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My new/old 1981 GS650G

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sangheraent
  • Start date Start date
S

Sangheraent

Guest
Hello everyone, I am new to road bikes, been riding dirtbikes for about 20 years been wrenching on them for about that long as well. Starting to approach my 30s and looking at new hobbies.

Here is my new 1981 Suzuki GS650G I bought this bike for $200. It is rusty most of the chrome is pitted good and tons of rust, The pictures are from when I took it off my truck the day I bought it.

I have been rubbing it with tin foil and that has made a huge difference (sorry no pics yet) I don't have the money to buy all new stuff or have the parts rechromed so I am going to take the rust down to bare metal and buff the metal to look like chrome. I hope this bike doesn't cost a fortune.

I still don't have the paperwork for the bike so I can't spend any money on it until I get that. I'v been told the previous registered owner passed away 15 years ago but it might still take a month or two.

IMG_20141011_165715_zps010d4713.jpg

IMG_20141011_165706_zps644137ce.jpg
 
You did good as even without a title what you have is easily worth twice that in just a few parts. Where are you located? Perhaps one or more GSR members are near you and could help you get it sorted out. ;)
 
For $200 you have done well. The best part is that even though the 650G is a little weird in that not many parts are found on other models, there does seem to be no shortage of parts available through EBay, etc...

The pipes are in rough shape, but if the baffles are intact, and the rust is only on the surface, you should be happy with them derusted/buffed/painted...

Seems like you might be near a coast, based on the powdery appearance of the cases.

What is the sticker on the right fork?
 
BigD_83 said:
The pipes are in rough shape, but if the baffles are intact, and the rust is only on the surface, you should be happy with them derusted/buffed/painted...

Seems like you might be near a coast, based on the powdery appearance of the cases.

What is the sticker on the right fork?
Click to expand...

I am in Abbotsford BC about an hour south of Vancouver. This bike was actually in storage for about 10 years in the ski hill that hosted the 2010 Olympics. The owner drove it up there and left it there (he worked there), judging by the shape of the bike I think there was some salt on the ground. I have a battery coming in a couple of days for another bike so I will use that to do a compression test and see if there is any life in that motor.

That sticker is a provincial inspection sticker leads me to believe this bike was originally form a different province and imported in that sticker says 1983 on it!! If his family is from out of province and he did pass away then the papers could come in less then a month.
 
Great find. I have an identical one that I bought in 1989 and still use as a daily ride. As a matter of fact I just had a great blast through the twisties on it today among the fall colours here in Ontario. It runs like it just got out of the showroom but there's 84,000 km on it. These bikes are a great secret. Nobody outside of GSR knows how good they are so they let them sit and then they sell them for $200. Hopefully you'll get this one to live again.
 
I have been clearing rust on this thing about half an hour to an hour a day whenever I find time and last night I hooked it up to a battery and all of the electronics work signals brake lights head lights I just lightly tapped the starter and it made a sound (I don't want to be turning the engine just yet). So I think there is a chance this thing might just wake up from its deep sleep after a good carb rebuild.

also is there 1 throttle cable on these bikes or 2? Just asking because the bike has one but my cb has 2 same year carbs look similar also.
 
You probably know this already, but one easy way to get the rust off of fasteners and small items is to soak them in vinegar for a couple of days. Clean with soap and water first to remove grease. If you put the vinegar and parts in an old pot on the stove on medium heat and they will come clean fast! After the soak/cook, take them out and the rust will srub right off with a toothbrush/brass bristle brush & soap. Put some oil or WD_40 on them after to keep them from flash rusting. Saves a lot of sanding and scrubbing. You can re-use the vinegar for a long time before it stops working. I have been cleaning lots of rusty bits on my bike and this has saved me hours of work.

Nice bike by the way, good score!
 
Just one throttle cable. Do you plan on keeping the luggage rack?
 
I usually give my parts a CLR bath and then rub them clean and they come out looking great, but I really don't want to take anything off of this bike yet I am waiting on the paperwork before I start buying stuff so right now its just tin foil for me. I know if I start taking pipes off and carbs off I will be replacing bolts, gaskets, clamps, orings, manifolds in a hurry and for some reason gaskets and manifolds on this bike cost a fortune.

Sorry the luggage rack is the reason I bought this bike. My Cb650 is just too damn nice to take on long road trips so that is the plan for this bike if everything works out.
 
When you make your list, let me know what you need...I might have a selection of spare bits and bobs I could move in your direction at decent prices.
 
BigD_83 said:
When you make your list, let me know what you need...I might have a selection of spare bits and bobs I could move in your direction at decent prices.
Click to expand...

Do you have any spare bits for 82 GS1100GL?

I have been using a wheel on my rotary tool to clean or at least make it clean enough for pain tot stick. Going with gloss black engine with polished fins if that helps any. Maybe some steel wool on pipes? I used some on my rusted pipes and it took the surface rust off.
 
Jmanor said:
Do you have any spare bits for 82 GS1100GL?

I have been using a wheel on my rotary tool to clean or at least make it clean enough for pain tot stick. Going with gloss black engine with polished fins if that helps any. Maybe some steel wool on pipes? I used some on my rusted pipes and it took the surface rust off.
Click to expand...

Sorry,

the 650G is a pretty specific model for many consumables, and I haven't had an 1100 in the garage, so I probably have nothing that would work for you.
 
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