New GS1000L Owner from Canada

[klav07]

Hi all,

New to this forum, and new to bikes in general. I grew up around cars and wrenched on them for the entirety of my life, but haven't ever touched a motorcycle - until now.
This summer I got bit with some kinda bug and just had to have a bike - more with the intention to tinker and build than ride, really.
About a month ago I came across a pretty pristine looking GS1000L. Went to take a look with my neighbor, and ended up taking it home that same day. (The right side cover popped off on the way home.. Sad days. May consider sourcing one here!)

The bike was driven until quite recently, but was parked from last winter til now due to it developing low compression on cylinders 1 and 2.
It currently won't start, however does still crank. I've no idea what the root of the issue is, but having talked with my neighbor & looking at a repair manual,
my understanding is it is likely between valves, or piston rings?

I'm looking forward to getting this bike up and running - but I don't have the slightest clue about anything motorcycle related, or GS1000L specific for that matter,
so I will probably be asking a lot of questions on this forum!

Regardless, I likely won't have time to work on the bike until school is over and our 7-month winter ends...

Thanks in advance for any and all help I get from this community - I've been an active member in my resident car forum (Honda Del Sol), so I'm hoping that there is a great communtiy here as well!

SAm





Cant post a good/high res image apparently - so heres the links to pictures of my bike!

https://www.flickr.com/gp/31216443@N08/4QW21t

https://www.flickr.com/gp/31216443@N08/Y5y406

 

[Redman]

SAm,
welcome to gsr.
you will find lots of folks here willing to help (and most of them speak from experience)

maybe good to post the "no start" situation in one of the tech sections. And state if the low
co
presssion is new since the no
start (or maybe don't know, did not check prior).
But first suspect on bike that don't really know history is to check valve clearances.
and the usual battery/charging and carb cleaning.

thanks for introduction and photo.

do tell us more, and update on progress.
find the new
member looknhere posting for links to info on manuals and such.

Dave

 

[Gorminrider]

NICE!

first thing, Goto Basscliffs Suzuki library...

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/

for a lot of help.

 

[Redman]

........

Cant post a good/high res image apparently - so heres the links to pictures of my bike!

https://www.flickr.com/gp/31216443@N08/4QW21t

https://www.flickr.com/gp/31216443@N08/Y5y406

Sam.... and dont really need "high res photo" posted.
600 or so pixle is usally good enough.

TO post a picture that shows up as a picucture you will need to fiond out how to have your Flicker give you what is called the IMG code and then paste that in your posting... or find the direct URL and use that with the photo icon (tree in a square, not the one that looks like film).

 

[dorkburger]

Welcome Sam,
You will find this to be great resource (pun intended) to get your cycle up to snuff.... good luck.

 

[steve murdoch]

Welcome aboard, Sam.
Any chance you are in Alberta? A while ago a friend had a DelSol and she said somebody in Alberta was the go-to guy for parts and info.

 

[klav07]

Welcome aboard, Sam.
Any chance you are in Alberta? A while ago a friend had a DelSol and she said somebody in Alberta was the go-to guy for parts and info.

Thanks Steve!
Actually yes - I am from Alberta. I'd like to think that theres a good chance the go-to-guy she was talking about was me since I've parted out a few del sols and met a good number of owners. Not aware of anyone else doing this near me
Small world, haha!

 

[klav07]

Hi Redman,

Thanks for all of the info! I will definitely post a thread regarding my issue, just wondering if I should do it when Spring comes around.
I am not sure if the low-compression came before the no-start as I bought the bike this way. I suspect the low compression came first?

I will try to keep this thread up to date with my Suzu ventures - but again, might not happen until April or so. Thanks for the tips

Still getting used to this Forum's format - thread posts appear in reverse order than what I'm used to.

@Dorkburger & Dorminrider -- Thanks for the welcome and resources! Much appreciated

 

[argonsagas]

Welcome to GSR SAm.

As Redman suggested, start with the valves for low compression.

Basscliff has compiled a very impressive and highly useful list of things to do on GS bikes, and you got that link, as well.



Here in the mid-east we get smoke and more warm weather so winter is less than seven months.

We had an unusually warm autumn, with temps in teens celsius until two weeks ago when they began staying in single digits and yesterday we got teens again, but this time they were on the minus side....quite a change! BUT...back to plus single digits next week!

Please keep us informed of progress on the bike.

If the worst case things happens, and you need a head, I MIGHT have one hidden in the garage.

Two things about it though.....it is just the basic head, no other parts, and I am unsure about compatibility with s GS1000L. I think it does, but someone else will have to confirm that,

I bought it when I wanted to do the engine on my /82 GS1100G, but never used it, and no longer have the bike.

It has been hidden away for a dozen years, and really should go to someone who can use it. Just pay the shipping cost

 

[Burque73]

Greetings from The Land Of Enchantment, Sam.

Knowing which end of the wrench to use and how to type GSR into a Google search are the only prerequisites one needs to get an old GS running right.

"Bit with some kinda bug" Bad news; it's like chicken pox. Once it's in your system, even if the symptoms subside, you are always susceptible to another flare up.

Good news; there are plenty of cheap old neglected bikes out there so with the folks on this forum and your wrenching skills, you can have a blast without spending a fortune.


For posting pics, Dorkburger pointed me to some posts where Sandy and BCCAP really simplified things.
I notice the pics you posted links to are set to private. If you change that to friends and family, or public and safety level to safe like you have it, then expand the pic by clicking on the arrows opposing each other in the lower right hand corner you can then share those pics by clicking on the arroe turning to the right (share) and revealing a window with four options on top and one of which will be the BBcode. Click on BBcode code and from the drop down menu choose your size then copy and paste to the post in the GSR and that's it. If you want to, click on "go advanced" under your post prior to submitting it, and look at the preview you can delete the unnecessary portion of the code after the pic.

Hope that helps.

 

[klav07]

Greetings from The Land Of Enchantment, Sam.

Knowing which end of the wrench to use and how to type GSR into a Google search are the only prerequisites one needs to get an old GS running right.

"Bit with some kinda bug" Bad news; it's like chicken pox. Once it's in your system, even if the symptoms subside, you are always susceptible to another flare up.

Good news; there are plenty of cheap old neglected bikes out there so with the folks on this forum and your wrenching skills, you can have a blast without spending a fortune.


Hope that helps.

Thanks for the warm welcome Burque - I wonder why they call it that, haha.
It should be a fun learning experience if nothing else - hopefully I can get into it and ride with my Dad soon as he's always had a love for bikes that I never understood, until maybe now

Also thanks for the tips on posting pictures. The usual method I use on my other forum lets me have my settings to private and still share images or sets of images. But I noticed that the way to grab the img url seems different, that could be a change on Flickr's end recently that I wasn't aware of. But anyhow, I'll figure it out for the next time

Welcome to GSR SAm.

As Redman suggested, start with the valves for low compression.

Basscliff has compiled a very impressive and highly useful list of things to do on GS bikes, and you got that link, as well.



Here in the mid-east we get smoke and more warm weather so winter is less than seven months.

We had an unusually warm autumn, with temps in teens celsius until two weeks ago when they began staying in single digits and yesterday we got teens again, but this time they were on the minus side....quite a change! BUT...back to plus single digits next week!

Please keep us informed of progress on the bike.

If the worst case things happens, and you need a head, I MIGHT have one hidden in the garage.

Two things about it though.....it is just the basic head, no other parts, and I am unsure about compatibility with s GS1000L. I think it does, but someone else will have to confirm that,

I bought it when I wanted to do the engine on my /82 GS1100G, but never used it, and no longer have the bike.

It has been hidden away for a dozen years, and really should go to someone who can use it. Just pay the shipping cost

Thank you for the offer Argonsagas! Its actually been a warm autumn for us too, just started snowing about a week ago. Not sure what to expect as our weather is 'schizophrenic' at best.. Cold snaps with -40* nights, and warm chinooks all in the same week sometimes.

I will have to see what comes of my bike when I tear into it in the spring - worst case scenario, I may take you up on the offer, but hopefully I can remedy it. Much appreciated!

 

[Steve]

Yet another , and a few words of advice, if I may.

You have a 1979 GS1000L. When you start looking for parts, be aware that there was another model that is easily confused for yours. In 1980 and 1981, there was a GS1000GL, but only showed GS1000L on the side covers, which is where the confusion comes from.

Your bike was made for one year only, and it has a chain that drives the rear wheel. The 1000GL was only made for two years, and had a shaft driving the rear wheel.

While there are a few parts that interchange, there are many that do not, so make sure you are getting the right parts for the right year bike. If you choose eBay as your parts source (tolerable choice for some things), be very aware that some (most?) sellers don't know all the details about what they are selling, so it might not be labeled or described properly.

.

 

[klav07]

Yet another , and a few words of advice, if I may.

You have a 1979 GS1000L. When you start looking for parts, be aware that there was another model that is easily confused for yours. In 1980 and 1981, there was a GS1000GL, but only showed GS1000L on the side covers, which is where the confusion comes from.

Your bike was made for one year only, and it has a chain that drives the rear wheel. The 1000GL was only made for two years, and had a shaft driving the rear wheel.

While there are a few parts that interchange, there are many that do not, so make sure you are getting the right parts for the right year bike. If you choose eBay as your parts source (tolerable choice for some things), be very aware that some (most?) sellers don't know all the details about what they are selling, so it might not be labeled or described properly.

.

Cheers Steve, thanks for the clarification - guess I've got a bit of work to do in terms of research. I was sort of hoping for a bike with easily sourceable parts, but when opportunity knocks..!

I wonder, if engine-wise, the GS1000L is similar to others of a similar vintage/displacement? Aside from the chain-drive of course. And I guess while on that subject, is there generally a preference or standard in terms of which is better, between chain and shaft driven bikes? Say in maintenance, longevity, overall performance, etc.

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

Welcome Sam, that's a good looking bike and the condition looks good.

First thing you can do is down load the manual from Basscliff's site if you haven't done so already.

http://zeus.mtsac.edu/~cliff/storage/gs/GS1000_C-E-S-L_Manual.pdf

Then jump onto one of the Suzuki Parts suppliers and see what Suzuki still has available for your bike.

I use parts Outlaw for most parts but Z1 Enterprises can source all the Suzuki parts as well and are a good vendor.

https://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/l/suz/50d402d4f8700230d8b4e90f/1979-gs1000l-parts

They show the Frame Cover as being available, but it will need painting.

https://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d402def8700230d8b4e931/frame-cover

https://www.z1enterprises.com/

Good luck.

David.

 

[Steve]

I wonder, if engine-wise, the GS1000L is similar to others of a similar vintage/displacement?

Virtually all of the engine parts are the same as other '78 and '79 GS1000s. The '80 GS1000E and 1000S were pretty much the same, except for a different cylinder head and carbs. The '80 and '81 GS1000G and GL pretty much shared the same engine parts, but had a different output on the transmission to handle the bevel gears for the shaft drive.

..., is there generally a preference or standard in terms of which is better, between chain and shaft driven bikes? Say in maintenance, longevity, overall performance, etc.

Buddy, you are opening a serious can of worms with that question. Proponents on both sides will say that their side is better, so it's probably best to just outline the pros and cons of both systems.
I can give you many of the points, but I can guarantee that I don't know them all.

Chain drive pros:
1. It is easy to change the sprocket sizes to adjust your drive ratio.
2. It is lighter than a shaft drive.
3. It is easy to see when parts are wearing out.
4. It is mechanically more efficient, more of your engine power is going to get to the wheel.

Chain drive cons:
1. Chain must be cleaned regularly to keep dirt out of the pivot points.
2. Chain must be lubed occasionally, that is more to keep the o-rings that seal the pivot points moving smoothly.
3. Chain must be adjusted for length as it wears.
4. Wheel must be aligned for bike to run straight and true.
5. Chains tend to be noisier.
6. Chain and sprockets need to be changed occasionally. Maybe about every 20-25,000 miles? (I don't know, chains have improved since I had to replace one.) I am guessing about $150-200?

Shaft pros:
1. Virtually no maintenance. Change the oil in the final drive at every rear tire change, lubricate the splines in the hub at the same time.
2. No rear wheel alignment necessary.
3. Quieter than a chain.
4. No chain lube slinging out on wheel, luggage and clothing.

Shaft cons:
1. Less power to the rear wheel.
2. Heavier, which can affect ride quality a bit (more unsprung mass).
3. Virtually impossible to change drive ratio.
4. Can not do a quick visual inspection for parts wearing funny.
5. When parts do break, you might be stranded on the side of the road, because you had little to no warning this might be happening.
6. Handling is a bit different, due to "shaft jacking", but Suzukis tend to do this MUCH less than other bikes.

Bottom line, if you are going to build up a high-horsepower drag bike, you will stick with a chain so you have lighter weight and the ability to fine-tune your drive ratio. If you are going to hop on the bike and head across the country a time or three, a shaft will offer you lower daily maintenance and a quieter ride in the process.

I am a bit biased in this area, as I have not had a chain-driven bike since April 20, 1979. The only exception is the 250 shown in my signature, but that is my wife's bike, not mine. You can see by the list of bikes in my sig where my priorities lie. In fact, don't just look at the list, click on them. If Photobucket is still working for me pray, you should be able to see the bike, too. :encouragement:

.

 

[klav07]

Welcome Sam, that's a good looking bike and the condition looks good.

First thing you can do is down load the manual from Basscliff's site if you haven't done so already.

http://zeus.mtsac.edu/~cliff/storage/gs/GS1000_C-E-S-L_Manual.pdf

Then jump onto one of the Suzuki Parts suppliers and see what Suzuki still has available for your bike.

I use parts Outlaw for most parts but Z1 Enterprises can source all the Suzuki parts as well and are a good vendor.

https://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/l/suz/50d402d4f8700230d8b4e90f/1979-gs1000l-parts

They show the Frame Cover as being available, but it will need painting.

https://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d402def8700230d8b4e931/frame-cover

https://www.z1enterprises.com/

Good luck.

David.

Many thanks for the links, David! I appreciate you taking the time to even find my particular model! Good to know there is a reliable source for parts for these old bikes.

@Steve -- That was a great breakdown. Thank you for that, summarizes it quite nicely. I'd say, for all intents and purposes, a shaft might've been more in line with my interests - since above all else
I'll probably be looking for ease of maintenance and reliability, more so than power. I'm thinking 1000cc as a first bike is plenty... haha. Maybe in the future I can test other bikes and see what really suits me