I was looking for a winter project.........I found this!

[1978GS750E]

Started looking for a winter project and came across this:


1982 GS1100E with 12,098 miles, one owner with a really snazzy windscreen! All stock except a Vance & Hines exhaust and replacement grips.

It's been sitting in a barn for the last 18 years. Original owner said that he just got too busy farming so he stuck it in the barn in 2004 and forgot about it.

Looks like this one will be a time-consuming restoration. Now I've got my winter project! Geez, what was I thinking?

[steve murdoch]

Only 12,000 miles?
Barely broken in!

[Nessism]

What are you going to do with the rest of the winter after that thing is finished in a couple of months? It looks like a creampuff.

[rphillips]

Looks like a great project, heck you's wanting to go through those carbs one more time anyway

[Baatfam]

Nice one, Ron. Good luck...

[Buffalo Bill]

I'd like to adapt a bike like that for track and see how it competes with the 600 mob.

[trevor]

Nice find! I found 3 of them last year...sold two as is after taking a couple of things off them for the one I kept and "restored"...

Here is what it looked like in the ad...

And after I worked on it

[1978GS750E]

What are you going to do with the rest of the winter after that thing is finished in a couple of months? It looks like a creampuff.

Well the teardown has started!

Looks like mice have chewed on the positive battery cable, fuel sending unit wires and the air filter housing. That was after they made a buffet of the air filter! Of course, the air filter housing lid is long gone.

Got the gas cap off and there is still about a gallon of 18 year old fuel in it. (I hate cleaning tanks!)

Looks like the starter button went AWOL somewhere on the trip home. (Gotta source one of those.)

Both the brake pedal and brake lever are stuck.

On the positive side, all the sidecover tabs are intact, all the locks are free, clutch cable is free, throttle cable is free, no battery corrosion, gauge lenses look good and I did find an original Suzuki Air Gauge and pouch in it!

Gonna give it a good washing and see what I want to tackle first, or actually next!

Then order an exhaust system, battery, brake lines, brake seals, wheel bearings, valve cover gasket, carb boots, o-ring kit, tires, chain & sprockets, all the cables, fork seals, side cover grommets, air filter, oil filter, etc.............You get the picture!

Is it springtime yet?

[Suzukian]

Is it improper to ask how much you paid. That is a sought after bike. What a find!!

[trevor]

Is it improper to ask how much you paid. That is a sought after bike. What a find!!

If it matters I paid $1500 for the one in the pic and $1250 for the one I sold.

[Suzukian]

Great deal. Knowing how to work on them puts you way ahead of the curve. These are among my favorite Suzuki's. Much luck, and thanks for telling me the price. I only ask in case I run across one, I can have a feeling of what they have sold for. Last year I purchased a Kawasaki ZZR1200 with only 4875 miles on it. The guy who owned it was 6' 4" tall, and purchased it as his first bike. It scared the heck out of him. He pickled the bike for well over a decade in an air conditioned room. I got it after he had a Kawasaki dealership rebuild the carbs, but did not want to put any money into it. He asked his friend to get whatever he could get. I paid $2400 bucks for this bike. I could not believe how clean it was, how it started up, how well the brakes work. The only thing I have to do are some upgrades, and sync the carbs. There are great deals out there, you have to be ready to scoop them up. Congratulations!!

[bonanzadave]

If it matters, I paid $1500 for the one in the pic

Thats a glass 1/2 full ! My crank twisted at about 12k miles in 1982. Full warranty rebuild. A twisted crank on a 40 year old bike...... is a glass 1/2 empty !

[rphillips]

"82" model, wouldn't it have appx. 50/50 chance of a welded crank? I's thinking they started welding them in mid "82".

[Suzukian]

At least it's not hard to figure out. As to whether it was welded or not, you would have to split the case to know for sure. With the low mileage, if you had to have the crank welded, you'd only have to replace gaskets.

[rphillips]

Suzuki started installing welded cranks, in the GS1100 chain drive models in I think mid yr. of "82". continued on till they ended with the "86" GS1150's, last of the roller bearing crankshafts.