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Beginning 1982 GS-750T return to road ready condition project

  • Thread starter Thread starter dperson
  • Start date Start date
D

dperson

Guest
I am not very mechanically inclined. But, after a review of new bike prices (didn't see much I liked anyway), I concluded that I can't afford a new bike. I recently retired (somewhat early) from software development and have the time to spend.

So, if all of you who are mechanically inclined and have experienced taken an old GS that's been stored for literally a couple of decades and brought it back to life, I'm looking for your help and input.

I'm not sure why, but nothing on the new market today catches my eye like the 70's-80's Suzukis. Seems like today you have to like race bikes, choppers or heavy touring bikes. Nothing simple and elegant like a late 70's to early 80's GS.

Today, I made the decision to start the work. I pulled the 750T into the garage and removed the tank. I have a moderate amount of rust that I guess I will have to remove after which I will seal the tank.

The petcock is frozen in the Reserve position. Should I just replace it?

The battery leaked on the battery holder (now removed) and rear fork. I now have some deep rust on both. Any thoughts on rust removal?

Air box is out. Tomorrow I will attempt to pull the carbs. It's not real obvious how to do this. I have an old Clymer manual and hopefully I can manage this.
 
dperson said:
So, if all of you who are mechanically inclined and have experienced taken an old GS that's been stored for literally a couple of decades and brought it back to life, I'm looking for your help and input.
Click to expand...
Do Hondas count? 16 years since the one I have last ran.

dperson said:
The petcock is frozen in the Reserve position. Should I just replace it?
Click to expand...
probably.

dperson said:
The battery leaked on the battery holder (now removed) and rear fork. I now have some deep rust on both. Any thoughts on rust removal?
Click to expand...
sand prime and paint.

dperson said:
Air box is out. Tomorrow I will attempt to pull the carbs. It's not real obvious how to do this. I have an old Clymer manual and hopefully I can manage this.
Click to expand...
You can...
 
There is a better manual, the original Suzuki books are available free online for most models.
No body will do the work but you, if they did it would cost many times what the bike is worth, especially once you fix everything they screw up.
More rewarding to do it all yourself anyway.
I have gotten several of these up and running after a long time, not too hard since you live in a dry place, shouldn't be much rust.
Working on a GS1000 now that has sat outside for years, biggest problem is everything is dusty.
Got pics of the bike?
 
Last edited:
dperson said:
The petcock is frozen in the Reserve position. Should I just replace it?

Air box is out. Tomorrow I will attempt to pull the carbs. It's not real obvious how to do this. I have an old Clymer manual and hopefully I can manage this.
Click to expand...

I would at least take the petcock apart. There are rebuild kits available. It probably is seized up due to dried gas, corrosion and shrunken rubber parts.

Removing the carbs is easy. Start by pulling the breather tube which connects from the top of the motor to the airbox intake. Loosen the carb hose clamps on both sides. You've already removed the rear half of the airbox but you will need to unfasten the intake part which is clamped onto the carbs. Once this is loose pull it back so the carbs have room to slide out of the intakes which are clamped to the motor. Disconnect the choke cable by pulling back the little spring loaded retainer. Pull the choke cable clear of the carbs. Next disconnect the thottle cable. This is easy to do if you rotate the rack of carbs a little so that the throttle cable end is accessible. Once the throttle cable is off so wiggle/slide the rack of carbs out the side.
 
I guess I'm pretty committed to doing it myself now. I should have taken some pix before I pulled everything apart. Overall condition is very good. Its been covered and mostly stored in a garage so not really very much rust. If I succeed with this one, I'll have a '79 GS1000E to do that will be an even bigger challenge. Its been stored outside for 20 years.
 
I would expect anything with rubber to have hardend up. The the boots on either side of the carburators, hoses, orings and seals will all be potential trouble spots. The ones that can give you particular trouble without any outward indication are the ones between the carbs and the cylinder head. They can make it a real bugger to tune the carbs.
 
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