Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hey everyone. New to riding, new to the forum. See my intro post here.

I saw an ad on Craigslist tonight for a 1982 Suzuki GS 550L for $450. It's got 17,500mi, new battery, carbs recently cleaned, and is good overall physical condition. I was able to check it out and take it for a test drive, and it ran very well. I got it through all the gears, brought it up to speed and RPMs, and took some turns with it.

It was laid down about a month ago (according to the seller), which broke the tach and did very slight damage to the headlight housing and the tip of the exhaust (basically put some small scratches on them). The right foot rest is also bent, but I didn't notice that while riding it. He has already bought a new instrument cluster that I could install. So the only damage to the bike is going to be fixed or is very miniscule.

He also mentioned that the fork seals might need to be replaced. What all does that entail? How much would it cost me to do it? A shop?

It's looking like a pretty sweet deal to me. Any input would be appreciated. We agreed on me picking up the bike tomorrow evening!

Hmmm. I just checked Craigslist again to look at the listing and it looks like the guy removed the first listing and put up a new one -- with a higher price tag ($650). Pretty shady if you ask me, especially since we agreed and shook on our deal, but I guess it's good for him to try and field some offers.

Would it be worth $650?

Looks like I jumped to conclusions. The "updated" post that I just mentioned was actually posted on Monday, and I guess he didn't get any bites, so he posted again (the one I replied to) and dropped the price.

So yay! Back down to $450.

Tomorrow evening is coming (tonight) and I see no responses, so I'll take a stab at it.

I didn't see you mention when it was last inspected or if the bike has a current/valid inspection. As long as it does, I'd go for it.

Fork seals are a pain, I'm not sure how much they cost at a shop but I'd think at least $100-200. The seals themselves are cheap, $10 or so plus some new fork oil while you're in there, but the process or removing the forks from the triple tree and pulling them apart and compressing them back together looks hard and annoying. I have to do fork seals on my bike and can't afford the shop (not that I've checked the price) but even though I've read a lot on how to do it myself I haven't because it sounds very involved.

ANYWAY, all that said, I've been riding mine for over a year and it badly needs seals. The way to tell is if you notice any wetness/oil at the tops of the inverted forks (so on the chrome area). Supposedly shops check this during inspection but I'm not sure how bad it has to be for them to notice (I haven't gotten my bike inspected). I 'could' be bad if you really need them because the fork will be more loose, more prone to bottoming out and if you brake hard with the front it could dive and skid.

I'd suspect yours aren't too bad and good for 1-2 years, otherwise you'd notice it rode odd and you'd notice the leaking. Mine are so bad that while sitting parked the oil will drip through and out and pool on the inside of my rim, not good, but I suspect yours is no where near that level. And like I said the only thing that fork seals really worry me about is that they might complain during inspection. So as long as you're inspected you'll get at least a year out of it.

For that price it's awesome, I'd go for it. If you want I can check my forks on my parts bike and see if they're leaking, if you're ever get that bad just fine me, I've got either an '79 or '82 (I forget) Suzuki 550GL with no wheels and purely for parts.

That's what I did on my bike actually, I just bought 'new' used forks on ebay, because swapping them out doesn' tlook as bad as openning up and replacing the seals.

Have fun! Oh and if NOT inspected (bike been sitting, etc) make sure to check the tires good, look for cracks/dry rot because if there's any you'll need tires and that can be pricey.

I would suggest taking care of the fork seals before you go riding the bike. It isn't that difficult, and your bike will ride a lot nicer. This link shows the parts breakdown. I think most shop charge a couple of hours labor, but if you have a garage and common hand tool you can get the job done in a day.

You have to raise the front wheel off the ground and remove it. Remove the brake caliper. Remove the fender. Remove the forks from the triple tree. Disassemble the fork tubes, replace the seals, and reassemble. Replace the tubes into the triple tree. Replace the fender. Replace the front tire. Replace the brake caliper. And remember these are the steps, not a set of instructions. Get a manual for your bike for the detailed instructions.

Thanks for the replies, guys. Really appreciate it.

I did end up buying the bike yesterday. I rode it home, then back out to a friends house in the city. It's riding very very nice so far and I am loving it! $450 for a bike in good shape that's running well... what more could you ask for! I've just got to take some time and replace the instrument cluster with the new one he gave me. It kind of sucks not having a tachometer with a bike you don't really know!

I just got back from an hour and a half ride around the city. It's nerve-wracking some times coming up on intersections, but I've been very careful and I hope I can stay safe while riding around the city. I purchased a jacket, flip-up full-face helmet, and some riding gloves so I feel protected while riding. Next on the list is some boots...

Would it be important to fix the fork seals before I put it into storage for the winter? I plan on doing the regular maintenance you should do before winter storage, but it'd be nice to hold off on a couple hundred dollar repair until the spring.

Thanks again for everything!

Congrats on getting such a great deal. One thing I would definately do is check as many of the electrical connections on the bike as possible and make sure that they are not corroded or suspect in any way. Pay special attention to the connections going to the regulator/rectifier as it is especially prone to failure and can take the whole electrical system down with it. Other than a poorly designed electrical system these really are great bikes.

Oh, and check out http://www.thegsresources.com and you'll find an extremely helpful group of GS owners who can walk you through just about anything you would ever need to do to your bike.

Good luck!

I personally don't like buying other peoples problems.

+1 on checking all electrical connections, and use a multimeter, not your eye. This includes all electrical quick disconnect types, wire splices (these are usually very badly done), switches, fuses, ground, all bulbs. Buy your clymers repair manual and electrically check out your schematic diagram. Put dielectric grease on all connections to seal out the weather. For switches I use electrical connection cleaner, which squirts in and loosens up the corrosion. Check the fuses, particularly the main fuse, and if they're old, replace them, or at least be able to replace them on the road. Too many previous owners are "creative" with their wiring issues, so fix it right and you'll be happy.

Leaky fork sealswill give you crappy front suspension that might upset the bike in an emergency stop or an emergency maneuver. They also drip oil on your front disk and pads, defeating your braking power. Unfortunately a shop around here will charge you $200. I paid a shop to do my first bike, which took about 45 mins. It didn't look that hard. The front wheel is removed. The forks are dropped. There is a bolt on the bottom of each fork that needs to be removed for fork disassembly. This is the hard part. The fork seals are replaced and automatic transmission fluid (fork oil) is replaced. He didn't even clean up the gunk in the forks!

For my second bike I decided to do it myself. It was easier than I thought. Removing the bottom bolt turned out to be easy. The hard part was removing the circlip because I didn't have circlip pliers. New seals $15, ATF $5, 1.5 hrs of time and my forks were like new. And a ton of dirt and sh$t came out of my forks, so much of the time was cleaning up. I'd do it again if it needed replacement.