The 2,298 Mile Wes Cooley

[Nessism]

Looking a little closer at the pipes, I have not located any type of tag.

The bend coming out of the head does not have that typical machine bend curvature.

Instead, it has a little blurp of weld.

That pipe is a Yoshimura. You shouldn't have much trouble finding someone that wants it. Might even be able to find someone to trade you a nice set of stock pipes.

 

[nvr2old]

Dang, Rich. You just sold one of the most beautiful S's on the face of the planet. Nice to see another in the stable. She's a beauty. I'd just clean it up and leave it alone. They're only original once, as the old saying goes..

 

[Vmass]

Dang, Rich. You just sold one of the most beautiful S's on the face of the planet. Nice to see another in the stable. She's a beauty. I'd just clean it up and leave it alone. They're only original once, as the old saying goes..

I think your right Larry, a good maintenance plan and some sprucing up!

We'll see, you know how we can get caught up in resto mode.

I had a big grin every time I walked by the Cooley today.

My previous Cooley was the most enjoyable project I have ever done and I am thrilled to be part of bringing another one back to life.

Looking forward to an April Cooley Ride!!

 

[Guest]

Those carbs might me 28mm's, just a thought since someone went to the trouble to put velocity stacks on there with the Yosh pipe. 'eddie21's 1000S as VM28mm carbs on it. As far as I can tell with his carbs, they were originally VM26's that someone had both the intake and exhaust ports widdened. On the intake side the widening 'almost' left no metal on one side as the hole was off centred after widdening. Other than that there didn't seem to be any other modifications to the actual bodies.

 

[nvr2old]

I think your right Larry, a good maintenance plan and some sprucing up!

We'll see, you know how we can get caught up in resto mode.

I hear you, Rich. I guess if it were me, I would disassemble it down to engine and frame, get all the rust off, touch up paint where necessary, and then clean each part as it went back together again..resulting in a very nice original S model. Should be a fun project. Personally, I really like the velocity stacks and the Yosh pipe. Sand blasting the pipe and ceramic coating it satin black would be cool. If nothing else (as mentioned) it should bring enough to finance a nice set of stock pipes.

 

[Vmass]

I think your right Larry, a good maintenance plan and some sprucing up!

We'll see, you know how we can get caught up in resto mode.

I hear you, Rich. I guess if it were me, I would disassemble it down to engine and frame, get all the rust off, touch up paint where necessary, and then clean each part as it went back together again..resulting in a very nice original S model. Should be a fun project. Personally, I really like the velocity stacks and the Yosh pipe. Sand blasting the pipe and ceramic coating it satin black would be cool. If nothing else (as mentioned) it should bring enough to finance a nice set of stock pipes.

Sounds like a good plan Larry!

I need to find a baffle for the Yoshi pipe..........that oughta be easy.

 

[srsupertrap]

Those carbs might me 28mm's, just a thought since someone went to the trouble to put velocity stacks on there with the Yosh pipe. 'eddie21's 1000S as VM28mm carbs on it. As far as I can tell with his carbs, they were originally VM26's that someone had both the intake and exhaust ports widdened. On the intake side the widening 'almost' left no metal on one side as the hole was off centred after widdening. Other than that there didn't seem to be any other modifications to the actual bodies.

IIRC, the 79 US GS1000 Service Manual (E, S & L) specification section states the GS1000S carbs are VM28s. Perhaps a GS1000S owner can chime in here and provide a recent D/C measurement. I have always wondered because the 79 GS1000S road tests really didn't have a performance advantage over the standard GS1000 equipped VM26s. I wouldn't be suprised if the US GS1000S actually were all equipped with VM26s. I believe Europe & Canada versions were VM28s.

IMO, the Aussie/New Zeleand GS1000S had the best stock carb set up. Suzuki put VM30s on the Aussie/NZ GS1000s. Sharpy has or had a set on his Red & White GS1000S, the VM30s use brass floats and have samilar internal construction to much sought after VM29 S/Bores.

 

[gssteve]

Wc

Wc

Vmass
That's a great find , look after it.

I'm with you just get it going and see how it runs.

With that low mileage it's still needs the first or second service done.

Its unbelievable you can still find them like that.

The yoshi pipe is still a style on it's own IMHO , and looks nice a tidy on it .

Wish I could find one for my 750 in that condition.

Look forward to the refurb.
Steve

 

[russr33]

Sounds like a good plan Larry!

I need to find a baffle for the Yoshi pipe..........that oughta be easy.

Ah well you never know; I just might know a guy that has an extra one laying around.....

 

[Guest]

Great find, the holy grail of Suzuki's, be nice to see it reach it's full potential.

 

[Vmass]

Ah well you never know; I just might know a guy that has an extra one laying around.....

Well, if you happen to run into that guy, please have him PM me with his demands......

 

[russr33]

I'll send you a PM; I'm sure we an work something out.

 

[Vmass]

I found a little time to do some exploring of the bike.

I did the following to see what things look like:

1) Remove exhaust
2) Removed plugs
3) Drained oil
4) Inspected gauges and controls
5) Cleaned exterior of tank and inspected inside
6) Overall scan of all components

The pipe came off without issue, I was able to separate the header and can with 30 seconds of wiggling. Overall, the exhaust is in nice shape. Has a couple dents underneath in the usually spot and a little scrape/dent at the end of the can. I like Larry's idea to ceramic coat the pipe, although bringing it to it's original chrome state would be cool too.

The spark plugs gave no indication of issues. They are NGK plugs that appear to be period correct. I had this thought as I pulled them, wondering if they are the original plugs. I don't think there is any way of knowing.

I pulled the drain plug and prepared myself for a flow of some ugly fluid, gunk and bits. I was pleasantly surprised......... the oil looks very close to what you would expect oil to look like after running it for 2,200 miles. Is it possible?? It had a very light smell of fuel. The drain bolt had just a bit of sludge. There is no indication of the pan being dropped, this will be one of my next tasks.

Gauges and controls are I great shape. Missing the little knob on the clock. Cables lines and grips all seem to be original.

The fuel tank interior is virtually rust free and does contain small amount of fuel. I will drain and inspect it soon. The tank and all top surfaces have some type of overspray on it. I can't tell if it is 30 years of dust or something else. I did a quick hand compounding, followed by a clay bar. This process cleaned up the paint, but did not remove much of the overspray feel.

After a good scan of the bike, the history we were given of the bike seems plausible. The tires are matching IRC brand, which are mentioned in the 1979 owners manual. All brake lines are dated 1979. Cables and lines are all directed properly.

With the help of you guys, I have located an air box, original pipes and a baffle for the yoshimura. I am not sure if I will be setting it up with the Yoshi/stacks first or back to original first.

Thanks!

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

I found a little time to do some exploring of the bike.

I did the following to see what things look like:

1) Remove exhaust
2) Removed plugs
3) Drained oil
4) Inspected gauges and controls
5) Cleaned exterior of tank and inspected inside
6) Overall scan of all components

The pipe came off without issue, I was able to separate the header and can with 30 seconds of wiggling. Overall, the exhaust is in nice shape. Has a couple dents underneath in the usually spot and a little scrape/dent at the end of the can. I like Larry's idea to ceramic coat the pipe, although bringing it to it's original chrome state would be cool too.

The spark plugs gave no indication of issues. They are NGK plugs that appear to be period correct. I had this thought as I pulled them, wondering if they are the original plugs. I don't think there is any way of knowing.

I pulled the drain plug and prepared myself for a flow of some ugly fluid, gunk and bits. I was pleasantly surprised......... the oil looks very close to what you would expect oil to look like after running it for 2,200 miles. Is it possible?? It had a very light smell of fuel. The drain bolt had just a bit of sludge. There is no indication of the pan being dropped, this will be one of my next tasks.

Gauges and controls are I great shape. Missing the little knob on the clock. Cables lines and grips all seem to be original.

The fuel tank interior is virtually rust free and does contain small amount of fuel. I will drain and inspect it soon. The tank and all top surfaces have some type of overspray on it. I can't tell if it is 30 years of dust or something else. I did a quick hand compounding, followed by a clay bar. This process cleaned up the paint, but did not remove much of the overspray feel.

After a good scan of the bike, the history we were given of the bike seems plausible. The tires are matching IRC brand, which are mentioned in the 1979 owners manual. All brake lines are dated 1979. Cables and lines are all directed properly.

With the help of you guys, I have located an air box, original pipes and a baffle for the yoshimura. I am not sure if I will be setting it up with the Yoshi/stacks first or back to original first.

Thanks!

Rich, that's great news, good to hear the "his-story" of the bike is matching with the actual condition.
Will be interested to see if any other Yoshi stuff was added other than the pipe.
Those were definitely original tires, I remember them well, first thing we did when we raced was to replace them, so always had a bunch to sell.

One of our team mates was sponsored by IRC so he had to run them and they were OK but not quite as good as after market tires, probably cost him 1 sec a lap on most circuits and was a pretty hairy ride for him.

We used Avon Road Runners in 78, Dunlop Red Arrows in 79 and Pirelli Phantoms in 1980 IIRC, same as the ones on the ebay Cooley Replica currently for sale in CA.

Good luck and keep posting, I'm eager to hear how it's coming along.

 

[Vmass]

No real progress, but getting closer.

I have the complete original air box setup.

I also picked up the original pipes that Dave found on the Burlington, VT craigslist.

The seller of the pipes is a restorer of British bikes. Turned out he was heading down to Bellingham, MA (40 miles from me) to a specialty shop that corrects motorcycle tracking issues. He had a 70's Norton rolling chassis with him, pretty cool.

Anyway, that made getting the pipes easy, a well as reasonably priced transaction. I think the only missing part is the clamp for the cross pipe.

I have a baffle for the Yosh en route to me, thanks to Russ and a broom handle!

Thinking of maybe seeing what is available for stock set of carbs and then keeping the current set to pair with the Yosh.........worth the effort money, or just swap jets as needed?


Picked up my Robert Barr O-rings and hope to set up the bike on my new HF lift today.

 

[Vmass]

Picked up the new HF lift and set the Cooley up! What a great lift for 299 bucks!





Started cleaning the original pipes, they will clean up well with steel wool and polish:





Aside from the Yoshi pipe, still haven't found anything that looks altered from it's original state:














Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

[jwhelan65]

So what is the plan in the end for this one?

 

[tatu]

Very nice sharp edges to everything no bolt heads damaged, is that a 530 chain?

 

[Vmass]

So what is the plan in the end for this one?

Hey Joe,

I don't have an end plan for this bike............ I really enjoyed the last Cooley project and I certainly didn't do it with the intent to sell.

I just had the sense the timing was right and it was. The new owner was thrilled and I hope is still enjoying the bike (ratty Yoshi excluded).

With that said, I do seem to have the tendency to enjoy something for a bit and then move on to something else.

However, this bike just seems special. The chase was interesting, with lots of help along the way and the story behind the bike is somewhat cool!

The nice thing about the Cooley is the following. It's a bike that commands a price high enough to keep them in caring hands.

 

[Vmass]

Very nice sharp edges to everything no bolt heads damaged, is that a 530 chain?

I haven't touched the chain..........do you see something that indicates a change from the original 630? I am thinking no............even the tires are original.