1980 GS450 "Sport". The grandaddy to the GS500.....Done!

[Big Rich]

Little bit of catch up.... here's the cases mounted and outside (pardon the fox terrier in the grass):



And the typical "camping load". The right case has a quart of oil, rain jacket in the lid, rain pants rolled up next to the oil, misc tools in the red bag, and wool socks & fleece jacket in the yellow bag:

[Big Rich]

And the left case:
Lid: Grand Trunk micro stool, extra Rok straps, fleece balaclava, led headlamp, spare rag
Case itself:
Camp shoes in plastic bag (with tent stakes inside the shoes), cooking stuff in the blue bag, personal hygiene stuff in the green bag, bottle of dish soap in a Ziploc bag, and a bottle of dry gas for stove fuel.

[Big Rich]

I had mentioned a little while ago that I powder coated my exhaust with normal powder and it didn't hold up well at all. Here is a pic that you can see the powder flaking off (bare steel at the top of the headers and more flaking off half way down):



Well, I finally got some high temp specific powder and redid the entire exhaust. I have about 200 miles on them so far and not a hint of any problems yet. Time will tell though....

[peteGS]

Good stuff Rich! Those hard bags look like you got plenty of room for all the essentials plus more 

Hopefully the high temp powder sorts those pipes out for you too.

[Big Rich]

Cheers Pete! Yeah, there is plenty of room. I made sure there was some excess space because I don't like to just cram stuff in there. And I can pick stuff up along my way and know it can fit as well.

If the powder holds up as well as it is, I'll be using it on many future projects.

[peteGS]

Excellent Rich, good planning!

I'm not sure how expensive it is to get powder here but it's something I've thought of for when I get my shed done so I can blast and spray safely. If I can powder coat as well I'll be all set!

[Big Rich]

The high temp powder is going strong.....

A couple weeks ago I noticed some grinding from the front end as I would come to a stop. Nothing terrible, the first couple times I felt it I thought I was rolling over some gravel. The more it happened I started thinking about what it might be.... and I dismissed the front brake pads at first since they had less than 2 years / 4k miles on them. Back at the garage I checked - yep! Bad brake pads. After getting some EBC pads in the mail, I pulled the old ones (which I bought from an unknown company on eBay), and they were almost down to the back plates.

Moral of the story: sometimes it doesn't pay to be cheap.

[peteGS]

Brakes and suspension... two things I don't like going cheap on!! Good call to check them out and replace them.

Mine's due for a service this weekend so I'll be checking my pads again... so far all the stuff I've gotten from Metal Gear (pads, rotor, chain, sprockets) are lasting incredibly well... I think over 18,000km's and I haven't even had to adjust the chain yet!

[Big Rich]

Well, it's time to close the chapter on this story..... loaded up the bike today and I'm meeting the buyer tomorrow. Seems like a really good character who will take care of it. Hell, he is driving up from Georgia so I'd like to think it won't end up as a hard tailed chopper or anything. Ha!



Bye bye little GS that could!

[ShowBizWolf]

Oh my goodness...    Good luck lil GS!!!

[peteGS]

Awwww so sad 

Hopefully we'll see another GSR and/or GS Twins member soon 

[Daeouse]

Glorious work, man, sad to see it go.

[The Buddha]

GA ? no not hard tailed chopper - but will be stretched and slammed and chromed.
Cool.
Buddha.

[Big Rich]

Thanks fellas. The guy said it was for his girlfriend, so I can't imagine any drastic changes to the bike itself. Unfortunately for me, somehow the front tire went flat and a fork seal blew in transport.... so I knocked some off the selling price.

The good news: I've already put some of the $$$ to GR parts.

[thehabman]

Ordered a 19" wheel off of eBay:


And the rear tire mounted (also Shinko 712, but 100/90-18):

Was the original rear a 16" and if so did you have to replace the swing arm?