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New '82 GS450T Owner, My First Bike

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    New '82 GS450T Owner, My First Bike

    Hi Everyone! I have always been a fan of classic Japanese bikes and over the winter finally caught the bug to give owning my own a shot. My dad has ridden for a while now and kept suggesting I get a motorcycle to ride with him, so I'm looking forward to learning and joining him on the road.

    I quickly got the feeling that I was looking for a stock bike in decent shape a few years too late. A lot of what I was finding were half-complete hack jobs or ones that needed a full restoration. I'm pretty handy and can follow directions if something goes wrong, but I wasn't looking to take apart an engine from the get go. There was a very clean Honda CB550F that I liked a lot, but the engine had some chatter that gave me pause. Turned out for the best because I continued looking and found this 1982 GS450T:

    vg_gs450t.jpg

    Great condition, starts right up, and runs no problem. As far as I can tell the bike is pretty close to stock and I plan to keep it that way. It has been sitting for a couple years so it needs new tires and brakes plus a general once over, but it clearly has been taken care of so I'm hoping there aren't many if any surprises waiting for me.

    This looks like a great forum with a lot of information. While I'm not usually the most active member on message boards I'll share what I can to add my experiences to the conversation.
    1982 Suzuki GS450TXZ
    1985 Honda CB700SC Nighthawk S
    2015 Suzuki V-Strom DL650

    #2
    Originally posted by VGplay View Post
    ...found this 1982 GS450T:

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]58035[/ATTACH]
    It has been sitting for a couple years so it needs new tires and brakes plus a general once over...
    Not just 'brakes', but brake lines. Stock were rubber that were supposed to be replaced every two years!

    You want braided Stainless Steel that not only last much longer, but immediately improve brake performance.

    What does your dad ride?
    1982 GS1100E V&H "SS" exhaust, APE pods, 1150 oil cooler, 140 speedo, 99.3 rear wheel HP, black engine, '83 red

    2016 XL883L sigpic Two-tone blue and white. Almost 42 hp! Status: destroyed, now owned by the insurance company. The hole in my memory starts an hour before the accident and ends 24 hours after.

    Comment


      #3
      VG,

      Welcome to TheGSR.
      Good intro post with a good picture even.
      Now that you have posted picture, forum members are then allowed to provide technical assistance. har har har

      Good to hear that you appreciate the bike in original condition.

      Are a few other central-Ohio members.

      Your first bike, you say: I will recommend you find a MSF class in your area.
      Lots of experienced riders may appear to be good riders, but that doesn't mean they are good teachers.

      Had 850G for 14 years. Now have GK since 2005.
      GK at IndyMotoGP Suzuki Display... ... GK on GSResources Page ... ... Euro Trash Ego Machine .. ..3 mo'cykls.... update 2 mocykl


      Comment


        #4
        Great looking motorcycle 👍 I'm over here in the Youngstown area, if you need a hand with anything or want to meet up for a ride just give me a message. I'll keep my eyes open for a blue 450T when I'm over your way.🌞
        My Motorcycles:
        22 Kawasaki Z900 RS (Candy Tone Blue)
        22 BMW K1600GT (Probably been to a town near you)
        82 1100e Drag Bike (needs race engine)
        81 1100e Street Bike (with race engine)
        79 1000e (all original)
        82 850g (all original)
        80 KZ 650F (needs restored)

        Comment


          #5
          Spittin' image of mine! You'll probably notice as you start to dig in that there's a few variations of the 450t, there's a tx and also a txz. Check the VIN plate on the neck, I'm betting your's is the txz based on the color and wire wheels. The shocks don't have an air valve in the top and the brake drum size in the rear is larger than the other two versions, good to know when shopping for new brake shoes.
          1980 Yamaha XS1100G (Current bike)
          1982 GS450txz (former bike)
          LONG list of previous bikes not listed here.

          These aren't my words, I just arrange them

          Comment


            #6
            Welcome. Great looking bike. Enjoy.
            sigpic
            When consulting the magic 8 ball for advice, one must first ask it "will your answers be accurate?"

            Glen
            -85 1150 es - Plus size supermodel.
            -Rusty old scooter.
            Other things I like to photograph.....instagram.com/gs_junkie
            https://www.instagram.com/glen_brenner/
            https://www.flickr.com/photos/152267...7713345317771/

            Comment


              #7
              Welcome to the mad house!

              Whilst you're doing brake lines & pads it's also pretty simple to upgrade to a twinpot caliper & CBR rotor on that model bike.
              1980 GS1000G - Sold
              1978 GS1000E - Finished!
              1980 GS550E - Fixed & given to a friend
              1983 GS750ES Special - Sold
              2009 KLR 650 - Sold - gone to TX!
              1982 GS1100G - Rebuilt and finished. - Sold
              2009 TE610 - Dual Sporting around dreaming of Dakar.....

              www.parasiticsanalytics.com

              TWINPOT BRAKE UPGRADE LINKY: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...e-on-78-Skunk/

              Comment


                #8
                Nice lookin' "T". Welcome!

                Post pics of your "T" here:



                Ed
                GS750TZ V&H/4-1, Progressive Shocks, Rebuilt MC/braided line, Tarozzi Stabilizer[Seq#2312]
                GS750TZ Parts Bike [Seq#6036]
                GSX-R750Y (Sold)

                my opinion shouldn't be taken as gospel or in any way that would lead you to believe otherwise (30Sep2021)
                Originally posted by GSXR7ED
                Forums are pretty much unrecognizable conversations; simply because it's a smorgasbord of feedback...from people we don't know. It's not too difficult to ignore the things that need to be bypassed.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Thanks everyone! Glad to see some other Ohioans here.

                  Originally posted by Rob S. View Post
                  Not just 'brakes', but brake lines. Stock were rubber that were supposed to be replaced every two years!

                  You want braided Stainless Steel that not only last much longer, but immediately improve brake performance.

                  What does your dad ride?
                  I appreciate the advice. The Earl's lines look pretty easy to assemble, I think I'll go with those.

                  My dad recently bought a Harley Street Glide after riding a Yamaha V-Star 1100 for almost 10 years.
                  1982 Suzuki GS450TXZ
                  1985 Honda CB700SC Nighthawk S
                  2015 Suzuki V-Strom DL650

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