Just aquired 3 gs's and need advice...

[Guest]

My brother and I bought a lot of four cars from someone. While there I noticed the tail of a GS sticking out from a cover. A week later I was towing a '83 gs750e and a '83 or '85 gs550es home. I left the 550 with my brother who is in Los Angeles (I am in Arizona). A couple weeks later I went to pick up more car parts he found for the cars we bought and took a '85 gs700es back. All the bikes have been sitting for a while.
Are these bikes worth anything? I like them because I remember them from when I first started riding. He also had a Bandit which I was unable to get! I was actually looking for a cruiser - sport/cruiser since I live 100miles from anywhere and gas is no longer cheap. My brother is not into the sporty bikes, would prefer a cruiser type.
Here is the condition of the bikes. All three have been sitting for a while, so they need whatever that entails - brakes redone etc.
gs550es
seems complete except for the key and side panels. Comes with a spare engine, exhaust and a 4-1 exhaust.
gs750e
have everything except gas cap, gas level sender and petcock. I have the E fairing that has had a repair, looks good on the outside. I also have a usable es fairing that I planned to mount instead of the E fairing, need to get the bracket.. Has fox shock. extra side panels with broken tabs, two extra sets of carbs and a third extra set for a different bike, stage 3 jet kit
gs700es
I started taking some parts off of this bike to put on the 750 so it is missing the throttle grip. I also took the stainless brake lines off and put on the 750 so it needs new stainless brake lines. I am missing the fuel tank cap, not that it matters because the tank is pretty dented and needs to be replaced. Rest of body is great, including the rare Lockhart lowers! Have extra broken side covers and fairing, a couple seats that were carved on for a custom seat, extra exhaust.
Have a lot of spare parts. There was an extra set of forks that had risers that were taller then the ones on the bike so I put that on the 750, a lot more comfortable position, new engine cover etc
Which to keep, if any? Will a gs700 or 750 work as a sport/cruiser in Az? Will these bikes be able to handle the temps here (today is 111)? I know my brother is not going to be happy with the 550, which is kinda my favorite.
I have had several bikes through the years, but I have not ridden in a while. Last bile was a '97 zx9r, so this is my last frame of reference.

 

[Suzukian]

I purchased a 1983 GSyt0E inn 1983 brand new. I;ve had it since. Those Lockhart lowers are impossible to find. Those fit the 1983 GS750ES. I converted mine to the ES by getting the fairing, bracket, and found a set of Lockhart lowers. The brackets are on EBAY all the time, pretty cheap. Just make sure it's straight.

I would keep the '83 GS750E (E). Most if not all of the GS700 parts will fit it. I have easily traveled 700 miles a day on my GS750ES without problem. They have a lot of mid range power, and loads of top end too. These bikes are cold blooded because of emissions, with the right oil, you should have no problem with the temperature control. You can fix the side covers with JB-Weld, and some home made plastic plugs. It will fit and hold. They all broke off a couple of the pins. Easy fix. Very expensive to replace if in good condition. These bikes have cam followers, and the valves can be adjusted with a 10mm wrench and a square drive tool to turn the adjuster. they sell all in one adjusters for around $17 bucks on EBAY. No special valve shims needed. There is work that has to be done on the charging system,, if it hasn't been done already, but it's easy to do. I have 40K miles on my bike, and will be passing it on to me son. Nothing major has ever gone wrong with my bike. I worked for many bike dealers, and have found this bike, with it's 5.2 gallon size tank, to be able to traverse many miles. Whatever you do, don't get rid of the Lockhart Lowers, they are impossible to find. My bike looks like the bike below. (not my bike), I just don't have any recent pics with the lowers on it. I have the stock exhaust, as when I rode one with a header, it had lost mid range power.

 

[Redman]

......
...................................... All the bikes have been sitting for a while.
Are these bikes worth anything? .
.
..

I cant help you with value of those models. But the ES are popular.

Advise for having Just acquired 3 GSes....?
Two things
- You will want to have a volt meter to check (and trouble shoot) the charging system.
- You have come to the right place.

.

 

[Rob S.]

Will these bikes be able to handle the temps here (today is 111)?

Oil coolers will be mandatory.

 

[Guest]

Photobucket now charges so just started a new site for pictures - hope this works
Here is the 550

 

[Guest]

Just testing above - wasn't sure which link to use.
more 550


spare engine

 

[Guest]

here are some 750 - 700
750 with full fairing

right now all the body panels are in great shape with no broken tabs. Yes I know it has the 700 tail on it at the moment, do have perfect 750 tail. I was experimenting with body parts. The front fairings and lowers fit either bike. Both frames seem to be identical and have all mounting points.
700 with full fairing

All the body panels are great except the tank
You can see the Lockhart lowers have a little scrape on them.
you can see on this set of uppers someone mounted mirrors. Seems to be held on by one screw - they reused a windscreen mounting hole so no additional holes were made. I like it.

new engine cover if someone needs

misc parts




fox shock - anyone know about this shock?

 

[Guest]

Oil coolers will be mandatory.

All three bikes come with factory oil coolers are far as I can tell. Are those adequate?

Advise for having Just acquired 3 GSes....?
Two things
- You will want to have a volt meter to check (and trouble shoot) the charging system.
- You have come to the right place.​

Have DVM and after searching the web I am sure I am at the right place!

Whatever you do, don't get rid of the Lockhart Lowers, they are impossible to find. My bike looks like the bike below. (not my bike), I just don't have any recent pics with the lowers on it

When the time comes I might have questions on how things mount. I have spacers for the forward upper mount. I think I found a bracket for the lower mount but need to verify.. Also found some aluminum spacers that might be for the upper fairing bracket lower mount.

 

[rphillips]

Wondering, are you a bike guy? It seems you were buying cars and just happened onto the bikes. If you're getting them sorted because you are into bikes, that's great. If just trying to turn a profit, that may be different. Either way a REPAIR MANUAL for the bikes will be a great start... Way more answers in them than you will ever have questions for... Pretty decent looking bikes. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Suzukian]

I don't know what you paid for that pile of parts and bikes, but you may have really picked up a deal. Like I stated earlier, the GS750ES is the bike you want to center you first efforts on. Those Lockhart lowers are in really good shape, and themselves, to the right person, can get quite a good amount of money. Color matched, you will have a hot looking bike, and a head turner. which will mean nothing compared to the crisp handling of a 750 that handles like a 550. Hold on tight, but not too tight. The bike does exactly what you tell it to do, almost anticipating your thoughts. It can get you in trouble quick, but out of it just as quickly. There weren't many of these bikes around, so you will have a not so common motorcycle that handles incredibly well, is very fast, and with the 5.2 gallon takes can go quite a distance before stopping. I am converting mine to a 17" front wheel sometimes this year, as 16" tires were getting hard to find. Just having found new Bridgestone Battleax tire has put that on hold. These are easy bikes to own. You have quite a collection of spares. I'd probably off the 550 stuff, as they weren't anything special, but the GS750E and ES models were. They were the foundation for the GSXR750 Suzuki, and the motors are virtually identical.

I've held onto mine since new. I've worked for many dealerships that always supplied me with a bike, but none felt as good my my GS750ES. I have a Kaw ZZR1200 now, and I can never imagine selling either of these bikes.

You can find manuals for this bike of BikeCliff's website, as well as much other information on Suzuki motorcycles..

Link= https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/

 

[Guest]

Wondering, are you a bike guy? It seems you were buying cars and just happened onto the bikes. If you're getting them sorted because you are into bikes, that's great. If just trying to turn a profit, that may be different

I like bikes and have had a number of them. I was kinda looking for a bike. My interest in the value is more a question of how far into the bike do I go. Do I powdercoat or paint? Do I replace every bearing or reuse. Do I strip it down or paint as is? Keep them original or modify? How much effort do I put into them? If these were one of the bikes that I really lusted over back then it would be a no question strip down, replace and powder coat everything regardless of value. I want to make sure the bikes get saved so at minimum will get running good and new paint job.
I think I will keep the 750 and finish it first. It was taken off the road to add a stage 3 jet kit. The carbs were removed and he installed the needle onto one carb and drilled the slide hole bigger. He then went on to work on one of his other six bikes and twenty cars! Do not want to become him - I have seven projects right now!
I will start a build thread for the 750 in the build thread forum.

 

[Suzukian]

Just a little trick I learned. Inside the stock Suzuki Airbox, the tubes that go from the air box to the carbs have these very wide flat rings that are split. If you take them out with a set of good needle nose pliers, the carb to air box boots become very pliable, and you can remove them from inside the air box (just push the screen out of the way, the screen snaps right back in. The carbs then just pull back, drop down and you pull them out through the right side of the bike (sitting on the bike, right side). Very easy to remove if you remove those flat rings, which give the tubes rigidity.I noticed them still in the air box in the pic you posted.

 

[eil]

If you look around on these forums, there are people who have taken these models to bits and done a full restore on them. Decals, paint, polish, the works. They really look nice all tarted up! I'd like to get my hands one some day.

 

[Guest]

Just a little trick I learned. Inside the stock Suzuki Airbox, the tubes that go from the air box to the carbs have these very wide flat rings that are split. If you take them out with a set of good needle nose pliers, the carb to air box boots become very pliable, and you can remove them from inside the air box (just push the screen out of the way, the screen snaps right back in. The carbs then just pull back, drop down and you pull them out through the right side of the bike (sitting on the bike, right side)

Thanks for the tip
Here is something I learned today. If you disconnect your oil cooler lines at the pan and only a little bit of oil comes out do not assume there is no oil left! When I removed the pan - chaos!

I'd probably off the 550 stuff, as they weren't anything special

I like the 550 I think it was the best looking bike in it's class until the ninja 600 came out. I had e a FJ600 back then and I think the GS looked better. As far as performance, I couldn't tell you. My friend had a '82 GS550E with a 4-1 that sounded great. My FJ was pretty modified (it was a race bike I made street legal) and he was not even close. My FJ was king of the class, but you can't compare a highly modified bike to stock or near stock bikes. My friend with the GS would do all sorts of crazy stuff to try and get ahead of me. This of course led us to crash into each other. How many people on this forum can say they know what it is like to have a GS550E brake pedal go into your foot? I've been intimate with GS's before!

If you look around on these forums, there are people who have taken these models to bits and done a full restore on them. Decals, paint, polish, the works. They really look nice all tarted up! I'd like to get my hands one some day.

Yep, some really nice ones. I will probably modify the 750, it's what I do to my cars. I am considering putting GSX750EF lowers on it. The 700 will probably go factory

 

[salty_monk]

Have a look back through my threads… can’t get much more modified than my 750 was and yes it will be fine at your temps as long as you don’t leave it idling for and hour….

 

[Rob S.]

All three bikes come with factory oil coolers are far as I can tell. Are those adequate?

I would think so. However...

You may find that riding without those lowers during the day is more comfortable, as they might trap engine heat around your legs.

 

[Suzukian]

The oil coolers are very functional. I've seen some of these big with big bore kits, and they still use the factory oil cooler. They are so cold blooded, the bike might never warm up if you got o a bigger one.

As far as the fairing lowers, good point. There are some quick disconnect pieces you can find at a speed speed shop if you think it may get to hot. The opening in the front is pretty wide, I don't think that they would be that much of an issue, as they are narrow, and on that bike, your legs aren't that tight against the bike and the edge of the fairing, but I'm only 5'7", so I can only speak for myself. When I get around to mounting mine, I am going to make sure I can easily remove it.

 

[bwringer]

As far as the value: no, you will not make money restoring and then selling any of these. Put that thought straight out of your head.

You do have the potential for great enjoyment and personal satisfaction (not to mention a few months or many months of hard work, expense, and assorted frustrations to be overcome) ahead of you if you choose one of these bikes to focus on. It's a well-trodden path, and the help you need is here; start with the "Newbie Mistakes" thread before you order any parts.

As to the level of restoration... since you're not already dead set on and beginning an unstoppable meticulous over-restoration, I think you have your answer.

Most of us focus on functional restoration; bring everything mechanical back to factory spec, and make the usual necessary improvements for more reliable charging, safer suspension & braking, etc. Expect to spend somewhere around $1,500 - $2,000 for parts, maybe more, maybe less. Ride the bike for a while, fall in love, then decide how far you want to take the cosmetic end of things.

After the first bike, you'll be in a better position to make decisions about the other bikes.

Will it be worth it to you personally? I can't say because I don't know you, but I can say I've spent a ridiculous amount of money over the years on my GS, as have all of us, and it's been worth every last penny in terms of satisfaction and enjoyment. And I think that describes most of us here.

See, motorcycles don't make a damn bit of sense in the first place; the only reason we ride at all is because we like it. And therefore what you enjoy riding, and how you enjoy the wrenching and restoration doesn't have to make any logical sense at all either. If it speaks to you, if you like it, then go right ahead and spend the time and money it takes to do things right, and as safely as possible.

Again, look for and spend some time soaking in the "Newbie Mistakes" thread; it's a powerful reservoir of accumulated wisdom from the GSR Hive Mind, and will save you untold misery and expense. It will also help you clarify your goals and preferences.

 

[salty_monk]

If you decide it's not for you... then you can just ship one of them to me

 

[Suzukian]

If you decide it's not for you... then you can just ship one of them to me

Wow, I was thinking the same thing. Those Lockhart Lowers are very worth having.