This is my current day to day bike, I've owned it for about 5 years now and whilst other bikes have come and gone (way too many) this one has stayed and probably will for ever now. Its an 89' R100, 1000cc boxer engine which is engineered much more for torque than speed, so it kind of just chugs along. Those people into GS's will know all about these bikes, but those that aren't will probably know their spirtual sons, the 1150 and 1200 GS of Long Way Round / Down fame. Those bikes are much more modern and have way more electronics etc, but scratch the surface and the DNA from the 100 and its little bruv the R80GS are still there.
This GS is a little modified. The obvious modification is the exhaust system. In standard form the GS has a high exhaust, exiting around the left leg of any pillion. Mine has a low exhaust, not too sure what its off, but it works and means that if anyone is on the back their left leg is unlikely to roast, unlike the bottom of their boots...
Less obvious is the engine, the power plant on the bike comes from a 78 100RS. All the internals have been properly balanced and the gearbox has been rebuilt with new bearings and the fifth gear ratio altered to give a more relaxed cruise. The result is a really smooth engine that is much quieter and more refined than just about any other 1000 engine I have heard, it also puts the 1100 and 1150 to shame, though they really do vibe a bit. Downsides are not many really, the engine obviously now runs with points which can be a faff, but adjustments are pretty easy. The Bing carbs need to be cleaned and checked pretty regularly, in fact they need doing now! This can be a pain, but I have come to the conclusion that these bikes react best if you don't play with them too much! Fix and nurture but don't dabble... They can bite!
No specific plans for this one! It needs new tyres, the Scorpions that are on the bike seem to have been there for ever! Whilst they are still legal, I am going to put some Avon Distazia's on it and see how it goes. There are some repairs that are needed however... When the bike was last serviced I got a garage to do it, lesson here - do it yourself! It seems that the spark plug on the right hand head has gone in cross threaded, so that needs to come out and the threads be restored. The second issue is that the nuts bolting the oil filter cover to the engine case have been put on so tightly that on head has sheared off, so that needs to be drilled out and the others got out. The bike runs fine as is, so that is on the forthcoming list!
It never really ends, but the bike is probably worth it!!
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