1978 gs 1000 rebuild

[Wolfdogg40]

Just picked up a solid 78 gs1000. Looking to do a mild cafe/ resto and keep the stock look as much as possible. Any suggestions or things to look for on tear down would be much appreciated. I am an avid dual sport and sportbike rider and this is my first vintage bike.

Right now I am in the process of getting it running right. Went ahead and replaced intakes for precautionary reasons.

Looking to upgrade suspension and have talked to some guys about sonic springs up front and yss in the rear.

I may end up shaving my own seat to somewhat of a flatter giuliari style look.

Going to do some polishing etc and custom paint

 

[Big T]

That's not a stock seat, anyway. It's some kind of custom touring seat
Upgraded swingarm is nice
Sonic springs and emulators for the front
A twinpot brake upgrade is warranted
A bit of a mutt, with the cast wheels and wire wheel bodywork

 

[Guest]

What other bikes do you have? I would check compression and the charging system as these tend to deteriorate if the bike hasn't been looked after. If the charging system is still stock then you may want to change it to an aftermarket system as the stockers almost inevitably fail given enough time.

 

[TeamDar]

That is also a 82-83 GS1100E front forks with anti dive.

 

[Wolfdogg40]

That is also a 82-83 GS1100E front forks with anti dive.

would this be considered and upgrade ?

 

[Wolfdogg40]

That's not a stock seat, anyway. It's some kind of custom touring seat
Upgraded swingarm is nice
Sonic springs and emulators for the front
A twinpot brake upgrade is warranted
A bit of a mutt, with the cast wheels and wire wheel bodywork

I plan to try to shave the seat, we will see how that goes, I hate the way it looks currently

I need to do some research on the twinpot brake upgrade?

yes it is a mutt, what do you mean by the wire wheel body work?

 

[TeamDar]

would this be considered and upgrade ?

Yes since they are adjustable in both preload and dampening.

 

[dorkburger]

That's a really nice looking starting point.
Agreed that the seat is.... not good looking. Personally I'd keep the paint as is, unless it's in poor condition.

 

[Big T]

I plan to try to shave the seat, we will see how that goes, I hate the way it looks currently

I need to do some research on the twinpot brake upgrade?

yes it is a mutt, what do you mean by the wire wheel body work?

There's a lengthy thread on the twinpot upgrade in Performance
https://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?140253-Twinpot-Brake-upgrade-on-78-Skunk

It's hard to tell if your bike was an E (cast wheel) or standard (wire wheel), what with all the mods
The E was black with a white stripe (aka skunk) and the standard came in red (yours) or blue (mine)

IMG_20191022_164251343_HDR by Todd Cannon, on Flickr

 

[1978GS750E]

I would not paint that bodywork! Original paint on those body parts are worth some big bucks to someone doing a restoration. Buy some old cast-offs (if you can find them) and paint those!

 

[salty_monk]

Looks like you have the 83 1100E brakes & the swingarm too.. The wheels & rotors look stock 78/79 cast ones. I wouldn't be painting over that paintwork either but finding a replacement will be tough. You could probably find a tail easy enough but a tank.... The 82 1100E or 82 750E are easier to find and look a bit more "cafe" too....