GSX-R1100 go/no go

It seems like forever, but it's *only* been a couple years now since my Dad and I bought a moderately decrepit 1986 Suzuki GSX-R1100G as a restoration project. I always liked the brutal simplicity of the original "slab-side" GSX-R, and it has historical significance as the bike that brought the low-mass revolution (and the whole racer-replica genre) to the street.

I figured it would just bne a cosmetic refresh, since the bike seemed to run well enough when I test rode it. A bit of a rumble from the bottom end, but just typical Suzuki cam-chain adjustment, right?... wrong. Mega-buck rebuild and two years later, we got our decal set from the UK, dropped off panels with the painter and set back to work.

Newly powder-coated wheels look nice, eh? $$$

Fast friends. Once the one on the left is running properly it will be MUCH faster than the red one...

Wheeled out into the light for a couple photos. This summer I resolved to head in to Brandon and help Dad get the machine running, or get it ready to sell. I had a brand-new MAC exhaust to install that we wrestled mightily with, but it turned out not to be fit-able. So back on went the stock header sans rusty canister. And still the bloody thing wouldn't run right or idle without the choke.

So here is a dilemma. Once you have so much money invested in a project, can you sell it on without bringing it to fruition? This was the "go/no go" decision point. We thought long and hard about it, let me tell you. But the answer is no, for simple economic reasons. Nobody in their right mind pays any kind of decent money for a half-completed non-running project bike. So we just have to belly up and finish it. I think that when it's running well we'll be glad we stuck with this one. Or at least we'll be in a much better position to get a decent buck for it.

So the carb rack has been sent off to Oklahoma for rebuilding by a recommended marque expert, and a second exhaust system obtained from eBay and picked up in Pembina, ND today. Once the carbs are back we can bolt them up and fit up the exhaust, and (fingers crossed) have a runner. Then it's just a matter of wiring the signals back up and bolting on the panels... right???