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I have recently been thinking of selling my two bikes--a 2000 Suzuki 800 Marauder and the 1981 GS1000L. My desire stems from wanting a dual sport adventure bike and am currently considering either the Triumph Scrambler (which leans more to the road side of adventure) or the KTM 950 Adventure (which leans a little more to the dirt side of adventure but balances road and dirt very well). To afford either, I'd have to sell my two bikes.
I moved to AL las summer and left the Marauder in WI to sell there, but no luck. I was "forced" to ride the bike to AL over Memorial Day, and stop at the museum in Anamosa, IA along the way. Darn.
This last week a friend offered to buy the GS1000, but I needed to do some work on it--mainly replace the valve cover gasket and get the charging system in order. (See my recent post in Electricals about fixing the charging problem.) I also replaced the exhaust gaskets and did some other random tidying up on the bike.
Since most of the gaskets, etc. arrived Friday, I spent the evening working on the bike for my friend because he was heading to NY for a new job early Saturday morning at O-Dark Thirty. I was expecting him at 4:30, but he arrived at 3:30 and he chatted with me as I finished wrapping things up.
While I worked on the bike all that night, I was torn between it and my future adventure bike. These GS bikes sure are easy to work on overall. The reason I have this GS1000L is because I used to have a GS850L that was sporty and easy to work on. I sold the 850 to get a Honda CB900 Custom, and after I tried to remove the carbs on it for the first time, I sold it and got the GS1000.
Also, these 1000L bikes sure look sweet. I love the curve of the tank into the seat as well as the style of the wheels and the overall stance of the bike.
After I started the bike and rode it around the block, it became apparent that it was not going to sell this time around. An oil leak popped up where there had not been one before, and my friend was not interested in taking the 1000 to NY in that condition. (The oil leak turned out to be from the valve cover where part of the gasket did not get sealed between the two surfaces.)
So my friend bought the Marauder instead.
The GS1000L still sits in the garage, and now my mind is making a list of all the little projects I can do to make the bike really shine. A really good bath will be first. But after that there are various rubber pieces that need upgraded, and chrome to polish. I also plan on painting the tank and side covers a la the rattle can instructions on the site. Over time I can also overhaul brakes, replace bearings and seals, as well as some rusted fasteners, etc.
With not too much expense and a little elbow grease, I'll have a bunch of little projects that will keep me busy and add up to a nicely completed bigger project.
Concerning an adventure bike, I wonder how well a GS450 could be converted into something one could ride "the long way round" . . .
Enjoy.
I moved to AL las summer and left the Marauder in WI to sell there, but no luck. I was "forced" to ride the bike to AL over Memorial Day, and stop at the museum in Anamosa, IA along the way. Darn.
This last week a friend offered to buy the GS1000, but I needed to do some work on it--mainly replace the valve cover gasket and get the charging system in order. (See my recent post in Electricals about fixing the charging problem.) I also replaced the exhaust gaskets and did some other random tidying up on the bike.
Since most of the gaskets, etc. arrived Friday, I spent the evening working on the bike for my friend because he was heading to NY for a new job early Saturday morning at O-Dark Thirty. I was expecting him at 4:30, but he arrived at 3:30 and he chatted with me as I finished wrapping things up.
While I worked on the bike all that night, I was torn between it and my future adventure bike. These GS bikes sure are easy to work on overall. The reason I have this GS1000L is because I used to have a GS850L that was sporty and easy to work on. I sold the 850 to get a Honda CB900 Custom, and after I tried to remove the carbs on it for the first time, I sold it and got the GS1000.
Also, these 1000L bikes sure look sweet. I love the curve of the tank into the seat as well as the style of the wheels and the overall stance of the bike.
After I started the bike and rode it around the block, it became apparent that it was not going to sell this time around. An oil leak popped up where there had not been one before, and my friend was not interested in taking the 1000 to NY in that condition. (The oil leak turned out to be from the valve cover where part of the gasket did not get sealed between the two surfaces.)
So my friend bought the Marauder instead.
The GS1000L still sits in the garage, and now my mind is making a list of all the little projects I can do to make the bike really shine. A really good bath will be first. But after that there are various rubber pieces that need upgraded, and chrome to polish. I also plan on painting the tank and side covers a la the rattle can instructions on the site. Over time I can also overhaul brakes, replace bearings and seals, as well as some rusted fasteners, etc.
With not too much expense and a little elbow grease, I'll have a bunch of little projects that will keep me busy and add up to a nicely completed bigger project.
Concerning an adventure bike, I wonder how well a GS450 could be converted into something one could ride "the long way round" . . .
Enjoy.
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