Hello from NH

[45bpcr]

I was causally looking for another old air cooled Japanese motorcycle.
A couple of weeks ago this GS1100ED fell into my lap.
7700 miles but it needs some love.
It'll be my "youngest" bike, it's only 40 this year.


Hope I don't go down another rabbit hole like I did with my 77 KZ and 72 H2

 

[steve murdoch]

Welcome to the site, 45.
Nice looking GS. Always liked the blue.
Feel free to post a pic or two of the Kawis.

 

[Suzukian]

I like the Blue also, and it will be a very nice bike, once you dial it in. Welcome!

 

[Rob S.]

Feel free to post a pic or two of the Kawis.

Oh, yes! Especially that H2!

 

[JMHJ]

Just casually messing about and found a blue 1100E... My favorite color for those also.

 

[dorkburger]

Welcome... Go down the rabbit hole....

 

[45bpcr]

The H2 huh?
That thing turns heads where ever it goes.
I've owned it since 1980.
In 2016/17 I went right through it.
It was a VERY deep rabbit hole.
Crank, rods, Woosner pistons, head work, port work, Paul Gast transmission up-grades.
34mm flatslides
ZX600 front calipers w/ EBC rotors, Hagon rear shocks, 1975 swingarm that I converted to needle bearings, Hurst-Airheart rear disc, made all the aluminum brackets myself.
Lakeland CDI box and regulator, new wiring harness, seat, lights and switches and coils.
Denco chambers. I have a set of Denco Killers and a Cycle stop 3-1 also.
I modified the clutch basket to hold 1 more plate and added a bronze clutch release.

Here's a vid of what the 3-1 sounds like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NuXak1DFro

It still had the factory carbs and ignition, I went stupider later after I put the Dencos on.

 

[45bpcr]

This is the 77 Kz1000 the motor's pretty much stock.

 

[rphillips]

OOohhh, a "72" H2, The first yr for the 750 2 stroke, all came in that beautiful blue with light blue and black stripes, nicknamed the "Widowmaker" due to the shorter swingarm and wild power band. that made them sooo radical to ride. .: , no telling what it'd be worth if in "all" orig. condition, they've gone out of site. I got a friend who has a completely orig. "72" except for expansion chambers, has been sitting in his garage for over 20 yrs. with a hole in a piston... He's refused to fix it, scared his kids or grandkids will get hurt on it... He's nearing 80 now, and I wonder what will happen when he's gone and what other stuff will be needed from sitting this long... I've no clue if he's protected the tank. Ah, you also got a first yr KZ1000, dang you should have got an "80" GS1100 and you'd have all first yr. bikes... Congrats.

 

[Rob S.]

Oh, man, that H2 sounds PROPER!

And the '77 KZ1000 was on the cover of Cycle World as the "quickest ever" (12.20 ET).

 

[steve murdoch]

Nice rides, 45.
Rare seeing the 3-1 chambers. There is a guy near me with a HiggSpeed 3-1 on his GT750. Sound great, not sure about the performance.

 

[tas850g]

Welcome aboard and another granite stater here. There’s a few of us here. You should look into the annual fall Rally that some attend. It’s a great time, wish I could go more often.

 

[Jedz123]

Todd, we miss you.

​​​​​​Good core of us here in the NE and we do try to get together at least a couple times a year.

Congratulations and welcome to the group!

Where in NH are you located? Nice looking machines!

Cheers

 

[AnotherGeezer]

Sweet machine. I've got it's little brother.

 

[45bpcr]

Stepped right off the edge of the rabbit hole.

Before I even rode it I dumped the oil and filter and oiled the chain.
Took it out for a 20 or so mile putt.
Since the chain was warm I oiled it again, rust came pouring out.
Replaced the chain.
When I ordered the chain I also ordered float bowl gaskets and a cam cover gasket.
Ordered repro directionals to replace the tiny LED ones.
Stipped and repainted the cam cover and end caps while it was off, someone had rattle canned parts of it and it looked like crap
All the valves were tight,#3 intakes had no play.
Pulled the carbs, they were clean but none of the float levels were the same and the accelerator rod had been shortened.
Made a 105MM rod, set float levels and fuel screws.
Set the return spring to a lower setting.
Repainted the stator cover and replaced the emblem.
Timing was pretty retarded so i set that.
Changed the fork oil and brake fluid, both looked surprisingly good.

Took it out for another ride and it ran much better.

Except -

The carb slides hang up when shifting, which was some what exciting.
Apparently mikuni Strongly recommends a push pull throttle.
Searched E-bay for a dual cable Suzuki throttle and found a few but ended up buying a new one from MotionPro.
It was $75.00 shipped with new cables ( for RS carbs ) and grips, i couldn't buy used for that.
I'll modify the switch housing to keep it all looking some what original, plus I didn't feel like spending another $100.00 on an aftermarket switch.

Found a blue left side cover with broken tabs.
Made new aluminum tabs and they work well.
Replaced a bunch of aftermarket wiring connectors with proper Wcrimp bullet ones.

Thankfully I enjoy wrenching nearly as much as riding.
Did it for 45 years.
Wonder what I'll find on my next ride ;-)

Craig

 

[Suzukian]

You have some really classic sweet bike. The Kawasaki looks period correct, I don't think you'd lose a dime on that and the '77 KZ1000 is a classic.