1979 Suzuki GS 1000 EN Before i start of i would just like to say that my first bike was a 1978 GS1000E that i put 30,000 miles on and then two years later bought another new one still in the crate from a dealer in Grand Rapids Michigan......i loved those Skunks ! So my current 15,000 original mile Zook has developed a gas leak from the tee between the two center carbs....looks like the o-rings have let go as it easily flops front to back. This is probably the result of me having the tank on and off 3-4 times in the years i have owned it......once to clean it up a bit when i bought it....once to do the valve lash and replace the cam cover gasket and once to install an electronic ignition plus i rebuilt the fuel petcock last year. I have owned the bike since 2012 and have not had the least bit of trouble with it until now.I did have to replace the front tire 500 miles ago.....the back tire is just fine and the chain looks new at some point before i got the bike.Cosmetically the bike presents very well with just a couple small dents in the tank. The seat cover has been replaced with a Saddleman cover but looks original.This bike runs smooth and strong and shifts well and does not smoke.It has spent it's whole life stored inside and been a ride around town kind of bike.The leak presented itself last fall and it has been parked every since.As far as i know.....everything works as it should.It has always been on a battery tender when not being ridden and the battery is only a couple years old.I have replaced the messed up Suzuki crankcase cover emblem with a NOS one..... I have some NOS and used parts that go with the bike. NOS parts..... Chrome front fender. Tach and speedometer cover. Tail housing. Cam cover gasket...maybe two of them OEM Suzuki. 2 front caliper rebuild kits....OEM Suzuki. Suzuki valve lash kit with tools and shims. Maybe a few other parts i am forgetting. Used parts..... Tail housing with trim,reflectors and clips Center stand The points and wiring harness from when i added the dynaS electronic ignition Probably a few other parts Rebuilt parts..... I have a set of completely rebuilt carbs. Factory Service manual also. $2,500.00.....bring a trailer.....if you are interested you can PM me with your phone number and i will call you.
Many of these bikes were never sold new in Japan thus now have a great demand there and pay top$. Have sold several through this guy Rick Degan 888-977-3320. He bought my wrecked KZ1000 for 3500$ Couple Yamahas I came across and a old GS400 I picked up from a customer with only 400 miles on it.
I likewise had a 1978 GS550E that I bought new in 1979. I almost killed myself (literally) the first time I rode that thing, I had never driven a motorcycle before. I loved my Suzuki, until my buddy "made" me sit on his Sportster and start it up..... .....then I had to have one of my own. Good luck with selling your Suzuki! Thanks,
I got my own style of "Sportster"......a 200o Buell M2 Cyclone in reactor Yellow with the 1203cc Harley motor and 12,000 original miles Peace WildBill
Here’s my 1997 Sportster Hugger with 13000miles that I purchased after I sold my Suzuki. Made a “few” Day 2 modifications, landed up opening her up to 1200cc’s making 95RWHP.
Here's another different GS, the Citroën GS: Citroen GS at 50: the forgotten hero Citroen GS driving on three wheels Citroen GS was roomy for luggage and passengers Citroen GS interior Citroen GS cutaway Citroen GS cutaway Citroen GS Energetique Citroen GS on UK plates in 1972 Citroen GS Birotor Citroen GS rear view Tristan Auer's Citroen GS Citroen GS by Tristan Auer Citroen GS by Tristan Auer Tristan Auer's Citroen GS interior At the recent Retromobile classic car show in Paris, Citroen celebrated the 50th birthday of one of the most bittersweet cars in its history. It unveiled a GS given a makeover by noted French interior designer, Tristan Auer, who thankfully didn’t play around with the overall shape of the car or its interior – aside from some interesting new trims and materials. Was it enough of a tribute for such an innovative car? The Citroen GS was a technical marvel when launched in August 1970, but the cost of developing this all-new car from the ground up undoubtedly contributed to the company’s near bankruptcy and subsequent bail-out in 1974. It was the second of a trio of models that started with the SM just a month earlier and would culminate with the flagship CX. This advanced threesome would completely reinvent Citroen, even if the cost of developing them came at the cost of the company’s independence. Looking at the GS today, it’s hard to believe that this highly aerodynamic small fastback saloon has knocked up a half century. And for younger readers, it must be difficult to comprehend that such a space-age effort was once one of the most popular imported cars in the UK throughout the 1970s, as well as the doyen of countless victorious CAR magazine group tests. But it was, managing to knock up more than 2.5 million sales before it hit the end of the road in GSA form in 1987. In CAR’s history, it had to play second fiddle to the equally-advanced Alfa Romeo Alfasud, even though the GS was cheaper, more technically dense, and sold better here. More often than not, it was awarded the best family car prize in the mag’s annual round-ups, and when GBU first appeared In 1976, it went straight into ‘interesting’, a place it remained to the end of its life. In 1991, Richard Bremner memorably compared the GS with the then-new ZX hatch in a CAR twin test – and the new car came a distant second asking the question, ‘where’s the progress?’ This was very much a CAR kind of car. Why the GS matters today Ever since DS Automobiles was hived off from Citroen in 2014, the GS and its larger brother, the CX, have had a bigger role to play than before. With the iconic Citroen DS and SM now belonging to PSA’s premium division, it’s been the job of the GS to step up to the plate and demonstrate just how far ahead of the game the company was… without mentioning the DS and SM. The good news is that the GS is more than up to the task. The most arresting element of the GS is undoubtedly its styling. Citroen denied that this Kamm-tailed fastback owed anything to Italian styling concepts of the 1960s, but there was something of the carrozzeria about it – but like the larger DS before it, the aerodynamics were more than just implied in its lines. In its slipperiest form the Robert Opron-styled GS boasted a drag coefficient of just 0.318 – which compared with around 0.45 for its more conventionally designed rivals. Put that into perspective, the highly-touted 1982 Ford Sierra could only manage 0.34, and the car that was supposed to replace it – the BX – was 0.35. Then there was the suspension. Like the DS, it was a Hydropneumatic set-up that blessed this small, lightweight saloon with a ride quality that would put most luxury cars to shame, but thanks to clever geometry and overall design, it didn’t heel over in corners or feel wallowy at speed. The soft ride was complemented by soft and supportive seats – this was truly a small car that you could comfortably travel long distances in. And you can drive it on three wheels (above). The engine was also all-new. And as you’d expect from Citroen at the time, it was both unconventional and brilliant. The air-cooled flat-four originally displaced a mere 1015cc and developed 55bhp, but was capable of happily revving its heart out all day long. So, although its 0-60mph time was around 17 seconds and its top speed was 92mph, it would keep up with larger cars because sprint gearing meant that it its brilliant little engine was in the heart of its powerband more of the time. Yes, it was noisy and used more fuel than its rivals, but it was also highly effective. And petrol was still 50p per gallon. In short, compared with what the rest of the industry was doing at the time, the 1970 GS was revolutionary. When this car went on sale, you could still buy a new Morris Minor, and the UK’s answer to it – the Austin Allegro – would be along in another three years. We weren’t alone in being so far behind the curve – in 1970, Germany’s answer was the Volkswagen Beetle (the Golf was four years away), while the Italians would have to wait another year for the Alfasud to breeze in. What did Tristan Auer do to the GS for its 50th? To celebrate, Citroen donated a 1972 GS 1015 Confort to celebrated interior designer Tristan Auer. He was commissioned to transform the car so it can be used as the courtesy vehicle for the upscale Les Bains vintage hotel in the heart of Paris for the next three years. Citroen figures that this super-trendy venue, opened in 1978 and renovated by Auer in 2015, matches the style and elegance of its family car of the ‘70s. And on the whole it does, even if back then, the GS had no such delusions of grandeur. Thankfully, Auer didn’t mess too much with the car, exercising taste and restraint. So, it’s been given a lick of paint and a retrimmed interior, which suits the car perfectly. As you can see from the accompanying images, it’s a light re-imagining of the car. Auer says, ‘it is an honour and a real treat for me to have been able to work on this Citroen GS, an extremely well designed and popular car, which I have been able to rediscover.’ What is the GS’s legacy at 50? If we’re being cruel, it would be to show the rest of the car industry how not to do things. It cost a fortune to develop and as clever as it was, it inspired no other carmaker to follow in its tracks. Its air-cooled flat-four engine was willing but noisy – and absolutely no one copied this layout once the 1970s were underway. The suspension, as brilliant as it is, was also expensive to produce, complex and heavy – and again, only Citroen persevered with it. But that doesn’t take anything away from the GS. Far from it – Citroen proved that clever and ingenious engineering solutions could result in a car that lifted the expectations of its buyers, and hurry-up its rivals into building cars that could match its high standards of comfort, performance, space and dynamics. More than that, with 2.5 million examples sold, it was undoubtedly a hit which proved that the average family man didn’t always accept orthodox solutions and staid styling. But I would like to overturn CAR’s proclamation that the Alfasud was the Car of the 1970s. I reckon the GS is even more CAR than the ‘Sud. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I think the GS just pips it for being cleverer, more usable, and – back then as now – far more affordable too. The Italian car had sportier handling, but it rusted even more savagely than the GS, had the strangest of driving positions and today the Citroen is probably the more pleasant car to take on any journey. Before Citroen congratulates itself too much – consider that for every single GS and GSA built between 1970 and 1987, Toyota sold four Corollas – and made a damned sight more money in doing so…
Dang Bill and Darren, What's all this talk about "skunk" in Daytona Beach? I went to bike week every year from 1978 to the early 90's. Started going up there on my Honda 500/4, then on my Suzuki GS850, and then on my GS1000. The only skunk I remember was my buddy rolling joints on top of my motorcycle's seat in front of Denny's at the corner of Main St. and A1A. The good 'ole days!!!
I started riding street bikes in 1984 when I bought a 1983 650 Nighthawk. Soon I got the bike bug and started buying and selling bikes ( mainly Jap bikes) in the late eighties and early 90's. I owned many different makes and models, but I never owned a Suzuki, The two I always dreamed about and thought were the coolest was the mid 70's GT-750 water-cooled ( Water Buffalo), I thought this was just a brute of a bike for the 1970's and looked like a racy beast for that era. And I rode sport-bikes for awhile and the GSXR 1100 of 1990 vintage was the baddest looking sport-bike of all time in my opinion!! Larry.
Great looking bike Bill. Recently bought my first retro street bike reminiscent of those super bikes of the seventies. 2024 Kawasaki Z900RS SE.
