:


My plan is to grind it flat, center punch it and use a left hand drill bit to try to back it out. If not I'll drill it and tap it for 6mm x 1 stock. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Started the carb rebuild. Here's what a carb looks like before and after dipping and sonic cleaning:


New DIY sonic cleaner to replace my trusty but now dead Branson:


The front brakes were a basket case... Literally:


There was a ton of slimy rust in the calipers. Enough to pit the pistons beyond use:


Replacement pistons and seals already ordered. The master cylinder is going to need rebuilding and the reservoir is cracked as well. The master cylinder body is in good working order and the bore has cleaned up nicely. Looks like I'll be in the market for a new reservoir and master rebuild kit. Either that or a good working master cylinder.

Looks like the exhaust is completely stock and proper for a GS1000G. Never noticed that they stamped it GS100G. Strange:


Carbs should be ready to assembly once the O-rings arrive from cycleorings.com

New battery installed as well:



I know it's not an AGM battery, but I just needed something to check out the electrical system.

Broken tabs on the oil fill plug and I need to get rid of this rats nest of an oil cooler:

[JTGS850GL]

Wife got tired of all the tools laying around so she picked this up for me:


Here's a pic of my trusty steed, a 1982 GS850GLZ:

[eil]

Looks like you're making good progress. Your MC reservoir is the round one, right? I believe new ones are pretty affordable. I have an old one which is undamaged but a little on the mangy side. If you don't care about looks and want to save a few bucks, its yours for the price of shipping. There's an o-ring that goes underneath it where it mates to the MC, remember to get that too.