Topic: Quickie 1979 GS1000 Thread on New Buy

[ekpent]

   Well some know me here as  a collector or maybe a hoarder or maybe worse      Love the 750's and other 4's  but other "big dogs" call my name as well as 2 strokes etc. . Got lucky with a Z1 recently I have put 100+ miles on so far. No prep pic though..
  I purchased this Suzuki 1979 GS1000 on Sunday 10/5 and would like to give you a peek inside in case another member is  curious to get one or to get input.
 As mentioned this thread will be quickfire an not long but give you a chance to see them naked for their first inspection and hopefully first long ride.
  The bike has a little over 17,000 miles. Repaint tank and sidecovers. Original paint under rack.  Long ownership history from family. Price was around 85 cents a cc. Heard run and quick ride before purchase. Other than paint all stock with great pipes and good chrome.

[ekpent]

And WHOOPS get it home, Give it some gas and the throttle is in my hand    The bike had  this fairing attached at one time but  tipped over and broke the windshield. Think it cracked the throttle pipe also but what the heck is this at the end of the throttle cable, possibly binding ?? Thinks so--   Cheap Basterds    Now I have to buy a real throttle cable and a new pipe. Pipe with hand grip ordered for 22.00 OEM. Cable not ordered yet.

[grcamna2]

Nice bike

[ekpent]

  So I say well the bike runs on the first visit but what does this battery look like. Know it has been laid up all summer.  Hopefully Terry from AU pipes in but you have to dig real deep to get it. The airbox plenum  has to be removed first. I wanted to check that for mice anyways and happy to see a K&N filter with no mice. Found the owners manual in the tail section  Pull out the good old battery, happens to be the same as our  750's so put in a good known fresh that I stock. Do not want to go there again for awhile if you see how deep its mounted.

[ekpent]

While I am digging around and checking things out  I see some good wires that kind of maybe tie into a sticker I also saw on the engine. Pop off the points cover and see another good upgrade. This bike did get some love  BYE POINTS

[grcamna2]

The later GS1100E's (82-83') used a sensor type YB14L-A2 so you only had to remove all that stuff if the water got low,but if the stator or reg./rect. wiring got weak(the usual thing) then you didn't have to do it too much as it wouldn't charge as heavily and use up the electrolyte as quickly...  I'd recommend checking the 3 yellow wire plug(s) between the stator & reg./rect. if I had a big Suzuki.

[ekpent]

Here a couple random shots of the frame etc to show what it looks like naked.

[ekpent]

Gotta get warm and would somebody help save this early K0 

[ekpent]

 Gotta do some cleaning while they are stripped of tanks and seat.  Coil before and after(Missed a few spots)  and those darn rubber burns on pipes. Love my lacquer thinner, at least on the pipes.

[ekpent]

 I also changed the oil with 4 qts. of a secret recipe    No we ain't going there but will say the GS has an interesting cover for the oil filter and great care should be taken to make sure the irregular gasket stays in place and those three acorn nuts sure seem cheap    Whoops the dog 

[ekpent]

 Looked at the brakes and even though they work both front and back, the fluid is looking like my whiskey mix I think they call pepsi so those were cleaned and filled with new in prep for a good bleed and inspection and am sure a teardown and clean when new tires go on. Probably new pads also while they are apart, why not ?  Look though I have two round things up front  And one in the back.

[seanbarney41]

Cool...yep, I remember some funny business with the oil filter on my GS750.  A regular war of the superbikes you got goin' on over there Eric...

[ekpent]

First day of digging but want to get a few miles on her before its too cold/ Before I get real serious next summer I will dig into the carbs but as they say "if it ain't broke don't fix it" Thread is about over but tune into the conclusion in a week or so for a full report unless that guy with the Kaw 500 or some others accept my offers. I may be outa here for awhile   

 Tank say put me back on

[ekpent]

The later GS1100E's (82-83') used a sensor type YB14L-A2 so you only had to remove all that stuff if the water got low,but if the stator or reg./rect. wiring got weak(the usual thing) then you didn't have to do it too much as it wouldn't charge as heavily and use up the electrolyte as quickly...  I'd recommend checking the 3 yellow wire plug(s) between the stator & reg./rect. if I had a big Suzuki.

So far I was only checking to see what the heck was in there and if it had water still. Original battery looks like a Walmart but is filled too high but can go into my 750 where it can be easily checked. Please keep any pointers coming as this is a new to me machine and any riders who have had one is good stuff.

[ekpent]

Cool...yep, I remember some funny business with the oil filter on my GS750.  A regular war of the superbikes you got goin' on over there Eric...

1979 CBX at an auction this coming Sunday Sean. Got a loan for an 'old ' friend   

[Stev-o]

Congrats.   This is some thread Eric, with all the random thoughts and pics, think you've been hittin the whiskey!   Now you'll need a Katana to round out your Superbike collection.

What's this about a Kaw 500??

[ekpent]

 I have never done a project thread Steve even though I have 'processed' many new bikes into the fold. Thought this would give some insight for the newbies that you have to get in there a little and dig around to see what you have and hopefully maybe somebody who is looking at an old GS would get a little sneak peek under the hood. As I mentioned it won't last long as it does not really pertain to the forum but thought it would be fun.

[grcamna2]

The later GS1100E's (82-83') used a sensor type YB14L-A2 so you only had to remove all that stuff if the water got low,but if the stator or reg./rect. wiring got weak(the usual thing) then you didn't have to do it too much as it wouldn't charge as heavily and use up the electrolyte as quickly...  I'd recommend checking the 3 yellow wire plug(s) between the stator & reg./rect. if I had a big Suzuki.

So far I was only checking to see what the heck was in there and if it had water still. Original battery looks like a Walmart but is filled too high but can go into my 750 where it can be easily checked. Please keep any pointers coming as this is a new to me machine and any riders who have had one is good stuff.

I would recommend once you get a good battery in and fully charged on all cells and your stator wires/plug cleaned up nice(you may have to get a new plug or just use bullet connectors..)that you start'er up w/o the filter box so you have access to the top posts and do a voltage check w/ a Good meter at different steady rpm's on up to about 5500. The voltage readings should be consistently above 13 volts. & not below.The correct voltage of 14+ volts is normal and if they're below 13.2 you most likely have a weak stator or faulty reg./rect. They had a Lot of weak stators,mainly because folks didn't maintain the battery and keep the 3) yellow wires/plug clean.

I'm not presuming it Has a weak stator, just saying it's good to check it out because it's a 'sore spot' w/ these

[flatlander]

ekpent, that's eerie: your dog looks almost exactly like mine who died earlier this year.

[Sami1987]

The stator on my "78" GS 1000 went out at
Around 10,000 miles. That and front
Wheel bearings was my only trouble
With that bike. Good luck!!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I must admit I am a bigger fan of the 78 but the GS liter bikes have great power plants.

[Retro Rocket]

I must admit I am a bigger fan of the 78 but the GS liter bikes have great power plants.

Even better with the crank welded up...

[grcamna2]

I must admit I am a bigger fan of the 78 but the GS liter bikes have great power plants.

Even better with the crank welded up...

Strong,Hot drag bike powerplants like the KZ1000's 

[ekpent]

  Better poke my head in again.  Thanks for the heads up on the weak stator deal, have read that and def worth paying attention to. Did button it back up so far without a check just to see if she is a runner. It is not just a lift seat deal to get to the battery which is a little bit of a negative if your used to Honda 750's.
  So one major problem I had early on is when I first removed the gas tank several days ago after buying, fuel gushed out the vacuum petcock which is not supposed to flow when not running-Crap--. While ordering a throttle sleeve and stock throttle cable without a repaired end I also called a local bud who has a dealership and got a petcock rebuild kit.WELL of course in the meantime when I looked closer I see the PO had the tank breather tube off from the fuel gauge meter hooked to the vacuum port on the petcock instead of a carb vacuum tube.Hmm. Then when I took the petcock off and disassembled I found that they had been in there and had put the 'wavy' washer up against the rubber seal behind the selector handle and not in front of it. Assembled correctly and no more leak but CRAP the 30 dollar part came and I told my friend I would just keep it with the bike--Whoops.

[ekpent]

  So the other NOS stock parts to get her going showed up quickly also. Looks like Suzuki still has pretty good support of some old bikes. My stock throttle tube with stock grip for $21.00 shipped showed up in 3 days at my local dealership. Perfect fit.  I also ordered the Suzuki NOS throttle cable off E-bay from Paul Miller Suzuki for $14.00 + free shipping and it showed on Thursday- Nice deal.  Love that official Suzuki stuff on the bags and parts