Brought this orphan home

[Jonesz]

Feel a little like a "brand traitor" but was looking for a winter project to wile away the cold winter hours. Nothing with the name Honda on it popped up anywhere close by. It is a 79 Suzuki GS 850 that was last registered in 2000. tank relatively clean, no old fuel in it, motor turned over with the kick starter etc. so maybe not too hard to bring back to life. The paint is in good shape and seat had been professionally recovered but old "new tires" , no battery, brakes & exhaust system need attention (bought some take off sportster pipes on ebay this AM that look like new), less than 18,000 kms (equates to 10,650 miles)on the odometer. Have already removed the fairing and looking for headlight and front turn signals.

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[gltriker]

[desertrefugee]

Very cool.

You cannot go wrong with one of the old GS series. I once had an 81 GS1000L. Loved that bike. In fact, I now have a couple of photos of it courtesy of the ex-wife!

Somewhere around 1984.

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[twowings]

These were a bit of an oddball in the GS bike lineup. Same weight as the 1000 but not as much power. Still its a very bulletproof engine that hasn't done many miles. I have an 83 1100E that I cant part with. Some of the best engines ever built, bar none.

[Lucien Harpress]

Of the big 4 Japanese companies, I've never owned a Suzuki. No real reason, just never got around to it. I've always been curious about them in a high-level, "I wonder how these stack up to the other brands?" sorta way.

That red looks REAL pretty, though.

[ob1quixote]

Looks nice!

[twowings]

Of the big 4 Japanese companies, I've never owned a Suzuki. No real reason, just never got around to it. I've always been curious about them in a high-level, "I wonder how these stack up to the other brands?" sorta way.

That red looks REAL pretty, though.

I've had the Suzuki 1100E since 1986 and the acceleration from that engine is mind boggling. You get used to it but its the fastest bike from that era I have ridden. I also own an 1100F Honda and an 1100R Kawi and the Suzuki just shames them in pure brute force. The 850 is a smaller version of that.

My BIL owned the Kawi, my buddy had a 79 CBX and I could beat them hands down. I ended up with both of their bikes though plus my Suzi.

[Jonesz]

Thanks for the interest all. Somehow my brain kept saying that I needed a 4 banger air cooled to complete my life.This one kept calling to me from the for sale ads as it looked pretty good cosmetically but lots to do to get her in tip top running condition. Will post an update from time to time.

[Sidecar Bob]

My first real bike was a '78 GS400 (basically that engine with a cylinder lopped off each end). It was a pretty good machine but I've come to appreciate Hondas more, especially when I learned how much easier it was to get parts.

[Gowing]

She’s a beauty! Everything I’ve read about the 4 cylinder zooks from the good years says they handled much better. And the 850 with the shaft was very popular.

[delling3]

Seems like most of the period magazine articles regard the GS Series as among the most refined of the UJM era. I know the GS1100/1150 were often considered the best all-around bikes, and of course they led to the GSXR series which pretty much were King of the Mountain.

I rode with a couple of buddies in the early 80's who both rode GS850L's. I never was a fan of the "factory custom" look, but those bikes could sure eat the miles, and were reasonably quick also. Looks like a nice find.

[wingrider]

I had a 79 850 as my second bike...got it when my Dad upgraded to his 99 Wing. Funny enough, that 850 was on the hack originally when I was a little kid. Came to appreciate that Kickstarter. Charging was a known weak point on them. Always seemed to me that the bike made a lot of good engine noise, but didn’t seem all that fast. Would run against Dad’s wing, and was grip to grip up to about 95 before we would shut it down.

Fella in town that I knew had an 83 GS1100L, now that bike felt like it could really scoot! I can only imagine what the chain drive GS’s could do.

[rjdoles]

When I got out of the Army in 1970 I wanted a red CB450 Honda which was $1125. There was a dock strike on the west coast and the dealers had very little stock of anything. The salesman called around and said that he found a red 750 for $1425 if I was interested. I brought it home and had no regrets. I wish I still had it.
This is a stock photo.

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[Rat]

Nice ... keep an eye on the cam chain adjuster ...

Gord(fellow brand traitor)Jones

[desertrefugee]

There was nothing slow about the 1000. Had the one above concurrent to a ZL900 Eliminator. In 1985 and as usual, we rode over to Daytona Bike Week (from Ocala). My buddy on his new Vmax was shocked at how well that Suzi held its own against him.

I remember it well, since MY brand new Kawi was in the shop and missed the trip. I got over it.

You will enjoy that Suzuki. A very smooth, quiet running UJM design.