Back Into Bikes, '77 GS750 Project

[Guest]

Hey, everyone! My name is Allen. I was on this forum years ago as Flaming Chainsaws. And now I'm bike into another GS.

So the way I got this bike... It really wasn't planned at all. I never really thought about getting another bike. I recently moved my project cars to my friends parents shed.

And in the shed next to where we keep the cars, I found this bike. A 1977 Suzuki GS750.


Rolled out of the shed. Hasn't seen sunlight since 1993.


And into the shed next door.




All that dust came with the bike, free of charge.


The rust did as well...


Now as you can see, it's definitely crusty. It will need lots of elbow grease. But for $100... Why not. So the story is, the starter motor went out and my friends dad had a bad leg so he wasn't able to use the kickstarter. He started on replacing the starter motor and then just stopped and has sat since 1993. And now, here I am 28 years later.

The plan is to of course get everything working again. And then we'll see from there. I plan on something between a cafe and a fighter style.

 

[Guest]

Here is how it currently sits after a quick wipe down. Cleans up somewhat well. Removed all the bars in the back as well. Carbs are also off...


And taken apart.


Ewww! Sticky varnish everywhere.


After 24 hour dip in Berryman's.


Cleaned the rest off with brake clean and compressed air. I put it together using the o-ring kit from cycle-rings.com. Next time, I'm gonna change the oil, spark plugs, and add some fresh gas. Maybe it will start?

 

[grcamna2]

That's a nice Barn Find GS750

 

[Rob S.]

Can't see the pics.

 

[allojohn]

Yeah, c'mon man fix them pics!

 

[Guest]

Oh really? I can see fine from both my computer and phone. Maybe I?ll have to try a different image hosting site. I?ll try to get it fixed tonight!

 

[rphillips]

Heck, fix the pictures. I can't even see if it's a red or a blue one. You know the red ones were faster. Oh yeah, welcome back.

 

[Guest]

OK, I think I got the pictures fixed. I switched from Google photos to Imageshack. Although I was able to see pictures from both image host sites. Let me know if it worked!

I've been thinking about bringing the bike to my house so I can work on it more often. Because as of right now, I only go to the shed once a week on Sunday. There is a lot of work to do to it so that may be the move.

 

[allojohn]

Well that was worth waiting for - looks like it's going to clean up very nicely. Is that the air-horn compressor mounted in front of the head?

 

[Guest]

Well that was worth waiting for - looks like it's going to clean up very nicely. Is that the air-horn compressor mounted in front of the head?

Yeah, it sure is. I had a jump box connected and it does still work. Quite loud. But it is bulky and a bit of an eye sore. I'll be changing it back to a more normal, modern horn.

 

[rphillips]

Yeeeaaap, that's what I was hoping to see. The red "77" GS750 was my first real bike. Looks way too nice for the Cafe or the fighter thing, that thing, put back like it should be, will make a really nice bike. Congrats & good luck. Keep us updated, We'll be watching.

 

[roeme]

Nice! Looking forward to your watch your progress!

 

[Guest]

What I meant by modding is maybe going GSXR front end and GS1100E swingarm. Maybe Bandit swingarm? And of course keep the spoke style wheels.

Reason being is that the brakes and suspension are completely shot. We'll see if it can be rebuilt. If not, I'd rather upgrade. But I'm still a long way before I even think about mods.

Anyways, I took the bike home. So that I can work on it everyday instead of just one day a week. Like I said before, this will take some work and I'd like to ride it at least once before year ends.

It'll be a while till it's back at this shed. So many projects in the back lol...


And all loaded up.


My garage is currently a mess. So I gotta get that all cleaned first then I will assess the bike some more.

 

[Guest]

Disaster... Was trying to replace the spark plugs and snap. Ok, shouldn't be too big of a deal. So i tried PB blaster, let it soak for a bit, then heated it up with a MAP gas torch and extractor.

Also snap.


Well that sucks. Guess the engine has to come out. This seems to be the best way.


It's almost bare.


Under the valve cover is very clean.


I'm going to keep trying to extract the spark plugs. I'm gonna start with pulling the head from the engine. But worst case, I'll put a new head on. Already bought one for $50 haha.

This has turned into a bigger project than expected. Might as well make the engine look nice. The frame could use some paint. Harness? Let's make that nice too.

 

[Guest]

Pulled the head off. It has been leaking oil at the head gasket as you can see towards front of engine. I guess it's OK that the spark plug snapped and I couldn't extract it so I had to buy a new head.


Cleaned it. Came out good. Was thinking of painting the engine but will probably just leave it as is.


Timing chain and guides look to be in great shape. I'm gonna leave that alone.

Pretty much just a roller now. Good time to refresh the frame.


And now back to the problem of the whole reason why this bike got parked. Starter motor went bad as I was told. When I got to it, it was missing the large flywheel gear but the magneto was still in place??? And the little gear in between starter and flywheel was missing.

Replaced starter motor as well and the oil seal. Hoping the electric start system is good! But with my luck, watch it be another problem



Slowly chipping away at this thing. My new to me head will be here tomorrow. So the engine should be all back together. But it will still be a while longer before I put the engine back in the frame.

I want to paint the frame and I just found out there is severe play in the rear wheel bearing. More parts to order!

 

[cowboyup3371]

So I'll say it - welcome back. Was wondering what happened to you but glad you found a new project

 

[Guest]

So I'll say it - welcome back. Was wondering what happened to you but glad you found a new project

Hey! Long time no see. Also glad to have this project, especially being a GS.


So I finished the project already...


Just kidding. I hope that mine can be like that someday. It appears to be stock besides the seat and rear sets.


Got some stuff done. New to me head is on. Everything looked to be in fantastic shape. Was told it had 10,000 miles and it sure looked it. Valve clearance set and timing set. New gaskets and torqued to spec.


I've also gone through the wiring harness. I checked and cleaned the connectors. Verified all the solder joints hidden throughout are good. Replaced the bullet terminals with spade. And rewrapped the whole harness with something much nicer than the OEM electrical tape.


As it sits right now. New Delkevic 4-1 exhaust and a new to me OEM airbox seen under the bike.


I have a bunch more parts coming in. Brakes, wheel bearings, stator, reg/rec, etc. Next step is to paint the frame then I can really start piecing this back together.

 

[cowboyup3371]

You ought to look into powdercoating it

 

[grcamna2]

The engine cleaned-up real nice,I like how it looks with the original patina.

 

[Guest]

My local powdercoaters are booked for weeks so thats not really an option. So I stripped it down myself and painted with VHT epoxy paint. I've only got the swingarm and rear brake arm done so far.

It's even more taken apart... Check out the new handlebar and grips though.


Man, I knew this was gonna be a project but not this much. Literally everything needs to be fixed/replaced. At this point, I just want to ride.

Next up is brakes. They are completely shot. Not even worth rebuilding. Bleeder screws snapped and pistons are rusted/pitted. Is there an easy upgrade? Or should I just get another set of OEM in good shape?

More parts on order: tires/tubes, chain/sprockets, steering head bearings, rear shocks.