First GS, 1979 GS750

[theneckasaurus]

Good Evening,
I've been skulking around craigslist and facebook marketplace the last few months looking for a decent project bike to be able to fairly easily get running and have a fun bike for the summer then do a frame up freshen up next winter. I landed a 1979 GS750L for $400. The bike is complete minus the last couple inches of the frame where someone cut it off to likely put a hoop and some sort of custom seat. However, they never finished so I have the stock seat, the stock rear fender and a few inches chopped off the frame behind the seat. Other than that someone put some different bars on and thats it. The bike has 25kish on it. I have read through what newbie stickies I could find and did some searching but I still have some questions. First and foremost my intention is to see if the bike runs and runs well enough to ride as it sits without having to do a top end or anything as invasive as that. So I want to spend money on only what I have to, the first thing would be a new battery since the bike didnt have one. My question is can I run an AGM on the stock system or do I have to run a wet battery? Eventually I will upgrade the charging system and run something like the dyna kit for the ignition but for now I'd like to try to get her started and running before investing more. Now, if there are stickies that will answer all my questions please point me in the direction, I tried to get creative with my search key words but that doesnt always do the job. Happy to be here and learn, thank you.

 

[cowboyup3371]

Yes you can run an AGM battery - many of us like the Motobatt brand as they are a very good quality. Go here - http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff for a lot of good information. There's also a thread titled Top Ten Newbie Mistakes you should read through

 

[standswithabeer]

how long did the bike sit?

 

[theneckasaurus]

how long did the bike sit?

Unknown. The fella I bought it from bought 3 or 4 bikes from a guy as a package deal and this was one of them. He was restoring a few other bikes and still had an '80 GS750L and another bike to go so he wanted to get rid of one. It has been garage kept, nothing is sun baked or dried out. It did not come with a key, are these like most other bikes where the key # is on the tumbler somewhere?

 

[theneckasaurus]

Yes you can run an AGM battery - many of us like the Motobatt brand as they are a very good quality. Go here - http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff for a lot of good information. There's also a thread titled Top Ten Newbie Mistakes you should read through

Thank you, sir! That site is a wonderland of information!

 

[LAB3]

Motobatt is pretty pricey but probably worth it for the long haul. For now there's no reason you can't run it off ANY 12v battery with a set of jumper cables until you figure out exactly what you have to work with.

 

[Redman]

.
............It did not come with a key, are these like most other bikes where the key # is on the tumbler somewhere?

Welcome to TheGSR.

Yes, if is like the 80 & 82 Gs that I have experience with, is a 3 digit code that maybe can see stamped in real fine numbers on the face of the ignition switch. Or maybe that is all scratched up from the key, so maybe also look on the helmet lock. I think it is not on the outside of the gas cap.
Local locksmith may not know what to do with that 3 digit code, but are some ebay sellers that offer the service.

 

[theneckasaurus]

I have a battery on the way. Here are some pics!

 

[theneckasaurus]

I have a battery on the way. Here are some pics!

 

[gustovh]

Oh my god no.......it’s an L....Welcome, welcome, welcome, you’r going to love your “L” they are well mannered rides and don’t let anyone give you any guff about the bars.

V

 

[Guest]

already de-eled, so no problems there. Heck we'll even forgive the chop job.

Oh my god no.......it’s an L....Welcome, welcome, welcome, you’r going to love your “L” they are well mannered rides and don’t let anyone give you any guff about the bars.

V

 

[theneckasaurus]

Oh my god no.......it?s an L....Welcome, welcome, welcome, you?r going to love your ?L? they are well mannered rides and don?t let anyone give you any guff about the bars.

V

Thanks! Yep, the ol L. I've done nothing to the bike, its just the way I bought it!

 

[theneckasaurus]

LOL! Like I said, havent done anything to the bike, previous guy did everything.

 

[theneckasaurus]

Ok gentlemen, I've been thinking of what direction I'd like to go with the bike. I want to go the direction of a non "L", I'd like to use a factory seat and rear "fairing" I guess it could be called. This is my inspiration, https://blog.goo.ne.jp/gpcraft/e/d398775000d7e77df4122c5a1ff08088. I love the way the lines of the tank flow into the seat and into the rear fender/fairing. My questions are: 1.) Are the frames, tanks, etc the same between all the variants of GS750s? 2.) Are the front forks the same? It seems my L has a longer front fork, can I lower these/slide the triple tree down a smidge? 3.) Where would be my best bet to find a seat and rear fender/fairing? I've been swamped at work so I haven't touched the bike, but this week I will be able to see if she will start and run and then go from there.

 

[theneckasaurus]

Dug in a little today, I don't have the key however the previous owner made a little harness to effectively hotwire the bike. Plugs look brand spanking new! She turns over very nice but has no spark in spite of the new plugs (possible troubleshooting attempt by the last guy). I'll check the points tomorrow, maybe clean the and see what happens, after that I assume the condenser would be the next culprit as the wiring and most other stuff looks to be in good shape, though never disqualified from being the cause.

 

[theneckasaurus]

Well good news, good spark, just wasnt seeing it in the lighted garage. She purred over for a couple seconds on starting fluid. We will see what tomorrow brings.

 

[LAB3]

A seat with tail fairing like one you linked are pretty easy to get on eBay and you might want to check Dime City Cycle, they are typically universal and may require some work to get it solidly mounted.

 

[theneckasaurus]

A seat with tail fairing like one you linked are pretty easy to get on eBay and you might want to check Dime City Cycle, they are typically universal and may require some work to get it solidly mounted.

I'll definitely have to figure out what to do with the frame thats been chopped, maybe I'll run down to the local bike graveyard to take a look at how the factory frame terminates in the rear. Also, will any of the late 70's gs750 fairings work? As in are they all part of the same generation? Thanks, LAB3.

 

[hannibal]

The pic you posted looks like a GS750 (non L). I don't know if a non L tank and seat will fit on an L model. If they do physically fit, I don't know if they will look the same as the non L model you posted.

 

[TeamDar]

The pic you posted looks like a GS750 (non L). I don't know if a non L tank and seat will fit on an L model. If they do physically fit, I don't know if they will look the same as the non L model you posted.

It is a 1979L. It has the L pipes, the L clocks, the L bodywork, and the leading axel forks. I have the exact model and color in my stable. Dar