Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I know very little about motorcycles but recently bit off a big project. A heavily customized (ghetto-rigged) '79 Suzuki GS850 had been sitting in the same spot for a little over 2 years at my apartment complex, and about a month ago i saw it had a tow sticker on it and impulsively rolled it away to my parking spot. the bike told me to, what can i say? it sat there for a while and i asked around about it, nobody knew anything about it. i am 100% sure it was abandoned and will not be missed. its missing a battery, has 2 flats with no tread, no airbox/filter, rear shox replaced with solid steel bars, no tach/speedo/fuel, nothin. it does however have one BIG F-in motor and a huge gas tank, a driveshaft, and a rigged up homemade seat for ONE... its perfect.

SO my questions... What do i need to look at while starting this project? How do i find out the good parts from the bad? How do i get a title for a bike that i essentially stole (SAVED)? Tips for parts sources? Approximately what kind of a budget am i looking at? Any trivia on this bike in particular? I am confident in my ability and i bought a manual for the bike off eBay, but is there anything just better left to a pro? ANY information someone might have would be greatly appreciated!!!!

I already removed the motor and carbs to break up the weight and move it all up to my porch. now what???

I think you need to find someone with know-how in regards to motorcycle internals to decide if it is a doable project. After all, it could have a frozen motor, thrown rod, rusted solid at various points. Or it could be a major rebuild project well worth the effort, and it could be a heck of a learning project for you. But I think you need to talk to either a local buddy who knows engines and bikes, or at the very least, see if you can get a mechanic to look at the bike with you and assess its ratio of useful motorcycle to boat anchor. A GS850 can be a very cool bike. You might need some donor bikes to build a new one though. 79 is a ways out there in bike years in terms of parts availability. Some things might still be easy to come by, but others you might be on a real scavenger hunt.

But take a look here and you may gain some faith in the idea -

http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/bikeads/ ... gs_850.htm

And look here at the fruit of some guys labor -

My first thought would be to get the VIN # and take it to your local DMV and find out who the owner is. Cause unless its one of those bikes that dont get titled you could find yourself in a heap of trouble with the law if you start riding it around/try to get tags and plate for it.

Thanks! good quick responses Totalmotorcycle is awesome!!!!!!

paulgs850 wrote:Thanks! good quick responses Totalmotorcycle is awesome!!!!!!

we try to be . Oh and I work 3rd shift so I get to answer all these late night threads .

ofblong wrote:My first thought would be to get the VIN # and take it to your local DMV and find out who the owner is. Cause unless its one of those bikes that dont get titled you could find yourself in a heap of trouble with the law if you start riding it around/try to get tags and plate for it.

Generally VIN numbers are stamped on the frame. More specifically, on an old suzuki, it will have a VIN number or identification label on the steering head portion of the frame.

Depending on where you live, you may have a hard time getting this bike registered or even tracking down the previous owner.

You may have better luck finding one that was crashed, has a seized engine or is being sold for parts/scrap. Find a seller that still has the title and you can swap out any parts you need.

yeah i though about buyin a frame for the same or similar bike from a junkyard or something and putting all the guts on the legit frame. i'll be seeing if the motor is worth keeping this weekend i finally got a manual for it

hello I am new to this Forum and am here to make friends with Bikers form all over the World. After all we are of the same Breed - Bikers.


Buddy I can say that you did a great thing to experiment with your Bike. Keep it up