Topic: '82 GS650L

[Cvillechopper]

I'm trying to help my friend find a bike since the '76F fell through.  There's an '82 GL650L for sale at my wife's work and is listed like this.

1982 Suzuki GS650L  $1800.
5 Speed
New Tires (06/07)
New Battery (07/07)
Highway Pegs / Crash bar
runs and looks great for a bike this age.
Only 21,000 miles and lots of life left.  Got a new bike, need to sell this one.


Anyone have experience with these?  I think they look nice but don't know anything about them.  I'm assuming they'd be fairly easy to work on if it needs it but sounds like a turn-key deal. 
Thanks
James

[Aaron J Williams]

They are fine bikes but $1800 sounds a little high to me. I guess it depends on what bikes are worth in your area but here in Wisconsin they don't bring as much.

I don't remember any typical problems with them but my only experience was with a GS850 which I only rode for one season. I'm sure others here have more knowledge about them than I do.

[bryanj]

Suzuki's normally bulletproof(4 stroke that is) EXCEPT the 370 single, finish and electrics can be bad and parts are not as easy as Suzuki sell off all the old parts at a certain age

[crazypj]

The GS650GT is shaft drive (I'm not sure if there was a chain drive version?)
If it hasn't been over revved it will last pretty much forever.
The only issues I remember with them were electrical.
 The regulator could/would burn out if a dead battery was used in bike. ( jump start off car, etc.)
 This  happens on just about everything, even today, some are just worse than others
 The charging system was never designed to cope with max amps output for extended periods.
 When at happened the rectifier failed and a new battery was usually installed which then back fed into stator windings and burned them out
 If is pretty and charging good its a good bike. If its been used reasonably regular it shouldn't have any problems.
BTW, I like the DR/SP370/400.
 Except for the 370 vibrating like a jackhammer, the biggest problem I had was they were stolen before I could find any real problems 
PJ

[Cvillechopper]

Thanks guys.  That's pretty much what I figured.  One of the reason I bought the new Suz last summer was their track record.  With as long as this one has been listed, I'd be starting off much lower than the asking price and see where it goes.  As is, I just got an e-mail about a 73 750K that would be perfect for my friend so we'll see.

[kirkn]

Suzuki inline 4's of that vintage were, IMHO, among the finest street bikes made.

They came in 550, 650, 750, 850, 1000, 1100 & 1150 flavors.  "standard" E & T model, "cruiser" L model, sport-tourer G model, and a few S model Katana's, too. 2-valves early on, and 4-valves later in the run.

The G, and the L, too I think, were shaft drive.  I had an 82 GS850L and it was a shaftie. 

The big GS's are bulletproof in normal operation with the exception of their stators.  They had a weird-Alice external circuit that could lead to overheating and cooking their stators.  Pricey, but the problem is well-known and fixes are readily available.  If you buy the bike, you can google the fix pretty easily.  A pretty dedicated forum support exists, too, although I can't remember the exact site address off-hand.

If your specific example looks and sounds good, you almost can't go wrong.

Good luck with it,

Kirk

[mlinder]

It's too bad you are so far away from Oregon. I have a few bikes that I could sell you cheap, that need a little work.
I have two gs550's right now, and while they aren't the most fun bikes to ride, they are little work horses, run well and are fast enough.
Not quite as quick as a cb500/550, but not bad.

[fuzzybutt]

GS 650 GL 1982
Overall Length: 2 180 mm (85.8 in)
Overall Width: 870 mm (34.3 in)
Overall Height: 1 160 mm (45.7 in)
Seat Height: 740 mm (29.1 in)
Wheelbase: 1 450 mm (57.1 in)
Ground Clearance: 150 mm (5.9 in)
Dry Weight: 212 kg (466 lbs)
Engine type: Air-cooled 673 cc inline-4, SOHC, 8 valves. 73 hp (54 kW)/ 9.400 rpm, 57,2 Nm (5,88 kg-m)/ 8.000 rpm. Shaft drive.



i got this from suzukicycles.org

[crazypj]

The G, and the L, too I think, were shaft drive.  I had an 82 GS850L and it was a shaftie. 
Good luck with it,
Kirk

The G means shaft drive and the L = 'lowslinger' (or custom, quaint translation huh?)
 GT = shaft drive Tourer
PJ

[333]

The L has a step seat and taller bars.

[Cvillechopper]

This is one of the reasons I love this group.  Ask a question about anything and you'll get more answers than you thought possible, and most of them are actually worth something.

[DarkRider]

The forum for your GS needs is...

gsresources.com