Australia by dinosaur

It's all down to Officer Bloggs from Walwa - there I was minding my own business and all of a sudden the world was my disco. Blue and red flashing lights in every direction. This time I got nailed for 129 kay on the Blackbird (that was the real speed - no discounts today) while cruising in the very backblocks of Vic. Three points and a fine.

A fine?! This was a Blackbird fer crissakes - capable of a genuine 280-plus - I should have been given a medal for restraint! Plod didn't share my view and this set me thinking about the wisdom of using some hideously overpowered (and very enjoyable) superbike as a daily ride.

Right, that's it, after losing six points in a month we're going shopping for something that's slower, cheaper to run and more pillion-friendly than the Bird (which is pretty good, but the kids are gigantic these days). Oh, and it must be cheap. Too much to ask?

Coincidence
Maybe not, thanks to a happy coincidence. A chap had e-mailed me via BikePoint a while ago asking if I knew anyone who would be interested in a 1981 GS1000G, 68,000km, rough but basically straight cosmetically and good mechanically for $1150. It lacked reg, needed tyres and the seat had a crack in it (which is a roadworthy item in some, if not all, states), though it did come with a factory GS1000S fairing.

The catch? It was in NSW and I wasn't. Not the end of the world - I got in touch by phone and, after a couple of discussions, said I'd take it. Buying over the phone is risky, but the owner and I got on pretty well and he struck me as a straight-shooter. What really sold me was that he could track how many owners the bike had suffered - two including him - and still knew the bloke he bought it from. Suffice it to say that I trusted him about the bike and he trusted the cheque I was mailing wouldn't bounce. Neither of us was disappointed.

Normally, in this situation, I'd recommend getting a mate to check out the bike, or hire someone to do it - some bike movers and mobile mechanics provide an inspection report for a fee.

Next trick was to get it delivered. I rang Bikes Only (tel 07 3375 6599) and was quoted $280 for the Sydney to Melbourne run - they usually deliver in about a week and went to great lengths to assure the punter (me) that the bike would be properly tied down and arrive with a pick-up and delivery report on its condition. It took close to two weeks as it turned out but, given it was over the busy Oz GP period, that's forgivable. The running total was now $1430.

Paperwork
Ringing the local rego folk revealed I needed to front up at their offices with the bike (presumably on a trailer unless I bought a temporary riding permit), a roadworthy certificate, proof of purchase (a receipt from the former owner) plus details on the previous rego number from interstate.

Since I needed a dealer to give me a roadworthy, it made sense to get all the other bits done there as well - like tyres, seat recovering and a replacement headlight. My local toy purveyor is Stafford Motorcycles and they did the job quickly with no fuss for a good price. Maybe I could have saved some labour cost by chasing seats and lights myself, but only if I wanted to lose a day doing it. Ultimately it made more sense to leave it to the experts.

 Tyres (I left the choice to Staffords) turned out to be a Bridgestone BT45 front/rear combo, which suit the bike well. By the time I took it through the rego bit (usually a cursory examination at the road authority once all the other paperwork is squared away) and got the repairs done I was up for about another $1000-ish. NSW folk could probably add another couple of hundred to that cost, as rego varies from state-to-state.

Therein lies a cautionary tale for buyers of cheap motorcycles. Make sure you budget for the repair, transfer, roadworthy and rego costs which, in this case, doubled the original price. Still, at around $2500, I was doing okay. Particularly when you consider that fresh rubber and a year's reg were part of the package.

Now I'll admit to an indulgence, which was a Givi topbox, capable of holding a helmet and miscellaneous rubbish, at a retail value of $500. Okay, I could have got a used box cheaper, or even a Gearsack, but I've been spoiled by having lockable luggage on a couple of recent bikes and this item presented itself at the right time. It may not have been cheap, but the quality was truly impressive.

And the result is?
Maybe now is a good time to admit this is my third GS. I already had a 1000G outfit in the garage and once owned an 1100G which I loved until it ate a Valiant. They're big, very big, motorcycles weighing 250 kilos dry (around 280 wet on a full tank) with a fairly basic two-valve air-cooled four powerplant that puts out about 80-90 horses for the 1000-1100 series.

Generally they're reliable, though the odd one will do a big end or uni joint. I've never heard of one actually letting go, but the knocking/rattling drives owners nuts eventually. Then again, I know of a couple that have been to the moon and back without fuss. Like the one Spannerman swapped (and still runs daily) for a machine which cost him $300. We did a top-end rebuild on it some years ago, using spare bits from my sidecar engine, and it's been fine ever since.

As an aside, a good 1100 version is an even better touring buy - same bike but substantially more bottom end and mid-range with taller gearing.

Handling and brakes are out of the classic Universal Japanese Motorcycle design handbook of the early eighties dinosaur era. Entirely predictable, but don't plan on winning any races. It's heavy, clumsy, slow and slow to stop compared to today's tackle when in full track attack mode. However in the real world of peak hour and a casual cruise through the hills they don't give all that much away.

They had good suspension for their time, which lasts remarkably well, and a very strong frame. However nothing lasts forever and Gerald's rear end was upgraded with a set of Konis - or Ikons as they now are. The GS1000S (chain drive - now collectible) sibling, that shared much of the spec with the G shafties, was widely regarded as the first big Japanese multi that actually handled at an acceptable level.

Add in a slick shaft drive, the fact that you can double the recommended shim service intervals from 10,000km to 20,000 safely plus a surprisingly gentle thirst - about 14-17km/litre - and the running costs are fairly modest. They can eat tyres when ridden hard, though the alarmingly skinny rims (by current standards) mean replacement costs are about half of a current superbike. Grip is compromised, though they're quite good in most situations, including gravel roads.

A winner, particularly for big folk, is the comfort angle. Because its huge, the GS series has lots of legroom for pilot and passenger along with ample space to mount luggage of various sorts. (On that last point, my theory is that they got the scale of the drawings wrong at Hamamatsu, as I've yet to see a Suzuki test rider large enough to wrestle a GS.) The 22-litre fuel tank has a decent range and the seat is probably the best ever to come out of a motorcycle factory - padding choice is right and you could land a Cessna on it.

 Styling is typical of the period, with multi-tone orange and red paint from the late seventies. If this dinosaur were human, it would have a gold chain on its neck while having a suspicious number of Neil Diamond albums and paisley ties hidden in the back of its wardrobe. We've since gone for a simple silver paint job that cost about $600.

Money
On the money front, I've gone a little over the top at $3000 (including the compulsory post-purchase oil change), or $8.20 a day for a year (excluding fuel) spent on a bike that will happily tour Australia without fuss. Knock out the cost of buying interstate ($280 transport) and the topbox ($500) and we're looking more like $2200-2300. Call that $6.30 a day - now we're getting close to public transport costs.

Add in that it's reliable, has good fuel range (over 300km), is cheap to run and comfortable two-up. It meets basic touring tests. Maybe I'll keep the Bird as a toy, but the GS has me won when it comes to value as a day-to-day ride.

Postscript
The GS gas now added about 20,000 to its mileage and done a fair bit of travel as a loaner for friends. No major breakdowns so far, though we did have to get the rear brake calliper rebuilt. Oh and so much for saving money, as we since bought a Honda Valkyrie Interstate plus a Triumph Daytona 1200!

6 tips for dinosaur buyers