'84 GS750ef Restoration "No More Blues"

HolyRoller

Been Around the Block
As I have a ton of project bikes on the go, none of which are running, I mentioned to my wife that I really wanted to find a running bike that I could just drive while completing on of the café projects. Strange... she said she didn't realize café bikes were supposed to be complete or to actually run. Smart ass.

So, this was around Christmas last year. While ago I know, but I didn't get around to a thread until now. Actually, part of the reason for this thread is because I could use some help, but more on that later.

Here is a picture of the bike. I had never seen an EF model before but I love Suzuki bikes. When it came up on Kijiji I loved it immediately. I sort of see it as a link between the older 8 valve 750s, one of which I still own, and the GSXR750, one of which I use to own, drove the daylights out of and still love to dream about owning again. So, I begged and cried and my lovely wife allowed me to buy it ONLY on the condition that I would sell bikes or bikes parts to pay for it. Deal. (for the record I did actually sell bikes/parts to pay for it)

The guy was asking $1000 but I offered him $600 and it was running, insured and being ridden almost daily so that was a huge change for me as my bikes tend to come in boxes or crates!

Long story short, he told me if I would pick up that day, he would sell for $600. He was desperate to buy a 2006 GSXR600 track bike and needed the cash.
 

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So, the long and short is that the bike has pretty high mileage (85K kms) but is in great shape and runs well.

I had some cracks in the right side fairing but nothing major, and needs a valve cover gasket at some point but this is not an acute issue. Otherwise, I could have bought it, insured and started driving but that would be no fun!

I decided I hated the paint scheme when I first saw it. I was keen to learn to do bodywork and this was a great opportunity is winter is cold in Ontario!

So I had the fairings off within a few days but then the work started; lots and lots of sanding and small bodywork touch-ups. Yummy.

To be fair, this is not quite a restoration as I am not going to repaint in the original 84 colour scheme, but it will be one of the GS colour schemes from this period of bikes. Likely the black and red version I have included below.
 
Maybe like this but with full fairing.
 

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canyoncarver said:
Hell of a score. Cool bike, I don't remember many of those on the road either.

Thanks. I took it for a rip in -10 C, on the day I bought it and loved it immediately. It sounds very similar to what my GSXR sounded like but has a much more relaxed stance. Obviously doesn't handle the same way but I am really looking forward to riding asap. Likely reasonable insurance here in Ontario as well.
 
After getting the bike home and in the semi-warmth of our workshop, I did a little inventory of what needs to get done to really bring it back to its glory.

I had already decided that a full engine rebuild (top and bottom) would be reserved for fall/winter 2015. I wanted a bike to tour around on and use as a daily driver while finishing my 78 GS1000 café build. That project is a slow one.

My job is so busy that I really only have weekends to do any bike work and those weekends have to be shared with trips with my wife etc. so not a lot of time for bike work even though it is my favourite way to blow a few hours.

The Good and the Bad:

Has two new tires and was recently serviced a local Suzuki dealership.
Has very newly recovered seat and done well.
Bikes runs well and is in overall pretty good condition.

But...

Previous owner broke bolt off in front master cylinder
Really needs body work and paint done as this bike went down at some point on both sides though not hard on either.
Gas tank has a few small dings I want to fill/fix but they are luckily quite small.
Previous owner replaced the signals with small LED units... I want to replace them with GS550 signals as they were shorter while still have original style lens
Rear taillight is cracked... so that will have to be replaced.
Exhaust really needs to be repainted but it has no dents and the Kerker is in pristine. My worry is that I will shear off a bolt while removing the header from the engine. Seems this always happens to me! (Any advice?)
There is a small oil leak coming from one of the 8 valve cover bolts. I need to track down some gaskets for this (pictures coming soon on this as I may need some advice).
I want to replace the fairing bolts (and I can't seem to find a source but more on that below as well).
I want to replace the grips and levers
Eventually, I would like to polish the aluminum parts, exhaust and really make a nice bike of it.
 
Anyone know how to upload videos? They seem to take so long that I can't complete the upload. Hmmm.
 
Just a few pictures of the bike naked. Tonight I will update on progress up to today. I will also have some questions so check back later if you have some time.
 

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sweet man, they are real nice machines, a pain in the arse to work on if it needs anything serious however...
on a side note for those living in america, they were not available in the US, and outside north america, they were labelled gsx 750(what ever letters you had here)
On that small note, they were only around for 2 years so parts be hard to find
as i runs though, have fun with it ;D ;D ;D
 
Re: '84 GS750ef Restoration "No More Blues"

Thanks for the comments. Luckily they were largely the same as the non-fairing models, the gs750e and gs750es of which many were sold in North America.

I tried to buy decals. Good luck. Tried to buy fairing quick detach bolts. Good luck. I even tried to buy a kickstand spring. Good luck. No parts to be found new at dealerships.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Well, I have managed to get the entire bike sanded, nicks filled, etc. and it is all primed and almost ready for base coat. Looking forward to getting it on the road.

Few pictures of the plastics during various stages of change.
 

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Just as a heads up to others who might be contemplating using a plastic adhesion spray before priming or painting, this stuff is great but it wrinkles any remaining clear coat that you think you got to but didn't. I will try to put up some pics of a small area that wrinkled when I get back to the bikes on the weekend.
 

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HolyRoller said:
Just as a heads up to others who might be contemplating using a plastic adhesion spray before priming or painting, this stuff is great but it wrinkles any remaining clear coat that you think you got to but didn't. I will try to put up some pics of a small area that wrinkled when I get back to the bikes on the weekend.

The adhesion promoter is great stuff. I use it to coat all sandblasted chrome before painting. Ive only had one chip in a fender and thats cause I dinged the fenders edge w a rifle barrel. Never had it wrinkle or peel. Its basically primer without the pigment added.
 
Hey Trek... that is great to know. I was literally thinking this afternoon about what I am going to do with the many chrome pieces on my next project, a 67 Honda Dream 305. Almost all the chrome is pitting or actually peeling off and I am not interested in paying for all the NOS parts to restore the bike.

If you are saying that I can blast the pieces, use adhesion promoter and be all good that will really help with the direction I take on that bike.
 
First off, I have not a single comment against adhesion promoters, and apologies for hijacking the thread. Adhesion promoters are absolutely invaluable in the right application. Just wanted to offer my own experience painting chrome parts, which I have done on more bikes than I can count. First off, the chrome is not all that hard to actually strip for cheap, but I do not waste the time to do it. I simply sandblast the parts, shoot a coat of epoxy immediately afterward, and then body work and surfacer primer - all like you normally do on bare steel. I have more than a few examples that have seen 25 years of real service and they show no more propensity to chip or otherwise degrade than other pieces of bodywork on the same bikes. I can also attest to having not a single instance of even the slightest trouble painting chromed parts this way - they turn out just like anything else. Not saying that using adhesion promoters would cause any trouble, but I would be willing to bet they are mostly useless on shiny chrome compared to sandblasting. In any event, I can confidently say they are not needed after sandblasting if you use epoxy as a first layer coating. I expect you could get similar results by sanding, but it would be tough. I have never seen a product that was advertised for things like chrome, but don't see any reason one couldn't be made. All that I have seen and used are specifically for certain types of plastic, and I can also attest how sandblasting and sanding does NOT work for them - in which case the adhesion promoters are a life saver! Lots of older plastic bike parts paint up fine without promoters too, but the ones that need it REALLY REQUIRE it, so if you have any doubt about the plastic, adhesion promoters are a good idea if you don't want to experiment!
 
That is great info, thanks. I am glad to hear that sandblasting chrome parts and then painting them (or using adhesion promoter) is a viable way forward. I was envisioning having to use muriatic acid etc. I have sandblasting equipment so I can go that route. Great stuff.
 
As you can see from the pictures, the headers need some attention. I am going to pull them off, sand them well, and paint them with VHT "Very High Heat" paint (black).

I need some advice. I have seen some people mentioned high heat primer as an important part of longer term finishes on exhaust headers... anyone recommend this and if so, any brands recommended?

Secondly, does anyone know the correct size exhaust bolts for my bike (84 gs750ef?). I understand they are 8mm x 35mm but have not confirmed this anywhere yet.

Thanks!
 

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You need the flame proof paint for your headers (1200f ??) and all the ones I've seen don't use a primer.


Best thing for the exhaust bolts is to replace them with studs and then just use nuts to attach the exhaust. You can Loctite the studs into the head. If you stay with bolts, use an anti-seize on them.
 
Great news! After spraying WD-40 on the header bolts every weekend for several weeks, I was able to remove the header without a single bolt shearing off in the head! Believe it or not, that is the first time I have done that. I have been lucky as most of the time the bolt shears off with some metal to work with but this time they all came free without any drama.

Now I am get the headers cleaned up, hopefully pull out the few dents, paint with very high temp paint, polish the can and off I go.

Was pretty peeved today as I prepped all the plastic but decided it was just not warm enough to paint the fairing. I will wait until next Saturday to paint and Sunday to clear...
 
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