Hey all - The GS will be picked up by the new owner on Tuesday. I'll be sure to send him here for advice!
I'm shopping around and I've found a few replacements/projects that seem interesting:
1986 Yamaha FZ600 - Needs carb work and some reassembly $250
1979 Suzuki GS1000L - Has hard cases and windscreen (removable), looks great, needs fork seals and a tune up $1000
1973 Benelli Tornado 650S - Needs engine reassembly, but all components are there, potential resale in the neighborhood of $4k, selling for $800.
I know this is quite a range, but I'm still experimenting with exactly what I want in a bike before settling down on one. Thoughts or experiences are welcomed!
THANKS!
I'd go for the Benelli. :thumb:
:thumb: :thumb:
benelli :thumb: :thumb: cant beat an italian :icon_twisted:
The FZ600, if you get it put back together and running, will be bulletproof. Mine had FZR 400 forks and wheels, R6 brakes, penske R6 shock, and a bunch of other shaZam! done to the engine and it was absolutely badass. It was all top end but she was crazy fast.
The GS1000 is bulletproof no matter what happens. I hate the dressed ones...but I hate any dresser. Great motor and chassis. If it's ready to roll I'd take it and pull all that dressy shaZam! off, get a good exhaust and intake and make it a mean motherfucker.
It sounds cool to say you have a Benelli, but only if you're lying. Money pit and it will never work right for you.
Wait, you got rid of the GS because you got frustrated fixing it, and now you want a bike that's even older? WTFBBQ?
LOL. Yes.
To be honest, I really like the frustration of trying to fix stuff. The satisfaction when you get it right is very cool.
Once I got the GS running, I almost decided to keep it. But I got my asking price for it and can put that toward something else now. I'm actually leaning toward the Suzuki because the mechanical stuff will be familiar to me, parts seem plentiful, and it's running. The FZ seems interesting for the price, but not sure I want a crotch rocket. The Benelli looks like exactly what I want, cafe-style, but I don't think it comes with a clean title, which in MA means it's a no-go.
It's either another bike or an old Mercedes Diesel. Decisions!
the FZ isn't a crotch rocket in stock trim...it's a standard bike with fairings. It's probably more relaxed than your GS was.
The GS1000 is hands down what I'd be after, though...well actually I'd probably buy the GS and the FZ (that's cheap, man). The GS can be a f%$king monster, too...I've seen them put down over 100lbs of torque all motor.
the Benelli is out. too many complications with the title. the guy whose name is still on the title won't write me a bill of sale. so, it makes it very difficult to register in my state.
the GS1000 is the front runner. if it's still available, i hope to see it this weekend! if everything is in order, then i'm getting it.
thanks again!
Yeap the GS1000 wouldbe my Choice. :thumb:
The freaking GS1000 is a tank ... I mean literally, the russians used them to run over the marauding spartans in that movie 300 ... just 300 GS'es killed 90,000 fartans.
Yea ... 900 lbs of solid steel ... 3 of those were what was melted down to make the Empire state building.
Benelli is a cool concept but will be a major PITA ... you do not want to assemble what someone else took apart. Trust me on that one. Especially motor ...
The FZ sounds OK but again, carbs have sex appeal for me ... as do electrics I think.
Man I loved putting the "dog ate my electrical system" bike back together.
Cool.
Srinath.
I saw a picture of an awesome gs1000, I think you'll be happy with the bike.
i think the GS1000L sold already. Waiting to hear back.
Here's another option:
1982 Suzuki GT750
http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/mcy/345239378.html
(http://images.craigslist.org/0101120102070103012007060502725043e43442b87f00b470.jpg)
Also, the Benelli is back in play. The seller is working out the paperwork for me and is the guru of Benelli's in the northeast. So, he'd be willing to help and advise.
(http://images.craigslist.org/010112010211010310200706029401ada03265812cd0006a9b.jpg)
The Yammie didn't get spousal approval. She thinks it's ugly.
GT 750 is a water buffalo ??? you want one, but really dont want one for the street ...
Cool.
Srinath.
whatdya mean? like, it's slow? hard to steer?
i don't even see a GT750 on suzukicycles.org
srinath - what do you think of this one? same seller as the Benelli....
Simple carb job? Parts are probably easier to find.
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/mcy/343739000.html
(http://images.craigslist.org/01010601020801030020070602cc8da4165eb94b4ee000b466.jpg)
Here's a GS1000 that I wish I'd had room for:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RVertigo/MotosPhotos/GS1000a.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RVertigo/MotosPhotos/GS1000b.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y205/RVertigo/MotosPhotos/GS1000c.jpg
Friggen SWEEET!
that is nice, ain't it.
I'm still sad that I didn't pick it up... It was on craigslist forever... At the end, he'd lowered the price to ~$800 or something. :cry:
Quote from: RVertigo on June 05, 2007, 12:33:54 PM
I'm still sad that I didn't pick it up... It was on craigslist forever... At the end, he'd lowered the price to ~$800 or something. :cry:
:o
Tell me about it... I was kicking myself for not just FINDING somewhere to put it.
Ooooo ... a tank with plastic ...
OK a cult appealing tank ...
They are all huge and heavy ... and bullet proof. Just dont expect to ride any of them like you mean business ...
GT 750 suzuki should show plenty on goggle ...
Cool.
Srinath.
Here's a pic of the Suzuki GS1000L. Big, powerful, and decent-looking (without the backrest.)
(http://www.gstwins.com/photogallery/albums/userpics/14980/normal_SuzukiGS1000L.jpg)
yup...gs all the way (and the FZ cuz it's cheap haha).
The sissy bar is great...it's easy to pop on and off and when you're hauling a pillion it's a good feature. It's nice to have something cute clinging to you on a short ride, but after a couple hundred miles it wears on both of you.
i won't have to worry about a passenger.
With that bike its like having a passenger ... all the time, a nice 400 lb passenger ... :thumb:
Cool.
Srinath.
25th
The 82 is a GS750, not a GT. They stopped making the GT's in 76.
Quote from: seshadri_srinath on June 06, 2007, 04:36:56 AM
With that bike its like having a passenger ... all the time, a nice 400 lb passenger ... :thumb:
Cool.
Srinath.
My 1000L weighed in at a whopping 510lbs wet. Last GS500E I had on the scale tipped 424lbs wet (minus 50 miles of fuel). 80lbs....400lbs...what's the difference? :laugh: :flipoff: :laugh:
I'll also point out that my 1000L had Uni-pods, flatsides, and a full kerker (plus appropriate jetting) and she put down 92.3rwhp and 71 ft/lbs on 92 pump gas. Seems like there was something else but i can't remember...I think a TRE/ignition advance. I would absolutely love to get another one but I'm holding out for the mythical "crazy find" VMax...
So basically you're gaining 100lbs and four times the power.
My eliminator weighed 530+/-10 lbs. Made 110 or so HP when some other clown dynoed it.
It still handled like an over loaded wheel barrow rolling downhill ...
Beyond a certain limit (and each person's limit is different) each lb hurts more than each HP helps. The savage weighs under 350 and makes 30 odd hp. I'd gladly take 50 more lbs for 10 more hp. But double it and I'd decline.
The weight carried by one bike might hurt a lot more than weight in another.
Cool.
Srinath.
trust me...the eliminator and the savage are cruisers. The 1000L is a standard with a cushy seat. Geometry is what makes the handling...not so much weight and power.
either way, this purchase might be put off for a while. the baby came early! so, i'll be at the hospital with mommy for a few days.
woot!
congrats....hey but you can probably get a much better bike if you trade a baby for it. I hear babies are big bucks on the black market.
Congrats on the offspring! I would look really hard at the GS750 for $1000. That's a fantastic bike, the same model that really made Suzuki's name and set the racing world on fire.
Quote from: Mandres on June 07, 2007, 11:21:33 AM
...and set the racing world on fire.
Congrats on the newborn :cheers:
I think you are confusing this bike with the CB750F. That was the bike that sat the racing world on fire everyone else was just an imitation. :2guns:
No doubt the CB750 was an important bike too. But the Suzu was faster than the Honda and outhandled the Kawa 1000. It was really the best sportbike you could buy when it came out. I would love to pick one up someday.
thanks for the good words!
Quote from: makenzie71 on June 06, 2007, 07:23:26 PM
trust me...the eliminator and the savage are cruisers. The 1000L is a standard with a cushy seat. Geometry is what makes the handling...not so much weight and power.
OK then ... nighthawk 650 ... Crappy handling as well ... heck the cruisers with the exception of the eli out handled it ... BTW a virago 1100 will totally beat the snot out of any GS 4 cyl cruiser or not ... so will a Maxim 700 aircooled, let alone a water cooled one.
Weight has a huge part ... May be the most important part ... in handling.
Cool.
Srinath.
hey lightweight bikes with laid back geometry don't handle for snot...virago 250 is a good example haha.
i've got to strongly disagree with you on the virago sentiment...having riden about every size and generation I can say that they've all handle like hell. I just don't think it's good handling if you have to wrestle it. The 1100 and 900 I rode...anytime you got her over 80mph and the front end would start wobbling. Disturbing. Now the Maxim, on the other hand, was pimp. However, I think the bigger Maxims were more of a laid back standard, too...they lead the way to the F lineup. The Maxim is also another good example of weight not being the biggest consideration; My Maxim 400 will run circles around the virago 250, despite being built on the same frame and being heavier.
Quote from: baco99 on June 04, 2007, 09:26:53 AM
LOL. Yes.
To be honest, I really like the frustration of trying to fix stuff. The satisfaction when you get it right is very cool.
Once I got the GS running, I almost decided to keep it. But I got my asking price for it and can put that toward something else now. I'm actually leaning toward the Suzuki because the mechanical stuff will be familiar to me, parts seem plentiful, and it's running. The FZ seems interesting for the price, but not sure I want a crotch rocket. The Benelli looks like exactly what I want, cafe-style, but I don't think it comes with a clean title, which in MA means it's a no-go.
It's either another bike or an old Mercedes Diesel. Decisions!
well hell, come get my kz400 which i cant find carbs for, and it runs or my gr650 which parts are hard to find parts for as well :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:, like you i do like a challenge, but these are f%$king pissing me off :mad: :mad: :laugh: :laugh:
OK, the Benelli is still an option. I'm checking out 2 other options first.
1) a 1981 Honda CB750 DOHC with a cafe conversion already done
2) a 1978 Suzuki GS 750 with a cafe conversion partially done
The Honda can be ridden home, the Suzuki comes in a box of parts, but is complete.
I'm leaning toward the Honda... Any thoughts on the DOHC setup?
If these 2 don't work out, it's back to the Benelli. I'm trying to negotiate the bike, plus a parts bike, with paperwork for $1200.
I'm going to say it again...avoid the benelli. Like death. don't do it. You will end up disapointed.
The CB750 would be the prime selection...though the cafe stuff kinda ruins the bike's value. i nice, stock CB will go for $4~7k.
The DOHC engine has a bit more power and is smoother. The SOHC engine is raw and lacking in definition. I think the SOHC is more fun because it's a rev-happy wild ass engine. it's easier to build power and go fast on the DOHC setup.
honda was sold today, not to me.
so, the 1978 Suzuki GS 750 is still the front runner.
i like the cafe stuff, since that's what i want in the end.
if i had my druthers, i'd just buy a Vincent Black and be done with it.
(http://photos.motorcycle-usa.com/BIGfirstengine_1(2).jpg)
yeah new vincents are absolute sex...but the thing is that they're sold lookinig like that. the CB's value is being torn away from it because it's sold as a standard. a lot of people who do the cafe thing do it irreverseably...reason a lot of badass CB's are rotting away in sheds and cellers.
you haven't really owned a cb750f till you have one with the cobra motor kit.
Take a 1978 4 valve cb750f bore it out to 900cc, lighten the flywheel 2 lbs factory high performance cams, dual coil purple valve springs, flat side carbs. Oh and throw away the starter motor since when you had the flywheel milled you took of 80% of the starter teeth. This was a kickstart only motor :thumb:
Man that was a hell of a bike but kicking that bit@% when the weather changed was hell.
I would take an F even a cafed out one just to relive my youth. Crap my wife is gonna kill me if I go looking for a project bike.
Quote from: baco99 on June 11, 2007, 07:41:45 PM(http://photos.motorcycle-usa.com/BIGfirstengine_1(2).jpg)
Pr0n!!!
I'm gonna go rub one out with that pic... Sheebus!
You should see their cool ones.
http://www.vincentmotors.com/
Quote from: makenzie71 on June 07, 2007, 11:46:38 PM
hey lightweight bikes with laid back geometry don't handle for snot...virago 250 is a good example haha.
i've got to strongly disagree with you on the virago sentiment...having riden about every size and generation I can say that they've all handle like hell. I just don't think it's good handling if you have to wrestle it. The 1100 and 900 I rode...anytime you got her over 80mph and the front end would start wobbling. Disturbing. Now the Maxim, on the other hand, was pimp. However, I think the bigger Maxims were more of a laid back standard, too...they lead the way to the F lineup. The Maxim is also another good example of weight not being the biggest consideration; My Maxim 400 will run circles around the virago 250, despite being built on the same frame and being heavier.
No wobble on my viragoes ... ever ... The maxim 700 and virago 1100 are dead even for handling ... with virago getting the edge due to lower CG.
Maxim 400 I thought was much much smaller wheel base than the virago 250.
BTW, you have to remember these are cruisers. That 80 inch wheel base means ... you pay the price in how rapidly you can change direction.
I forgot the whole premise of this argument.
May be ... weight is bad, wheel base - not neccesarily.
Cool.
Srinath.
another one for you modern vincent lovers.
classic looks, and modern Honda powerplant.
(http://www.vincentmotors.com/BIK/images/main_BlkShadow.jpg)
go look for a Honda GB500. Only imported for a one or two years. You can find em on ebay once in awhile.
like this one? alredy asked to see it.
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/mcy/350943083.html
no cb's and gb's are quite different.
(http://www.stallard-engineering.co.uk/images/bikes/GB400TT-8.jpg)
(http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Bike%20Directories/Honda%20Bikes/images/Honda%20CB400.jpg)
ah, well i like them both!
OK, I did it. Just took home a 1982 Suzuki GS1100E. It's a beast! Very different from the GS500E, but gobs of torque. Needs a few small things to make it perfect. Just enough tinkering for a new dad.
Needs:
- carbs rejetted for the open intake and Kerker exhaust already installed
- tach cable
- new rear tire (included in sale, needs to be mounted)
- exhaust rings
- rear brake rebuild (rear brake locks up after a few stops and you need to release the bleed screw to unstick it)
the thing is BIG, but i am sure to not outgrow it. it's all motor!
looks like this:
(http://www.suzukicycles.org/photos/GS/GS1100E/1983_GS1100E_Ron3_800.jpg)
any suggestions or things to look out for?
I would look out for that 108bhp :o I bet you power wheelie that Buddha Loves You in 4th :icon_twisted: Those old boats get modded for drag racing a lot, you play with the jetting a little it'll probably dust a porsche to 60
i was taking it easy on the ride home. until everything is sorted out, anyway. it does have A LOT more power than the GS.
Quote from: baco99 on June 12, 2007, 04:34:56 AM
another one for you modern vincent lovers.
classic looks, and modern Honda powerplant.
(http://www.vincentmotors.com/BIK/images/main_BlkShadow.jpg)
Holy crap I thought they went out of business in the 50's? That's a beautiful bike. No mention on their website of dealers, prices, etc, can you actually buy that thing?
Quote from: debtman7 on June 15, 2007, 06:39:10 AM
Quote from: baco99 on June 12, 2007, 04:34:56 AM
another one for you modern vincent lovers.
classic looks, and modern Honda powerplant.
(http://www.vincentmotors.com/BIK/images/main_BlkShadow.jpg)
Holy crap I thought they went out of business in the 50's? That's a beautiful bike. No mention on their website of dealers, prices, etc, can you actually buy that thing?
+1
That bike is gorgeous... debtman you and I clearly have awfully similar taste in bikes LOL
Ah found their FAQ:
Quote
Q. When will these bikes be available and how many models will you be in production?
A.
Vincent Motors has completed four pre-production prototypes. The next phase will include building prototypes for Design Validation and Production Validation level performance, handling, as well as EPA and DOT testing. We anticipate that process will be complete and production will begin in late 2004.
There will be four models produced:
Black Shadow (Standard)
Black Lightning 'S' (Sport)
Black Lightning 'ST' (Sport/Touring)
Black Eagle (Cruiser)
Seeing as 2004 has come and gone, I'm gonna have to call this vaporware :) Maybe someday, who knows, but also says prices start at $20k. Yikes!
they can be custom ordered. mass production was put off due to some financing issues on the owner's part. Basically this entrepreneur bought the rights to the Vincent brand and decided to rebuild the Vincent in classic style with modern components. it's a Honda lump suspensded by the frame in traditional Vincent fashion. awesome!
DONE! Picked up a 1982 GS1100E last week. Needs a few small things, but pulls like a truck. Cool.
SWEEET!
Post up some before and after pics...
Meaning, before you tear off the old seat, handlebars, lights, etc and make it a GIANT Cafe bike. :icon_mrgreen:
LOL. the seat padding was already cut about 2 inches by the PO. much better riding position.
it's at the shop now getting the new rear tire put on. next up brake work and fuel issues. then inspection.
i found a drag bar that i like, but i'll wait til i get some seat time before changing things too much.