81 GS1100E

Help!!! I am looking for some sort of database that can tell me which parts
will fit on my bike from say a 83 gs1100 or katana, more specifically
wheels? Any help appreciated.

 

AFAIK, no such comprehensive database exists. THat said, the gs
resources:
http://www.thegsresources.com/
is a great place to start for information on your bike. Good luck.

--
Later,
John



'indiana' is a 'nolnn' and 'hoosier' is a 'solkk'. Indiana doesn't solkk.

 

outfreakinstanding.........thanks alot!

 

Suzuki standaedized a lot of parts so they could be used on multiple
models over many years.

Axle sizes are the same from 1972 to 1983. I had a wire spoked rim with
a 1973 front hub on my 1982 GS-1100, and the disk brake mounting holes
lined up perfectly and the disks aligned with the calipers.

I had a 1978 GS-1000 rear hub and the disk brake lined up just fine
with the 1982 caliper.

The object was to get wider rims and eliminate the speed weave inherent
to the 1982-83 models. The 1981 wasn't as bad for speed weaving at 120
mph.

Another approach to eliminating the speed weave is to pull the front
forks up through the triple clamps about 3/4th's of an inch.

If the forks are pressurized with air, this requires a modification to
block the air holes below the bottom triple clamp.

I didn't feel like tapping threads into the air holes. I just used a
nylon screw that fit snuggly into the hole, put a rubber washer over
the screw threads and applied a radiator hose clamp over the screw head
to hold it in place. No oil leaks.

 

The 1982-83 GS-1100's had so little front tire bite, they couldn't
stand to have any more rear traction at all. Mine GS would try to spit
me off going down the hill from Monroe Ridge at Willow Springs.

The Ridge unloads the front suspension, reducing traction, and the race
director told me that the way to avoid that was to roll the throttle
off as I went over the crest of the ridge. If I had never been in a
severe speed wobble in the dirt, wobbling like that at 100 mph would
have made me damage my underwear.

The 1982-83 GS-1100's center of gravity was higher and further back and
the original front tire was rock hard.

My friend had previously owned a 1981 GS-1100 and had enjoyed breaking
the rear tire loose to drift through corners. If you're going to hang
the rear end out, you need the front tire to stick well. He wanted to
ride my new 1982 GS-1100 to recapture that feel.

So I rode his Yamaha XV920 Eurosport, which was equipped with race
compound tires on a road well know to both of us.I immediately felt at
home on the Yamaha even though I'd never ridden one. I ran away and
left him far, far behind. I must have made up a whole minute on the 5
mile long road.

He showed up and parked my Suzuki and said that it was a completely
different machine from his 1981 GS-1100. He said that the front end
felt like it wasn't "planted".

 

I have a 1981 XV920RH (Euro model). It isn't fast, but handles very
very well.

Jim