78 GS1000 left for dead

[busa1300]

My GS1000 project has been accepted as a bike to be shown at the Chicago Cycle World International Bike Show this February.
Which means the van will need some tires to get through the snow, that always is in Chicago around Valentines day.
Unless it's a crazy lake effect blizzard and I never get there.....

http://www.motorcycleshows.com/city/chicago-il-0

[dorkburger]

Congrats. That bike sure has gotten a lot of love, which is great.

I had a 2000 Dodge van for work years ago. With highway type tread tires, when trying to take off on the slightest incline in snow, it just spun its tires.... Another guy in the company had offroad type tires on his and it was somewhat better.

[busa1300]

Yea....the tires on it now are worthless in the snow....but actually the van itself is kinda scary more times than not.
Looking for different wheels....not sure if I should go oldskool look, or some newer 3rd generation Dodge take off 3/4 ton aluminum wheels...?

[busa1300]

Speaking of tires.....I finally got some for the bike hauler...




The GS1000 has been sitting for it's 6th month now....
very cold spring so far.....snow today.....

[busa1300]

Brought home another Suzuki that had been left unused in storage for years....
Looks like all it will need is a bit of work on the wiring, and it will be up and running again... :mrgreen:

[steve murdoch]

That sign is bigger than my garage!
Nice pick-up, Randy.

[dorkburger]

That is cool. I like the colors.

[busa1300]

I had no concept of how big the sign really was until after I bought it....and then had to figure out how to get it home....and then back out of the van by myself.
Over 4 foot tall and over 12 foot long....if I do figure out a place to put it....it will be taking up a lot of space.
Dealership was closing and selling EVERYTHING left in the building.....owner said this sign was from mid 80's from what he can remember...style was only used for a few years then went back to the red S and blue Suzuki on white background.


Just found date of sign...
2/80...older than I thought.

[busa1300]

First ride of the year on the GS....first day in over 6 months that the temp made it to 80 degrees....
6 months of winter has been enough.....time to get into the sunshine.
Fired up first push of the button near instantly :rock:

[JanMedSlangen]

Now that is a really nice bike!

[busa1300]

Thanks, it's been a long road to get it to this point. Once I get it running perfect, I might end up selling it.....since I won't have anything left to do on it. I have my other 78 GS1000 that has been patiently waiting for well over 10 years now for me to get it back into shape....And I really only need one GS1000

Time to dial in the GS better. Had carbs set so it would run, but never fine tuned them. Put in a bigger baffle for my header also, as the standard baffle is pretty small. Putting new plugs in and oil change this weekend, then I can see where to step up the fuel.

[busa1300]

Pulled carbs again, this time to get #1 cylinder to work better. It seemed to be running richer than the other 3.
Finally decided to take all the old choke parts out and put new parts in, in case there was a weak spring or the seal at the bottom of the plunger was no longer sealing. Also put in bigger pilot jets #25, in place of the 17.5....made a big difference. Next step is move needle up one more notch just to see how it feels. Runs extremely well at very low RPMs now, but I think midrange could use just a bit more.



Soooo.......I Pulled carbs again.
This time to move needles, and go up one main jet size. Feels a little stronger now and still pulls great from low RPMs. Have a dyno run scheduled for my Aprilia RS250, and I think I will take the GS1000 along too. Get a good baseline on it to see if I’m close enough to finally leave it alone.....and just ride it.

[busa1300]

Time to say goodbye

It's time to say goodbye....
Done all I could with it....and it turned out exactly like I hoped.
But I have another GS1000 that needs attention, and that one will get a serious engine rebuild as well as AMA type frame mods....it will be the keeper.

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/mcy/d/1978-suzuki-gs1000-left-for/6675034428.html

[Chuck78]

Are those Kosman rotors as you stated you had on your spare set of EPM magnesium mags???
I'm looking for a source for retro looking solid rotors like that to fit into WERA Vintage and AHRMA rules of no floating rotors... and I have seen several of those in the past & loved the looks...
I may resort to resurfacing, drilling, & slotting the stock 295mm GS alloy center rotors myself for the time being if I cannot find a source for repros of that style, or NOS/used rotors. I've seen them bolted to GS wheels several times

GREAT looking bikes. I have a barn find neglected GS1000C that Suzukidog sold me, that was that blue color but with a badly dented tank. I plan to give it the skunk paint job and transplant a spare set of my 2.50&3.50 x 18 wire wheels to it, GS1100E swingarm, spare Fox Factory Shox piggybacks, oil cooler, 1100GK D-Port top end with a Wiseco K1100 kit & junkyard score welded crank, maybe my welded stoker crankeven, & JE Pistons 1135cc kit..
Contemplated a Sun 2.75 & 4.25 18" rim combo so I could run the incredible Bridgestone Battlax BT-016 Pro tires whixh are basically inky available these days in sizes to fit '80's 1st generation GSXR's & ZX's etc... 150/70-18 & 160/60-18, 110/80-18 fronts... ultra grippy, & radials! The 150 is not listed fit for a 3.50 rim as most bias ply 150/70's are, however...


Lastly, did you find an OEM petcock diaphragm for that bike? Or is that the original or a K&L?


AWESOME looking bikes... the 1000's ESPECIALLY!
Also, can you PM me a link again to that article with the RG/RGV engine swap bike build-off with the 3 different GT250X7's? If I ever got a Suzi 2 stroke street bike, that would be amazing... RD400's are my favorite in terms of capability/power/parts availability, but it's NOT a Suzuki...

[busa1300]

Are those Kosman rotors as you stated you had on your spare set of EPM magnesium mags???

This is the spare set that will go on the black bike, and they are Kosman 13 inch floating rotors....definitely AMA time period.
But probably not legal for vintage racing now? The non floating 13 inch rotors on the black GS are still a bit of a mystery, but I believe they are EPM

https://www.practicalsportsbikesmag.co.uk/special-brew-1/love-it-or-hate-it-suzuki-x7

https://www.practicalsportsbikesmag.co.uk/magazine-issues/july-2017