It's done: 1980 GS1100E restoration

[Guest]

That is all I can say!!

[hacksaw55]

She's a beaut can't wait to see her in person,nice work John.

[1100E]

No doubt ! Did you have it re-chromed ? Fabulous !!

Thanks Dave, believe it or not that's an original exhaust (a survivor, if you will), it was a real find and came complete with heat shields. We found 4 broken exhaust studs when the PO's header was removed, not a huge deal since the head was coming off anyway to repair a leaking gasket.

Finding parts wasn't too bad but the available supply is dwindling, there won't likely be many more restorations like this. Boulevard Suzuki says this was their "biggest order of parts for an '80 Suzuki, ever". Here's a look at one of the orders



The original tank, seat and a broken side-cover were replaced with perfect-condition pieces from an '81 750E (they're identical). The cases, swingarm, wheels and other shiny bits were hand-polished to a high lustre. Shed loads of little parts and pieces were repaired or replaced, having been changed to non OE over the years.

From a purely economic point of view, restoring the '80E back to its original condition isn't going to produce a profit. We restrained ourselves and didn't go nuts, finding deals on parts and watching the budget, but this wasn't inexpensive (about $8K total - includes purchase of bike, all parts, labor and shipping). I don't plan to sell her and expect to put a lot of miles behind me.

I hope to run across a lot of New England GSers this summer. Please stop me if you see me tooling by

[1100E]

Nice job, very, very well done... perhaps we'll cross paths here around NE this Summer.

That would be cool, I'd love to meet and have a chance to ride together

She's a beaut can't wait to see her in person,nice work John.

Thanks man! What are you doing next weekend? Maybe we could get together, bring the two bikes out for some exercise? That '82E is waiting for you...

[will61310]

Does the company that did your restoration have a website? I'd like a set of bars like yours for my 81

[1100E]

Does the company that did your restoration have a website? I'd like a set of bars like yours for my 81

The handlebars are OE and came with the bike, you could try Boulevard Suzuki.

[Guest]

Bike looks awesome, Tom....enjoy!

[bikerzx7r1981]

looks great mate!!... nice job

[mrbridgeport]

Fantastic looking bike, just amazing!

[goggleboy]

man! that is tasty! Good job man

[wes cooley]

heres my 1980 i owned about four years ago. i loved the bike too. i'm always keeping my eye out for another.

[1100E]

heres my 1980 i owned about four years ago. i loved the bike too. i'm always keeping my eye out for another.

Wow! Your '80E was really nice, much nicer than mine when I first got her

I remember having a very hard time deciding whether or not to buy the GS1100E or GS1000S back in 1980. My local dealer had one of each on the showroom floor and I was flush with hard-earned paperboy money. I really wanted the "Wes Cooley Replica" but the dealer insisted I "just had to ride this new 1100!" He was right and I was hooked, that '80E was one of the very best bikes I've ever ridden. I consoled myself later by buying the first Arai "Wes Cooley replica" helmet (and the Arai Signet version, too)

I don't plan to ever sell this bike, but if I did I'd definitely dig selling it to Wes Cooley...

[Kaiser Sosei]

Look great.


Can i send you mine?

[1100E]

Look great. Can i send you mine?

Thanks, much appreciated!!

You, too, can have the same resto I had!! Contact John Wilson at Akron Suzuki Motorworks (http://suzuki-gs-bikes.smugmug.com/), he's an expert wrench and all-around great guy!!

Yes, square headlights DO RULE