'79 GS1000E project start

[Nessism]

Just a little FYI FWIW...

When fussing around with my (now departed) 1000S, anytime the airbox was disturbed, such as when the rear airbox was separated from the front, or when the lid was removed, the bike immediately went into a high idle situation. The system is very sensitive.

[oldGSfan]

I found a stock airbox really cheap on eBay with decent side covers, this is the worse side of the two and it's fine, overall patina of the bike is similar.

Bonus: Looking at the '79's rear airbox section on the diagram, its shape sure looked a lot like the '82 GS1100E to me. Since mine was already out of the red '82 I tried it and it fits perfectly. It's a different part number and the housing is 'fluted' underneath, but other than that I can't see any difference. It even came with a fresh air filter.

I'll sell my K&N pods and be up overall. I am going to fit the OK GS850 pipes on it instead of selling them, and if all goes well I'll sell the V&H.

[oldGSfan]

Rear is 18x3.5 vs 17x2.5 stock, and I run a 140/70. Front is 18x2.5 vs 19x2.15 stock and I run a 100/90. Both Avon Roadriders. The 1100E rides well but I like the overall feel of the '79 GS1000 just a bit better, to be honest. It's a longer stretch to the bars on the 1100E and I may put stock bars on, which I have, but that means longer brake lines. I put Shinkos on the GS1000E 712s on due to budget issues and they seem fine.

Wow,true magnesium 'Mags' ! The bike must ride excellent over all different road surfaces.What width are they compared to your stock aluminum wheels ?

[grcamna2]

They are EPM, front is magnesium and is amazingly light. They are running tubeless as the slicks I took off were. They needed a bit of help sealing up with some Xtra seal goo. They are fine, holding air etc. I wanted to powdercoat them and my neighbor manages a shop but nobody here would touch magnesium so I spray bombed them after a lot of prep.

Wow,true magnesium 'Mags' ! The bike must ride excellent over all different road surfaces.What width are they compared to your stock aluminum wheels ?

[oldGSfan]

They are EPM, front is magnesium and is amazingly light. They are running tubeless as the slicks I took off were. They needed a bit of help sealing up with some Xtra seal goo. They are fine, holding air etc. I wanted to powdercoat them and my neighbor manages a shop but nobody here would touch magnesium so I spray bombed them after a lot of prep.

Tom,I like the gold wheels you have on your GS1100EZ,are they tubeless tire applicable ?
I had an 82' 1100E of the same color in the early 90's and always wanted to install new tires without tubes,but..

[grcamna2]

Tom,I like the gold wheels you have on your GS1100EZ,are they tubeless tire applicable ?
I had an 82' 1100E of the same color in the early 90's and always wanted to install new tires without tubes,but..

[oldGSfan]

Hoping to be able to this soon but my son's not too keen on riding on the back!

[alke46]

Nice collection. I just love those '82 champagne colored Suzie's.

[dorkburger]

That is simply beautiful.

[oldGSfan]

A little UJM evolution

[oldGSfan]

Yeah I reckon so Rob it's for the zipper not to scratch when tucked in. It's not ideal, but in the end I'm OK with it, as the general character of the bike is a cleaned up runner. Plus with the tank being black it doesn't stick out like dog's ballz. The pad I found just covers the area, and is pretty low key IMO. It is a relief to not have to paint. I really detest having to paint.

Shame about that tank pad. I guess the PO didn't want to scratch the paint when he laid down on the tank? Except the prevention is worse than the problem.

When my Sporty was new, I remember being concerned about scratching the tank with my leather jacket's big zipper. I quickly decided that any such marks, as long as they were made at more than 80 mph, were nothing to be ashamed of.

[Rob S.]

Shame about that tank pad. I guess the PO didn't want to scratch the paint when he laid down on the tank? Except the prevention is worse than the problem.

When my Sporty was new, I remember being concerned about scratching the tank with my leather jacket's big zipper. I quickly decided that any such marks, as long as they were made at more than 80 mph, were nothing to be ashamed of.

[oldGSfan]

Well I got the Shinko 712s mounted & balanced as I've had enough of pinching tubes and futzing with the balancing... for now. I put on the wheels and chain/guard, and chain case cover. I mounted the bodywork for a look-see and it looks good, a couple spots to dab with black along the bottom seam . Carbs off because I need to adjust the float level and check out rich condition which I suspect is the choke plunger but also the air screw setting, as the bike ran well (good idle, all in sync) but rich. the idle fuel mixture screw is nearly all the way in so I think I need to back out the air screws.

The tank polished up well but when I peeled off the old funky segmented tank pad the paint came off with it, so I found a suitable replacement which just covers the area that was peeled. So I'm pretty happy with the progress but need to sort these VM26SS carbs.

The seat cover came out well, it was off eBay for $60. I had to rivet in upholstery tack strips front and rear as several of the triangular tabs broke off.

My rebuilt Fox shocks are holding 150 lbs of air, wish I had a way to get nitrogen but if air stays inside it'll be fine.

I need to source some rear or a set of 4 turn signals, either I go with the cheap type that are on the front for $20 (for now) or splurge and get reproduction K&S ones I guess.

[Grimly]

Fwiw, I swapped wheels to and fro between 79 and 80 850s with no problem, even when one still had the crappy 79 calipers on it.
The discs are the same size and offset. The same 275mm discs were use across a whole helluvalot of the range, with the exception being the single-disc fronts.

[oldGSfan]

Thanks, yeah they won't work. Nice looking bike!

Those slotted discs have a different pattern to my ones, I don't remember but I think my ones are slightly larger in diameter than the standard '79 ones. I upgraded to the later calipers with the square type pads. Much more effective than the old round pad kind. Dan is the brake expert I'm sure he can tell you all you need to know. I didn't do his super upgrade because i wanted to keep the bike looking as original as possible.
I put the 750 pump gears in anycase, many do.