All I know is that it's a GS!

[Mr Freshley]

Hey guys! I just picked up this project bike off a friend, about 2 years ago it was pretty much left at his house by a friend who moved away and told him he could have it. Not being very interested in bikes or mechanically inclined it sat for a year before I saw it. Always wanting a motorcycle but never having had the means to get one it broke my heart to see the potential sitting there going to waste. I told him if he paid for the parts, I would get it going for him and he agreed. I got about 4 weeks of work into it before he had some financial setbacks that put the project on an indefinite hold. At that time I knew the wiring was a lost cause it had been cut into in various places over the years and some of it even looked melted, so I basically pulled out every wire I could find and decided I would figure out how to re-wire it from scratch! I had just gotten it to the point where it would turn over when I had to quit working on it, which was really frustrating because it had JUST given me the first signs of life after a pretty frustrating month of staring at wire diagrams. Anyways I offered him $100 for it last week knowing it was still just rotting away and now it's MINE! Still havent' decided if I'm going to continue with the simple home made wiring or once again start over with one of those "M Unit" kits, but anyways....

I'm not even 100% sure what this bike is, since it's got a lost title as of now and I haven't yet contacted the registered owner. Anybody have some educated guesses or know how I can find out?
https://goo.gl/photos/PiVzjndxXpgm6pRE6
https://goo.gl/photos/1bnvgqhM8FZuRnxv8
https://goo.gl/photos/6tY5UvUn9BQCktpd8

 

[Mr Freshley]

Found the VIN, can barely read it though..
https://goo.gl/photos/gSbn2yxqe78hghD17

 

[chuck hahn]

Look down under the left hand pipe and there should be a flat area there on the jugs with what CCs it is.

 

[Guest]

Looks like an '80-81 450 to me.

 

[GSXR7ED]

Good job Rick!

Ed

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

Here's a VIN decoder, you should be able to figure it out from this. (or not)

http://www.suzukicycles.org/_misc/identification.shtml

My Guess is an '81 GS400 or maybe a '81 GS450, the only question is the letter "L" in the 5th space should it be an "M"?


David

 

[Guest]

I don't know much about what was sold in Canada, but that looks like a 450E or S tank to me. Did the 400 or 425 come that tank?

 

[Steve]

Looks like an '80-81 450 to me.

It's not an '80. :-k

It has a 17-digit VIN, which means '81 or later.

.

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

I don't know much about what was sold in Canada, but that looks like a 450E or S tank to me. Did the 400 or 425 come that tank?

Rick, I edited my post above, after looking at the decoder I am baffled by the letter "L" in the 5th space. Not supposed to use that letter in the VIN or at least a US VIN, so maybe it's a Canadian bike that migrated South.

Not sure about the tank but does look familar.

David

 

[Guest]

I'm just going by the look of the engine and tank and the fact that it doesn't have tuned fork wheels, which I think started in '82. It's not an L or a T and everything above a 450 has four cylinders. Not including the late model GS500 and GR650, but their frames don't look like that.

 

[Steve]

I agree, I was just kicking the '80 out of the picture due to the number of digits in the VIN.

I know the "tuning fork" wheels started in '82, but I think it was just the shafties and the chain-driven Ls, not the Es or Ts.

.

 

[SVSooke]

All that info tells me you have a 81 GS450E.The tank is the earlier version and the round cam covers mean 450.

A pic of my 81 GS400E from back in the day,notice the engine differences.

 

[Guest]

All that info tells me you have a 81 GS450E.The tank is the earlier version and the round cam covers mean 450.

A pic of my 81 GS400E from back in the day,notice the engine differences.

With those cam covers, is that a 4 valve per engine? If so, was it rated as powerful as the 450 2 v engine?

 

[sam000lee]

Must be an '81 GS450E. It has a grab bar (only) on the left side which neither the L or T models had and can't be an '80 from Steve's comment on the VIN.

 

[sam000lee]

Also, I just rewired my 1980/1981 GS450 and made up a wiring diagram thats been working well so far. Here's the thread feel free to get in touch

http://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...gram-(Thinking-about-making-a-custom-Harness)

 

[SVSooke]

With those cam covers, is that a 4 valve per engine? If so, was it rated as powerful as the 450 2 v engine?

Yes it is a 4 valve engine. About the same output of the 450.

 

[Guest]

Yes it is a 4 valve engine. About the same output of the 450.

Now I'm wondering if the 4v head fits the 450?. Partsoutlaw doesn't list the 400 to see if the head gasket has the same part number 11141-44110-H17.

 

[Mr Freshley]

Wow you guys are great! I thought I had an 83 650E for some reason lol. The Canada theory does make sense because the guys I got it from are from Canada. The plastic side covers that I have look just like the ones on that white one, too. I'll be getting back to the bike tomorrow and I'll be able to take another look with all this new information and figure out what I'm working with. Kinda bummed it's such small displacement, but I will be building this as my first ever street bike so I guess it's all good. Thanks again everyone!

 

[Mr Freshley]

Awesome, thank you so much! I'm going to be figuring my build budget this week and deciding if I'm going to just get an M Unit or not but regardless I'm sure this will be very useful.

Also, I just rewired my 1980/1981 GS450 and made up a wiring diagram thats been working well so far. Here's the thread feel free to get in touch

http://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...gram-(Thinking-about-making-a-custom-Harness)

 

[SVSooke]

Now I'm wondering if the 4v head fits the 450?. Partsoutlaw doesn't list the 400 to see if the head gasket has the same part number 11141-44110-H17.

I don't think so.To check stuff like that http://www.cmsnl.com/ would be the place to check.