I recently bought a 1990 Suzuki GS500 in pieces for $200. The bike is in pretty good all around condition, I have started to break the bike down (The engine was already removed and taken apart). All I am lacking is the motor and other small but vital items witch I am scouting on ebay. The head is dented by a broken spark plug that fell into the cylinder. The cylinder sleeves are rusted and the pistons need to be replaced I think the entire top half needs to be replaced. The crank case is in good condition all the covers are in good condition but I don't know about any of the moving parts condition. Would it be less expensive to rebuild or try to find one on ebay or at a shop. I have looked on ebay and with shipping it is $700-$1000 for a used engine. I Don't know what a rebuild will cost please help.
Just rebuilding the top end wouldn't be that bad. What is the condition is the crankshaft, transmission and other components? What is missing? One thing about a rebuilt motor is you know where you're at. A used motor could be short lived...no way to tell. I think you can find a motor for less than $700 if you look a while. How many miles are on the clock? I'll be doing an '82 GS450 motor this winter myself.
If you do the work yourself, you should be able to estimate your parts and vendor costs. Call around to find out what a rebore costs. You'll need o/s pistons, rings and new wrist pins. Check Ebay for a used head. You'll also need a head gasket, cylinder base gasket, case gaskets and probably a host of others. Parts fiche: http://www.suzukipowersports.com/fiche_select.asp (http://www.suzukipowersports.com/fiche_select.asp). You might order parts from your local dealer, but you can get an idea what they cost. Good luck.
I would like to do the work myself but I have never rebuilt an engine I have a haynes manual that is very in depth but I dont want to make a vital mistake. The crankshaft and trany are still in tact in the case and as far as I can tell only cleaning is in order, but I am not sure what to look for. when I get a chance I will take pics and post them here to see what yall think.
I picked up a used engine from a crashed bike last year for my GS. It ran me $400. It was close enough that I could pick it up myself, so shipping wasn't an issue, but I helped someone on another forum ship an old GS750 engine from Cleveland Oh to the Boston area. It cost him about $250 to ship. Keep shopping around and you may get a better deal. Check with your local motorcycle boneyards, they may be able to locate one for you at a reasonable price.
If you want to do the work yourself, go for it; but if cost is the main issue, you're probably better off finding a decent used one resonably close to home.