1980 Suzuki GS

GS1000530707

Clear

I'm selling this bike reluctantly. I've had it for years and spared nothing to keep it in top shape. It's always been garaged. I've rebuilt this bike some 3 times now and it's time to move on. I've owned many, many GS bikes over the years and have always had spares lying around. This has been my baby for years. It's always been garaged. I had it painted professionally and the tank was sealed at the same time. That was probably in 2012 and there has never been a problem with leaking. This is an "S" GS 1000, also known as a Wes Cooley Replica and is kind of rare. The title is dated from 2012 but I've had it since 1999 at least. I had a lot of work done on it and done even more myself. The concept was from a conversation I had trackside at Daytona after winning several races with Team M3, (as pitcrew) racing the original Honda CR750 they had built. Between the late Bob Hansen, the late Gary Nixon and Jerry Berreth, we all lamented not having a road legal CR750. I'm actually a Suzuki guy so I built this instead of a Honda. It started out as a GS1000S barn find from Connecticut. The original owner did a classic low speed dump and scratched up the original "plow" fairing and cracked the original clocks. It has been through several versions of itself over the years and serves as inspiration for future builds. The engine has been torn down to the cases and rebuilt more like an aircradt than most bikes. I re did the top end because I was not satisfied with the first job. The original tank had a rust leak in the rear seam as did many of them. It's been replaced with a tank that has been coated and properly Caswell(?) sealed (not "Kreme"). As it happens, I never liked the styling or colors of the original S so I sold the bodywork and clocks on ebay and made the cost of the bike back. I replaced the tank with one I had on a shelf and had the bodywork painted black to match a Rickman fairing I preferred to the original. I had plenty of clocks laying around as well. (The present clocks show 46k miles but they are from another bike. The 2012 title shows 27k miles on it.) I had Panhead Pat, one of the best welders in the area, weld on some brackets for the fairing and I had to use standard GS clocks to fit inside the fairing. I'm not sure of the exact real milage but I doubt it's more than 35k with less than 3000 miles since I had the top end done at Crossroads cycle. It runs well. Because this is a 1980, the ports in the head are larger than previous years and the bike is faster than any previous 2 valve 1000 Suzuki. I did not bore it out or do anything exotic and simply re jetted the carbs for the Vance and Hines pipe which is about 2 years old and in good shape. I added a Pingel fuel valve and a slightly bigger fuel line which helps a lot. The 1980 models came with an electronic ignition instead of points ignition which makes for much less maintenance to bother with. I never wanted to modify the engine much and put more time and money into handling. The more you bore these bikes out, the more thirsty they become and it's just not worth it. If you want to go faster than 125MPH, get a new sport bike. I have one as well. I prefer this and am building another already. The forks were rebuilt with fresh seals and progressive springs. (If I were to keep this bike, I would but a pair of preload spacers in at about an inch or inch and a hallf.) I added a steering damper and fork brace which are, by far, the most important changes I made. The bike rides on rails. All bushings and bearings have been replaced at one time or another. I went through a couple of different swingarms and shocks deciding on the GS1100 swingarm with the Fox upside down shocks. More exotic arrangements are not worth the money. Brakes were updated to drilled rotors and lighter Tokiko calipers driven by a GSXR master cylinder. It stops well in front and "calmly" in back. I replaced all brake lines with braided steel lines and DOT 4. All electrical connections have been maintained with special care to the grounds, a known issue for old Suzukis and all wire repairs and mods were done with proper soldering, wire guage and Suzuki bullet connections. You will not find any press fit wire connectors on this bike. I know better than to use a lithium battery in this bike. Don't try it, you'll melt the battery. The charging system is too healthy for lithium. The stator was replaced with an NOS electrex unit I had on the shelf. The clutch is about 2 years old and prefers 10-w-40. But the saddle position was an issue for me. I like to tuck in to a cockpit. I did revert to the cafe or race crouch that the original XR 69 bikes used. But it is not cramped. I am 6'1" and I need leg room. The pegs were custom welded by Panhead Pat to my personal spec. The bike is set up for a tall man. I added the Guiliari saddle for the look and to bring the saddle height down. These saddles were designed by the same designer who did the Laverdas of that period. I did use clipons but they are adjustable Telefix units and it gives the rider a little bit of choice although limited to what the fairing permits. It's a nice cockpit to fit into. I spared nothing for this bike. A lot of NOS parts came from the UK. It has a drilled sprocket basket from a race bike from the UK as well. It starts, runs and idles beautifully. There are a lot of smaller things I have forgotten about that were sourced from all over the world or fabricated by the best I could find. You will not find a better deal on a GS1000S in good shape on ebay. It does not smoke, even when cold because the top end is virtually new. The bike comes with a (used) Eclipse tank bag, manual and new battery charger. You can spend more money than this for a clapped out CB750 that will never perform like this or you can show up with cash and ride this summer. You will not find a better GS1000S or any other GS on ebay again. You can see the bike run here: youtube link For more pictures and information, go here: html page-http://www.pulstudio.com/GS1000S/html/01_GS1000S.html Known issues: I would replace this chain and sprokets immediately. It's not terribly worn but it does keep throwing the master link clip. I am not installing it backwards. The closed end faces the direction of rotation. It's either a Tsubaki or DID O ring chain and the chainline is straight but it keeps happening and I catch it because I do safety inspections constantly. I would not play with this issue. There is an oil leak where the tach cable goes into the head, a very common problem for GS Suzukis. I think it's time for a new seal. It's definitely not a head gasket leak however. The drilled sprocket basket means that a certain amount of chain grease and rust comes out onto your boot and trouser leg. Wear proper clothing or replace the race cover with a stock unit. Clutch adjustment casting on engine deck is a little damaged but cable is safety wired in and has never been a problem. The speedometer is crap. They all are with little exception. Paint around the fuel cap is beginning to bubble. The clock needs a new battery. Please note: Some of these pics were taken last season just before I put the bike away and show black shocks in the rear. They are now replaced with red Fox shocks as seen in the other more recent pictures of the bike. I don't have time to ride these days and am paying for a lot of motorcycle storage that I need for my business. I did not even have time to run a rag over the bike before I shot these pictures and I have a small herd of other bikes to get rid of. So I'm selling off a bunch of bikes and thinning the herd before I grow a new herd as inevitably happens. The bike can be delivered to the NOVA/DC area for a non refundable $100 deposit toward the purchase of the bike. I accept cash and paypal only. I will be selling a few more special GS' and GS parts so you may want to bookmark my ebay handle, "raymundo2". I have done my best to descibe and photograph this bike as accurately and as honestly as I can. However, due to the fact that it is over 30 years old I cannot guarantee this bike and all sales are final. I reserve the right to end this auction before it closes as I do have this bike listed locally and elsewhere.