1982 GS 1100 L Project Recommendations

[johnnyglass]

First off, hello from Austin, TX!!

Long time reader, first time poster.



I bought my first GS, a 1982 GS650GL back in late 2011, when my truck died and I needed transportation, and upon seeing this beauty on CL, I jumped on it. Had no ideas on how to repair my bike, or the notorious R/R and Electrical issues. Took it home as it was in this picture, and had to pump about $1K on parts and labor (I also called it education, ha.) just to get it running reliably.

Unfortunately, I had to move to NYC for work, and having a motorcycle wasn't conducive. It's one of the few regrets I have in my life. But I did it, and when I moved back to Austin, I decided I needed to get back in to it..

Today, I purchased a 1982 GS 1100 L from CL for just a shade north of $1K. Here it is.





Old man said it was sitting for about 18 months. He said he drained the bike of fluids as best he could, but when I showed up, I could still hear a tiny big of gas in the tank. Refilled with gas, and she starts right up. Has trouble staying running at idle, but under power she's strong as an ox. Pretty sure it's the usuals of a sitting bike, cleaned/sync'd carbs, new plugs, new fuel line, etc. New battery, going to do the battery/electrical health test next weekend when I have more time.

And now, off to the project. Here's my inspiration of what I'm going for.



I know the shaftie is going to limit me to the rear wheel that's on there, and I'm going to try to avoid the hard tail route. Since my old bike came with the cafe look and vibe, and I didn't have to do any of that before, I had a few questions for you guys.

#1 - What are the best ways for lowering the bike a lot closer to the ground, to reference the bike above as inspiration (i.e. Slammed, I believe is the term)?

#2 - Can I buy any set of forks as long as they have the same diameter?

#3 - Where is the best resource to buy cafe/bobber parts of our GS's? I saw Dime City Cycles online, didn't know if there were any other better options out there.

I thank you guys in advance for all the help and insight I've garnered over the years because of this forum.

 

[eil]

1. You can raise the fork tubes in the triple tree a bit and go about an inch shorter on the rear suspension. If you want to go lower still, you can hard tail it, although you lose the ability to control the thing and gain new back injuries.

2. No. Your front end is set up for leading-axle forks, so if you change away from that, you have to change the triple tree as well or you'll have wacky handling. Far as I've heard, front end swaps with other Suzukis (and even other brands) are usually pretty simple, just a matter of finding the right bearings and fixing up the lock stops.

3. Look up Ichiban Moto, he has great recommendations and tutorials.