It’s been a while since my last post, for sure. Without further ado, here’s what’s been happening with the 1981 Suzuki GS850L…in a nutshell. (You’ll have to excuse the pics at least until I get the hang of the camera again.)
The motor is assembled and in the newly painted frame. A ‘new’ 1982 head was bought and fitted to the 1981 cylinders. The old head had several exhaust ports that were boogered up with sheared off studs, a common problem with these bikes. Except for an updated exhaust and future carburetor tuning, no performance modifications were made or will be made.
The motor was thoroughly cleaned inside and out. It was polished a bit and paint was added to the jugs.
The tail section of the frame is chopped. A tail light bracket has been welded in place. The section needs smoothing and paint.
Everything that can be oiled or greased has been oiled or greased.
At this point, I think every nut, bolt, component and fixture has been removed, cleaned, media blasted, painted, restored or replaced…or soon will be. No stone will be left unturned and rust will (hopefully) be a thing of the past on this bike.
Posts will be short because my time and my energy are at a premium. So I’d rather use those resources to fix the bike rather than write posts … and possibly bore the readers. Anyway, most people like to look at pics.
Parts arrive every week and I’ll make progress but there’s no timetable. With an older bike that’s been sitting for a few decades, it’s a few steps forward and one or two steps back. No part comes out of a box and gets bolted right up. Every piece needs layers of work and sometimes layers upon layers of work.
There is a plan or vision of what I want the bike to be. We’ll see how it turns out…with any kind of luck it will be on the road sooner than later.
Next: Working on the wheels, tires, and suspension