Newbie with a GS1000s

[Guest]

Hi to all, Just introducing myself to the Forum.
I have recently bought a GS1000s with a few issues, which I am hoping to work through.
I have always been a standard bike person, having to have everything just as it came out of the factory, but I saw this one on Ebay and I fell in love with it.
I am sure some people may turn there nose up at it, but it makes me smile.
I thought that I would join the Forum as I am sure I will have some questions.
If there are any members in the south east of England with a GS1000s I would love to meet up, so get in touch.
gs1000s 002.jpg

Regards Clive

[Vmass]

Hey Clive,

Welcome to the site. That is a great looking S you have there. Your bike looks very similar to another members S "NVR2OLD" is his screen name.

[steve murdoch]

Welcome to the site, Clive.
Nobody here is going to turn up their nose at that beauty.
Always liked the look of the stubby Harris exhaust.

[GSXR7ED]

Wow! That's a beauty of a bike. Welcome and enjoy your way around here.

Ed

[Kiwi Canuck]

Welcome to the GSR Clive, there are quite a few members here with GS1000S's and all the knowledge you will need to get your bike sorted if there aren't any local to you.

Can you give me some background on your bike and what your history is with this model, if any?

BTW your bike looks great in the pictures, what are the issues with it?

I currently maintain a register of all known GS1000S's and would love to have your details to add to the list, frame number (VIN) and engine number if you could post them here or send them via a PM to me, it would be much appreciated.

I should be able to give you some more details about your bike once you send me that info.

Can you also check the rear wheel, is that a 17 or 18" tire?

More pictures would be nice.

Cheers,

David

[Clive Martin]

Hi, Thanks for the kind words from those who have replied.

Hi David,
All I know about the bike is that it came in from Holland or Belguim (that bit didn't quite log in) The guy I got the bike from got it registered in the UK and then put it up for sale.
When I went and looked at the bike the starter was siezed, so it had to be bump started. It was a quiet engine But the carbs needed balancing.
I trailered the bike home. I got and fitted another starter motor, but upon starting the bike I was getting quite a lot of rattling from the rotor side. I took the rotor off and found the three bolts that hold the starter clutch on were loose. I have locktighted them back in, put it all back together and restarted it. Exactly the same noise, so I am now looking at buying a complete new starter clutch in the hope of sorting the problem out.

Being able to start the bike has ment I have been able to balance the carbs, which I have done today. While it was running my son went round the engine with a stethascope and said the noise was all coming from the starter clutch side.
The noise dissapears at about 1800 rpm and the bike sounds very nice. The stand flicks up as soon as you take the weight off of it and this concerns me a bit, I am not sur if this is supposed to happen.
Some of the gauges do not work at the moment and I think I wouls like to fit some indicators.
My frame mumber is GS1000-522779
Engine number GS1000-144855
My log book states decleared manufactured 1980
The bike has an 18 inch rear wheel.WP_000178.jpg



I seem to be having trouble posting more pictures.
Regards Clive

[Clive Martin]

The other side. That all I have at the moment.
Regards Clive
WP_000180.jpg

[GSXR7ED]

What a beautiful Liter Bike! Thanks for sharing...all the way from En-ga-land!


Ed

[hampshirehog]

Hi Clive and welcome. I'm a little to the west of you in Hampshire but you have Chris (user name Tatu) over in Kent with a a very pretty modded S. There's a few other Kent members on here as well. You'll have to sell a kidney if you need any of the unique S parts but fortunately the bike shares most of its components with the other GS1000s and other models in the GS / GSX range.

Are you sure about where that noise is coming from? The starter clutches on these bikes are pretty good though do sometimes rattle - they make a distinctive clacking noise usually when there's an issue. Far more common is a clutch noise at low revs. Some can sound horrendous, as if the engine is about to go pop, and the noise can sound like it's coming from somewhere else.

the stand isn't meant to flick up by the way.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Hi, Thanks for the kind words from those who have replied.

Hi David,
All I know about the bike is that it came in from Holland or Belguim (that bit didn't quite log in) The guy I got the bike from got it registered in the UK and then put it up for sale.
When I went and looked at the bike the starter was siezed, so it had to be bump started. It was a quiet engine But the carbs needed balancing.
I trailered the bike home. I got and fitted another starter motor, but upon starting the bike I was getting quite a lot of rattling from the rotor side. I took the rotor off and found the three bolts that hold the starter clutch on were loose. I have locktighted them back in, put it all back together and restarted it. Exactly the same noise, so I am now looking at buying a complete new starter clutch in the hope of sorting the problem out.

Being able to start the bike has ment I have been able to balance the carbs, which I have done today. While it was running my son went round the engine with a stethascope and said the noise was all coming from the starter clutch side.
The noise dissapears at about 1800 rpm and the bike sounds very nice. The stand flicks up as soon as you take the weight off of it and this concerns me a bit, I am not sur if this is supposed to happen.
Some of the gauges do not work at the moment and I think I wouls like to fit some indicators.
My frame mumber is GS1000-522779
Engine number GS1000-144855
My log book states decleared manufactured 1980
The bike has an 18 inch rear wheel.[ATTACH=CONFIG]41207[/ATTACH]



I seem to be having trouble posting more pictures.
Regards Clive

Clive, thanks for the response, your bike is a 1979 model and it looks like it's a fairly early one, I have 3 other VIN's from the UK with VIN numbers in the same range as yours. ( the 1979 "S" models first unit started with VIN 521285 apparently) the earliest number I have is 521306
Your engine number quite a bit higher than the others in the UK I have listed, but it may still be the original engine as Suzuki didn't have a very organized numbering system from what I can tell.

BTW your sticker on the headstock will show the date of mfg if it's still in good condition.

Parts are still available for these engines/bikes, so you shouldn't have too much trouble getting parts and sorting out the issues described.

Suzuki UK have the Vintage OEM parts program available to you and the GS1000S is included in their list of bikes supported, so hopefully you can find what you need over there.

http://www.morebikes.co.uk/gs1000s-added-to-suzukis-vintage-parts-programme/

If you want stock turn signals plenty are available on ebay or from a bike breaker in your area, same for all GS1000s 78-1980 C/E/S etc.

As far as modification done to your bike, apart from the obvious items, Seat and Front Fender, it looks like you have drilled front disks and stainless steel brake lines, rearset foot pegs, Pods rather than standard airbox, 4-1 pipe, black painted engine and missing the very rare OEM mirrors.

Not that much work to bring back to original if that's your thing but it looks pretty nice the way it is.

Regards,

David

[Frank Z.]

...missing the very rare OEM mirrors.

Not all countries/markets received the stubby fairing mirrors. Obviously, US and Canada S models did; wonder what other markets received them?

[hampshirehog]

Not all countries/markets received the stubby fairing mirrors. Obviously, US and Canada S models did; wonder what other markets received them?

We had a choice over here - fairing mounted or standard handlebar mounted.

[Frank Z.]

We had a choice over here - fairing mounted or standard handlebar mounted.

Ah, so perhaps mirror styles were an option. Thanks for clarification.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Clive, I just did a comparison between Parts Outlaw in Florida USA and the Suzuki UK site linked in the article I posted above.

Parts Outlaw is selling the Starter Clutch Assembly, item #4 for $163 US and the UK site lists it at $231 pounds ($360 US) more than double, looks like you guys are getting an awesome deal on your parts, ............... NOT.

https://www.suzuki-gb.co.uk/motorcycles/my-suzuki/vintage-parts/vintage-bikes/vintage-bikes/gs1000sn/

http://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d402e7f8700230d8b4e949/starter-clutch

[Ray916MN]

Welcome to the forum! Looks like a great start.