Found a nice lt80 on CL.  Ended up being in better shape than i thought.

Never messed with an 80 before so if anyone could tell me the common problems, that would be great.

The guy i bought the bike from had it in a shop to fix an electrical problem.  While it was in the shop, the mechanic went to jail.  He went and picked it up and it was missing a few parts.  Mainly just the key, the cover on the flywheel, engine cover, and fan.  Some bolts are missing here and there.

I began tearing into it yesterday.  the swinger bearing are shot as well as the rear end.  Im sure they've never been changed.  It sat up for awhile.  Dirt Dobbers have made nests in some of the cooling tubes.  and a couple of other tubes have shown signs of nesting too.  But, all-in-all the bike is fairly mint for it's age.  i couldnt believe the condition of the stock fenders.

Great find. Looks like the kids are really  happy. Is the a Dodge Challenger.

WOW post the build as work on it.

What year is it??

are the 87s a big reed version too!

Nice find.87,s color scheme like the 250,s and 500,s is cool...Fuel petcock is the biggest common issue with them I believe.

Petcocks can be pesky. If fuel runs good when it's in the prime position, get a inline fuel filter and on/off valve (I get mine from advance auto in the lawn mower section). Put the valve close to the carb as posible.

The carbs..fuel has been leaking by the float needle alot these days (I think ethanol) It seems that when shutting off for the day, if you shut the valve off and run it for a minute it eliminates a ton of aggrivation from flooding.

Clutchs: you'll need to get in there and service both front and rear.
Front: make sure the rollers don't have any flat spots, the roller tracts are not badly grooved, and the roller plate key notch is fine. In stock foorm they are packed with grease and that usually gets hard, limits roller travel, and ruins the parts mentioned. FYI Only a dab of grease is needed to hold the roller in place durring installation.
Rear: stick your finger in the bearings and turn. These bearings wear out. Lightly sand the glaze off the contact pads.
To make clutch maint easy, cut the footpegs in 1/2. Then make a piece to stick in the end to rejoin them. This way you can remove the left footpeg and get it out of the way. This saves alot of time and grief. I lathe a piece of aluminum but I've seen many versions.
FYI: other than a belt, there are NO aftermarket clutch parts. All Suzuki.

Motor pivot bushings: The bolt/nut needs to be really tight. This fixxes most side to side movement. If they are bad, I use a heat gun and they come out/in easily. I use a c-clamp and a cpl sockets.

Cases crack in front of the front sprocket and where the rear end bolts to the cases. Make sure those bolts are tight.
Frames can crack on the bottom where the 3 tubes come together and also on the down tubes (carb area).

Thumb throttle gets loose. It's where the thumb throttle goes thru the mounting part. The hole wears.

Rear brakes last forever but the brake arm will need to be moved on the splines to adjust at some point.
Front brakes: the pin that goes thru the backing plate usually neeeds lubed.

Mods to just get it running a lil better:: shave the head .030, remove 2 front clutch rollers, and cut the rear clutch shoes down to 180 grams.
That's about it.
Have fun.

Part #09319-14005   BUSHING
#2 in the crankcase fiche.
I like the old style CDI/coils.  The new style isn't any better yet twice as much to buy.
Plastic and such:: All LT80's are the same with the exception of the CDI and chain size.
Yes, I can make you a nice aluminum piece to re-connect the tubes. 20 at your door.