I picked up this 79 GS850 two days ago for a steal. Not running, needs reg, plate on the back expired Nov 30, 2007. I believe it was the last year of the kick starters, so I got lucky there as it allowed me to see if it was seized. Kicked over fine. Carbs are there but missing the airbox. Missing the right side cover as well, otherwise the bike is complete.
My plan for this build is to keep it fairly simple. Just a basic cafe style without spending any more than I have to while creating a decent looking final product.
I got the bike yesterday and got to work on it. Tore off the Vetter fairing and the pack bars on the back. I pulled the float bowl on the #1 carb as a start and to my shock and delight it was utterly clean! Bonus! The tank had a few gallons of gas in it, tried the petcock which worked fine, no leaks and the float needles all worked. Just has a leak from the o-rings on the fuel fitting between #2 and #3 carbs, so I'll need to pull them off eventually. Of course I didn't want to use that gas, so I hooked up another tank with fresh fuel. Checked the points and they were pretty well shut, so I gapped those. Next I unclipped the ignition harness, jumpered the wires (no key), and hooked up jumper cables from a battery in another bike. After trying the starter button and getting nothing, I moved on to the old screwdriver across the starter solenoid terminals. That did the trick. It turned over a bit slow at first as the starter likely hadn't moved in many years. But after a couple tries it sped up to a more normal speed. I wasn't getting even a sputter, though. The choke cable had been disconnected, so I moved the choke by hand at the carbs and boom! she fired right up! What a delightful sound. Warmed it up a little, seems solid, likely just a bit lean without an air filter.
That was a good ending to day 1.
Which brings me to day 2, today. Now that I know the motor is good, I got to work on the aesthetics of the build. I took a set of dirtbike bars I had kicking around from a DT125 that Brad flogged off on me, and trimmed out the center brace. Flipped them upside down and mounted them up. That'll work, just need a solid cleanup and paint.
Next I got to work on the tank. It was pretty beat up, so I decided to just work with what it is and hammer in some knee inserts. I grabbed an egg mallet and got to it. Because of the existing dents, I was forced to bring the knee inserts further forward than I'd like, which interfered with the tank badge mounts but I'll make it work.
In between my little 20 gallon air compressor filling up, I got to work a bit on the seat. Took apart the rear cowl and pulled the seat off and apart. I plan to cut the seat pan shorter and mount the cowl further forward to get rid of the passenger seat.
Got one coat of filler on and sanded, and finished the day with a second skim of filler. Still needs quite a bit of sanding and shaping but the base is good.
