New GS850 Tourer owner!

[wymple]

Every time I ride my 850 I realize why it's never going away.

 

[Guest]

Nice bike! Checked Ebay and can't find the listing anywhere, when did you buy it?

 

[Peter Buehner]

Two days ago. Here is the original listing.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1980-Suzuki...cO%2FKmIBjEqP%2BtJJlM%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Nice bike! Checked Ebay and can't find the listing anywhere, when did you buy it?

 

[1948man]

It looks great. Unless there is some undisclosed engine/drivetrain damage (unlikely), you got a fantastic deal.

 

[Redman]

Two days ago. Here is the original listing.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1980-Suzuki...cO%2FKmIBjEqP%2BtJJlM%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Interesting.
I would agree with thier statements as being true, not over exaggerated sales bologna.

Interesting about being a fund raiser for a museam.

Even if had been in storage for a couple years, would think they would pump up the tires for the picture.



[h=3]1980 Suzuki GS850G Factory Fairing Touring Bike[/h][h=3]A Versatile & World Class Classic, only 13 k miles! there is a Cult following on these 850g's...and this one is the rare factory Conversion converted into a full dresser/sport bike![/h][h=3]This bike will be able to tackle anything! Short cruises to the local restaurant to cross country road trips![/h][h=3]Gorgeous “Deep Black” paint job that features Gold & Red pin stripping! Thins thing is a looker! The photos speak for themselves [/h][h=3]Fully equipped with a very rare and Genuine OEM Factory Suzuki full front fairing (NOT AFTERMARKET) and Vetter side and top storage compartments [/h][h=3]An original survivor! Meticulously maintained! Fired right up after being in storage and didn't miss a beat! Don’t miss out! [/h][h=3]this bike has been in dry storage for two years and needs a new battery and a tune up, and a change of all fluids and tune up, plus brake service.[/h][h=3]The perfect mix between the GS750 and 1000! Great power and agility! [/h][h=3]Fantastic triple disk brakes![/h][h=3]Extremely reliable GS850 engine![/h][h=3]A fantastic winter project![/h][h=3]Ready for to make an awesome addition to your personal collection![/h][h=3]Please note before bidding: Please note before bidding: This motorcycle has been in storage for many years and will need a new battery & A new front tire, tune up, brake service, and fluids changed!![/h]
[h=3]This bike is being sold to help raise funds to finish the New England Motorcycle Museum project (The historic Hockanum Mill in Rockville CT!!!) So along with hundreds of other bikes from our collection it will sell as-is!...our loss your gain![/h][h=3]Any enthusiast of this era and more would appreciate this bike added to their collection. Attractively priced, this bike is a beauty and is ready for you. Don’t miss the opportunity to own her today, place your Bid Now! Either way, you won’t be disappointed she is waiting for you![/h]

 

[Peter Buehner]

Shipping

Shipping

Well the shipping estimate from EBay was $205. My only quote so far has been $695.....rather upsetting. Anyone have a suggestion other than Uship.com for getting a bike from CT to Maine?

 

[gregp]

Was watching that bike myself.... think I even bid on it the first time around but the reserve wasn't met. ended up buying a gs750 Craigslist bike. then this bike was resisted. I hope its all its cracked up to be cause it looks great and you got it for a great price. Kaplan is selling off a lot of bikes... some good deal it looks like. Good luck!

 

[Guest]

Was watching that bike myself.... think I even bid on it the first time around but the reserve wasn't met. ended up buying a gs750 Craigslist bike. then this bike was resisted. I hope its all its cracked up to be cause it looks great and you got it for a great price. Kaplan is selling off a lot of bikes... some good deal it looks like. Good luck!

If these people knew what they were doing they could have got more for the bike but props to the OP for snagging it, looks good!

I checked out their Ebay page, they are selling a lot of everything.

 

[steve murdoch]

Haulbikes has a good reputation on another site i visit.
Some good info on shipping in this recent thread. http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?241546-Shipping-a-bike

 

[lurch12_2000]

Well the shipping estimate from EBay was $205. My only quote so far has been $695.....rather upsetting. Anyone have a suggestion other than Uship.com for getting a bike from CT to Maine?

Find a friend with a reliable pickup, 4 good ratchet straps, and a ramp and allow 12 hours and about 650 miles roundtrip to go pick it up on a nice day. Ask the seller if they have ramps if you don't have any. It's a heavy bike but 2 people should be able to load it up. Pay him $200 for gas/time/labor, buy lunch and a 12 pack of beer too. Renting a truck would cost you close to $500 with the mileage.
How long will they store it til pickup?

 

[Guest]

I like a nice, low trailer for these heavy bikes, especially full dressers. Most of the modern pickups are 4 x 4 and very tall. If you have a vehicle equipped with a ball or receiver I would rent or borrow a trailer if it were me. $695 is too high IMO. If you can find it for $300-$400 I'd let someone else do it, if not I am going to figure it out and do it myself.

 

[Wingsconsin]

U-haul has a motorcycle specific trailer and it works well
I used one when I took my 850 to Dr. STEVE for a complete re-do.
It has the wheel chock in the front -- if you have a hitch on any vehicle you are ready to go

Looks like this...

 

[Redman]

........... for getting a bike from CT to Maine?

Maybe state where in CT.
Maybe someone nearby can get it.... until you can get there.
Maybe...

 

[gregp]

U-haul has a motorcycle specific trailer and it works well
I used one when I took my 850 to Dr. STEVE for a complete re-do.
It has the wheel chock in the front -- if you have a hitch on any vehicle you are ready to go

Looks like this...

That's the exact trailer that I just rented from uhaul to pick up a GS750 I bought in Mass to get back to CT about 3 hour round trip...cost fifteen dollars for 6 hours...it was a no brainer. I had to buy the trailer light adapter to go from the connector on my Ridgeline to the flat four pin connector on the trailer for another $13 but probably will have a need for that again anyway. Uhaul will lend you the adapter if you need it and they have one handy but you have to ask or they will sell you one.

 

[gregp]

If these people knew what they were doing they could have got more for the bike but props to the OP for snagging it, looks good!

I checked out their Ebay page, they are selling a lot of everything.

They claim to have a 200 bike restoration backlog so most of the rest of the bikes they are putting up for auction. I have been watching for months now and a lot of good bikes have been sold by them. The CB's got top dollar but bikes like this one come by time to time. It didn't sell so they lowered the reserve and relisted. I'm hoping it's as advertised...but they say the say thing about every bike..."just clean the carbs and put in a fresh battery and you will be riding it". I think they are a bike shop in a big old warehouse that they are creating a museum out of so most of these bikes were donated. So they sell them cheap to get capital to make the museum better--so the story goes. Wish I thought of it.
Been meaning to get up there--only about an hour away. BUT...not open on weekends (what kind of museum is not open on weekends?). I would like to see a list of the bikes they will be auctioning off but I think they keep that list close to the vest so people won't wait for a particular bike to hit the auction blocks as that could make the bikes they are trying to sell first go for less at auction--just a theory.

 

[Peter Buehner]

It's looking more and more like I am going to be taking a trip to CT during the holidays. Lesson learned: Nobody wants to drive to Maine
I am so itching to see this bike in person.
Happy Holidays to you all and thanks for the help on this. I have found one of those motorcycle trailers locally for $15 a day. I just need to spend $250 to get the hitch installed on my Jeep. The money pit has begun

Peter

 

[ddaniels]

Beautiful bike! congratulations and welcome to the site. Something that hasn't been mentioned yet is to go through and either clean every single electrical connection, or better yet, replace them with spade type connectors. Those stock connectors get dirty and corroded, or loose and will cause wires to overheat. Good luck on getting her home.

 

[Peter Buehner]

Thanks! I will add that to my todo list. The great news is that I found a shipper! They are picking it up next week and I should have it at the beginning of the new year. I am slowly working out my order of attack on the bike.

Beautiful bike! congratulations and welcome to the site. Something that hasn't been mentioned yet is to go through and either clean every single electrical connection, or better yet, replace them with spade type connectors. Those stock connectors get dirty and corroded, or loose and will cause wires to overheat. Good luck on getting her home.

 

[Grimly]

Nice score, well done on that.
I'm curious about the fairing; Craig Vetter sold his company about that time, and that might have been done by the new owners for Suzuki - observe the Vetter pocket covers - but it doesn't look like something CV himself would have done, unless he simply produced a design foisted on him by Suzuki. On balance, I would say it came out of the Vetter factory, was fitted by the dealers and presented as a complete package, as were its immediate predecessors from Suzuki and rivals from Yamaha, etc.
I'm 99% sure it wasn't a Suzuki factory fairing - at that point none of the Big 4 were making their own touring fairings and luggage, but were looking seriously at it, and started doing so within a couple of years.

 

[Steve]

Nice score, well done on that.
I'm curious about the fairing; Craig Vetter sold his company about that time, and that might have been done by the new owners for Suzuki - observe the Vetter pocket covers - but it doesn't look like something CV himself would have done, unless he simply produced a design foisted on him by Suzuki. ...I'm 99% sure it wasn't a Suzuki factory fairing - ...

I can guarantee that it was NOT a Vetter product, neither was it a Suzuki OEM product. Suzuki had a deal with Calafia and offered the STX fairing as a dealer-installed option. Because it was "factory-authorized", it had the Suzuki name on it. Google is not real good at showing images for this fairing, but I did find THIS LINK to an issue of Cycle World. The link should take you to page 82, where it is mentioned, but there is a small picture of it on page 98. Although it is the STX fairing, it was re-badged as a GSX for the Suzuki line.

There was also a deal with Calafia to supply saddlebags and trunk to complete the package. The saddlebags were the standard-sized "Roadrunner" bags that were about 6" wide. On the inside edge of the bottom was a cut-out to allow clearance for the exhaust pipe. I had the larger 8" version of this (with no cut-out) on my KZ1300 and really enjoyed them. For the Suzukis, these bags were re-badged as "Performer Saddlebags" and are also shown in the link to Cycleworld, page 98.

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