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How much will it cost to rebuild the engine and gear box on a 1982 gs 850 L

  • Thread starter Thread starter NES07DEZ
  • Start date Start date
What's wrong with it?
Way cheaper to replace the whole thing with a good one.
850 engines are cheap.
 
Like tkent asked, what's wrong, how bad is it, and why do you think it needs to be done? :-k

What are your sypmptoms that make you think it needs to be rebuilt? If it's just low compression, it could be rings, valves, valve timing. If it's rings, they could be worn or just stuck. How long have you had the bike? How long has it been since it ran well? If you just got the bike and don't know its history, it might just need a good cleaning. The gearbox is rather difficult (but not impossible) to kill. More likely to have a stuck or slipping clutch or a bent shifter fork.

Give us some more details and we might be able to give you better numbers. If it just needs a good cleaning, it won't cost much. If you need to pull the cylinders, a gasket kit can be from $50-100, rings (if you need them) will be about the same, cylinders will need to be honed, it would make sense to change the valve seals (usually included with the gasket kit). Tranny work will depend on what's wrong, but clutch springs are about $20 (to cure slipping). Add a few bucks for incidentals and you can see how it can quickly escalate from about $125 to $300-400 very easily. :-\\\


I just did a quick search on eBay for "Suzuki 850 engine" and found three on this side of The Pond and one in England.
Prices ranged from $200-300 plus shipping.
.
 
Last edited:
Hello all,
Nothing is wrong with my bike but i am trying to coustomise it and i just wanted to khow how much it will cost. I really dont khow the history of the bike i just rather do the hole thing and really know what was done to the bike. any sugestions.
 
If there is "nothing wrong" with it, why not just run a couple of tests? :-k

If they check out, you have that much more money available for your customizing.

Have you run the bike yet? That is, run it down the road. If it runs well and does not smoke, leave it alone. Evidently whoever was inside the engine last (it might have been the assembly people at the factory) knew what they were doing, so why mess it up?

.
 
Steve said:
If there is "nothing wrong" with it, why not just run a couple of tests? :-k

If they check out, you have that much more money available for your customizing.

Have you run the bike yet? That is, run it down the road. If it runs well and does not smoke, leave it alone. Evidently whoever was inside the engine last (it might have been the assembly people at the factory) knew what they were doing, so why mess it up?

.
Click to expand...

I agree with steve save your self a lot of time money and headache. You can always run a compression test and borescope the engine. But your best bet is to just run it.
 
To answer your question, $,1500+ depending on what you want to do.
 
Hello all
the bike runs like a dream! the only thing is the splines whent out and i am waiting on the part. I will be posting photos of the old spline so stay tuned. I was just thinking just to rebuild the motor and the gear box but i guess if it aint broke dont fix it. but i am going to change the valve cover gasket. a small amount of oil is sipping out but not much at all.
 
I want my bike to look like this one.
I have already contacted the gs member and he said it was ok to steal his look. I really fell in love with this motorcycle
 
this is what mine looks like. you can see other pics on my profile.i want it to look like the one below. can anybody give me a price range on how much money i need to getting my bike to look like the one below.
 
To rebuild it yourself or pay someone to do it for you? I usually run a base charge of 10 hours on a four stroke piston motor, plus 1.3 hours per additional cylinder (14 hours total for a GS850), which includes cylinder bore/hone and head/block lapping (machining if needed as well). Does not include new pistons and rings, bearings, timing chain/belt, valve grind/surface, or seals. This is for the bike being brought to me. Bringing just the motor shaves 2.5 hours off the total.

Of course service charges will vary...I do everything at $35/hr...for my work, to rebuild a GS850 engine, would be out $490 in labor (a hair over $400 to bring just the motor).
 
I agree with the general mood -- if it ain't broke, there's absolutely no reason to open that engine. 850 engines will easily go 100,000 miles and far more without major work. They're actually quite a bit easier on their bores than the 1000 and 1100G engines.

Throw a RealGasket on the valve cover and breather cover (check the valves while you're in there) and ride happy. http://realgaskets.com

Invest your money in new tires (those old-school tires have GOT to go, pronto) and suspension upgrades. Hagon or Progressive shocks are good, or if you want to spend even more, Ikon or Works. These will make a HUGE difference in riding enjoyment and safety. The same applies to brake upgrades (new pads & stainless braided lines).

All the standard 850 stuff applies, too -- seal the airbox, intake boots & o-rings, replace the o-rings in the carbs, new petcock, fine-tune float height, etc. Basscliff has a complete list...

The final touch is to replace all the rubber bits and pieces -- the grommets holding the side covers, the tank cushions, the instrument cushions, etc. These will go a long way toward making your bike look and feel new.
 
makenzie71 said:
Of course service charges will vary...I do everything at $35/hr...for my work, to rebuild a GS850 engine, would be out $490 in labor (a hair over $400 to bring just the motor).
Click to expand...

Dang, you need to charge more!

Where are you?
 
bwringer said:
Dang, you need to charge more!

Where are you?
Click to expand...



Lubbock, TX.


I charge what I charge because I have no overhead...unlike shops. I also do the work on the side, apart from my day job. So you may only be charged 10~15 hours for something like this, but it'll take 2-weeks.


I haven't done any 4-cylinders, though, so after my first run I may have to add a couple hours...I've never had to ask my machinist what he'll charge me for a four cylinder bore.
 
Your in Orlando, 16 hrs from me (Louisiana) bring to me, I'll sort it out.................

(over 20 years experience with GS's)
 
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