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GS300L compatibility with GS450

  • Thread starter Thread starter tyson916
  • Start date Start date
T

tyson916

Guest
Hello everyone,

I am glad I've stumbled onto this forum site as there seems to be a wealth of info here. Apologies in advance if this has been posted before but I could not find it in the search here or google.

Last year I did the unimaginable (to my friends, relatives and most sane people I've run into) and rode my 1982 GS300L to Winnipeg from Vancouver; a fantastic 2200 km ride (1375 miles to the unmetric) over 3 days.

IMG_9873.JPG

Suzi kept up relatively well blowing a fork seal and stretching her chain along the way (that's what that clanking sound was!) but called it quits in Winnipeg a 100 km shy of our destination due to some electrical failure. So there she remains for the time being almost forgotten until I stumbled onto a local craigslist posting for a 1980 GS450:

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pml/mcy/2737260462.html

So my question is how different are the electrics on my bike vs this GS450? If modifications are required, what would I be getting myself into?

A thought that creeps into my mind is swapping the motor and everything into my 300 frame. A call to my local shop says it's not possible or worth it but I thought I'd post it here just in case anyone has experience with this.

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
Last edited:
Seems you got multiple posts for this but I'll post this one here since it's an electrical question :)

First off, welcome! Sounds like you had a fun trip on the 300, I like these twins :D

Anyway, from the little I know of the 300's, there's quite a difference to the 450's electrically, I'm thinking the 250 may be closer but I have no knowledge of those.

Do you know what the actual problem is? I think it would be best to track down the actual issue first in case it's something real simple like the main fuse blown or something...
 
My GS300L has coils from a TL1000 and a regulator / rectifier from a GSXR 750.

The ignition is still stock
 
Me, I'd look for a lower mileage 450 (something that someone has out grown) and part out the 300 after scalping the similar parts ( starter motor comes to mind). After that fun adventure, you sound like someone who could use a tad more power.
 
Thanks for the reply Pete, I wasn't too sure which section to post this in. The trip was a blast, especially through the rockies where I ran out of fuel a few times cause I could barely get a 150km/90miles out of a tank

I'm working on getting the bike home right now so hopefully I'll be able to diagnose the situation soon. The guy selling the 450 is willing to sell it real cheap and the bike is running.

Cheers,
 
tom203 said:
Me, I'd look for a lower mileage 450 (something that someone has out grown) and part out the 300 after scalping the similar parts ( starter motor comes to mind). After that fun adventure, you sound like someone who could use a tad more power.
Click to expand...

Hi Tom, power wise, I've already upgraded to a couple of sportbikes (R6 and Duc916) but I loved having the GS for booting around town as my job has me doing a lot of in town commuting. For trips I'm looking into a sidecar rig (maybe a GS?) to take my dog along. The pacific coast looks to be the trip. Thanks for the reply
 
tyson916 said:
Thanks for the reply Pete, I wasn't too sure which section to post this in. The trip was a blast, especially through the rockies where I ran out of fuel a few times cause I could barely get a 150km/90miles out of a tank

I'm working on getting the bike home right now so hopefully I'll be able to diagnose the situation soon. The guy selling the 450 is willing to sell it real cheap and the bike is running.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

Awesome, I'd love to take my 450 on a longer trip at some point, I reckon it'd be a blast :D

Only 150km out of a tank? Wow! You must have had her pinned to the stop a few times! :)

If the 450 is real cheap and running it'd be tempting to just grab it and see what you can do...
 
pete said:
Awesome, I'd love to take my 450 on a longer trip at some point, I reckon it'd be a blast :D

Only 150km out of a tank? Wow! You must have had her pinned to the stop a few times! :)

If the 450 is real cheap and running it'd be tempting to just grab it and see what you can do...
Click to expand...

Yeah those mountain passes were pretty brutal and going into a headwind in the prairies wasn't kind on fuel economy. Maybe a windscreen would have improved things but only time will tell if I can test that experiment.

Yes the 450 is cheap and running so it looks like I'll have to treat myself to another Xmas present. Will keep everyone posted on progress, if any.

Cheers,
 
tyson916 said:
Yeah those mountain passes were pretty brutal and going into a headwind in the prairies wasn't kind on fuel economy. Maybe a windscreen would have improved things but only time will tell if I can test that experiment.

Yes the 450 is cheap and running so it looks like I'll have to treat myself to another Xmas present. Will keep everyone posted on progress, if any.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

Aaah yeah that'd kill the economy alright! I suspect mine's probably doing something similar once I hit about 80 - 100kph as I get buffetted quite a bit... may have to think about that too...

That'd be a real neat Christmas present too! There's currently a 400 on here for free too but I'm not sure where it is in relation to you...
 
pete said:
There's currently a 400 on here for free too but I'm not sure where it is in relation to you...
Click to expand...

Hi Pete, can you send me a link to this bike? I've tried doing a search and no luck. I'm in Vancouver, Canada and am pretty mobile for free things :)
 
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