My local dealer had just taken
on an immaculate, six month old 650 Kat with only 2000 miles on
the clock and Avon Roadrunner tyres on the wheels. A change of
bank manager plus a little hustling that saw the price reduced
from £1300 to £1100 and it was mine. At such a bargain
price the dealer insisted that there could be no guarantee, so
praying that the 650 engine was as bulletproof as the other GS
motors I rode off into the sunset.
For the first few weeks everything
was fine. In deference to the newness of the engine I kept the
revs below 6000, 85mph in top gear, for a 1000 miles or so. The
handling felt pretty stable (if a little vague) helped, no doubt,
by the excellent riding position. The bars were short and flat,
the footrests slightly rear-set and rubber mounted, helping to
absorb some of the tingling vibes common to all straight fours.
There was a rough patch between
4500 and 5000rpm that blurred the mirrors.The massive five gallon
fuel tank was cleverly waisted, making the bike feel much narrower
than it actually was. The dipped seat gave the impression of sitting
in rather than on the bike and also made it possible to put both
feet flat on the ground.
The front twin discs provided
excellent stopping power with plenty of feel. The rear however
was not so clever, prone to locking up at the slightest touch.
The forks managed to soak up all but the worst bumps, although
hard braking caused a fair amount of dive. The rear shocks had
five spring preload and four rebound damping settings - for solo
use I settled on position three in both cases.
Having once ridden a BMW I was
a bit nervous about the shaft drive. Anyone who has experienced
that disconcerting rising and falling of the suspension common
to all German flat twins (not to mention big Yams) will understand
my apprehension. Suzuki, however, appear to have got it right.
The only difference I could notice between the shaft on the 650
and the chain on a 550 Kat I owned was how quiet was the shaft.
Also, how little adjustment it's needed and how little grease
it throws over the back tyre. The gearbox, unlike a boxer, was
smooth, light and slick in action. So far so good.
With 3000 miles on the clock the
engine started to loosen up nicely so I began to explore the upper
reaches of the rev band. This turned out to be where the engine
made most of its power, 6000rpm the point of no return. Below
this figure the engine pulled reasonably, if not startlingly well.
Once above it, however, the reason for the sporty styling became
more apparent. What had at first sight seemed a sports styled
tourer was now beginning to show its true colours.
Unfortunately, most of this new
found grunt turned out to be almost unusable due to extremely
hairy high speed handling. At anything over 90mph the vagueness
I'd earlier noticed rapidly developed into a full blown weave,
the first of which caught me unawares and almost ended terminally.
I eventually traced the problem to the tyres. I fitted a Metzeler
ME77 at the front and a Pirelli Phantom at the back. Happily this
turned out to be money well spent. Not only did it look like I
might now survive until my next birthday I was able to hold the
throttle right against the stop.
It would run up to an indicated
120mph without so much as a twitch. The Metz was probably the
best front tyre I've ever used. It was stable at high speed, cornered
brilliantly and never so much as whimpered under the most lunatic
of braking abuse. I finally changed it after 10,000 miles simply
because most of the tread was gone but it still performed perfectly.
By contrast, the newer and supposedly improved ME33 Laser lasted
about 8000 miles but started to play up after 5500 miles. The
rear Phantoms go for about 4 or 5000 miles depending on how much
I abuse the throttle.
With the handling sorted and the
engine fully run in and performing nicely, I spent the next few
weeks finding out what the Kat would let me get away with. Ground
clearance turned out to be massive for a Jap four (this was 1983).
The folding footrests touched down first, acting as a warning
that the silencer would be next.
Shutting the throttle when well
cranked over, however, caused the rear tyre to break away momentarily
due to the precise action of the shaft compared to a chain. The
front brake continued to work well, although I must admit that
I greased the sliding pins every time I changed the engine oil
(1500-2000 miles). The rear caliper, however, seized one of its
pistons after 6000 miles. In all fairness, it was as much my fault
as theirs, as I hardly used the back brake thanks to the combination
of strong front brake and engine braking. I now use it a bit more
often and the problem has never recurred.
With about 6000 miles on the speedo
the noise from the cam-box started to increase, suggesting that
valve clearances needed attention. All GS Suzukis have a bucket
and shim system which is easy to work on provided you have the
special tool needed to depress the buckets. Two of the exhaust
valve clearances had closed up slightly. Apart from the odd check
over this is the only maintenance the valvegear has needed in
25000 miles.
Soon after this I was silly enough
to let a friend have a go on the bike, the result a front end
rebuild. Whilst this was going on I adapted the forks to take
a set of adjustable Telefix handlebars. At the twist of an allen
key the riding position could be changed to suit my mood, from
completely crazy to sensible touring. Adding an extra 25cc of
oil to each fork leg transformed the tautness of the forks.
With the bike back together, I
decided a holiday was in order and, armed with a toothbrush and
spare pair of underpants (brown), I set off for France. No sooner
had I landed on French soil than a hole appeared in the end of
one of the silencers' baffles, plugged with a mixture of Gum Gum
and French Brilleau pads. Thankfully, the repair lasted the three
weeks I was away.
Back in Blighty I decided to remove
the exhaust to see if a more permanent repair was possible. After
removing the system, the silencer fell off as soon as its clamp
was loosened, hitting the ground and dissolving into a heap of
red dust. A Motad Neta fitted on first time and outperformed the
stock system save for a slight hesitation at 2000rpm. The original
system lasted only two years, the Neta is still there after four
years looking just as good. Goodridge hose was added to clear
some sponginess that had appeared in the front brake.
For the most part I find the bike
hard to fault. It can be hurled into corners even with the brakes
hard on, like no other bike of its weight. Changing the chosen
line halfway round is not the futile exercise on some bikes, a
slight shift of buttocks usually sufficient. Braking in mid corner,
however, causes the bike to sit up in quite an alarming manner.
Much better to lean it over a bit more and hang on tight.
Part of the handling finesse comes
from the excellent riding position that I'd only change if the
bike was solely used for town work when the bars would need to
come back a couple of inches. The pillion seat looks and feels
like a board.
Apart from the oil changes, servicing
takes place when the bike needs it. Carbs are balanced when the
engine refuses to tickover cleanly. Ignition is electronic and
has never been touched. The original battery lasted 5 years and
I only had to top it up once. The fork oil seals blew at 5000
miles, so a set of gaiters were fitted along with new 'uns. The
swinging arm bearings were replaced at 20,000 miles. I managed
to crack the oil cooler at both ends by over-tightening the nuts
- a common error overcome by leaving the hoses attached at the
oil cooler end.
The general finish has been pretty
good over the years. I'm a lazy bastard so I generally only clean
the bike twice a year, but do coat cleaned parts in grease on
which the crud then builds up and can be wiped away. I have had
to paint the swinging arm, the wheels and calipers. The engine
cases were originally painted matt black but when this started
to fall off, I took all the paint off and polished up the cases.
I hope this hasn't sounded too
much like a Suzuki press release because, believe me, I have tried
to be as objective as possible. Sure, the bike has its faults.
Compared to modern litre bikes it's heavy and any one of the breed
of super fast 600s would see it off, but as an overall package
of performance, economy, fun and practicality I've found it hard
to better. And, in my opinion it's still one of the best looking
bikes in the known universe.
Hugh Scythe
****************************************************
Throttle to the stop, long stretch
of empty motorway, top gear slog, revs slowly increasing as the
old horror edges its way past 120mph on the clock. The stock suspension
had done over 30,000 miles, wasn't the stuff of dreams even when
brand new - 120mph thus turned up a fairly large weave as 500lbs
of shaft driven metal battled against the elements. And yet I
didn't want to back off!
122...123...124...125...126mph.
The air blast over the naked machine and my prone body was wicked,
rattling away at my visor and half deafening me with its roar.
The engine and exhaust noise were lost to the airstream but the
secondary vibes through all points of contact indicated in their
ferocity that the DOHC four cylinder engine was at its limit.
And yet I didn't give up.
127...128...129...130...131mph!
Run out of throttle, can hardly see through the vibration and
wind haze. A new sensation grinds through the whole chassis, emanating
from the shaft drive, which feels like it's going to break up.
Two lanes needed to contain the weave. I feel weirdly resistant
to backing off, like an AIDS victim having his last moment of
glory before ending it all, save that I ain't got the virus and
have a lot to live for.
I felt a twitch, a shimmer in
the tyres, a stutter in the motor, a momentary seizure in the
shaft.... aaargh, I don't want to die. So I chicken out, slam
on the anchors, shut off the throttle and lift myself up into
the airstream. 60mph's lost rapidly and the hazy white object
a few hundred yards in front turns out to be a f..king police
car, which I potter past at 70mph, hoping like hell that they
aren't going to pull me for suspicious behaviour... no officer,
I'm not shaking like this because of drugs or alcohol, it's because
I thought my motorcycle was going to break up on me at 130mph.
They ignored me. God must still love me.
More than can be said for the
'82 GS650GT, which two days after the land speed record complained
with rumbling main bearings and shot universal joints. I'd only
had the bike for half a year and ten thousand miles. It'd been
nicely run in by some old codger who'd never taken it above 75mph
and thought that exceeding 7000 revs was dangerous. He'd looked
rather taken aback when I'd tried to wheelie it, slammed down
sideways, leaving a huge crater in the tarmac outside his house.
Nothing broke so I deduced that it was a good buy.
There followed much madness. I
know, I know, if I wanted a sportster I should've bought a GPz
or GSX rather than a stodgy old tourer but for the kind of money
I had there was no chance of buying anything sporty that was also
half decent. So the GT had to suffice. Being heavy and shaft driven
meant the Suzi needed a BMW style cornering technique - set her
up on line, and go round on a gradually increasing throttle. But
sod that, the way me mates ride I wouldn't have got out of the
street with them still in sight.
Wallowing through bends thus became
a minor form of art. Hanging way off the top heavy mule much the
best way to compensate for a lack of tautness and ground clearance.
It worked after a fashion, about as effective as colic irrigation
at clearing the bowels and at least it was so solidly built that
anything else that got in the way would be knocked out of the
game.
Because the bike felt like it
was falling apart if I tried to change gear whilst leant over,
it also meant that the mill was strung out to improbable revs,
taken right out the other side of the red sector in second or
third. Made the kind of noise that caused millions of birds to
flutter upwards when in the countryside, a somewhat frightening
scene as they tended to cut out the light and loiter as if working
out suitable vengeance. And the vibration numbed my fingers and
made me lose all feeling in my groin. Light bulbs exploded, the
clocks tried to jump out of their brackets and minor bolts fell
out of the engine.
That accounted for the time one
of the exhaust headers came loose, on the overrun sounding like
a truck load of terrorists were letting go with their guns - hilarious
when riding around the police cordons in the City, the armed cops
going into a poise with their machine- guns, practically jumping
out of their skins. I didn't bother to stop when asked as I felt
sure they wouldn't gun me down just for making a lot of noise.
The bolts that secure the exhaust
clamps break off when you try to undo them, seized in with heat
and corrosion. But they can be drilled and tapped to take a smaller
bolt, a simple and effective repair. Because of the age of the
machine, what I assume were original silencers were merrily rotting
away and by 21000 miles it was in desperate need of a 4-1 (£50
from a breaker). Fortunately, it ran fine on the standard jets,
though the pipes did have a nice cherry red glow in the dark!
This lean running might explain
why she was turning in 55 to 60mpg despite the fact that I was
thrashing the arse off the mill every opportunity I got. Oil consumption
was so minor that I was forced to change it every 3000 miles,
or so, just to keep the gearchange relatively slick. It wasn't
so much the box that could turn nasty but the directness of the
shaft that could spurn it on to make some interesting noises on
old oil.
Other maintenance tasks consisting
of keeping the tyre pressures up (they dropped by 5psi over a
week), sticking a screwdriver in the airfilter and knocking off
the centerstand after it dug in and nearly had me off at 80mph!
Luckily, she came with a brand new set of Metz tyres that 10,000
miles of madness failed to turn illegal.
Though the bike probably wasn't
designed to do it, I managed to cruise at 100 to 110mph for a
couple of hours at a time, without really ruining my body or to
any obvious detriment to the engine. Strangely, and encouragingly,
the bike felt smoother at the ton than it did at 70mph and was
just as efficient! My replica tooled friends were somewhat amazed
that the GS could stay within their shadow for most of the time,
admittedly more down to our penal speeding fines than clever engineering.
That all came to an end when the
mains went. Vile vibration, insufficient performance to see off
a 125 and about 25mpg. Something had to be done. MCN was bought
and the breakers phoned. There were several 650 motors on offer.
I ended up with the more powerful GS650M Katana mill (73 against
64hp) for £275, not heard running.
The reassembled bike started up
after a lot of backfiring but I knew immediately that it wasn't
a brilliant motor, just by the way the whole thing shook away
at tickover. It had the edge on performance, though, growling
off up the road fast enough to shake the bars as the front end
went light.
I had no faith in its longevity,
so headed for the nearest dealer. Got £1250 off a new 600
Bandit that was discounted to £4100. The GS650GT originally
cost me £650, which means I came out ahead of the deal.
The Bandit shows the old GS650 up as a useless pile of crap, but
for under a grand you're not likely to buy anything much better.
Ian Hollicks
****************************************************
The times were too hard. Everywhere
I looked it was boom time. Except that I'd lost my job and did
not really want to work as a security guard for less than I was
making twenty years ago. This didn't go down well with the unemployment
people who threatened to cut off all my benefits! Only one thing
for it, the last of my dosh - six hundred notes - went on a weary
old GS650GT Suzuki four. The owner reckoned it'd go around the
clock and wasn't amused when I said it looked like it already
had! No sense of humour, these days.
Was I going on an around the world
tour, fuelled by hope and glory? Nope, I was joining the ranks
of Bristol DR's in search of mega-bucks if not fame and fortune.
Reluctantly, or so it seemed to me, I was given a freelance job.
What this amounted to was my staying at home all day until summoned
for a long distance trip. I was told that a more permanent position
might be offered it I did as I was told, worked hard and didn't
f..k up.
The first job was phoned in, details
taken, full of excitement and joy I rushed out to the GT. Would
the bastard start? Nope. Half an hour later I phoned back in despair,
which was fitting as I got the sack. Probably the shortest employment
in history. A week later I'd fixed the GT's electrics by tearing
the mess out and running it on a total loss system (that is, the
battery connected to the ignition not the charging circuit and
put on the charger overnight).
At this point it dawned on me
that I had no money. Cowboy security firms are always good for
a laugh. I was shocked when it was suggested that I would be willing
to work for next to nothing and provide my own vehicle. My look
of amazement was confused with that of joy at being offered a
job. It was agreed, with a nod and a wink, that the GT would provide
a perfect disguise as we roared around various industrial estates.
The boss was happy enough for me to do a 60 to 70 hour week, which
brought the money up to slightly above the poverty level.
It was quite good fun to roar
around on the GT for a couple of hours late at night but thereafter
it became a bit of pain, especially if it rained. This was summer,
God knows what I'd do in the winter! I didn't have that problem,
though. After three weeks I found some vandals trying to break
into a warehouse. Rather than confront them I used the radio,
told them to call the cops in. This gross cowardice was rewarded
with the sack. I'd been skiving off as well and claiming extra
hours.
The GT performed fine, started
first press of the button and could be thrown around without too
much hassle. Just as well, because the brakes were worn out, made
funny noises and didn't really want to stop the bike. It ran out
of steam around 8500rpm, probably down to the 65000 miles on the
clock and six owners in the registration document. The gearbox
was still slicker than most new Hondas despite the shaft drive
joints being a bit worn - they whined in protest and rattled on
the overrun. There was hardly any oil in the casing! It was jolly
nice not to have to bother about a chain.
I made a second stab at DR work,
this time phoning up some London companies who advertised in MCN.
Told a lot of lies about working as a DR in Bristol for years
(rather than minutes) and was summoned for a few interviews. It
was fortunate that my sister had a spare room in her house in
Hackney (the first she knew about her good fortune was when I
turned up on her doorstep). A job was found in the City, though
the other DR's looked askance at the state of the GT - the 100mph
cruise down the M4 caused a heavy leak from the cylinder head
gasket. I'd also had to ignore a large weave that had the thing
bouncing in its lane. Kept the cagers at bay, anyway. Before the
trek south I'd fixed the electrics with used bits, was worried
that they might go down again but they never did.
The GT was a bit ponderous and
slow in acceleration for the heavily packed cages in London. Not
knowing where I was going didn't help, either, and it took a while
to get up to speed. The first few days fair flew by, with plenty
of drops and pick-ups. On the fourth day, disaster. The top box's
lid opened as I was charging through the traffic, the GT bouncing
around over the ruined road on soggy suspension, spread about
a dozen packages down Regent Street. I lost half of them to the
suddenly laughing and berserk cagers, the others were ruined.
I knew what was going to happen when I returned to the office
- the sack - and I wasn't wrong!
More lies about working as a DR
for years in London and Bristol secured another position. A couple
of showers had eaten away at the poor old Suzuki - acid rain wasn't
a joke - making it look like rat of the year and a magnet for
bored cops. Only I didn't pull over when requested, ignored some
wild salutations. One cop even tried to run after me, but a bit
of throttle saw him eating the Suzuki's rotted exhaust fumes.
It just meant I had to change my route for a while. There are
still loads of rotted bikes masquerading as DR hacks in Central
London, relatively easy to merge with the pack.
After a couple of weeks, I was
in desperate need of a new front end. The brake didn't really
work and the suspension was down on its stops, felt like the springs
were broken! Wandering around London breakers, there were lots
of recent stuff but old GS bits were becoming rare. In the end,
an XJ900S front end was hammered on by a keen breaker for a ruinous
£175. The geometry was subtly different, making it want
to hammer down to the tarmac through sharp corners but a boot
down soon sorted that. Much improved braking - so good it threatened
to snap the headstock off - made for much faster times through
London. A bit of the old cut and thrust; sure gave my muscles
a good work-out, the GT weighing more than many 750 fours.
Fuel was around the 35mpg mark,
tyres lasted 7000 miles and I was putting oil in the engine every
day but never bothered to change it. I never did any engine maintenance,
either - the eight valves didn't need any attention and the carbs
were too worn to take kindly to any balancing attempts. In many
ways it wasn't an ideal DR hack, but I seemed to adapt to its
manners and the need to ride like a lunatic through London; my
times were just good enough to keep me in steady employment for
the next four months.
By then winter was descending,
I had a large pile of readies burning a hole in my pocket and
the poor old GT had gone dead above 6000 revs but would still
swing through the day like an elephant let loose in a china shop.
My sister dropped heavy hints that I'd outstayed my welcome -
she didn't take well to my oil, mud and rain splattered form stamping
through her once pristine home.
Everything pointed to a sojourn
on the Spanish coast. I decided that the GT would just about manage
to get me there, if not back! A miraculous return of power happened
when I'd dumped the air-filter which had a deep layer of crud
impeding the air flow. 9000rpm was possible.
A gentle 90 to 100mph buzz down
to Spain over the next week proved good fun, with mad Frog's trying
to knock me off and the Spanish roads finally doing for the rear
shocks. Fuel reached an all time low of 20mpg! In Barcelona the
bugger didn't want to start until fed with a new set of spark
plugs - the first in 12000 miles under my ownership, they might've
been the originals for all I know. A cheap apartment was found
in Valencia, the usual round of biking, booze and birds followed.
Some chap from Glasgow made me an offer of £950 for the
GT after I'd spent hours cleaning it up. He sent me a postcard
saying he'd gotten home alright. Amazing! It's probably still
going strong.
Kevin Allen
****************************************************
I knew exactly what I wanted,
the definitive, ultra reliable Jap middleweight, the Suzuki GS550.
Absolutely ideal for my needs. I wanted a W or X reg, clean and
tidy, mileage fairly academic. Looking through the local paper,
a secondhand dealer from whom I had bought a bike before was offering
a V reg GS for £400 and it was stated to be tatty.
I thought I might as well take
a look. How wrong can you be? Tatty was a total understatement,
it was just a wreck on wheels! Anyway, I went in to see the shop
owner to pass the time of day, that was when I noticed a very
clean, black Y reg GS650GT, shaft drive, in the corner of the
showroom. On closer inspection it was very tidy, had 19000 miles
on the clock, a Motad 4-1 and a poxy Invader fairing.
I immediately thought this is
just the job, shaft drive and all. Anyway, I took it for a quick
spin, the motor felt solid and everything appeared fine, apart
from a well worn front tyre. I haggled and got £200 off
for cash. Soon as I arrived home, the fairing came off (it was
held on with brackets that could have supported the Forth Bridge)
and my old Euro Design rack went on. It was originally off a CB900FZ.
It wasn't difficult to put on, using the appropriate spacers.
Then on went a top box just to finish things off. That was August
1987.
Oil and filter was changed at
20,500 miles, judging by the reasonable state of the oil, it signalled
to me that the previous owner had not only looked after the outside
but, more importantly, the inside as well. I assumed the bike
had had a gentle life.
New plugs went in at 20,700 miles
and a week later the arrow shaped Michelin (which had made the
handling bloody weird, it kept wanting to fall into corners) was
replaced with an ME33 Lazer to match the rear ME99A. The result
was a massive improvement in handling, it now actually went round
corners without trying to touch the mirrors down!
I was very pleased with the bike.
The shaft drive was very positive, as was the gear change, and
power delivery was well metered - good low and midrange power
allied to clean carburation makes town riding a doddle and very
smooth, despite the mass of the across the frame four.
Two up handling was a bit dubious
unless you jacked the rear shocks up to maximum and kept the tyre
pressures at the top of their range. A weave was especially noticeable
in long sweeping bends unless everything was set up perfectly.
As tyres wear handling deteriorates...... a word of warning, here,
I replaced the rear with a 130 section tubeless tyre, same as
originally fitted, and found the old tubeless tyre had been fitted
with an inner tube because the 130 section is too big to seal
properly. A 120 section tyre solves the problem.
This was my first shaft drive
motorcycle and I was really impressed with it, so much so that
I changed the shaft oil at 24,000 miles - it was very dirty and
probably original. A full engine service was done at 25,300 miles,
although I do all the other stuff myself. Remarkably, the tappets
and carbs weren't far out and the ignition was spot on and the
plugs didn't need replacing.
Not long after the service, starting
became a third or fourth stab at the button affair. Put down to
a dry battery and duff plugs. In went new plugs, the battery was
topped up and an oil and filter change at 28000 miles. I also
added a rear mudflap to stop road crud covering the number plate
and light. The three discs brakes had been impressive so warranted
the £36 cost of a set of replacement pads.
Around 30,000 miles the handling
took a turn for the worse. The bike shimmied about all over the
place coming out of the bends, this nasty trait emanated from
the rear end. Reason, shot swinging arm bearings. Getting the
swinging arm out isn't a difficult job, getting the bearings out
is. They had to be beaten out with a special tool - you can't
knock them out from the other side because the inside of the swinging
arm is blocked off. Bearings cost £30 a pair.
While the swinging arm was out
I was able to tackle another problem, oil was leaking out from
the engine output shaft into the rubber gaiter that covers the
universal joint. At the next oil change (31000 miles) I took the
opportunity to add synthetic oil and I swear the bike runs better.
The choice of Metz tyres was a
good one. The front lasted 12,400 miles and was good in the wet
too. Had a new speedo cable at 33,700 miles, bit expensive at
£5.50. The irear tyre was replaced at the same time having
done nearly 11000 miles, damn good for a rear boot - probably
down to the lazy power delivery.
The whole bike was going as well
as the day I picked it up. To reinforce this belief I managed
110mph two up, a bit frantic at that speed but entirely believable
that it could achieve its quoted 120mph solo. Speed is not related
to mpg, it does 45mpg whatever you do with the throttle. The bike
is comfortable for a 100 miles which coincides with reserve -
should be at least five gallons capacity!
Just before 34000 miles the clutch
cable went. I was halfway home from work when it snapped. Have
you ever tried riding three miles, mostly in a built up area,
without stopping. It was a bloody miracle. I got to the local
Suzuki dealer, bought the cable (£10.95, daylight robbery)
and put it on there and then; good job it wasn't raining!
The steering head bearings needed
replacing at 34,500 miles. They lasted quite well, I suppose,
although it appeared there had been little or no grease put in
at the factory. The new ones went in packed with grease. This
brought the steering back to life again. Don't they use grease
in Japan?
As 38000 miles came up on the
clock, the engine began to run very roughly and noisily, due to
having a hole in the exhaust. It had done 12000 miles since the
engine was touched. It deserved a service. This was duly done
and we were also able to braze up the hole in the exhaust, not
bad for £10 on top of the service bill (which included a
fork oil change). Would have cost me well over £100 for
a brand new Motad. Riding home after the service it felt like
a new bike - smooth, quiet, responsive.
Up to now I haven't said anything
about the camchain - because I haven't had to. It is a self adjusting
unit and at the service they reckoned it was good for a few more
thousand miles. 40,000 miles out of a camchain is okay by me.
They also confirmed that compression was still good.
Coming home from work in the dark,
the headlamp blew. £6.40 for a new one. By 39000 miles it
needed a new set of front pads, expensive at £27 but they
had lasted 14000 miles, so I wasn't complaining. On the whole
the brakes were good in the dry, slightly less so in the wet.
The rear disc is actually very usable, progressive but firm -
I have never managed to lock up the back wheel.
Whilst doing a check over of the
bike I noticed that the battery's plates were covered in white
fur. It was becoming harder to start so a new battery was shoved
in, a Blue Label for £20, half the price of a Yuasa original.
Five months after brazing the
exhaust it blew again, only this time it was much worse. There
was nothing for it, £125 for another Motad, at least it
was very easy to fit. Just after this a rear shock broke coming
home from work. Good job I wasn't going very fast or cornering
at the time. I was almost opposite a secondhand dealer when it
happened. He agreed to put the bike in his workshop if I'd buy
a pair of shocks from him. Two days later I was £74 worse
off, but at least I had a new pair of dual rate R and Rs. On the
lowest settings they were firmer than the originals.
A few days later there was a nasty,
whirring noise from the top end. I opted for a linked camchain
rather than an endless one which required removal of the crank
and hundreds of hours of labour at £18 an hour - it would
be cheaper to pay off the Mexican national debt. Instead, it cost
me £91. The damage that can be done if the old camchain
gives up on you does not bear thinking about.
Riding home that evening the bike
felt as smooth as the day I had bought it four years before. In
the time I've had the bike it has done nothing but convince me
that I made the right choice. As soon as the mileometer turned
40,000 miles I went out and bought a new pair of handlebar grips
as a way of thanking the bike for keeping me on the road for all
but a handful of days.
To sum up. The throttle is a bit
heavy, as is the whole bike, and the tank is far too small. I
can live with that, because on the plus side it has only once
failed to start, it is smooth, fast enough, comfortable, handles
okay and has got a damn near bullet-proof engine.
I have done 21000 miles on it
and am looking forward to the next 21000 miles. Can't understand
why the GS didn't outsell the CX500. Looks a hundred times better,
amongst other things. As you might have already gathered I'm dead
chuffed with my 650GT and intend to keep it for the foreseeable
future.
Anyway, it's such a contrast to
my H reg Honda VFR750 (the bike mags were right, it is a brilliant
bike). I can certainly feel the eight years difference between
them. That's no discredit to the GS, back in the early eighties
it was a good bike and with retro biking coming in for the nineties,
the GS is right up there with them. Well done Suzuki!
P.Cooper
****************************************************
I picked up my Suzuki GS650 Katana,
with 34000 miles and seven years of abuse under its wing. Sold
in 1984 it was one of the last small Katanas made and, unfortunately,
had not survived the ministrations of four different owners in
too good a condition. These days, they are quite rare beasts and
I consoled myself with the thought that at 500 notes I still had
some spare dosh to tart her up.
The most immediate problems were
a clunky gearbox that missed as many gears as it made, and a disinclination
to rev beyond 8000rpm. This was to prove a useful safety factor
as when it spat out of gear the revs could not soar into the red.
The gearchange linkage was extremely sloppy with well worn ball
joints where the little rubber gaiters had worn away. The air
filter had a layer of crud only matched in wretchedness by the
rust that was lurking under the home-made 4-1 exhaust. The Suzuki
dealer was having a sale of older parts and much to my amazement
came up with a new gearchange linkage, 4-1 exhaust and air filter
for £125.
A pleasant weekend was spent fitting
all these bits, I could barely wait to see how the bike ran. First
and second gear were still a bit dubious but it could be flicked
up through the other three with something approaching elan. The
gentle burble out of the exhaust would have been most pleasant,
did not the relative silence out of the shining silencers reveal
the engine as an old dog.
True, it would now rev beyond
eight grand, but the din coming from the top end dissuaded such
abuse. Piercing vibes assaulted my hands beyond 4000rpm..... the
local dealer checked the valves and balanced the carbs for a reasonable
£45. Thereafter, the vibes were only really noticeable between
40 and 60mph in top gear and if I tried to do more than the ton.
The bike was impressive enough
to justify some effort on the cycle part front. The tank, panels
and mudguard were resprayed black, engine covers and wheels were
bead-blasted - it would have been nice to dump the whole engine
in the bead-blaster but it wouldn’t fit - and the frame was
rubbed down and touched up where necessary. The overall result
was most impressive, with its brutal looks the Kat still appeared
modern and stylish.
Suzuki claimed over 70hp for the
DOHC four, but 34000 miles had lost a lot of that, I think, for
the bike was hard pressed to get past 110mph, even when screamed
into the red in third and fourth. I once managed 120mph but it
was like sitting on a massive rocking horse that had been tuned
as a sexual aid. The tingling vibes made my wife horny but gave
my fingers hell after five minutes.
And, anyway, anything beyond 80mph
upset the bike. The rear shocks were still original and the machinations
of the shaft drive back end could not be kept under control by
their combination of a lack of damping and springing. After the
first fast ride I pulled over to turn them up to maximum only
to find that they already were.
The front forks were not much
better, they sort of shook over bumps when banked over in a bumpy
corner. The only good thing that could be said for fast riding
was that backing off the throttle would tighten up the line through
bends, so there was always a safe way of getting out of dangerous
situations when you thought you were about to overcook it.
In fact, the bike often felt bloody
horrible to ride. The wide, long tank splayed the rider out and
spoilt the otherwise good relationship between pegs and handlebars.
The suspension was at once both soft and harsh, so any and every
bump seemed to be relayed straight up your arms and spine. The
seat was comfortable for about 25 miles before I had to start
twitching about, although I have done 200 miles without too much
pain.
Another nasty turned out to be
the disc brakes. These had newish pads, the twin front discs able
to come to a screeching halt under the mildest of pressure but
after 3500 miles they were worn out and the caliper seized up
in protest at my trying to use them with metal pads! I rarely
used the rear, so had no problems from it - if anything it was
less powerful than a drum! Four thousand miles later the Ferodo
pads were worn out again, but it has to be said they provided
good braking in both the wet and the dry when not down to the
metal.
For such a heavy bike with a shaft
drive, fuel economy was surprisingly good. There were times, when
ridden mildly, that 60mpg was possible, although normally 50mpg
was nearer the truth. 40mpg on a fast motorway thrash was also
possible, but that required over a ton on the clock and the vibes
tended to discourage such blatant abuse.
Most of my mates owned LCs, for
some reason, and the Katana could match them for speed and acceleration
- I could just open up in fifth from 40mph onwards while they
had to play madly with their gearboxes making an awful din out
of their expansion chambers and covering the landscape in blue
smoke; so uncivilized!
The GS was a bit out of it on
those kind of bends that had you going back on yourself and I
had to play tail end Charlie until I could open up the bouncing
blancmange on the next bit of straight. It was fine on motorways,
would buzz along at 75 to 80mph with a degree of stability that
was surprising given its knackered suspension - a little bit of
accelerative ability in hand for emergency avoidance manoeuvres.
The price of the Kat’s stability is not just huge wobbles
in bends but the need for massive muscular input to match the
flickability of the light and nimble LCs.
The stability went to pot when
the Metz tyres were down to 2mm. The first time it went into a
speed wobble at 85mph was enough for me - the great hulk wobbled
across two lanes of motorway, the bars twitching viciously and
my sphincter muscle going AWOL. I survived, much to my surprise,
replacing the tyres the very next day. Tyres last about 5000 rear,
7750 front, and you can see me paranoidly checking tread depth
at about 4000 miles.
I did try some Roadrunners but
was appalled to find that the rear slid viciously under power
in the wet. It came back on line after frightening the shit out
of me, but it happened so often that I was relieved to swap them
with a breaker’s slightly used set of Metzs and £15.
In the year since I bought the
bike I managed to put 13000 miles on the clock with no apparent
wear to the motor and apart from the consumables no great expense
(the shaft drive meant the saving in shot chains and sprockets
compensated for tyre and pad wear to a certain extent). However,
in the last week the gearchange has become very cranky and the
main fuse keeps blowing. Yesterday, the battery was dead, a sure
sign that either the rectifier or the alternator are burnt out,
a sadly typical Suzuki problem. Time to sell it? No way!
The Kat has gotten into my blood
and for all its faults I love roaring around the countryside on
her. The GS series of engines is one of the toughest around, the
valves hardly ever need attention and even the camchains are sound
for 50 to 60,000 miles. The 650 model does suffer a leaking cylinder
head gasket (mine weeped slightly but not enough to make fixing
it a necessity) and consumed a pint of oil every 300 miles, so
a regular check should be made on the oil level - I once ran mine
with hardly any oil in there and even that didn’t seem to
hurt the engine. Amazing! I’ll fix the electrics, have a
look inside the gearbox (god help me), buy some new shocks and
do something for the forks, and then I should have a neat looking,
useable motorcycle of classic proportions.
Jack Hicks
****************************************************
Raising motorcycles from the dead
is a favourite trick of mine. Buy cheaply assuming the worst and
hope for the best. Thus it went with a 1984 Suzuki GS650M Katana.
The owner was honest enough to admit that it kept blowing fuses
despite having a rewound alternator and new rectifier/regulator
unit. Several mechanics had tried to find the fault but failed.
The motor stuttered into life and then failed almost immediately.
The rest of the Kat was in immaculate condition.
I offered £350 and then
upped it to £375 but he was not willing to sell for anything
like that. I told him to phone me in a week or two if he had second
thoughts. 10 days later we both reluctantly agreed on £400
if he delivered the bike to my house.
It took three of us to haul the
hefty Suzuki into my living room, where a groundsheet was laid
out to avoid ruining the carpet - if I ever become a slum landlord
I won't let out to bikers! It was pretty obvious to me that there
was something pretty rotten in the wiring, so I tore the whole
lot out, keeping just a basic charging and ignition circuit. The
problem did not disappear, so I had narrowed it down to connections
out of the alternator, the rectifier/regulator or the ignition
black box.
The latter is quite tough, so
still available cheaply in breakers. It seemed likely that the
high voltages the regulator had previously let loose had burnt
out some of the circuitry in the ignition unit, which although
it had a separate fuse was also connected to the main circuit.
After I replaced this everything ran perfectly, much to my relief.
I just had the minor problem of wiring the rest of the electrics
back in.
This all took about two weeks
of shuffling around the massive Kat in the living room, where
I could lounge in a chair admiring its lines in a mild alcoholic
stupor late at night. I managed to ride the bike out of the house
under its own steam, immediately impressed with the relative lightness
of handling even at minimal speeds - I had feared that its bulk
would be a real handful but need not have worried; once 5mph was
up it felt no worse than many a 400 twin.
The bike was in such good nick
that I had no qualms about heading for the nearest motorway to
see what it would do. 132mph on the clock, after a bit of a struggle
and getting my head down. Stability was near sublime after some
of the disastrous fours I've owned in the past. One of the things
that had attracted me to the GS was its shaft drive and I was
glad to find that this made little difference to the handling,
although further experimentation in later months did reveal an
inordinate amount of care needed in the wet during down-changes
if banked over. The back wheel could lock up in a fearful way.
Other than that I could find little
to complain about the handling. It was undoubtedly helped by having
that massive tank between knees to grip and the sporting riding
position that always gave the impression of being in control of
the machine - I am long in frame and arm, so the stretched out
position suits me down to the ground. Other shapes of rider will
have the low seat height to console them.
The seat, despite its attractive
sculptured design, was not comfortable for more than 100 miles
in a day. No amount of moving around would help the pain - I had
to pull over and walk around for five minutes; something thereafter
that was repeated every 50 miles. A great pity with a range of
over 200 miles. Nothing seemed to help and I was not going to
ruin the lines of the GS by fitting some King and Queen abortion,
so I had to suffer in silence.
There were other problems in doing
long distances. The engine demanded, by way of a nasty gearchange
action, an oil change every 700 to 800 miles, although the filter
would go ten times that. Tyres had to have more than 3mm, otherwise
the stability disappeared and its wayward mass became all too
obvious. Although the valves only rarely needed attention the
carbs went out of balance more frequently than the oil needed
changing. As it was not unknown for me to do more than 500 miles
in a day these problems soon became a major hassle, taking quite
a bit of the fun out of using the bike as a high speed, long distance
tourer. As I usually had a couple of other machines in the backyard
this wasn't the end of the world.
I kept the Kat for about 14 months,
doing almost 8000 miles of mixed riding without any major problems,
although after nine months the regulator did blow, fuses burning
out being the first symptom of its demise. No big deal, the local
car accessory store had both regulator and rectifier for just
a few quid. You have to know how to wire them to make use of this
cheapness, getting it wrong can do even more damage to the electrical
system.
I was a bit astonished at the
rate the front disc pads wore out, I went through nearly three
sets in that time and am by no means a desperate, last moment
braker - been around far too long for that silly game. They were
pattern pads but even if the OE ones last a lot longer they would
not justify triple the cost. Braking was good in the dry but a
bit of wet weather lag showed up the age of their design - it
could be overcome by gently applying the brake every minute to
wipe off the excess of water.
Commuting through the winter with
heavy rain, fog and ice about caused the engine to stutter on
to three and sometimes two cylinders - they could hear my swearing
two counties away! There appeared to be no cure for this most
dangerous habit. I tried new HT leads and caps, plus dousing the
engine in various water repellent sprays. In retro-spect I should
have replaced the coils. It would have given my heart an easier
time, I hated the way the power would disappear halfway through
an overtaking manoeuvre even more than I disliked the way the
back wheel would leap sideways when the power suddenly switched
back in when all four cylinders decided to fire up. Never was
a ride dull in the winter on the Kat.
The GS is still a head turner,
its radical styling still different enough to cause comment (usually
good) from pedestrians and I fell for its lines. Hard economic
times meant something had to go and the Kat's lack of practical
value made it the obvious one. That and the premium price I demanded
for the still shiny bike (the OE silencers were rather loud but
it was otherwise perfect).
A bit of a mixed bag, then, but
not so bad that if you love the looks and can afford the running
costs it can't be enjoyed. I would buy another at a low price
(and their electrical faults mean there are bargains around) but
not at the full whack their almost classic status demands, these
days. In fact, two days ago I bought a non-running GS550M for
£295!
Alain Willis
****************************************************
It was just my luck to buy a 50,000
mile Suzuki GS650GT that was in need of valve shimming. The DOHC
head rarely needs much attention but when it goes it's a dealer
job. Expensive at £95, but he did throw in an oil change
and carb balance. The latter did nothing for the vibes which would
blitz the bike at certain revs, especially in the 60 to 80mph
cruising range in top gear.
With a shaft drive there was no
way the gearing could be easily changed. The shaft drive didn't
intrude to any great extent. Only when a bit of vicious braking,
down-changing and manoeuvring in bends was indulged, did the back
wheel show signs of leaping off the road. But with a rolling mass
of over 500lbs and worn, conventional suspension it'd probably
have done the same even with a more compliant chain drive.
The gearbox was what you'd expect
of a Suzuki that was ten years old. It was slick enough but there
were quite frequent false neutrals. Every time I changed gear
I had to open the throttle very carefully to make sure proper
engagement was achieved. If I rushed through the box like a young
hooligan I'd end up with the motor buzzing at 14000 revs as it
fell into a false neutral.
The motor wasn't the fastest revving
fella in the world. There wasn't really a distinctive power band,
just a useful supply of power between 2000 and 8000 revs. There
was only a maximum of 60 horses. With all the weight it never
made much of a profound effect on the rate of acceleration. I
was always urging the reluctant beast onwards but not really getting
anywhere very fast.
Even fitting a Motad 4-1 didn't
make any difference. The original 4-2 exhaust had somehow survived
a decade's worth of abuse and neglect. The downpipes were completely
rusted through and the silencers were more rust than chrome. What
was left of the baffles rattled away as I rode along. It was a
toss-up as to whether the end-pieces would fall out or the whole
silencers drop off. With an MOT coming up I bought a used Motad
and hammered it on.
The GT failed the MOT on worn
steering head bearings and leaking fork seals. The tester had
insisted on pulling up the gaiters. The pitted chrome didn't impress.
I rode over to the other side of town, where an MOT certificate
was granted. About 500 miles later some head shaking warned me
that it was indeed time to change the steering head bearings.
These turned out to be taper rollers. The top bearing was so solidly
entrapped that it took three days worth of hammering to make it
pop out.
Top speed was around 115mph. It
could be pushed to a little more down a long hill but the secondary
vibes threatened to dispossess the bike of all its cycle parts.
A rather senseless cruising speed of 85 to 90mph was forced on
the bike, as this was one of the vibration free zones. There wasn't
really very much acceleration left in the bike after 90mph, even
changing down a gear wasn't much help. Especially as it might
throw the motor into a false neutral.
I'd thought that all the high
speed thrashing would at least keep the battery fully charged
up. But, no, after less than a 1000 miles in my hands, the starter
proved reluctant to churn the motor over. A week later I was having
trouble completing the 35 mile round trip to work and back. The
GS series are to electrics what fifty fags a day are to lung cancer.
At this kind of age they have
usually been much modified. Mine featured a huge black box of
a regulator with mechanical points and a tiny rectifier, plus
a confusing jumble of wires. It was impossible to understand how
they were interacting with the alternator let alone test the system.
An auto-electrician friend was let loose on the bike. He decided
the only thing to do was fit car components and a new battery.
The alternator was still sound (it must've been rewound). A couple
of the handlebar switches were a bit dodgy so a newish handlebar
cluster was robbed from a crashed GSXR1100. As my friend threw
in his labour for free, the electrical resurrection was surprisingly
cheap. And even reliable!
The electrical demise had caused
some engine misfiring at low revs which hid the way the carbs
had gone out of balance. The GT's not a highly tuned motor, so
I was annoyed to find the carbs needed a vacuum gauge session
every 750 to 1000 miles. To ignore this was to make the engine
knock like the mains had gone and to ruin its frugality. Normally,
I could expect 55mpg but if the carbs were neglected then 30 to
40mpg would result. It would've made sense to pay someone to do
them just on the money saved on fuel, but I borrowed a set of
vacuum gauges and did the job myself. It was a bit tiresome as
a lot of fiddling around was involved to make all four show the
same level. The carbs were undoubtedly a bit worn, so lower mileage
bikes would have better economy and longer maintenance intervals.
Both the oil and filter were changed
every 3000 miles. The sump plug's thread was quite marginal and
I expected it to strip at any moment but it never did. I took
the precaution of drilling the plug and wiring it into position,
something that stopped me having to do it up with excessive force
and removed the visions of ending up riding around with a sump
devoid of any lubricant. In the end the gearbox went rather nasty.
As 57000 miles came up on the
clock the gearbox went very clunky. A passable imitation of a
BMW boxer, but it was actually quite useful as correct engagement
of a gear had a different sound to a false neutral! The clutch
became stiffer until I had to put in a new cable. The few times
I'd tried a clutchless change the motor had felt like it was falling
apart. Towards the end of the Suzuki's life fifth gear did a disappearing
act on nights with a full moon.
At this kind of age I'd expected
the twin discs to be troublesome and they didn't disappoint. Calipers
needed attention every 5000 miles even during a long hot summer.
They became so encrusted with dirt that the pistons would hardly
move. Relying on engine braking and a rear brake is no way to
lose speed on a 500lb mammoth. Pad life was around 10,000 miles
on EBC's. Wet weather delay was unpredictable, sometimes negligible,
others it would take what seemed hours before anything happened.
It kept the heart pumping away healthily, anyway. Braking power
in the dry was just about adequate but needed a hefty, four finger
pull on the lever.
The front forks would react to
that kind of stress by bottoming out and trying to twist out of
the headstock. I never got around to fitting new fork seals or
doing anything about the pitted chrome. The handling was never
much to sing about but she never seemed too dangerous. I never
went wild in the country, used the GT mostly on faster A-roads
and motorways when I wasn't hurtling through town.
A lot of the feeling of relative
security must've been down to the conservative steering geometry.
Even on worn out tyres on greasy, wet city roads, there was never
any of the wild slides that might've been expected. On worn Avons
it'd flutter on whitelines and the back end would always weave
a little above 90mph. I think you'd have to do something really
stupid to make this Suzuki speed wobble.
By 75000 miles the engine was
running a little rough, a definite drop off in power. I persisted
for half a year, getting through 80,000 miles before the head
gasket started spewing out oil and the camchain did a reasonable
imitation of an automatic machine gun. By then the petrol tank
felt so thin from internal corrosion it was about to collapse
and the front forks were so loose they clanged over bumps. A massive
excess of dosh or effort was going to be required but I couldn't
just throw £500 away, which was what the old hulk had originally
cost. I procured an old camchain and gasket from the local breakers.
A tube of Hermatite completed the rebuild process.
I managed to bounce and rattle
around for another 3000 miles before a nearly immaculate, low
mileage GS850GT Suzuki turned up for £800. This is an even
heavier, unwieldy lump but it goes like stink and in today's market
was a brilliant bargain. The last GS650GT was made in '86, so
there may be the odd nice one around but they were never made
in any great quantity. The 850 seems the better buy, but I would
not say no to a nice 650. Mine went for £300 as a spares
or renovation project.
Keith Lime
****************************************************
Eventually a B reg GS650GT was
found in a Welshpool dealers. Sorry to say, but as soon as it
was seen it was as good as sold. With a £1200 price tag
and 36000 miles on the clock, the non-negotiable price was kind
of justified, with the seat recovered, a twelve month MOT and
service, a new sidestand switch, a new choke cable and a new helmet.
The ritualistic first day was
spent riding through Shropshire and Staffordshire, when, at a
set of traffic lights in Stafford, it stalled and refused to respond
to the starter button but bumped into life easily enough. At home
the battery was flat. I was not impressed! The GS range has a
well chronicled habit of burning out its electrics, a pity on
an otherwise tough range of engines. Worse still, the most frequent
cause of alternator burn outs is neglect of the oil level or changes
(when the motor overheats), which also means the bike may not
have been well looked after!
The battery was charged overnight
and the bike ridden back to Welshpool, where a new set of windings
from a GSX250 was fitted along with a camchain which had begun
to rattle on the ride over. It was fitted free of charge but I
had to pay for the camchain! This was okay as the bike had been
sold without a warranty! Camchains normally last 40 to 50,000
miles so this was probably the first one, though there's no excuse
for neglect as the tensioner's automatic and doesn't need any
attention until it starts to rattle.
After that dubious start I expected
the worst! All kinds of scenarios ran through my mind but after
a successful couple of weeks the panic abated, leaving me to enjoy
the charms of this middleweight four. At 500lbs and 64 horses
it was never going to set the world alight, but the gearbox was
slick and my throttle hand willing enough to see off all cars
and most other motorcycles.
The Alpha exhaust looked the part
and sounded great unless constant work was required when the exhaust
note droned on and on, producing a headache. 4-1's are often dubious
but the relatively mild state of tune meant that there weren't
any carb glitches and the freer flowing engine may have contributed
to the 45mpg economy. Low running costs were abetted by the shaft
drive, chain driven GS Suzukis ruining their transmission in less
than 5000 miles! The shaft drive must have done its job because
it never needed any attention or intruded.
The engine bars became a useful
set of forward footrests. There were times when I was thankful
for its relatively mild nature and used the bars to augment the
laid back nature of the beast. The riding position for myself
at 6'1'' was a little low, the crashbars allowing me to stretch
my legs, but comfortable for both the pillion and myself. The
GT was one of those bikes that made you feel part of the plot
and, these days, its classic, understated appearance is all the
rage.
There were a couple of nice touches
that helped on the longer runs. The fuel gauge was accurate and
the gear indicator a useful gadget. Switches were the usual Suzuki
stuff whilst the Cibie headlamp was excellent. A nice change to
see where I was going during hard charging night rides. The forks
had gaiters so I didn't have to worry about the seals blowing.
Brakes were spongy but as good
as most GS Suzukis, though the back disc lacked feel. Goodridge
hose would probably have helped, but it wasn't so bad that I felt
like spending loads of dosh. Occasionally, the lack of feel meant
the front discs would slam on, howling the tyre and frightening
the crap out of both myself and any innocent civilians who were
loitering in the immediate area. The directness of the shaft and
the excess of engine braking meant it was often quite possible
to lose loads of speed just by slamming the throttle shut. Not
something that I recommend in corners, though, as the bike shakes
about a little.
Power delivery was smooth and
quite hard above 7000 revs. It would run along quite adequately
at lower revs, although the conservative steering geometry meant
it would break the clutch before doing a wheelie (clutch rattle
at low revs is quite normal). Top speed was 120mph but a lack
of plastic stops long periods of such excess. It would shoot up
to the ton without much effort, would even cruise at that speed
if there was a bit more protection from the elements. 70 to 80mph
cruising was more sensible, if verging on the suicidal on the
motorway. The tank range was 120 miles, disappointing for a bike
of this nature (the way I ride, anyway).
In the 12 months together 10,000
miles were clocked up and only a few problems arose. The exhaust
had to come off every 3000 miles to gain excess to the oil filter.
This led to an exhaust bolt snapping in the head on number three
cylinder, an all too common malaise on GS engines. Screws also
snap off when the crankcase covers are removed and even the oil
sump bolt can strip its thread. Don't get the wrong idea, though,
all the major components are well built.
There are all kinds of repairs,
from the highly technical (helicoils) to the clever (drill and
tap in the remaining bolt to take a smaller screw), to bodging,
as in this case. Use an excess of Gum-Gum and a single retaining
bolt as a temporary repair. It worked so well that it became permanent.
Subsequent filter changes were made easy by some custom work on
the downpipes with a large hammer that allowed almost instant
access (make sure the bike is cold unless you like burnt hands).
The other problem was more an
embarrassment to me than a result of bad engineering. In the winter
months it wouldn't start if left for more than three to four hours
at night until about 11 o'clock in the morning. Every four hours
I went outside, started it and ran it up for five minutes then
went back to bed, much to the annoyance of the neighbours. Though
it would start after eleven o'clock, no problem! This was sorted
out after two long weeks by draining and balancing the carbs,
the morning sun must have thawed the bike out!
Tyres lasted 9000 miles on the
front and 5500 miles on the back, both Metzelers. The front kept
losing pressure until the rim was cleaned up - a tube cured that
niggle. The only non-consumable expense came after a slight altercation
with an XR4i, resulting in a new set of bars, choke cable and
lever (bought but never fitted, it was just as easy to pull the
choke on at the carbs).
A clutch lever was fitted a week
later, no great rush as the shaft made clutchless changes smooth
and as long as stopping could be avoided, the bike could pull
away from a walking pace in top if required. Starting off in third
gear by just pushing the starter button while in gear didn't seem
to harm it. A testament to the excess of torque from the DOHC
four cylinder engine. There were slight patches of secondary vibes
but they were never so heavy as to dictate the speeds at which
the bike was ridden.
I once met the previous two owners.
The last one sold the GS for a GPz turbo. Why he wanted a GS650
is still a mystery. The other arrived via the fields on something
unrecognizable with a flask of mushroom soup (yes, that type).
So it could obviously survive any kind of owner!
I also used the GS as a part time
despatch bike, helping a mate out, as well as rallies, touring
and escaping for the day. The most memorable journey was to the
solicitors, wife as pillion, to start divorce proceedings - which
sums up this bike really well. It hardly cost anything, did everything
that was asked of it but didn't excel in any one department though
all the memories I have are fond ones.
Anon
