1980 gs250 t restoration after sitting 31 years

[Eric S]

Well, I just got a new project,a 1980 gs250 t,it's been parked since 1985,s it's going to need some help,the tank is so rusted that you can put your whole hand in the hole where the peacock valve used to be,the seat needs to be recovered, and it was froze all the way including the rear wheel, we had to dolly it to the trailer.So I pulled the plugs poured some ATF into the cylinders and let it set for two weeks,while waiting for it to soak, I pulled the rear wheel,it was ok but the shoes were stuck to the drum, I had to Chisel them out ,need shoes now but the wheel rotates just fine now. I then had to unfreeze the rear brake pedal. Looking in the crankcase through the oil filler ,it looked like it was brand new,no rust or anything to stand out, just clean oil,well very old clean oil. With the plugs out and ATF in the cylinders, I put it in fourth gear and grabbed the rear wheel and turned it as I could and BAM! , the motor turned over. I have soaked the carbs,opened them up ,they looked really bad,but with some effort, and carb cleaner,they look almost like new! I used jumper cables and checked the lights and things like that, not the starter though,I'm hesitant to do that until I inspect it,so far I spent 15 bucks on a hydraulic bike jack (from a garage sale),30 bucks for a tank, it looks like the correct one ,but it doesn't fit ,now I'm stuck wit.it,I was thinking about modifying it . Also need a brake caliper,it 's missing. The bike was free, so I don't have that much in it. Can anybody suggest the next step? ,It's been a very long time since I have done this, Thank you ,Eric.

 

[fasteddie313]

Can anybody suggest the next step?

Post pics!!

 

[tkent02]

Another early step, is to take a good hard think about how much time and effort you want to put into a bike that's worth maybe about $1000 in pristine condition. The same amount of time effort and resources will be worth something in a bigger bike.

I love the riding little guys, but a rust bucket with stuck brakes and likely a lot of other things, the return on anything you spend will not be there. And any bike that's been neglected for over thirty years will take a LOT of time and effort, a lot more than one that just died last year or last month. After doing an 1100E, and making a lot of money on it, I decided never to do another that's been sitting forever, even if it's not a rust bucket. It's just too much work.

That $1000 is likely on the generous side.