New Member, Old Bike

[SkunkMeister]

Hello all. I've recently acquired a 1978 GS1000 Skunk from a frined of my mother's. Her late husband is the original owner. I plan on doing a complete frame off restoration. Going as stock as possible other than electrics and brakes. I'll update the ignition and charging systems, put some stainless brake lines on, etc... Basically doing a "trying to keep it stock looking, but improve functionality" type of resto.

It's the cliche'd "barn find" bike. Been sitting in an outbuilding for about 25 years, collecting dust and pigeon droppings. I am fortunate in that he had taken the stock exhaust off and replaced it with a cheap 4 into 1 at one time, and left the original exhaust hanging in the rafters above. I'd rate them 9 out of 10 appearance-wise. Hopefully the inside of the baffles aren't too rusty.

I've restored a 1981 CB900F, a 1984 KZ700, and a 1982 KZ550 in the past ten years. This should be fun.

I'll post some pics as soon as I figure out how to do that and hose the dirt and bird doo off of it.

[rphillips]

First thing, a huge WELCOME, then you've found a great project, you're already waaay ahead with your past history. Suzuki's aren't that different, maybe a little simpler than the others. We can see you've already been looking at the things that need looking at. Hoping the inside of the gas tank is OK, that can be a biggee... Thinking you'll you find great help from folks around here, and yes we're always waiting for pictures..

[Nessism]

Good luck with your project.

The easiest way to post photos is to get an external image hosting site like flickr, then cut and paste the "BB" code into the body of your text here.

Picture134 by nessism, on Flickr

[steve murdoch]

Welcome to the site.
We all like Skunks here.

[storm 64]

Welcome to the site.
We all like Skunks here.

Some even smell like skunks here! Haha just joking

Good luck on your restoration project. Keep us posted along the way.

[SkunkMeister]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone.

The tank condition was mentioned. It seems structurally solid, but there are pinholes on the bottom towards the back behind the petcock. It sat on the sidestand for years, so I'm guessing all the water that condensed in the tank ended up there, eating away at the inside until everything leaked out.

I'm going to strip it, blast it inside and out, inspect further, then hopefully be able to seal it up by soldering on the outside bottom of the tank and treating the inside with POR-15. If I see more significant damage, I may have to cut it open, start welding from the inside, grind down, and weld back together. It sounds like a terrible thing to do to an irreplaceable fuel tank, but I've done it before with my GPZ750, with like-new results.

Let's hope such drastic measures aren't required.

[Nessism]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone.

The tank condition was mentioned. It seems structurally solid, but there are pinholes on the bottom towards the back behind the petcock. It sat on the sidestand for years, so I'm guessing all the water that condensed in the tank ended up there, eating away at the inside until everything leaked out.

I'm going to strip it, blast it inside and out, inspect further, then hopefully be able to seal it up by soldering on the outside bottom of the tank and treating the inside with POR-15. If I see more significant damage, I may have to cut it open, start welding from the inside, grind down, and weld back together. It sounds like a terrible thing to do to an irreplaceable fuel tank, but I've done it before with my GPZ750, with like-new results.

Let's hope such drastic measures aren't required.

Hum. I don't see any reference to tank condition, other than the bike has pigeon $hit on it. Anyway, phosphoric acid is great to remove rust. Home Depot sells Kleen Strip etch and prep for good prices. You can submerge the tank in a tub of the stuff, diluted, and it will come out rust free in a couple of days. In terms of sealing afterwards, Caswell's tank sealer epoxy is good for tanks with degraded metal, because it's super thick, and it will reinforce the metal. POR-15 is a paint. It also works good to seal, but when facing a similar Skunk tank rebuild, with holes, I went with Caswell's.

[salty_monk]

Welcome to the madhouse!

[1978GS750E]

+1 on the Kleen Strip and Caswells sealer!

I've used it on 4-5 tanks without any issues.