busa1300 Posted December 15, 2016 Posted December 15, 2016 This is where the story started.... A Craigslist ad for a 78 GS1000 that had not been started since 1990....$400 I thought it would be a good parts bike for 78 GS1000 I already had. The bike looked complete, but the Arizona sun had scorched everything within the suns range. The engine was free, so that was all I needed to know to go through with the deal. I brought it home, and thats when the plan started to change. 1 Quote
busa1300 Posted December 15, 2016 Author Posted December 15, 2016 Even though I had planned on parting it out....that ugly fairing had to come off before I would park it in the garage.... 3 Quote
busa1300 Posted December 15, 2016 Author Posted December 15, 2016 (edited) I figured now that it looked abit better, I would take it to the car wash and clean off 25 years worth of desert dust... It was looking like a bike now....I started to think....Maybe I should see if I can get a spark out of it...??? Edited December 15, 2016 by busa1300 3 Quote
Swirl Posted December 15, 2016 Posted December 15, 2016 nice mate, looking forward to see where this goes 1 Quote
busa1300 Posted December 15, 2016 Author Posted December 15, 2016 I knew the crank would turn, so I thought I should see if I could get it to cough to life. I hooked up my battery charger, turned the key on, hit the button, and it turned over fast and smooth. I took some starting fluid and sprayed it into the airbox, turned it over again.....and it fired up immediately... So I thought WTF, I'll check the compression and see if the engine might be in better condition than the one in my other GS. Shot a bit of oil in each cylinder, taped open the throttle....and had an even 130psi all across. I couldn't believe that it sat untouched for 25 years and still had life. I put the plugs back in, and figured I had nothing to lose.....so I put a fuel bottle on the rotting fuel line, plugged the vacuum line (tank off) filled the bowls (no leaks) turned on the choke...... And it fired up on all four cylinders, a minute later i idled it down and was purring like a kitten..... I couldn't part it..... It deserved to be brought back from the dead. 9 Quote
busa1300 Posted December 15, 2016 Author Posted December 15, 2016 The next question was....how do I want to do this...??? I already had a 78 skunk AMA style, and a CBX street fightered out....And a restored GS1000 wasn't that exciting...??? But before I did anything else, I needed a title. So my first step was getting paperwork around to get the bike into my name (bike had no paperwork) Quote
busa1300 Posted December 16, 2016 Author Posted December 16, 2016 (edited) Needless to say.....it took about six months to finally get a title for the bike. In the meantime I started collecting parts I thought I might want to use, as I still wasn't sure how I wanted to build it. Since I originally hadn't planned on having another project, the bike got pushed off to the side for a while, as I had a CBX to finish up (another long term project, that was so close I had to finish) Sorry about posting a Gurls blouse pic..... Edited December 16, 2016 by vizman non suzuki pic 2 Quote
busa1300 Posted December 16, 2016 Author Posted December 16, 2016 Once I got the CBX going again, I spent a bit of time playing with the GS... I knew what parts I didn't want on it, but was not sure the parts I did want to use So it was time to dig in..... 5 Quote
vizman Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 7 hours ago, busa1300 said: Sorry about posting a Gurls blouse pic..... RTFR.... Quote
R1guy Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 Love the sun scorched paint on the tank. Wire wheels also look good- I'd fit rubber to those wheels, recover the seat and ride the shit out of it 2 Quote
R1guy Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 7 hours ago, busa1300 said: I'd also like to see some pics of the black gs tucked away in the background of this pic 2 Quote
Swirl Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 (edited) Shame your ststeside, I've a set of wire wheels perfect for this Edited December 16, 2016 by Swirl 1 Quote
Dezza Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 Great buy for $400 We now have an idea on how much D and K autos make on similar bikes they import en masse to the UK from the US, and then flog on Eblag. 3 Quote
Blubber Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 Clear coat the tank, sell as a barnfind. You will make a profit Just sit back and watch the wannabe hipsters empty their wallet 5 Quote
busa1300 Posted December 16, 2016 Author Posted December 16, 2016 (edited) 5 hours ago, R1guy said: I'd also like to see some pics of the black gs tucked away in the background of this pic Here's the other 78 I have.... been collecting parts for this for years to make a time period correct AMA style race rep.... problem is I keep bringing in other projects in front of it....one of these days I'll get it put together with a shelf full of stuff I have waiting... Edited December 16, 2016 by busa1300 15 Quote
R1guy Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 (edited) I've seen photos of this bike before- looks great in all it's period get up Edited December 16, 2016 by R1guy 1 Quote
Swiss Toni Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 I like the way this could go. Endless possibilities! 1 Quote
Rene EFE Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 4 hours ago, Blubber said: Clear coat the tank and leave the rest as-is This 2 Quote
dupersunc Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 Clear coating rusty shit, or any bare metal is just wank. Great find though, and love the period mods on the other GS. 1 Quote
busa1300 Posted December 16, 2016 Author Posted December 16, 2016 (edited) Thanks for the interest guys. I originally had the rear spoke wheel saved for a GT/TR750 project (that is still a long way off) But I wanted something somewhat oldskool, yet cool and updated just a bit. So I stole the wheel from the GT and grabbed a GT550 hub, found a 18x2.75 matching sun rim, and had stainless spokes made to fit them together (laced the front myself/first time) The rear was originally on a old drag bike and is a Sun 18x3.5 aluminum rim. After test fitting the bike with the GS1100 swing arm and wire wheels....I was 98% sure that was the route I was going to take. The GS1150 rotors were a perfect look/fit I was going for. The swingarm actually came from Japan....These 1100 swingarms are going for crazy money here in the USA. This one came from a GSX1100S (1984 home market Katana) for about $20. I also was buying parts for one of my RGV's so shipping wasn't a big deal. Edited December 16, 2016 by busa1300 1 Quote
busa1300 Posted December 16, 2016 Author Posted December 16, 2016 (edited) The rat rod look.....I actually had thought that was the route I would take, and try to use the tank. Tape up the seat....keep it rough looking but still able to haul ass. So I attempted to rescue the gas tank....I put in some vinegar to get the rust out from the inside, but planned on leaving the outside as is. After about 4 days the vinegar was gone and close to 50 holes appeared...!!!! So it was time to look for another tank, and some new ideas. Edited December 16, 2016 by busa1300 1 Quote
busa1300 Posted December 16, 2016 Author Posted December 16, 2016 I hope you guys don't mind a lot of pics..........they tell more with less words..... 1 Quote
strima Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 Call me old fashioned but I think bikes of that era look much better with spokes, shame I can't source any for my GS850... Shame about the tank but could it be repaired? 1 Quote
Swirl Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 is it a shafty strima, I got a set of 750 I would let go Quote
strima Posted December 16, 2016 Posted December 16, 2016 35 minutes ago, Swirl said: is it a shafty strima, I got a set of 750 I would let go 850 shafty mate, spokes are like hens teeth... Quote
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