GS1150 ES Makeover Project

[londonboards]

Getting under the covers

Let's pull some of the covers off and see what we have.

First off, we have no air box, filter box and associated equipment:





Perhaps this bike had K & Ns or similar. I will have to check the jetting. I will replace with standard air box.

Carb slides look very black:





Fuse cover panel missing:



Choke cable broken:



Non standard fuel hose:



Grips are toast:

[londonboards]

Even more about the bike

Lots of work to do on the body panels:









and lots of lugs missing from the push on panels (as usual):





No keys with the bike that fit any of the locks so get it off:



Mileage registers as 64,227:



If this bike used the same mirrors as the infamous Cooley ones then it is no surprise that they are missing:

[londonboards]

More about the bike

Forks look OK:



It has a non-standard or home made bellypan with cut outs for the engine cases:



And one of the case covers needs a little work:



Chain and teeth look to be OK but very dry:



And no covers for the end of the swing arm:



Seat has been modified by having most of the padding removed. Short legs:





Brakes are good and free:

[londonboards]

We Brits seem to have a love affair with imported US bikes at the moment. We are importing them by the container load. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, all of our bikes of this age have rotted or rusted out and most of them were used as a primary means of transport, so they are high mileage and well used. Secondly, these kind of bikes in the US were purchased mainly for recreation and are therefore usually very low mileage. And because in the southern states, the climate is drier, the bikes are in far better condition. There also seem to be hoards of old farts like me that have taken up this bike restoration hobby as a full time business. So there is a bit of background.

Tons of hi-res pics in the blog for the bike: See my Suzuki GS1150ES Restoration Blog

I have just taken delivery of this little baby:







This is my third project, running concurrently, (see signature) with my 2 Suzuki GS1100Gs. I just love these bikes.

I am going to do a makeover on this one. It's costing me a fortune to do a nuts and bolts resto on my Dad's old bike and I've spent quite a bit on my Road Runner project too. So we will getting this going (it's a non runner right now) to determine if the motor is OK first. If it is then I will tart it up and ride it.

Here we go.

It was owned by a guy in Nevada who obviously worked for the Department of Defense (soldier, sailor or airman?):



And looks like it was last used on the road in 2010:



It has a non-standard oil cooler which is twice as wide as the regular one with hoses that touch the headers and fins that have been well battered:





It has a great Supertrapp stainless exhaust system which I can't wait to hear: