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Topic: 1980 Suzuki GS1000G USA import (Read 872 times) previous topic - next topic

1980 Suzuki GS1000G USA import

I no longer own this, but wanted to keep the record.

September 19 2017

So for those that are Facebook friends with me you may have already seen this, but for those that haven't hears my new buy.



I know it won't appeal to many of you but hey-ho. It's a 1980 Suzuki GS1000G. The GS1000 was Suzuki's first 1000cc bike and aimed at the export market because at the time the biggest bikes aloud by law in Japan were 750's - the poor guys, making them couldn't even have them for themselves  :shock:

Back in the 70s and early 80s the big four; Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki were extremely competitive and as a result each new bike put out out did the last one. So for a while, this was the fasted production bike on the market ... till the next one was released  :lol no:

Anyway, this one was destined to USA, the G model was shaft drive and had a larger fuel tank aimed at the tourer market. I gather it was available in the UK but not so popular so quite uncommon. The bars are also more upright as that's what the Americans prefered so I will be swapping those.

The panniers and fairing are aftermarket stuff designed by Craig Vetter http://craigvetter.com/ apparently popular at the time and very expensive:



I've been watching this bike for a while, and I suspect it's these add ons that were the reason it was unsold and why I managed to get it for such a great price.

Luckily it came with the standard headlight and indicators and all the fixings. So within a couple of hours of getting her home (even though I'd been to the chiropractor that morning, was aching like hell and had just ridden the behemoth home for an hour, so should have been resting...) she looked like this.



A little later like this, then I realised I didn't have the plug or the loom for the headlight bulb.



Here's where the old Mk2 Golf Breaker comes into play. Buried at the bottom of my parts pile in my shed I have a box containing the full wiring loom from an 8v. Although slightly reluctant as it was a complete loom I decided I could sacrifice a H4 connector and a few inches of wire.

So back in the lounge in front of a bad Dwayne Johnson film (San Andreas) I made up a little loom that would plug into the exisisting wire so I didn't have to cut any of the original plugs off. Leaving the film playing to an empty room - Ok, 2 sleeping dogs - I popped back out the garage and by 1:00 this, with front end all sorted and rear rack all removed and back indicators re-positioned to their original location:



Not the 180kg / 160bhp of my last bike. More like 230kg / 90bhp but it's still got a fair bit of grunt and is less likely to get me in trouble.


Managed to get a few more mile on it Monday, and stopped for some pics in the sunlight:





Then got home and gave it a wash and polish:


The black paint has actually got a green metallic in it which is pretty cool when the sun hits it:


And have rode it into work today  :thumbs:

Now this does mean no Mk2 or a little while, but like all things 80's there's a reasonable market for these and they're few and far between. Odd that no one else had the foresight to buy it and take the touring kit off, end of selling season now really but I recon I could resell it now for more than I paid and if I wait till spring I could probably make a grand straight off the bat. That said planning to hang on to it for a little while but ultimately this is a fair chunk of my next Mk2 money so better to have invested it like this and get some enjoyment in the meanwhile rather than have it sitting in the bank.


Original thoughts were cafe racer, but the whole essence of cafe racer is lightweight speedster, when I saw it I knew that wouldn't work as there's nothing lightweight about this. It would just look too bulky for a cafe.

So thinking I'd use the weight and bulk as the focus on build more of a naked muscle bike.

But I'm also liking the classic look and wouldn't want to change it in any ways that can't be put back to original. So for now just flatter bars to make it nicer to ride while I work out what to do and scrape some cash together.

February 20 2018

So just for a bit of an update on this one for those that might be interested. The bike's been parked up since the end of October.

I put about 500 miles on it when I first got it, but oil was leaking from the head gasket. It had been rebuilt previously and I gather the follow up maintenance may not have been carried out to recheck the bolts afterwards. Everything was loose! So I've had to give it a thorough going over.

Even though the model was available in the UK support for it seems to be quite poor, it seems they were a lot more popular overseas. As a result I've had to order a full aftermarket gasket kit arrived from Japan, and I found a NOS head gasket from the states but was damaged when it arrived so I had to find another one, again from the states which arrived safe and sound - eBay refunded the first one.

I did manage to get some parts off eBay UK.




You might think it's a bit of a faff gathering all these parts from around the world, but I have to say it's saved me a small fortune compared to what a Suzuki dealer would have charged. Plus some of the parts have been superseded and reports say the new parts are not a good hence why I've tracked down NOS mostly.

I was off work over Christmas but didn't get chance to pop out to the garage as I had some decorating to do to keep the family happy. But I've just had a week off work, did some more decorating, but did manage a couple of sessions on the bike.

so it started:



and before long looked like this:



at which point I started getting very nervous having never gone this deep into an engine before, and then suddenly:


That was enough for one the first day.

So what did I find?

Well after market head and base gaskets for a start, which according to Suzuki owners forum is a big no no for these key gaskets (hence my worldwide search) and this:



There's a teardrop shaped O-ring which was there but had been sealed in with a little extra help. Is wasn't leaking obviously from this area but it could be seen to be damp on the edge of the gasket.

For day two I cracked out the over the top power tool:



To make these, as spec'ed in the Clymer manual (another US puchase, it's basically their version of Haynes). I had to work in inches!




After reading another thread where someone damaged the base gasket while fitting the cylinder I got a bit nervous again. But I wasn't convinced with fixing the gasket to the base of the cylinder and holding it in place with elastic bands as suggested. So I fitted it to the deck of the crank case, and cut out some cardboard to protect it, and with the wooden blocks and I have to say it was all very straight forward.




The valves looked like this after a bit of a clean up:



I then went ahead and fitted the head:



At this point the nuts are finger tight and the head is just sitting there.

And then had a change of heart....

I only have a large 1/2" torque wrench with a 30 to 210 nm range. The head bolts are supposed to be 36.6 or there about and I decided the range of mine was too wide to be that accurate. So I'm currently waiting for a 3/8" one with a 10-80 range to arrive.

I also thought, actually let's not cut corners, let's do this right. So I've ordered some lapping compound; course and fine, a valve spring compressor and some other bits and bobs. So when those arrive, hopefully in a few days I'll whip off the head, clean up the valves, pop them out, try and lap them in properly and fit the new oil seals since they came in the kit anyway.

Also ordered new plugs, a clean and recharge kit for the K&N filter and fresh oil and filter for when I'm done.

Can't wait to crack on, but also want to take my time do it right and hopefully do it once.

April 30 2018

Easter means for me 4 days off work. I also had a couple of days left out of my annual allowance that needed to be taken before April, so I tagged on last Wednesday and Thursday so I'm just back at work now after 6 days off.

So day one of my holiday I got up as usual, walked the dogs and by 9:00 am instead of being at work I went into the garage, I ignored the kids all day and apart from taking a pee I didn't go back it the house till 3:00 pm.

The end result, the bike is back together and running, all things checked and ready to roll.



New lower, wider handle bars fitted along with a new genuine Suzuki left hand grip to match the throttle side - you may notice in my other pics the odd grips.



On Thursday I took the kids out.... to the largest motorcycle showroom in town, and treated myself to a new crash helmet. An AGV K5-S in Guy Martin colours.

Friday and Saturday were family days and waiting, as Sunday was 1st of the month so I was able to pay my road tax and ride legally on the street.

So I went out for a test ride, only half hour but it was great after having the bike off road all winter.







And today, even though the weather is forecast to rain, extreme weather warnings in some parts. It was dry when I got up so I've ridden it the 30 miles to work. I'll worry about the journey home later - I'm not afraid of the rain, I just don't want to spoil all that shiny chrome!

Got a bit of vibration from the bars, they're ally not steel, but that could mean the carbs need to be set up better. Also exhaust is blowing as I had to leave out one of the header bolts as the thread was stripped. Wish I'd noticed while it was off, anyway helicoil kit on order.

But no oil leak from head or base gaskets. And nothing from the sump or oil filter too since having both of those off. So all in all successful I'd say. The starter has a bit of a clunk, I'm wondering if I've set the cam chain tensioner right? so not finished yet, but classic projects never are are they?




Re: 1980 Suzuki GS1000G USA import

Reply #1 –
September 2018

A year of ownership now! and just got it through it's first MOT of my ownership, as the place I bought it from put a new MOT on it before I bought it.

I've done a fair bit of work on it over recent months, after the top end rebuild I've then done the fork rebuild and now loads of rewiring.

And it would have been a clean pass although the fuse blew when the tester tried the horn. Knocking out indicators, horn and brake lights. Replace the fuse there and then and it went again.

So had to take the bike away with an DANGEROUS: FIX NOW note attached to it. Got it home fixed the problem and took it back for a same day retest. But an annoying blemish on the MOT history.

The issue, from when it had the fairing on the PO had extended the horn wires to re-position the horn I guess to allow the fairing bracket to fit, this extension was fitting badly ... so I unwound the cloth tape removed the crappy extension put the horn back in it's original position and connected up original spade terminals onto the horn.

Pleased to say the failure was not related to any of the work I had done, this was an area I had left untouched. I tested the horn and all the lights before I set off for the MOT station, just my luck that it must have dislodged on the 'long way round' ride I took to get to the test.



And took it to Bristol Bike show a few weeks back...

here's a pic FinalD snapped of it, next to my lads little 125.




that was short lived... I broke it



Quote from: Damien.wrl
Something simple ??

In a round about kind of way, in the end yes!

As mentioned in the MOT saga, when the dodgy wiring on the horn blew the fuse the garage gave me a handful of fuses....

Well at the road side when I looked all the fuses there were none that had blown ... as this was my initial diagnosis


What I didn't do at the roadside was actually take the fuses out and inspect them... this one had fallen apart


It was for the main ignition system so EVERYTHING failed.

Simple fix, back up and running, rode it round the block and picked up a nail in the tyre  :twisted:


Quite likely from outside my Dad's garage as I popped round to see him.  :sad:

To near to the side wall to be fixed, but needed new tyres anyway front was 2011, rear was 2007, both showing signs of cracking in the sidewalls due to age, but loads of tread still as very little use over the past few years.

However due to the unpopular size it took a week to get them ordered and fitted. I saved a bit of money on labour by removing the wheels myself. First time with a shaft drive - which was fun - but quite simple really.

FLYING...


With the wheels off I noticed there were three retaining tabs for the rear drive that were worn, but managed to find all three parts in stock (they had four) from the main dealer for under a tenner. That's the first time I haven't had to source parts from America or Japan for it!

I also took another crack at the fork seal, requiring me to buy the correct tool this time, as it was still weeping after my initial replacement.

Just need some time to put it back together, there's still going to be a few days left this year that I'll be wanting to use it but I've had so many frustrating days when it's been off the road for one reason or another.

November 2018


Well this one's earning it's keep today. Since selling the Audi we're down to one car and a bike (well since I haven't fixed the Polo yet anyway) and today Carole has to go to college to so gets the car.

So even though there's weather warnings for string winds and flooding I'm on two wheels! At least the rain means the temperature is up a bit, was -2 deg last week when I was on it  :shock:

Not ideal conditions for a chrome clad classic, and I'm sure some people will be ...  :eek:  but at the end of the day, it's transport and I need to get to work.

Although, I have tentatively advertised it for sale in a few select locations. Just out of interest really but if I get any sensible bites I will most likely get something more modern again and more suited to my daily requirements.... and with less polishing!




Re: 1980 Suzuki GS1000G USA import

Reply #2 –
January 2019

So, it looks like I accidentally sold it  :shock:




I put this ad on Car and Classic (because they do bike too) https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1060015
and thought I'd just sit it there and see if anything happens.

Anyway I guy messaged me, then nothing.
Then he followed up, "sorry been a way - but interested"
we exchanged numbers, then nothing.

Then yesterday out of the blue I got a text. Had family stuff going on but back on track and wanted to see the bike.
Was local to where I work and I just so happened to have been on the bike that day so he came over, met me at work and looked round the bike in the office car park.

No offer, had to judge what he thought but said he's get back to me.

Text this morning, slept on it and wants it!  :clapping: a smidge off the asking price but I'm happy with the deal. Money and bike still to actually change hands so I guess either of us could back out. But that's basically it.

A good 18 months, and just over 5000 miles completed.
Time for the next chapter... watch this space.


Re: 1980 Suzuki GS1000G USA import

Reply #3 –
May 2019

Well this kind of thing doesn't happen everyday, but the guy that bought this off me has just been in touch and sent me this pic... fresh paint, factory decals the correct year (earlier) indicators and lots of polishing!




I still prefer it how I had it though...