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1979 GS1000 Rebuild

  • Thread starter Thread starter cmerck
  • Start date Start date
C

cmerck

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Hi all! I have recently purchased a 79 GS1000 to rebuild and use as a weekend toy.

So the background on it: I purchased it from a guy who meant to repair it, but didn't. You all know the story. I picked it up for a great deal of $300 with a clean title.Basically it had been abused, left outside at some point, modified and overall just forgotten about. I plan on making a few slight modifications to it, but mainly keeping it with the original look. Below is a picture of when I picked it up. I plan on stripping it down to bare frame, then rebuilding over the next few weeks.

https://www.flickr.com/cameraroll
 
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Looks like a fun project. Please post up your photos to a 3rd party hosting site like flickr and then link the img code so your photos will show up here in high resolution! We love photos here!

Good luck
 
Welcome to the site, cmerk.
"stripping it down and then rebuilding in the next few weeks"???
It can take me a few weeks just to find all my tools.
 
Haha thank you! Yes I hope to have it down to frame in a few weeks. I don't think I will start the building process for a while haha.
 
I made a good amount of progress the past few days. The big things I accomplished were taking off the wiring harness and engine. That is a huge engine by the way. I plan on cleaning on painting everything, so the next few days will be big for the project. I'll add some pictures

https://www.flickr.com/photos/156078375@N08/?
 
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Ahhhh thank you Big T and Ed. I appreciate the help. I have a ton more pictures I will put up tonight. I managed to get the bike down to the frame. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to clean it and begin sanding it.

This leads me to a part that I am not all that good at. The Engine. This engine has a little over 18 thousand miles on it. Before I put it back on the bike I would like to check everything over and clean it up nice. I will honestly say I have never worked on the inside of an engine. So now I will ask you all what all I should do? Thank you!
 
Its out of the bike and has sat a while. If it was me, the cylinders would come off and a light run with a 320 grit ball hone to deglaze the liners, and since it open, new rin gs arent that expensive in the big picture. New valve stem seals and a good valve lapping job at a minimum to refresh the head is in order also.

One of the 1000 Manuals here should be the right one..as I dont know what model your 1000 is. Anyways just follow the manual and ask questions if your unsure of what something means.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/
 
Thanks Chuck Hahn! As far as lapping the valves go, are there specialized machines that I would need for that?

Secondly, I have discovered that my exhaust pipes has been fully rusted through in several areas. They will for sure need to be replaced. Any advice on good setups for these bikes? I am also debating on replacing my rear shocks without a better setup, so any suggestions there would be appreciated. Sadly this bike has a ton of evidence of it being neglected. Today I found a snake skin attached to the frame......
 
Awesome, thanks a ton! I was just reading through your 1000C build. That is a very impressive bike! I can only hope my turns out half as good.

Another item I am debating on is the air box/pods debate. I personally prefer the air box look, but the bike had pods on it when I got it. I do plan on rebuilding the carbs to factory settings though. (already trashed the old pod filters)
 
be sure to verify the jet sizes to go back to stock. Think its 95 main and 15 pilots....but see a parts fiche to be certain.
 
I have made a large amount of progress over the past few days. I successfully stripped, and sanded the frame. I repainted the frame and finished the painting process, painted the swing arm, battery box, center stand, tripple tree and a few other parts I'm forgetting. The chrome on some of the parts was in rough shape so I cleaned it up the best I could. I've now began the process of cleaning and fixing the wheels up to my standards. The paint on my wheels is in rough shape, so I believe I will be painting them black, as I am going for a black and chrome look with the bike. I replaced the internals on my front forks and cleaned them up nicely. I'll post some pictures up tonight.

On to a few more questions: I would like to use a different set of shocks on this bike as the stock ones are pretty rough. Any recommendations? Next I would like to paint my brake calipers as they are rough. I've never painted calipers before, any good tips on that?
 
There is a lot of shock talk in the suspension forum

Calipers - there is caliper paint that is more brake fluid resistant. Check your local auto parts store. Lots of masking before paint
 
Thanks Big T! I have successfully cleaned, painted and rebuilt the calipers, seat lock, and several other small parts. I still haven't decided on what shocks I will go with on the rear. My stock shocks cleaned up decently, but not to my standard. I will continue to research that, but for the time being, I have to figure out what to do to replace the pegs that the shocks mount on at the top of the rear of the frame. I saw in Chuck Hahn's build that he cut them out and then replaced and welded a replacement in from another bike. But my issue is that I currently don't have the ability to weld where I am. I do have the ability to cut though, so I have considered cutting the pegs out and replacing with a certain type of nut and bolt that will accommodate the shocks, etc. Today I plan to start working on the wiring harness, which is in a total mess. The previous owner had cut several places and there are some bad connections from previous tampering. I finally have been able to upload some pictures, which will follow this post.
 
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