my 1995 GS: before and after

medevac · July 06, 2009, 07:23:59 AM

Here's my bike as I bought it. A 1995 with around 5K miles on it. Hardly ridden, it mainly sat in the garage of the woman I bought it from.

And here's what it looks like now:

So far the only performance-related thing I've done is switched to Progressive Springs and swapped the fork brace for a Buddha brace. The rest is cosmetic and included a tank swap (due to rust in the tank it was just easier to swap it out), painted plastics, Corbin seat, turn signal trade out, Honda petcock, and removed the front fender.

Right now all I have left to do is switch over to the 89 Clips and maybe replace the front brake pads. Other than that I'm happy

Some of you may not appreciate the awesomeness of the gaudy rubber fork boots or a 1982 "Flock of Seagulls" Suzuki 250 badge.

That's okay. Not many are as cool as I am.

Thanks to the Buddha for rebuilding my carbs and providing me with a properly coated tank to swap with!

JB848 · July 06, 2009, 07:33:19 AM

Looks very nice! I'd like to get at that muffler with a wire brush and bead blaster though

.

tripleb · July 06, 2009, 08:14:15 AM

looks nice. glad you got rid of that horrible windscreen (if you can even call it that).

The Buddha · July 06, 2009, 08:34:23 AM

That is nice - how does it run ?
The raised lettering - how did you get it to glue on ?
I'd be worried if you spill gasoline when filling up, it may het in the gaps between the letters and come loose.
Cool.
Buddha.

rydethis · July 06, 2009, 08:43:32 AM

Very cool looking!! I like that the front fender thingy is gone... it gives it a whole new look to it!!

medevac · July 06, 2009, 08:46:03 AM

Quote from: JB848 on July 06, 2009, 07:33:19 AM
Looks very nice! I'd like to get at that muffler with a wire brush and bead blaster though .

I'd love to let you, however there is a line of about 6 people that want to do it. If you paypal me $50 I may...MAY...allow you the privilege. No promises though.

medevac · July 06, 2009, 08:53:47 AM

Quote from: The Buddha on July 06, 2009, 08:34:23 AM
That is nice - how does it run ?
The raised lettering - how did you get it to glue on ?
I'd be worried if you spill gasoline when filling up, it may het in the gaps between the letters and come loose.
Cool.
Buddha.

So we put on the carbs, airbox, and ran new hoses to the petcock. Hooked up the gas tank and put in some gas then the battery. Switched on gas and key and it started on the second press of the button. Seriously, all I did was adjust the idle screw and that's about it. So good work! It runs well and I haven't had any issues so far.

I just put the lettering on with double-sided 3M tape cut to the shape of the badge. I did it on a lark and don't really expect it to last too long. I'm pretty sure rain or something will get to it eventually. I'm just not a big fan of tank graphics other than old-school two tone or racing stripes or something so I threw it on there for the time being.

Still undecided about paint but I'm liking the black look. I definitely will have to do something with the frame, as I touched up some rust spots with a gray after sanding. Doesn't stick out too bad but when you're close you can see the lighter gray.

The Buddha · July 06, 2009, 09:19:41 AM

OK good to know you got it running - ridden it right ? How's the power delivery ?

I had almost the same thing with the 2000 savage that was sitting from 06 after a front end wreck.
And, It was third try not second. Then it took a few runs to catch up right, and after 1 full heat cycle it is good now.

Changing oil next. Yea I know I am a bad boy, I ran it on oil that prolly is 3 years old.

I think you must have seen this thing when you were here medevac. The bike that had the hand made black risers on it. It had a dark green rear fender.

Anyway, it has no throttle cable or tank ... or seat ... but it didn't prevent me from walking it under its own power @ a high idle round my house much to my neighbors amusement. Hopefully it will be back on the road in a few days.

Cool.
Buddha.

JB848 · July 06, 2009, 12:55:11 PM

Thinks Medevac is smoking something he bought on Paypal but needs to paint that exhaust anyway!

intergalactic · July 06, 2009, 02:39:04 PM

I want those fork boots. Or fork shields. I have craters in my soon to be removed forks. It is called the granite state for a reason.

commuterdude · July 06, 2009, 02:52:31 PM

Yeah where'd you get the fork boots i need some too.

Trwhouse · July 06, 2009, 03:20:42 PM

Hi there,
What did you do with that little black quarter fairing?
Did you have a windshield for it?
Want to sell the fairing cheap?

Let me know,
Trwhouse

medevac · July 07, 2009, 06:30:49 AM

Quote from: commuterdude on July 06, 2009, 02:52:31 PM
Yeah where'd you get the fork boots i need some too.

The fork boots I bought are from Daystar...can't remember what I paid for them, it was less than $20. They were a bit too long and looked squished so I cut off 3 of the baffles from the top and used a black zip tie to hold them up so that they would open up a bit. So far no real slippage from where they were cut but I'll let you know. It was one of those things I did because I always thought they looked neat in an early 80's sort of way and also to protect the new seals. Then again I used to have a pair of parachute pants so some people think they look retarded.

medevac · July 07, 2009, 06:32:40 AM

Quote from: Trwhouse on July 06, 2009, 03:20:42 PM
Hi there,
What did you do with that little black quarter fairing?
Did you have a windshield for it?
Want to sell the fairing cheap?
Let me know,
Trwhouse

Ahh too bad that's the first thing I pulled off over a year ago. It came with the bike, no windshield.

I would have given it to you for free if I had thought anyone wanted it. Instead I tossed it into the trash compactor at work and enjoyed watching it get crushed. So there was some value in that I guess.

medevac · July 07, 2009, 06:36:22 AM

Quote from: JB848 on July 06, 2009, 12:55:11 PM
Thinks Medevac is smoking something he bought on Paypal but needs to paint that exhaust anyway!

You'll be happy to know that I have some stove polish that I ordered just for this. You'll be unhappy to know that I've had the polish two weeks and am just too lazy to do it.

The Buddha · July 07, 2009, 06:40:15 AM

Please no stove anything ... hand sand and spray paint with high temp ... that is the only thing that works ... or sand blast and high temp powdercoat I guess.
Cool.
Buddha.

JB848 · July 07, 2009, 07:16:01 AM

Hey Buddha wouldn't you recommend bead blast vs Sand blast? I'd be afraid with sand you would actually take some of the material away. I used wire brush and drill it was very time consuming but effective. I have since found a bead blast place $20.00 and the whole thing is bare metal and treated. I do the painting though.

The Buddha · July 07, 2009, 08:14:35 AM

Yea sand - bead, walnut shell, synthetic ... you're right, real sand does take off a lot of material. It leaves a rough and deeply pitted finish that takes in a good bit of paint though, so its prolly better.
Cool.
Buddha.

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my 1995 GS: before and after