1982 Suzuki gs850glz only 482 Miles! bom?

[Higgibaby]

Tom's just busting your chops. Read his signature.......

Aaaahhh, ok I see. What's the big hoo in riding an L? Am I missing something? There seems to be not a lot of L love on these forums....

[tkent02]

The ladies love them. And midgets.

[Higgibaby]

The ladies love them. And midgets.

Lol...ok! Well my lady does love them, and I'm 6"4 and it fits me pretty good

[GSX1000E]

Do the right thing, if you are not going to ride it, pull the engine and carbs and make a planter out of the rest.

[tkent02]

L's make nice planters.

[Spit]

I'm afraid I'd ride it ragged Bikes are made to be ridden. Museums can rebuild scrappers.

I don't get the L dislike either, but then I prefer cruisers generally.

[eil]

Hi Higgibaby, nice bike. Even though it hasn't even hit its service interval yet, keep in mind that it still is a 30+ year old bike. Even though it was in climate-controlled storage, there are many parts (particularly seals and o-rings) that have aged and either have deteriorated or will soon. You still have to get caught up on all the routine maintenance in order to make this thing run like it should. (And safely, might I add.) That includes replacing rubber carb boots, sealing up the airbox, rebuilding the brakes, new tires, heck I would even rebuild the carbs just to replace all the o-rings in there.

I think your bike is a perfect candidate for BOM. It is pretty, I'll grant you that. But I don't know that an 850L is going to get much attention at a bike show... there are zillions of them out there and they weren't really historically significant. If it were mine, I would swap out the handlebars for something reasonable and just ride it.

Welcome!

[Guest]

He's busting you for not riding it.

I agree it is more fun to own a bike you can ride. However it's extremely difficult to keep it in showroom condition and the miles pile up, reducing the value.

You have done it exactly right. Keep one to ride the pee right out of, and another to preserve for the museums once you die.

It's not like it's ever going to be a sought after bike, there's not much value in it, ride it or sell it I say

[Guest]

So are you planning to stare at it in the garage and wipe it periodically with a soft cloth diaper or are you going to put some miles on her? I rode that many miles in the last couple weeks without even going anywhere

I rode 453 yesterday. Went to the Maine coast for whole belly clams, then over through the White mountains to Vt for a steak dinner , got home about 11;30 last night

[GS1150Pilot]

I plan to just stare, and other people can stare as well as I'm planning to take it to some classic bike shows. I have another exactly the same (with 7000 miles) in black which is my daily rider...

How sad. These things were made to be ridden, not mounted on a mantelpiece.

[bccap]

Lots of people keep bikes for shows and keep the mileage off them. Lets face it his daily rider is the same bike and only has 7000 miles on it. It's not like he's riding a beater.....

[GS1150Pilot]

I suppose so, but someone is missing riding that one. Vehicles were not created to be crated away.

[Higgibaby]

Lots of people keep bikes for shows and keep the mileage off them. Lets face it his daily rider is the same bike and only has 7000 miles on it. It's not like he's riding a beater.....

And thats the thing, I live in RI (smallest state) so where ever I ride it doesn't put much mileage on! But I have scoured everywhere, for any examples of a GS this good...disregarding if its an "L" or not...there isn't another that i have seen out there like this. I bought the bike with 435 miles on it, so it wasn't me that didn't ride it. (I've technically put 42 miles on it, and i haven't had it too long)

[Higgibaby]

Hi Higgibaby, nice bike. Even though it hasn't even hit its service interval yet, keep in mind that it still is a 30+ year old bike. Even though it was in climate-controlled storage, there are many parts (particularly seals and o-rings) that have aged and either have deteriorated or will soon. You still have to get caught up on all the routine maintenance in order to make this thing run like it should. (And safely, might I add.) That includes replacing rubber carb boots, sealing up the airbox, rebuilding the brakes, new tires, heck I would even rebuild the carbs just to replace all the o-rings in there.

I think your bike is a perfect candidate for BOM. It is pretty, I'll grant you that. But I don't know that an 850L is going to get much attention at a bike show... there are zillions of them out there and they weren't really historically significant. If it were mine, I would swap out the handlebars for something reasonable and just ride it.

Welcome!

Thanks Charles, I've been through everything and its all fine right now...I will probably plan a full strip and rebuild over the winter though...And your right there are a ton of "L's" out there, but not in this kinda shape. ( I did swap ,y handlebars on my other L for the G bars...its a little more comfortable.

[storm 64]

482miles... That's the goal for this weekend. Everyone need to ride at least 482miles. You have from Friday to Monday morning. Who's in?