'79 GS850 8V Fours with Mikuni VM26 Mechanical Slide Carbs
This is the first gen GS850 with the VM26 mechanical slide carbs. This was the only year in the GS850 line to have the mechanical type Mikuni carbs. These bikes can be found with a variety of incorrect carbs including even some Kawasaki models. It is very important to properly id them. The ID number is located on the diamond shaped flange where the body meets the main brace that holds the carbs together.
Starting in '71 Suzuki started year coding bikes in the last letter used in the name. You may see this code on your bikes paperwork or in a parts list or catalog. I leave this off as it is redundant if you are showing the year anyway. There is a chart below to find your year code.
Below is a set of GS750 '79 carbs that are identical to the '79 GS850 carb. I did not have any finished pictures of this particular year of GS850.
'79 GS850G----------------------------------------------------45100
Suzuki Year Codes
| R- | 1971 |
| J- | 1972 |
| K- | 1973 |
| L- | 1974 |
| M- | 1975 |
| A- | 1976 |
| B- | 1977 |
| C- | 1978 |
| N- | 1979 |
| T- | 1980 |
| X- | 1981 |
| Z- | 1982 |
| D- | 1983 |
| E- | 1984 |
| F- | 1985 |
| G- | 1986 |
| H- | 1987 |
| J- | 1988 |
| K- | 1989 |
| L- | 1990 |
| M- | 1991 |
| N- | 1992 |
| P- | 1993 |
| R- | 1994 |
| S- | 1995 |
| T- | 1996 |
| V- | 1997 |
| W- | 1998 |
| X- | 1999 |
| Y- | 2000 |
| K1- | 2001 |
| K2- | 2002 |
| K3- | 2003 |
| K4- | 2004 |
| K5- | 2005 |
| K6- | 2006 |
| K7- | 2007 |
| K8- | 2008 |
| K9- | 2009 |
| L0- | 2010 |
| L1- | 2011 |
| L2- | 2012 |
| L3- | 2013 |
| L4- | 2014 |
| L5- | 2015 |
| L6- | 2016 |
| L7- | 2017 |
| L8- | 2018 |
| L9- | 2019 |
| M0- | 2020 |
| M1- | 2021 |
| M2- | 2022 |
| M3- | 2023 |
| M4- | 2024 |
| M5- | 2025 |
