help me....need a new bike.

[jc.cyberdemon]

Well that sucks I went with a whole different route, had I seen your post I would have gone for it. Im picking up a gs1100e, its not what I was looking for but it was pretty cheap. Saved myself money in the end and I can use that to mod it up a little.its super outdated but it still will be fun and its ready to ride.

[jc.cyberdemon]

I picked up the gs today. It's not a bad bike and its fast. Pics up soon.

[Kenn157]

Nice bike!

[boosten lebaron]

Nothing wrong with those old gs1100's. I believe they were some of the fastest bikes for a number of years. Have fun and on any of these old vintage bikes make sure its safe. Usually the brake lines are crap and old and bearings need grease and so on. All easy pm stuff but because its old its more important.

[slowkermit]

Nice man I'm glad you got something. those GS's remind me of mad max! Cool bikes for sure.

[jc.cyberdemon]

Yeah its gonna need a little work, I don't know if its just me but the bike feels kinda weird to ride, it feels a little loose, like it could slide out or its wobbly. Kind of hard to describe. I'm gonna find a good shop locally and get it checked out. The motor seems nice it makes some rattling noise and not sure if its normal or not. I've only owned the monster before so I only know about f.I. L twin.the monster was very simple and did all the maintinance including valve adjust, so I'm pretty sure I gotta catch up on some reading for this bike. Ohh yeah the front brakes suck, full five finger pull and it feels like I'm stopping a train. Other than that I like it. It tries to yank your arms of with a small twist at any rpm. I'm being careful with it as I'm not certain if everything is safe on it yet, pics soon it is a little ugly....

[boosten lebaron]

The old bikes all had weak brakes on purpose. It was thought that people going from drum brakes to disk would lock them up and kill themselves so they used oversized cylinders. plus your stock brake lines are probably expanding like crazy. Get a set of steel braided lines off ebay for a quick fix then maybe a better master later.

[jc.cyberdemon]

Well I've had a couple small issues, clutch cable snapped and I had to ride it home without a clutch no red lights luckily. Also need steering head bearings bad i have to fight to keep it in a straight line. Hoping to get it all taken care of this weekend. It's 30 years old so I gotta expect somethings to need attention.

[boosten lebaron]

All stuff you can upgrade too. clutch cable breaking was probably the best thing that happened on an easy ride. Its not something people usually think of replacing until its a problem. You can probably get a nice set of tapered bearings for it too. Probably want to check the swingarm bushing too. They seem to die with the steering ones.

[jbmass]

All very good tips, also suggest you replace the pads if/when you get new brake cables.

[jc.cyberdemon]

Dude I bought it from is a fucking Dick. He let me take his plate to ride home with, the next day I got.it registered in my name, I told him is bring back the plate, the next day the cable broke and couldn't make it down to him. Asshole called the cops and told them I stole his plate. Serious attitude and a big mouth on the douche bag. I don't understand why he wants the old plate anyways....

[nhbubba]

From MA? Don't they need to surrender them down there?

[jc.cyberdemon]

im in nh, and im not sure....im not too concerned dude can have his friggin plate back either by mail or he can come get it. im over it. on another note anyone near dover wanna help me get the bike handling better? im not good with this kind of stuff. i can pay in money or in mass quanities of beer. i see your on the seacoast bubba you know anything about these old bikes?

[rice_rocket]

Wirelessly posted

In ma they won't cancel your insurance without it...plus ive had a couple of friends that got burnt by the person never returning the plates..in fact, got into a wreck later and the insurance tried to cone after him...

[jc.cyberdemon]

That's understandable but I'm not sure about nh, and I already have my plate on it I put it on the day after I got it. I also told the guy he could come pick it up if it was that important to him....it just pissed me off he tried saying I stole the plate when he obviously let me take it with me.

[MikeyZ]

Wirelessly posted

In ma they won't cancel your insurance without it...plus ive had a couple of friends that got burnt by the person never returning the plates..in fact, got into a wreck later and the insurance tried to cone after him...

False. I still have all of my old plates from the bikes I've owned. You can cancel it online through the RMV website. All you need is the Reg #

[rice_rocket]

Wirelessly posted

Thats interesting . Of the three insurance companies I've had, they will not cancel until the plate is marked returned from the registry. Now if you can do it online..that might suffice. You could always use the plate return kiosk at the rmv and not put in your plate I guess..

[boosten lebaron]

Its done online now for all ma plates. I have a pile of car and bike plates sitting here since i cancel them every winter. My wife wants to make handbags out of them but i usually just use them to move vehicles short distances.

Jc what handling problems are you having? I know you said it wobbles. You should start with new steering bearings and swingarm bushings before you do anything else. Steering bearings are easy and cheap, you just need a stand or tree to hang the front off of. The swingarm bushings are a bit more involved but still easy. I think they are pretty cheap for your bike too. Once those are done see were you stand. At that point the most you could possibly need are tires and a suspension rebuild which on these old bikes is fairly easy. Even sending the forks out to be rebuilt shouldnt be more than $150-200 at a shop.

[jc.cyberdemon]

Yeah, it more like wanders all over the place and I have to muscle it to stay straight, in corners it feels a little scary as it won't hold any kind of a line I'm having to correct it constantly. I'm assuming its the steering head bearings or the swing ARM bushings but I'm just speculating, I've only owned one bike before this one amd it never had any kind of problems, I am taking it to the shop this weekend as long as putting in a clutch cable is easy. I don't have any tools really so I won't be doing the bearings myself.

[jc.cyberdemon]

I'm going to move my question out of this thread as I'm gonna need tech support....

[nhbubba]

You got a shop manual for that thing? I got tools, may be able to help you out.