I decided to finally bite the bullet and jump in buying a "project" bike. My idea is to make a tracker/scrambler/cafe racer of some sort. A mix of all those ideas with 3 things in mind. Aesthetically looking, reliable and most importantly, comfortable. I began to search on CL for some cheap bikes with a price cap at $1500. I know how these projects can add up quick. With a budget of 2k or so, i firmly believe it is possible. Especially because ill be tackling the project myself with doing all the feasible work. By feasible, i mean work that can be done with the will to learn, patience and mechanically inclined. The only thing i am afraid is the fact i lack tools/equipment. That will be when i will require professional help. On the flip-side, from what i see now, welding and possibly engine work will be the professional ill be needing only.
Anyway, i was debating between a 83 honda vt500. Looked clean, 16k miles BUT with a salvage title. It really did not bother me that the bike was salvaged because i am planning to keep this bike forever. However, the fact that the owner was stating he bought it at an auction but the auction was required to hand it down as a salvage title sounded fishy. He said because he was not a dealership they needed to mark the title as salvage even though it was being sold with a clean title at the auction. The guy had an auction permit. He buys bikes, flips them and sells them. So i moved on.
My 2nd option was a GS500 that was in storage for a year or so. Maybe longer. I did not really ask since to me there was no difference. I knew what i was getting myself into and knew it would require work regardless. With $1500 you cant much of a bike here in the Bay area. I suppose if you are lucky and patient, 2 things i do not have in me. Yet.. The bike was located in Santa Cruz. I took a buddy of mine so he could drive the bike back incase i would buy it. I could not bring the bike back because he had no knowledge of a 5 speed vehicle.
I ended up paying 1400. I think i could have gone lower but it does not matter anymore. It is mine [​IMG]. My buddy said it ran smooth, was fast and operated fine. Not until we got into town, my friend said he heard a weird clunking noise. The following day i put it up the center stand and took a look at it. I am still not sure what it was but the rubbing/noise is gone. I adjusted the chain and noticed a few tight spots. Maybe that was the noise?? not sure.
Now, it seems to run fine for the most part but i expected to encounter some problems being thats a bit older. From what i noticed and checked, sprockets seem ok but chain is tight. Will be replacing chain. Tires are not in great condition and god knows how old they are but was already planning to buy a different set up for my project. Looking for a tire with some character. Front brake pads are worn. Front suspension seems really soft. Seller mentioned the seals were just replaced. Not sure how a GS should feel though. I plan on replacing the spring with a progressive one since it seems lots of people do that for a better ride.
Another issue i encountered was with the throttle. It bogs/does not react quick when i give it throttle abruptly. Also, whenever i try speeding up very slowly it wants to die and the engine makes a clunkering noise. I am sure that the carb needs cleaning. In addition, he had a K and N filter which makes me believe that can also be causing a leaner set up.
Take a look at the pics. I sprayed a bit of carb/choke cleaner into the intake boots and not to my surprise i noticed immediate revs climbing up. Yup, vacuum leak. I may go with the lunch box and Delkevich slip on. I have to do more research in regards of the slip on and the set up for the lunchbox. That being said, i noticed there was tons of silicon and what not around the boots and inside the engine openings. I will try and remove it carefully to avoid debris going inside the engine. To add to my small headache, one of the screws was heavily stripped. Needed to grab my hacksaw and turn it into a flat head screw. Also, there was not hose connecting to the bottom of the tank ( not sure what that was for..research time!) The tank has a dent and a few other nicks. Hopefully a shop doe not charge me much to get that fixed. If it does, ill just look for a tank on Ebay.
Lastly, i am excited about this project and hopefully it turns out the way i imagine it. I wont be updating it as much as i would like but once in a while ill post pics cause i know how much we all love pictures!!! Again, i am new to the GS but i am sure i can work around it. I hope to learn a lot here and already enjoy myself looking at projects from members.
Thank you
The first 6 pictures are the things i was referring.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/25146305@N06/?Also, check out my puppies site. Still working on it!
Princelinus.com
Notice the People 50 and agility 125
