1980 Suzuki GS-1000G

I got it today.

The guy dropped it off right about noon, just like he said. He took some time to show me all about it...not really anything that I wasn't already aware of. He left me the keys and the title and took off.

Wouldn't you know it, as soon as he left I couldn't get the big thing started. I KNEW it ran, because he backed it off his trailer, started it, and drove it up the driveway. So I gave him a call on his cell phone and he told me that starter is clutch activated...so I pulled the clutch in and she fired right up. I felt a bit stupid after that, but the four motorcycles that I've owned/really ridden have NEVER had to have that done.

Despite the rain and chilly weather, I took it for a quick spin around the neighborhood. It ran and rode perfectly. I couldn't get a real good feel for the acceleration or the braking because it was really slick outside, but from what I can tell it will easily fit my needs.

The dent in the tank, oddly enough, looks better in person than it does in pictures. I'm thinking now that just a quick sanding, priming, and rattling will do the trick for now.

It of course has a few issues. It's nearly 30 years old, so some of that is to be expected. It leaks a TINY bit of oil from the valve cover gasket. I'm sure it's not the head gasket, because after I cleaned it up the valve cover gasket was what got a bit wet with oil again. No big deal really. It's also got a small oil leak near the back of it somewhere. I initially determined it to be the oil pan gasket, but after cleaning that wasn't it. I then determined it to be this dohickey that seems like a sensor. On inspection it's the gear indicator. Two screws get it out and a size 21 o-ring fixes that. I was told, though, that if it looks like it's coming from there I should check the starter o-ring as well, so I'm going to do that too.

I also had a bit of an issue getting it to idle really smoothly. It wants to idle down at like 500rpm, which is way too low. It's constantly wanting to shut off that low. I found the adjustment screw and couldn't really get to it very well, so I was only able to turn it in like 1/5th of a turn increments...the result was it either idling at about 700rpm or at like 2000rpm. A little more time with that will probably be all it needs...but I might go ahead and get some new seals for the airbox and intake boots just to make sure it's not sucking in any air that it shouldn't be. I suppose that I could take a few days and adjust the valves, too, which should probably help to. But the bike appears to be pretty well taken care of. So I wouldn't be surprised if the valves were getting adjusted regularly already.

The only other issue is the radio not working. But I've worked with car stereos my whole life, so that's really a non-issue. I don't want the cassette player that's in there anyways, so I'll be switching it out to a CD player with some nicer speakers soon.

So, my list of stuff to do over the next two months or so (before it gets nice enough to REGULARLY ride around here) is as follows:
1. Replace that o-ring around the gear indicator, and if necessary replace the o-ring at the starter
2. Replace the seals around the carbs and intake (boots, rings, whatever else is necessary)
3. After the seals are replaced, get the idle nailed down to about 1200rpm or so.
4. Sand, prime, and paint the dent on the tank. The tank bag that I use will cover it anyways.
5. Keep an eye on that valve cover gasket to determine if it's actually leaking oil or if it's just burning built up crud from 30 years off of it.
6. Replace the radio and the speakers, and find the electrical gremlin causing it not to work now (previous owner said he thinks it's a fuse)
7. Order a new windshield and vents. The one on it is in good shape, but it's cracked in two small spots. New one is only $45 anyways.
8. Find some bags that I like and replace the ones that are on it. Man, are they ugly!!!!

The nice thing about all of these things is that the bike is currently fine to ride right now. The idle is the only thing that causes any issues, but that's avoidable by revving like a Harley rider when I'm sitting still...but it's really minor, it only dips really low once every 25 seconds or so, so it's not that big of a deal. If I do any riding before getting the oil issue taken care of, I'll just make sure I keep a quart of 10w40 in the fairing storage area.

The best part?? The guy hadn't looked in the locked storage area of the fairing in quite a while...so I got a free box of Durex condoms, and a whole bunch of awesome 80s cassette tapes!!!! Hahahaha...