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Hello from TX

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
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G

Guest

Guest
Just joined and thought I'd post so I can drop the dreaded "Lurker" tag.

Reason I joined is that I just bought this 1980 GS850 and will be restoring it from the ground up. I was originally on the hunt for a GS1000 or GS750 but the 850 popped up on Facebook and I took the plunge as it appeared to have all the bits. The photos flatter it somewhat. It's quite rough round the edges. My plan is to make it look new again.

I've previously restored a 1976 Kawasaki KH400 (S3), a 1977 Yamaha RD400, and a 1979 Yamaha RD400.

I'm originally from the UK, but moved to Houston TX in 2001.

IMG_3997 by Mark Philip, on Flickr


IMG_3739 by Mark Philip, on Flickr

IMG_3335 by Mark Philip, on Flickr

IMG_3784 by Mark Philip, on Flickr
 
Welcome to the site, Mark.
Your idea of "rough around the edges" is a lot different than mine.:) The GS looks looks good.

Your two-stroke stable is gorgeous. Are those HiggSpeed chambers?
 
Welcome to TheGSR.

yes , the 850g does appear to have all the bits. Great looking 80 G (I had one for about 10 years)
Even has the little metal trim piece on back of the tail piece.

and the seat grab bar that often gets removed along with the seat bottom trim.
the chrome front fender makes me wonder what else on front end got changed out.

i see that cypress is NW of Houston.

again welcome to TheGSR.
tell us more of your adventure with the GS.

i had the 80 850g for a couple years before I figured out the secondary drive (between xmission and shaft drive) has its own separate gear oil box. Maybe you are more observant, or are better at reading the manual.
 
ooh! nice 850 ! Looks "done" to me already, but I'm a slob versus many here. :)

You're awfully good at restoration!
 
Hey Mark. Really nice restoration work.

I'm with Gorminrider on this. Looks great as is, but this is coming from a guy who washes his bike once a year.
 
Thanks all.

I knew I'd raise a few eyebrows with GS "restoration" ;) Not sure if it's an OCD thing, but I spot every little blemish and don't rest until it looks like new again. I've actually backed off a bit since my first resto, where I overhauled everything (no piece of original rubber remained) as well as replacing every nut and bolt with new ones (I truly learned what a nut and bolt restoration is!). I won't get too carried away with the GS (kinda).

To answer Steve: yes they are Higgspeeds.

Here's what the yellow Yam looked like when I bought it:
IMG_1114 by Mark Philip, on Flickr
 
Is that a chrome front fender?
...
 
The bike was originally the US-only Daytona Special, which had a painted front fender (and painted rear, for that matter).
 
Afterdarkmark said:
Just joined and thought I'd post so I can drop the dreaded "Lurker" tag.

Reason I joined is that I just bought this 1980 GS850 and will be restoring it from the ground up. I was originally on the hunt for a GS1000 or GS750 but the 850 popped up on Facebook and I took the plunge as it appeared to have all the bits. The photos flatter it somewhat. It's quite rough round the edges. My plan is to make it look new again.

I've previously restored a 1976 Kawasaki KH400 (S3), a 1977 Yamaha RD400, and a 1979 Yamaha RD400.

I'm originally from the UK, but moved to Houston TX in 2001.

IMG_3997 by Mark Philip, on Flickr


IMG_3739 by Mark Philip, on Flickr

IMG_3335 by Mark Philip, on Flickr

IMG_3784 by Mark Philip, on Flickr
Click to expand...


Welcome

You did excellent work!! It will be a head turner I'm certain of it after seeing the others.
 
Why was I thinking "80" model? Noticed the fuel cock isn't the infamous "80" model Suzuki fuel cock with no res. nor lever. I love the paint scheme & colors, are they OEM from another part of the world? Seems familiar but I've never remember it in the U.S. Great work throughout the garage. Congrats
 
rphillips said:
Why was I thinking "80" model? Noticed the fuel cock isn't the infamous "80" model Suzuki fuel cock with no res. nor lever. I love the paint scheme & colors, are they OEM from another part of the world? Seems familiar but I've never remember it in the U.S. Great work throughout the garage. Congrats
Click to expand...

It is indeed an 80 model but I've been questioning whether or not the fuel cock is original. I ordered a K&L service kit but the metal piston in the middle of the diaphragm was too short for this fuel cock, which meant the fuel didn't completely shut off when the engine wasn't running. Similar question mark on the headlight. I bought a new rim but it didn't fit. As far as I can tell from parts lists, the one on the bike is from a GS550.

The 80 model did come with a color option called Gravity Silver, but not sure which markets it was offered in. It was quite different to the Chrysler silver I used.
 
My 80 originally came from the factory to Europe as an identical bike to that, with the same normal petcock and colour.
 
The engine looks factory fresh. How did you clean and paint the cases? Looks flawless.
 
LeT said:
The engine looks factory fresh. How did you clean and paint the cases? Looks flawless.
Click to expand...

Apart from a carb issue, the engine was in great shape, but nonetheless you have to do a complete tear down if you want the cases done properly. The bare cases were blasted, primed with high-temp primer, then painted with VHT engine enamel. It looked like only the upper case was painted originally, but I painted both halves.
 
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