Is it worth it?

[Tigeroffhell]

Hi, first post on the gs forum here and I've got a question. I found this 1980 suzuki gs850g for 450 on FB market place and it seems like a crazy good deal the thing is though that the current owner has added that they have spent over 1 thousand on trying to get it to stay running but all they are able to do is get it jump started and then it dies out. Now they have said they cleaned out the carbs and have even taken it to actual mechanics and they still haven't been able to get it to stay running. The bike in the photos likes amazing especially for the price but if they haven't been able to get it to stay running even after having mechanics look at it is it worth it. I have very little mechanical experience but me and a friend want to try and get it going if its worth the time and effort.

 

[rphillips]

Looks well worth $450. Hard to believe they can't get it going, GS850's rarely have any big problems, other than sitting too long and carbs need "good" cleaned. But no guarantees... Oh yeah, WELCOME

 

[alke46]

Welcome to the forum. DO NOTHING to this bike until you have read member Nessism's top 10 newbie mistakes. Not following this advice will give you every opportunity to
re-do everything a second time. Especially the carb cleaning.

 

[Tigeroffhell]

Thats what I've seen about the GS series from this forum and every where else so its crazy to see how nice it looks and the price I've been seeing so many other GS series bikes on FB that look like dirt and twice or three times the price of this one. what do would be the first thing I should try and look at? And THANKS!

 

[alke46]

Re-read my post.

 

[Tigeroffhell]

Posted my message before I saw yours haha thanks will do!

 

[dorkburger]

Is it worth it? That depends on your level of desire to learn.

 

[Carter Turk]

Stator (inside left engine cover), SH 775 regulator (finned, behind carbs, behind side cover), starter motor brushes (under carbs), splines.
Maybe someone else will say something about this, (splines) as I'm chain driven guy. Parts if needed, probably less than $350.

 

[gtem]

My single biggest worry is what some other "mechanics" may have done to the carbs. Best case scenario you're likely replacing some crappy off-brand jets. Worst case scenario is some permanently damaged carb bodies and extracting stripped out pilot jets and/or broken off idle mixture screw tips.

 

[Tigeroffhell]

So I got it guys I'm excited to look into why it won't run. I've got some finals this week but I plan to spend most my free time trying to get it to run. I even found a free manual for it which I wasn't expecting!

 

[zuluwiz]

one possibility: rusty tank and/or dirty gas. either will clog the petcock and produce the symptoms you describe. if the tank and fuel are clean then do the carbs. you still might have to replace the petcock but that can wait till the carbs are good. Oh and yes, for $450 that bike is a steal. The parts are worth more than that. Welcome to the site, step up to the bar and draw yerself a beer.

 

[dpep]

Hi, first post on the gs forum here and I've got a question. I found this 1980 suzuki gs850g for 450 on FB market place and it seems like a crazy good deal the thing is though that the current owner has added that they have spent over 1 thousand on trying to get it to stay running but all they are able to do is get it jump started and then it dies out. Now they have said they cleaned out the carbs and have even taken it to actual mechanics and they still haven't been able to get it to stay running. The bike in the photos likes amazing especially for the price but if they haven't been able to get it to stay running even after having mechanics look at it is it worth it. I have very little mechanical experience but me and a friend want to try and get it going if its worth the time and effort.

This sounds like at least two different issues. Why are they having to jumpstart it? It does not crank with a fully charged battery? Once started how long doe it run before dying out?

 

[dpep]

You can remove the tank and hang an external one for your tests. If the engine does not die out after short time that will tell you to focus on the petcock, tank, and lines.

 

[zuluwiz]

just thought of this: the gas cap might not be venting.

 

[Tigeroffhell]

You can remove the tank and hang an external one for your tests. If the engine does not die out after short time that will tell you to focus on the petcock, tank, and lines.

So I had to replace the battery because the battery was bad and I got it going for about 30 seconds before it dies out idling, then I tried just going down the street and gave it some gas and it just would not accelerate and then died on me. also noticed it is leaking oil and my instrument panel wouldn't show me the rpms

 

[rphillips]

Just a couple of my thoughts, If carbs are full bike should idle way more than 30 sec. before out of fuel and dies. You say when you try to ride off and give it gas it just dies, that is what happens if the little rubber plugs are missing under the pilot jets. Normally the tachometer problems are cable broke or not fully connected.

 

[Tigeroffhell]

So an update! I changed the sparks plugs after I pulled them out and they looked real black and covered in soot so I though it would help to get some new plugs and that did help because it started right up! but then it was idling really high and it was late so I quit messing with it. Today tried to get it running again and it just wouldnt start so I pulled out the plugs the second and third spark plugs are getting no spark and did not change in color compared to the first and fourth spark plug which both give spark and looked covered in soot. I?m assuming that means I should get a new ignition coil. Also before changed the spark plugs I removed the air box and noticed that the air box isn?t complete the vent on the back of it looks like it fell off or broke and a previous owner of it decided to cover it up with a piece of cardboard will it be fine that way or should I look for a replacement? or could I replace them for podfilters? I keep seeing they suck but would it really ruin the performance of my bike?

 

[Tigeroffhell]

Also after the spark plugs I was actually able to ride it for a half block before I decided it would be better to coast back to the garage because it was idling really high, it was late at night and in an HOA lol

 

[Tigeroffhell]

also any recommendations for carb parts and parts in general? because I'm not sure if I should trust Ebay for parts

 

[gtem]

Don't swap the airbox for pods, you're going to send yourself down a real rabbit hole. For parts, Suzuki still sells a number of things brand new, I use partshark.com. Sometimes I use partshark.com to get a parts diagram and part number, then will go hunting around ebay for NOS/OEM/genuine Mikuni parts. Do not use cheap off-brand carb parts, specifically jets or float valves.