Gs850g

[Diver]

I am totally lost now. Would the Frame and Engine numbers not indicate the year, as with British Bikes.

 

[Rijko]

I am totally lost now. Would the Frame and Engine numbers not indicate the year, as with British Bikes.

Chassis number is the only definitive vehicle identification, everything else could have been changed the past 4+ decades.

Check these :

For the 1979 GS850GN, the chassis numbers start at 100370, 1980 GS850GT chassis start at 116457.

So that would confirm your chassis no. 102736 as 1979 GS850GN.

The 1979 engine had a kickstart as others said.
No kickstart = later model engine, the original engine was swapped.

 

[Diver]

Brilliant. Much appreciated

 

[rphillips]

Rijko... Dang it amazes me the things ya'll come up with... Love it.

 

[dpep]

The 1979 engine had a kickstart as others said.
No kickstart = later model engine, the original engine was swapped.

And the replacement retrofitted with points ignition for some reason. ( $ maybe?).. Grimly theorized that might have been the situation early on.

 

[Diver]

Amazing the amount of knowledge ye have on these fabulous bikes.
Brilliant site.

 

[Rijko]

And the replacement retrofitted with points ignition for some reason. ( $ maybe?).. Grimly theorized that might have been the situation early on.

who knows, original engine blew up and replacement did not come with an igniter ?
$ may indeed have motivated a simple swap, enabling using the original loom without adjustments ?

I do not like electronic ignitions much on these GS-es (GT750 idem), seeing how vulnerable the total environment is.
Unless very much effort is put into the wiring loom, all connectors, handlebar switches, ignition switch, etc etc ...
Good chance of issues causing overvoltage killing components or undervoltage leading to non-functioning ignition.
May be improved upon by replacing R&R with a SH775, but still.

I do put a lot of effort into the wiring loom and components, and like the points setup.
Points are not as sensitive to voltage issues and usually will bring you home.
Maybe huffing and puffing, but a broken igniter or electronic ignition will usually leave one stranded.

So in OP's place i would keep the setup with points...

I realize many people strongly feel otherwise, it's just my personal preference. YMMV

 

[Diver]

Thankfully, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I haven't had any issues with the Electronic Ignition. I did remove the wiring loom when I got it and soldered all the connectors. I also carried out some modifications to the Ignition System which was recommended on this site or Bikecliff, can't remember now but maybe that helped.
Regarding an earlier mention of twisting the Choke Knob to keep the Choke engaged. I remember many years ago that that's the way we did it on the old British cars. Also, works for me on the GS. Worth a try.

 

[eil]

Well just to throw a wrench/spanner in the works, I have a 1979 GS850G with a kickstarter, electronic ignition, and CV carbs. How?

Well, the PO did the (aftermarket) ignition upgrade, I swapped the carbs and head because I had them and got tired of fighting the originals, and the kickstarter had always been there. Goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover.

Diver, if you were to post a few good-quality pictures of the bike I'm sure lots of us could tell you for certain what year it is, what modifications/repairs have been made since, and what kinds of maintenance you have to look forward to.

 

[Diver]

How do I post photos to the site. Never did it before.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

How do I post photos to the site. Never did it before.

The best way is to put your photos up on a free pic hosting site like Imgur or Flickr, Copy the BBCode of the image and paste that into your post. For details see Posting Pics link in my signature, my tutorial is in post # 6 in that thread.

 

[Diver]

I will have a go at it. Wish me luck

 

[Diver]

Not having much joy with the photos. Could I forward them to an email address if that is allowed. I don't want to break any Forum Rules.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Not a good long term solution but you can email a few pics to me rrodichok@gmail.com

Which site did you join and where did you get stuck?

 

[Diver]

Thanks. Just sent some photos.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Here they are..........

 

[rphillips]

Looks 1980, did the "79's" have gold and "blue" stripes?

 

[Diver]

I put the Stripes on when I re-sprayed the fuel tank. Just happened to have a roll of Red and Silver in the workshop.

 

[rphillips]

Did a pretty nice job.

 

[Diver]

Thanks, the Decal Kits as very expensive.