Hello everyone,

A quick intro, and some pics of my bike...

I first got my motorcycle endorsement in 2006. Took the last MSF training course of the season and then proceeded with my mission, to find a cheap enough set of wheels as to not upset the better half, while still looking good, and having a little extra power for some cheap thrills. I had basically decided I was mostly a fan of the "Standard" motorcycle style, with a leaning towards classic and naked bikes, thanks to hours spent drooling at the Triumph website. As these bikes did not meet the proceeding requirements ( Not cheap, and perhaps too much power for a noob) I started investigating the sv650 and gs500 as affordable and good looking bikes.

One day, while scanning eBay (Yeah, I know...) I saw this poor little gs 500 with no bids and a very low intro price. What the heck, I thought, I'm sure I will be out bid any way... (Yeah, I know, I know...) and I did want to learn some wrenching... well the next day and $600 later I was the proud owner of a 1993 GS.   Oh boy...

Broke the news to my SO, and took delivery the next weekend. (And they delivered for free Hmm seems pretty sweet...) Well, let this be another warning for eBay buyers... This was an 1989, not a 1993, though they had over reported the mileage a bit, got them to drop $50 for the "Typo".

So here it was, ready for a bit of work...







First thing was to sand and paint that rusty muffler. Snap, pop, crack, 3 out of 4 bolts broken off in the header. Crap. Jammed back together as best as I could, eventually rode to shop for repair. Wow it rode like crap. @ $400 bucks later, muffler mounter and carbs cleaned and balanced, rode great. Then it kept stalling. I will not admit how long I worried fussed and stalled until i realized it was just low on gas.

Over the next few years, I got a crash course in learning to fix my bike. Next order, replace that hideous headlamp, Fix the duct tapped tach cable, recover that torn seat, adjust the loose chain, replace brake pads, replace brake hoses, replace choke and throttle cable... The list went on and on, but as much as I was fixing, I was riding, learning and loving every minute of it. Finally got up the nerve to re-paint the side panels, and clean the carb myself. After I cleaned it, it ran better than from the shop and I fixed the hanging idle issue that had plagued me for the past couple years.





Last Spring,  Summer and Fall, I rode everywhere I could. Bought a little fly screen, and painted it to match the bike then put on a clear coat to protect it. Then put clear coat on the side panels... Ugh!, it clouded the paint and looked like crap. Well, This winter I needed to rebuild the clutch anyway so... I started a whole repaint process. No powder coat, sorry this recession is killing me, but hopefully with better results...  My GS is going green!

I cant beleive how ugle that square head lamp was.  Wow, very nice work.  Whats your millage on it?  Did you check your valves?  What bike did you use during the msf coarse?  I love it when people save abused bikes from dieing.  Awesome, just awesome.
Cheers

Looks good. Glad you switched to the round headlight, that big brick thing it had before was seriously ugly. Also I like the flyscreen.

Oh and Welcome to the board! 

nice work   

Good looking bike, it'll look great in green!

What part of PA are you from?

I probably have the original tails that match your tank. The tank is 1989. The tails seem to be 1990.
Clear coats can be a problem.
the only one I found that always works and never clouds up is 2k Max. It is a 2 part urethane in a spray can. Before that, I tried 10 to 15 different clears and all had issues.

The tank looks perfect. I urge you to trade for a tank that needs painting. An original 1989 tank in that color is hard to find.

Looks great.  Excellent progress. 

If you ever decide you want to get rid of that flyscreen, let me know.   

Thanks guys!

QuoteWhats your millage on it?  Did you check your valves?  What bike did you use during the msf coarse?  I love it when people save abused bikes from dieing.

Was @ 20,000, probably @ 32,000 now. Yes just replaced a shim this week! At MSF I was stuck on a Kawasaki Eliminator. thought it was great until I got the GS!

QuoteWhat part of PA are you from?

Just outside Philly, town called Drexel Hill.

QuoteThe tank looks perfect. I urge you to trade for a tank that needs painting. An original 1989 tank in that color is hard to find.

More of a 10 footer, Had a good dent in the left side from the PO. Looks like he took a low speed crash and dinged the bar into it. I have stripped, filled and refinished it already. I did drop it twice myself, Both from a stand still, but no damage incurred from either of those (pride not included) other than a bent brake lever and a broken clutch lever.

heck of a restore job, looks great now 

Looked like shaZam!.
Looks f%$king fantastic now
Well done

89500inPA, you still have this bike? I know it's been years... did you do the green paint?

I like how you did the side plastics and the wheels look like they cleaned up really well!!

That headlight looks like it should have been floodlighting the local sports ground. Nice job on the GS though, I hope it gave (or is still giving) a lot of enjoyment.

That frame aint no 89.  The tank is, the left side tail section is a 90 and the right side is possibly also 89, but who knows.
The square headlight and the bracket that goes with it are part of an airtech fairing concocted in the early 90's for the GS out of fiberglass, that freaking weighed more than the bike.
Cool.
Buddha.

She was a great little bike, totaled by the insurance company this fall.

Ruined my summer. I probably could have restored her again but would have been a lot of work for a bike with a salvage title.
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=70526.msg847755#msg847755

Bummer man.  A real shame considering all the love you showed her.  Did the insurance take care of ya? Ya get fully healed up?  Make it back on 2 wheels yet?  Inquiring minds want to know!   Glad you weren't hurt too badly.

Still working through this, healed up though. A few years back I acquired a 73 Triumph Tiger. Great riding bike but after I broke my left wrist, pulling that heavy clutch was not happening. I ordered a conversion kit for a lighter clutch and slowly installed it just as work hit a crunch time, and now cold weather is setting in. Got in some test rides around the neighborhood; looking forward to spring.