1982 GS1100E from the grave to today.

[Guest]

A while back I bought a rotting 82 GS from a kid for a couple hundred bucks. He said the motor was locked up, but it wasn't. Just one of the stand offs for the coil pack had fallen into the motor and wedged at the cam chain.
Ended up that at some point in the bikes life it had been bored +2mm and had 36mm carbs put on it. I spent a few months and about a grand getting it thrown back together. Rebuilt the motor, did a simple wire job on it, tuned it and the thing is stupid fast for its age! Overall I got less than $1,500 in it and since august, about 5,000 miles. During nice weather I daily it to work, 50 miles round trip.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Well done. I, personally, could not see that being a comfortable riding position, but it mustn’t be too bad off you’ve been commuting 50 miles a day on it. It certainly does make a statement. It’s bold, minimalistic, but not ratty. Nice job.

 

[Rob S.]

Interesting color scheme.

 

[Guest]

Well done. I, personally, could not see that being a comfortable riding position, but it mustn?t be too bad off you?ve been commuting 50 miles a day on it. It certainly does make a statement. It?s bold, minimalistic, but not ratty. Nice job.

Thank You.
Not comfortable at all! It's a stretch for my 5'10" frame, but still a lot more comfortable than my 1299! LOL
I didn't spend a whole lot on it since all the plastics were bad and the tank was pretty rough, along with an unknown on the motor. There was no bringing it back to original within a reasonable price. There's a all original mint 82 1100e for sale here in Colorado and the guy has been trying to get $3500 out of it for over a year. For some reason the motorcycle market here in Colorado is pretty cold, which is weird considering we have some of the best canyon roads it the world. But it's nice if you like motorcycles because you can get them real cheap.

 

[Guest]

Interesting color scheme.

Didn't turn out quite like I was expecting but it is different than anything else I've seen in Denver/Boulder.
Colors, rims, wings are all personal.

 

[steve murdoch]

Another GS saved. Well done!
What are those rear shocks and do you like them?

 

[Guest]

Another GS saved. Well done!
What are those rear shocks and do you like them?

I try to do my part and recycle as much as I can! LOL
The rear shocks are ebay and they are junk. But at $50, I can adjust the spring rate and they perform acceptably for what the bike is.

 

[rphillips]

Another GS saved????????? Uhhhhh! did you say saved?????? Ain't it amazing how folks see things different? I'll say it looks like you did put a lot of work into it. A little lacking on the front fender, even more lacking on the rear fender...Congrats on your work.

 

[Rob S.]

Another GS saved????????? Uhhhhh! did you say saved??????

My feelings exactly (though I tried to be a bit more subtle).

 

[Baatfam]

The '82-83 GS1100E is one of the most beautiful bikes ever made....Even the back end...

My $500 eBay special...
Brown County Rally by R John Thieda, on Flickr

 

[Rob S.]

The '82-83 GS1100E is one of the most beautiful bikes ever made.

You speak the truth.

 

[dorkburger]

Yep. . .

 

[steve murdoch]

My feelings exactly (though I tried to be a bit more subtle).

Absolutely another GS saved.
Given the starting point the VAST majority of people would have parted out this bike. Through the time, efforts and money of winmag another GS is on the road.
Sure, restoring it to stock MIGHT have been optimal but also might not have been practical.

 

[Baatfam]

Sure, restoring it to stock MIGHT have been optimal but also might not have been practical.

Not sure about that. That first picture doesn't look that bad. Looks way better than mine did when I got, and it didn't much cash to make it a safe runner.

 

[Guest]

The '82-83 GS1100E is one of the most beautiful bikes ever made....Even the back end...

My $500 eBay special...
Brown County Rally by R John Thieda, on Flickr

^^^^THIS right here is the exact reason I didn't waste time or money putting the bike back to original.
As I said in a previous response, there's a guy here in CO that has a cherry 82 that he's been trying to get $3500 out of for over a year. If he can't get $3k out of a mint one, I'm not going to put in the time or $ to bring one back to mint.

Lets be honest. There's only a few of us on this forum that could take a pile of junk that was leaning against a fence for years, with no gas cap, fried electrical system, possibly locked up motor, and get it back on the road in any form.
My bike isn't for everyone, but at least it didn't end up in the land fill.

 

[rphillips]

Well, OK, I'll admit no doubt it's better than letting the whole thing completely rot away in a fence row. Still hard to say "another GS saved", "another GS eng., trans., & wheels saved" would seem a little more accurate. Looks like really good work whether I'm impressed with the final results or not. Also understand not invest more than will return, could go broke doing that. Congrats again & my opinion, color fits bike perfectly.

 

[Guest]

Well, OK, I'll admit no doubt it's better than letting the whole thing completely rot away in a fence row. Still hard to say "another GS saved", "another GS eng., trans., & wheels saved" would seem a little more accurate. Looks like really good work whether I'm impressed with the final results or not. Also understand not invest more than will return, could go broke doing that. Congrats again & my opinion, color fits bike perfectly.

100% agree with you.
Front forks and rim, swing arm, motor are all that's left. The rear rim is 16", not sure what it was off of, but when I got the bike it had a dunlop tire on it that was stamped 99. So I'm assuming the last time the bike had ran was probably 20yrs ago. When I contacted MTC about piston rings, they said that style hadn't been produced since the 90's.

 

[rphillips]

Rear wheel 16", Most "L" model GS's had 16" wheels with that same design.

 

[Guest]

A while back I bought a rotting 82 GS from a kid for a couple hundred bucks. He said the motor was locked up, but it wasn't. Just one of the stand offs for the coil pack had fallen into the motor and wedged at the cam chain.
Ended up that at some point in the bikes life it had been bored +2mm and had 36mm carbs put on it. I spent a few months and about a grand getting it thrown back together. Rebuilt the motor, did a simple wire job on it, tuned it and the thing is stupid fast for its age! Overall I got less than $1,500 in it and since august, about 5,000 miles. During nice weather I daily it to work, 50 miles round trip.
View attachment 63510

You did a great job upgrading it. By the way, what type of motorcycle exhaust do you run on this ride?

 

[Baatfam]

^^^^THIS right here is the exact reason I didn't waste time or money putting the bike back to original.
As I said in a previous response, there's a guy here in CO that has a cherry 82 that he's been trying to get $3500 out of for over a year. If he can't get $3k out of a mint one, I'm not going to put in the time or $ to bring one back to mint.

Lets be honest. There's only a few of us on this forum that could take a pile of junk that was leaning against a fence for years, with no gas cap, fried electrical system, possibly locked up motor, and get it back on the road in any form.
My bike isn't for everyone, but at least it didn't end up in the land fill.

Don't be too impressed by my $500 special. I only bought it to have a spare motor for my drag bike.
It had been leaning against the wall of a shed for years, with the starter clutch assembly laying on the ground, side cover off.
It was a mix o '82 and '83 parts, with a cut frame, and shortened front springs, (I figured illegal street racing), it really was a mess.

I wasn't planning on getting it running, just take out the motor.
But with this forum, some parts scrounging, another frame, and a lot of work, it turned into a great riding, OK looking bike.
But not worth anything close to $3K. LOL...

Anyway, 15 years later, it still looks OK...Just don't get too close.