Sold my 1982 GS650g and missing it!

[Admiral Beez]

Is the exhaust on these difficult to find?

Yes, essentially unobtainable. You’ll find eBay offers from junked, parted out bikes but they’ll be rusty and damaged. MAC is the only brand that sells new complete exhaust sets for the GS650 but they’re turnouts and reportedly thin and poor quality.

https://www.shoputahharley.com/products/4-2-sys-t-o-gs650-81-3

 

[Admiral Beez]

I’ll likely sell my 1982 GS650G in the spring of 2023. By then I’ll have five years of riding and will be close to 60,000 km. I’m burning about 1L of oil every 1,000 km now, so this won’t get any better without a rebuild. From 2006 to 2018 I owned a 1969 Triumph T100S and now realize I kept it much too long, and spent way too much on maintenance and rebuilds. Knowing when to walk away is what Kenny Rogers tried to remind us. If the oil burn gets worse I’ll likely give the bike away to someone in my vintage bike club.

In Spring 2023 I’ll be 52 years old and will reward myself either with a new Triumph Bonneville or Moto Guzzi V7. I like the latter’s GS650G-like shaft drive, though it needs a fuel gauge.

 

[Guest]

Yes, essentially unobtainable. You?ll find eBay offers from junked, parted out bikes but they?ll be rusty and damaged. MAC is the only brand that sells new complete exhaust sets for the GS650 but they?re turnouts and reportedly thin and poor quality.

https://www.shoputahharley.com/products/4-2-sys-t-o-gs650-81-3

What about exhausts from a GS650L? I see plenty of those.

And maybe I should be specific, I'd think the exhaust pipes are difficult to find, but the "muffler" part might be more difficult, although wouldn't any straight units with the same diameter fit?

 

[Guest]

Curious about your thoughts or anyone else's thoughts about the difference between these and a GS850g. I see lots of those for sale, maybe more people kept them because they're faster, but to me they're too heavy and less easy to ride (I had one 15 years ago).

 

[Big T]

There's a decent looking 650G on Marketplace in Portland, Or

 

[Guest]

There's a decent looking 650G on Marketplace in Portland, Or

Could you please share a link? Marketplace is so user unfriendly.

 

[hank2]

streetgs, I hope that you can locate a suitable GS650G. There's a bit more I want to do to mine as I ride it. I wore out a set of Bridgestones in a year and a half. I recently put a new rear BT46 on it and have a new Avon RR II to go on the front. I'll likely have to give up mine next year sometime due to the no longer deniable age of me.

FYI, MAC exhaust is completely out of business and the few GS650G applications left that were out at parts dealers and ebay sellers are gone. It's used only now. I have a semi ratty MAC 4 into 1 header. I couldn't stand the MAC megaphone that was on it, even with their street baffle. So I bought a 15 degree bend section and mounted a long reverse cone with quieter baffle on it. Not so easy to find 2.5 inch ID mufflers, which is the outlet size on the MAC.

 

[Admiral Beez]

What about exhausts from a GS650L? I see plenty of those.

The complete exhaust is different, the bolt down points are in different locations. That MAC system claims to work for both the G and GL because the attaching points are adjustible.

wouldn't any straight units with the same diameter fit?

I have these installed, upswept, not straight to better clear the rear.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Curious about your thoughts or anyone else's thoughts about the difference between these and a GS850g. I see lots of those for sale, maybe more people kept them because they're faster, but to me they're too heavy and less easy to ride (I had one 15 years ago).

They're totally different bikes. The GS650G's takeoff for the drive shaft is linked directly with the top gear, reducing gear change shock. As I understand it the GS850G shared the same heavy frame as the GS1000G. The GS650G is much lighter, and with 70 hp is more than powerful enough for my long distance rides.

Here's a good article on the GS650G from August 1981 that explains the drive shaft to top gear linkage, and more http://www.yeoldecycleshoppe.com/roadtestlibrary/tag/gs650

 

[Admiral Beez]

streetgs, I hope that you can locate a suitable GS650G. There's a bit more I want to do to mine as I ride it. I wore out a set of Bridgestones in a year and a half. I recently put a new rear BT46 on it and have a new Avon RR II to go on the front. I'll likely have to give up mine next year sometime due to the no longer deniable age of me.

FYI, MAC exhaust is completely out of business and the few GS650G applications left that were out at parts dealers and ebay sellers are gone. It's used only now. I have a semi ratty MAC 4 into 1 header. I couldn't stand the MAC megaphone that was on it, even with their street baffle. So I bought a 15 degree bend section and mounted a long reverse cone with quieter baffle on it. Not so easy to find 2.5 inch ID mufflers, which is the outlet size on the MAC.

Here?s a source from France, https://www.pieces-moto-kristen.fr/echappements_pour_suzuki_gs650_gt_81-83_gs650g__c21643.html

 

[Admiral Beez]

And after looking at other bikes I realized that had characteristics I like, like the right seat height, etc.

What I like about my 1982 GS650G that’s seemingly impossible to get in new bikes today: shaft drive, sub-700cc, air cooled, over 70 hp (when new), fuel gauge (not a low fuel warning light), gear indicator, dual exhaust, upright position, and a centre stand. The only thing I’d change is to a larger fuel tank - though I’ve addressed that with a 5L jerry can in the panniers.

 

[Guest]

I've regretted selling a lot of things in my life always telling myself I'll get another one someday. I'm only in my mid 40's and have just started to realize that this will most likely not happen. I remember a couple of years ago I visited a fella in a neighboring state to check out a Corvair I was really interested in. He had three garages that he ended up hooking together so he didn't have to walk outside from one to the other. He also built this 40x50 pole building that had heated concrete floors. He had about 5 cars and trucks but about 40 motorcycles all in mint condition. I asked him how he keeps them all in running condition, and he told me he uses jet fuel which is just a higher alcohol content and never goes bad. He told me he puts it in all his engines. He lives near a small airport and they sell the fuel to the public.

Anyhow, he told me when he was younger he had to sell things in order to get other things, and it always bothered him. So when he turned late 30's he told himself he wasn't going to sell anything anymore unless he just wanted to. He said he sold only one motorcycle as a trade for the Corvair I went to look @. His buddy kept bugging him for that particular bike but didn't have any money. So he offered the Corvair Spyder as a partial trade and the guy I was talking to said he didn't really want to do anything with it. He was interested in my 66 F350 dully I had and I was working on a trade for the Corvair which was my favorite year and color combo. After talking with him for like 5 hours I decided I just couldn't part with my 66. I still have it today.