New Member

[AvidMechanic]

Thank you for having me everyone! In the past 3 years I have become very interested in repairing vehicles, generators, anything with an engine honestly. My father has had a 1984 GS1150ESE with 7k miles sitting in his garage for 25+ years. The clutch cable broke and not longer after, I was born. He got caught up in life/work and never got to repairing his bike. Earlier this year I had decided to take his bike and repair it myself, with his approval of course. I threw it on a trailer and my journey began. At this time, I knew absolutely nothing about restoring a motorcycle and had no riding experience. Of course, the bike was not stored correctly by any means. It had sat for so long with half a tank of fuel (eh varnish at this point), flat tires, leaning at about a 30 degree angle on the wall and the turn signals had dry rotted to the point if you touched them they would deteriorate.

Main things I did-
Cleaned and removed ALL of the rust in the fuel tank.
Replaced all cables.
Replaced all hoses.
Replaced all engine gaskets.
Cleaned the carbs and replaced needed gaskets/o-rings - This was a 10 hour day..
Rebuilt the brake calipers.
Replaced the brakes.
Rebuilt both master cylinders.
Changed the oil and oil filters more than once.
Painted and polished the exhaust as it was coated in rust.
Replaced the turn signals.
Replaced the tires and wheel bearings.

Lets skip to the good part-
Here we are 8 months later and I have been riding the bike for about 3 weeks now. My father did not think he would ever see the bike run again. He hopped on it and took off with the biggest smile on his face while I sat there wide eyed and worried something would happen, because I was the mechanic restoring it! Just recently I synced the carbs with a DigiSync and she sounds great. Next task is repainting the bike with it's original colors.

Thank you all and I look forward to this amazing website with years of experience!

Photo attached is the day I picked it up.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Awesome story. Welcome to the forum. You’re probably already aware of BikeCliffs website linked in my signature. Probably don’t need it but the Top10 Newbie mistakes is a good read. Other good links below too. Most importantly, how to use sites like Imgur and Flickr to share good pictures with us. We NEED TO SEE PICS!

 

[rphillips]

No riding experience and starting on a GS1150??? That's usually how it's done. But congrats and be careful. It seems you've done real good plus have the prettiest color GS1150 ever made... Pearl Cool white and Candy Alpine blue. Keep it up and welcome... Like he ^^^ said we like (love) pictures

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Oh, and PLEASE sign up for the next available MSF course in your area, and buy and wear some decent gear.

 

[AvidMechanic]

Thank you both for the info! I plan on signing up for a course as soon as one is available! Just tried out Flickr to add a photo. Can you view it now??

 

[Gorminrider]

Great intro and Well Done!

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Yes, we can see the pic better now than before. But it's better still if you copy the img or BBCode of the image and paste that into the post. Looks like this.

 

[dorkburger]

Welcome from a fellow 1150 owner. Cool that you were able to put a smile on Dad's face.
As noted, definitely consider a course. A well tuned 1150 is pretty docile at low speeds, but don't let its age fool you. They are still quick machines and gan get one into trouble. You've probably already discovered that they are.... heavy....

 

[dorkburger]

No riding experience and starting on a GS1150??? That's usually how it's done. But congrats and be careful. It seems you've done real good plus have the prettiest color GS1150 ever made... Pearl Cool white and Candy Alpine blue. Keep it up and welcome... Like he ^^^ said we like (love) pictures

As an 1150 geek....Candy Alpine blue is an 85 color. 84 is different. I think its a metallic, not candy. I found out the hard way when I bought a side panel that came form an 84. Thats the b1tch of trying to find original panels... all three years had different paint schemes.... and in two color options.... if i had only bought that NOS fairing for mine 10 years ago that popped up on ebay

oh, and AvidMechanic, take care of those tank rubbers. They are pretty much unobtanium these days.

 

[rphillips]

Yep dork, for me paint always seems to get confusing... The Parts diagrams show both Space Blue metallic with Pearl Shiny white and Candy Alpine Blue with Pearl Cool white for the ESE (84 model) and the ESF (85 model). The better pictures do show obvious Space Blue metallic.... Now waiting for his even better pictures with the "dust" removed. Already looking good with the dust

 

[Pbstn]

Love these 1150's. Great bikes. And that V&H pipe is a very nice addition to your bike. I have a few 1150 parts. One of which. Is a side cover. In your color. But paint not too good. Congrats and enjoy.