Too good of a deal to pass up?(Now With Pictures)

9am53 wrote:

so did it start???

this is exciting!

Sorry boss, but I have to work today. I'll give it a shot with the aux tank this evening. I can't wait to hear Suzy Q make some noise.

Now I was just wondering if anyone is interested in me posting updates on this bike. I'll just be doing the basic maintenance that you should do on a runner. Obviously, I'll be posting on the GS forum, but it seems like you guys have some interest. I'll be happy to post updates as they come if anyone is interested.

testarossa wrote:

...Odometer reads 54,000 miles....

Cold compression may be okay, but would in due course also assure that valve clearances meet specs.

Nice bike! Congrats on your Good Fortune!

Patton wrote:

testarossa wrote:

...Odometer reads 54,000 miles....

Cold compression may be okay, but would in due course also assure that valve clearances meet specs.

Nice bike! Congrats on your Good Fortune!

Thanks Patton. The PO claims to have set the clearances, but I ain't one to take that for gospel. My plan of attack is try and start it one time, change oil, bleed brakes, clean and adjust chain, new battery, sort out the petcock issue, clean carbs if necessary, and then check valve clearances.

yea keep us posted, i am curious though, how did the PO mount that couch where the seat goes ????

It appears to be an aftermarket replacement GS seat. It hooks in at all the right places. Even has a latch at the back that uses the ignition key to open.

Try as I might, I couldn't get the little Suzuki to start tonight. My first discovery was the fuel leak that I thought was due to the petcock. It turned out to be all of the fuel tees and crossover pipes were leaking badly. So I pulled the carbs and replaced all the o-rings. I also managed to un-stick the vacuum slides while I was in there. Got her all buttoned back up and tried to start it about 10 times with no luck. Well I was getting fuel to the carbs, but it looks like the floats are stuck. I pulled a drain screw, and I'm not getting any fuel. I guess that everything in the float bowls is varnished from sitting with spoiled gas.

I'll probably have to rebuild the carbs, but I may try pulling the float bowls and cleaning everything that I can without totally tearing everything down. Remember, my goal is to try and be as cheap as possible on this deal.

This bike will probably be on the back burner for a little while now. I need to get back on the KZ and get it across the finish line. Tomorrow is my last day of work this year, so hopefully I can get some bodywork done.

Stay tuned...

It will need electric work, stator and regulator. All GS need that every 15000 miles. The downside of the GS, good engine, very bad charge system on all of them. I had a GS1100 at one time, but got tired of fighting stator problems. A buddy of mine put 100,000 miles on a 1980 GS1100 and put 5 stators and 5 regulators on it in that time. No engine rebuilds though, but even he admitted $2000+ in electric work in 100,000 miles was a little excessive and this was back in like 1984. Probably $5000 to run a GS 100,000 miles now just in electrics.

RonKZ650 wrote:

It will need electric work, stator and regulator. All GS need that every 15000 miles. The downside of the GS, good engine, very bad charge system on all of them. I had a GS1100 at one time, but got tired of fighting stator problems. A buddy of mine put 100,000 miles on a 1980 GS1100 and put 5 stators and 5 regulators on it in that time. No engine rebuilds though, but even he admitted $2000+ in electric work in 100,000 miles was a little excessive and this was back in like 1984. Probably $5000 to run a GS 100,000 miles now just in electrics.

now the price tag is beginning to make a little more sense

Well, the GSResources has a lot of info on the charging issues. The design of the charging system is faulty from the factory according to them. However Electrosport sells a stator and regulator/rectifier that eliminates the unregulated third phase of the stator. Appearantly, this is the root of the problem which causes the stator to get so hot. Again, supposedly, the Electrosport parts solve the problem long term. Their prices are not too bad either:
www.electrosport.com/street-bikes/suzuki...ve-models-80-83.html

Anyway, I can see that the bike has a new reg/rectifier already, but I don't know about the stator yet. I ain't skeered.

Geez Ron, why didn't you warn me before I bought the bike. That was the point of this thread to begin with. Just kidding man, I did my homework, and was aware of the potential problem from the GSResources guys.

Edit: Just as an aside, I have already gotten more pleasure from my $300, than if I had purchased an equivalent value of Houston Texans tickets. :laugh: I did mention that I like to tinker, right?

I like to tinker too so i understand, maybe u can re-engineer this charging system with some Kaw parts ????

A Kawazuki ????

I don't know about the specifics of the Suzuki stator, but that might be fairly easy. Suzuki did a fair job of copying the Kawasaki motor. It's surprising to me, just how similar that the two are.

I have a friend (that's surprising in itself) that rides a GS1100E (82 or 83 I think) and rides with a group. He burnt two stators within a short period of time, and mentioned that a GS rider in his group carries a spare stator and reg/rec on his bike all the time.

Anyway, he found directions on the net on rewinding the GS stator, bought the magnet wire and potting material, and rewound his own stator. Said it worked like a charm.

Just another avenue for you to explore