J
Jmans
Guest
Hey Y'all.
Okay, let's cut straight to the picture. Click it, you know you want to.
You're looking at a 1978 GS750 with a hair over 30k on the odometer. Pretty much everything looks to be original except the superbike handlebars and crash bars, both of which I approve of immensely.
You guys like stories? Alright, alright.
I picked this bike up about 6 weeks ago from a guy who worked at the business next to mine. I had eyes on it for over a year and when he finally decided to sell it, of course, I didn't have the cash and he was in a hurry. I signed it off to history as a bike I had wanted and would never get. Fast forward a year later and the kid he sold it to never got it started and gave up. For the sweet sweet price of $600 and a six pack of beer for a buddy with a trailer, it was mine. Clean title and all.
As for me, I've been considering buying a bike for the better part of 5 years and since the stars lined up I went for it. I already went out and took my MSF course, loaded up on safety gear, now to get this beast running. I've been working on cars since I had a license; did my first motor swap at 17, flipped my first junker at 18, I know my chops when it comes to motors. Bikes are a new world for me, but hey, half the wheels half the cost! I'm no stranger to loving up a worn out ride, just ask my 260k mile crown vic. Why doesn't it run you ask? Well that's what we're going to have to figure out.
The gas tank was rusted out, I'll be picking it up from the shop tomorrow. I already got my O-ring kit for the carb from cycleorings.com along with intake rings and new fasteners (Robert is a very nice man, even when you give him the wrong shipping address the first time and have to have them re-shipped) so the carbs are getting torn down asap and we'll see where we go from there. The bike tries it's hardest to turn over, so hopefully a fresh fuel supply will be all it takes to get it running again.
But wait, this is a 36 year old bike, of course there are other problems!
From what I've seen so far the list is:
The push button ignition switch is busted and some jackwagon installed a toggle switch instead. That's getting remedied right away with a new set of right hand control switches.
The throttle tube is busted up and cracked, lurking tells me I can use an R1 throttle tube instead, anyone care to chime in? I couldn't find too much information on this swap.
While we're at it, the grips are splitting apart, I'm figuring a new set of gel grips should do the trick.
The rear turn signals and rear brake light are dead. Probably a wiring issue I'm going to have to fix. And by fix I mean run all new wire. (No shortcuts in this house)
That should be enough to get on the road, the rest of the list is much more extensive. Valve adjustments, ignition overhaul, clutch springs, suspension love both front and back, rebuilding of both sets of calipers, new regulator/rectifier to avoid having to hand-wind a new stator, and getting that bird poop off the tank.
I'll be asking a lot of questions in the next few months and I'll keep everyone updated on the progress. From what I've seen already there's a massive wealth of information here and some very knowledgeable folks around so I'm excited to see where this goes.
Cheers!
-Jmans
Okay, let's cut straight to the picture. Click it, you know you want to.
You're looking at a 1978 GS750 with a hair over 30k on the odometer. Pretty much everything looks to be original except the superbike handlebars and crash bars, both of which I approve of immensely.
You guys like stories? Alright, alright.
I picked this bike up about 6 weeks ago from a guy who worked at the business next to mine. I had eyes on it for over a year and when he finally decided to sell it, of course, I didn't have the cash and he was in a hurry. I signed it off to history as a bike I had wanted and would never get. Fast forward a year later and the kid he sold it to never got it started and gave up. For the sweet sweet price of $600 and a six pack of beer for a buddy with a trailer, it was mine. Clean title and all.
As for me, I've been considering buying a bike for the better part of 5 years and since the stars lined up I went for it. I already went out and took my MSF course, loaded up on safety gear, now to get this beast running. I've been working on cars since I had a license; did my first motor swap at 17, flipped my first junker at 18, I know my chops when it comes to motors. Bikes are a new world for me, but hey, half the wheels half the cost! I'm no stranger to loving up a worn out ride, just ask my 260k mile crown vic. Why doesn't it run you ask? Well that's what we're going to have to figure out.
The gas tank was rusted out, I'll be picking it up from the shop tomorrow. I already got my O-ring kit for the carb from cycleorings.com along with intake rings and new fasteners (Robert is a very nice man, even when you give him the wrong shipping address the first time and have to have them re-shipped) so the carbs are getting torn down asap and we'll see where we go from there. The bike tries it's hardest to turn over, so hopefully a fresh fuel supply will be all it takes to get it running again.
But wait, this is a 36 year old bike, of course there are other problems!
From what I've seen so far the list is:
The push button ignition switch is busted and some jackwagon installed a toggle switch instead. That's getting remedied right away with a new set of right hand control switches.
The throttle tube is busted up and cracked, lurking tells me I can use an R1 throttle tube instead, anyone care to chime in? I couldn't find too much information on this swap.
While we're at it, the grips are splitting apart, I'm figuring a new set of gel grips should do the trick.
The rear turn signals and rear brake light are dead. Probably a wiring issue I'm going to have to fix. And by fix I mean run all new wire. (No shortcuts in this house)
That should be enough to get on the road, the rest of the list is much more extensive. Valve adjustments, ignition overhaul, clutch springs, suspension love both front and back, rebuilding of both sets of calipers, new regulator/rectifier to avoid having to hand-wind a new stator, and getting that bird poop off the tank.
I'll be asking a lot of questions in the next few months and I'll keep everyone updated on the progress. From what I've seen already there's a massive wealth of information here and some very knowledgeable folks around so I'm excited to see where this goes.
Cheers!
-Jmans
