My Custom Build GS500

[mjj4]

Hi, here is my build so far of my GS500, i am copying this across from another forum but will start keeping this updated now i finally have managed to activate my account 

Here is the story of my GS500, where better to start than a little intro.

I have been brough up around suzukis and kawasakis by my Dad and ever since then i've loved both but never had a kawasaki!

So far i've had; 2x RG250's, GSXR750 slabside, TS250x, TS100er, RMX250, RM250 and my 2 GS500's.

I bought the GS as my NCB are tied up on my RM250 and i wanted someting cheap to run, cheap to insure with no NCB and the GS fit the bill perfectly.

I bought this 97 GS500 in october 2012, it's pretty much standard, with the addtion of the nexxus exhaust, hagon rear shock, 2008 front end and a screen. It had been looked after well and i rode it all through this winter which has taken its toll on it, poor thing!




Then when browsing on ebay for GS bits i came across this 06 GS as spares as it has been sat 2-3 years and has no key, bars, stand or headlight. I won the bid and went to london to pick it up.



I left it for a couple of weeks until my car had its MOT and now that its got 12months on it I dont need the GS to fall back on so its full speed ahead with the project.

Here are my plans for it:
R1 Solo Seat
Custom exhaust
Custom subframe
Some sort of dominator or projector lights
Custom undertray
Different speedo (vapor etc...)
Different front end (RGV)
GSXR rear wheel
K&N lunchbox
DIY timing advance
-1t front sprocket
Rejet with  3jet carbs
Remove PAIR system
Powdercoated frame
Custom paint bodywork

I got in the garage last night and tonight and here is my progress so far



oh dear typical output shaft bodge!





Engine with the knackerd output shaft and seized exhaust bolt

Ruined shock lingage bearing





















Sorry for so many photos i just didnt want to bore you with words! I need to fab up somethin to go from the rear seat bracket to the subframe as i dont think its substantial enough at the moment. I also plan on using the GS seat lock mechanism so once i modify the seat to fit (its too long) i can sort the mechanism, then get the frame off for shotblasting and powdercoating


So i spent the spare hour i had this afternoon grinding down all the excess weld/brackets that i don't need, i managed to do the pillion foot peg mounts, a fair bit on my welds, cut the airbox brackets off and ground a few more areas flat. Only got another hour or twos worth of grinding at the back then il brace the subframe, test fit all the bits that live under the seat incase i need to make any more brackets up before the frame goes for shotblast and powder.




So i haven't had a lot of time to spend on the bike (been working 11 hour days ) but sat out in the garden yesterday for several hours polishing my downpipes which are in a very bad way!!


still got a long way to go




When it got dark i went in the garage and tried unseizing the rear brake caliper from the torque arm for woodie, unfortunaltey it didnt go well!


So it looks like i'm going to have to rebuild and use the only other one i have.

I started stripping the 97 bike and found the shock linkage has a very rusty bearing, by the look of it i only need 1 or maybe 2 new spacers, going to change all the bearings in the shock linkage and swingarm.



General stripping photos





As i expected, the front engine bolt was seized in nice and tight, so out came WD40 and the blow torch.

after a lot of faffing around i managed to get the bolt moving inside the engine case but instead of coming out the other side it started pulling the engine towards me. it turns out the spacer is completely welded to the bolt.

So i cut through the spacer and bolt so i could remove it from the engine casing, then i knocked the bolt out the otherside. I plan on using stainless threaded bar but need 2 spacers as i have 0 now.



Then i took the engine out


and forgot to take a picture! The sprocket has a little play on the output shaft, it looks in pretty good nick (28k miles) but i can see how it will start wearing now rocking back and forth every gear change.
Pointless photo i was just happy its not welded on!


Thats all so far, i have started cleaning a few bits from the 97 bike and boxing them up so they are ready to go on the 06 frame when the time is right! Very time consuming but worth doing now so the rebuild should be quicker and more enjoyable. The frame should be going for blast and powder this week sometime, I need to test fit the front end to see if i need to cut the steering lock off and then finish off the subframe.

Does anyone know a way to get the engine in the frame without scratching it? It's a tight squeeze when its in one piece!

[mjj4]

So I didnt spend long in the garage yesterday but i did test fit my front end and had a look at the exhaust, need to get an adapter made by longlife to go from the downpipe to the link pipe but thats one of the last things i can do as the bike will have to be built so i can get it the perfect angle.

Heres a teaser of the exhaust


Heres some pics of the front end test fit, to the eagle eye'd people out there the wheel is the wrong way round yet the tyre is heading in the right direction, what a pain as i will have to get the tyre swapped around :!

If you read this Woodie, did you have to get custom length braided lines because the splitter joins to the bottom yoke and you raised the bottom yoke up by several inches makeing the lower brake lines too short?

Pics









I cleaned the engine up (only quickly) with WD40 and some rags and it has come up way better (looks better in pics) but i'm unsure whether to paint it or not?


Lastly i'm sure you've seen my post in the main forum but here is the rip off prices Suzuki want for the suspension and swingarm bearings.


I think the only one i have to buy from suzuki is the 17x24x26 as it isn't a standard size but luckily this is the cheapest one at £12.11 the others have been ordered from a local bearing supplier and one needs to come from wemoto £8~

Think the bikes going to be painted black to start with then possibly white afterwards

Found the spacers, they are in a bad way could do with cleaning.
If you want them pm me address just pay postage.

Thanks for the offer mate but Tom on here managed to sort me out (Cheers tom!) I would keep hold of them as they seem to be one of the most common items to get cut up!

So i got in the garage yesterday and set about making the R1 seat fit between the seat unit and tank, as you can see from the photos below its a fair few inches too long. So after chopping the plastic, foam and recovering it, i have a seat finally. I'm not 100% happy with the seat cover because i used the original cover and it has a few creases as you will see below, but it's not my highest priority at the moment, i can come back to the seat cover later on. Let the pictures speak most of it:







I set about fitting the GS seat mechanism to the seat and subframe




Fitted the seat rubbers into the frame



As you can see those ugly bolts that bolt the seat unit to the subframe will be replaced with stainless steel dome head allen bolts, they still might not be to everyones taste but i like the idea of not having to go underneath to unbolt the seat unit, i could have gotten away without using them at all as the seat holds it down nice and tight but thats a bit cowboy as it will be loose when the seats off! Tempted to see how much it will cost to get the seat recovered professionally but it only creases when i put it on the bike due to the angle of the seat unit so don't want to pay and have the same thing happen.

Behind the scenes i have also pressed the bandit and GS stems out and pressed the GS stem into the bandit bottom yoke, pressed all the bearings out of the swingarm and shock linkage. My only jobs now are to sleeve the top front welds i did  on the subframe to strengthen them as they are the most imporant 2 welds, brace the rear of the subframe where the two parts meet, oh and drill out the two bolts on the swingarm that hold the little mud deflector thing as they both sheared. Then the frame and swingarm and a few other bits are ready for shot blasting and powdercoating yay!

So my highest priority is getting the frame ready so it can go for shotblasting and powdercoating along with a few other bits, so i decided to sort the last bits out, i made the battery tray fit up behind the seat as thats the only place it will fit and be out of site, just need a sealed battery now (pain as mine is only 2 months old!). I also braced the top of the subframe where i modified it, which i'm far happier with now ( i will still load test it somehow ).

List of jobs to do on the frame before its ready:

Brace the rear of the subaframe where the lower and upper meet
Fit the bracket for the starter solenoid
Make sure there are no other brackets required
Knock the lower headstock race out somehow
Make sure i can mount the numberplate somehow (hopefully on an undertray)
Send for shotblasting and powdercoating yay!

Oh i also got round to drilling out the two bolts i snapped in the swingarm and cleaning the threads up with a tap.

Here are some pics of the battery tray and bracing plates i fitted

Wanted the battery about here (only real option)

Modified and fitted battery tray

Yes i need a sealed battery

Finally getting some better welds







Thats all for this evening, i'm busy tomorrow so hopefully get the frame finished on thursday evening so i can drop it off on friday :balloon

So thats where im upto at the moment, my deadline to have it on the road is the end of this month and then do any finishing touches as i go and over this winter. Sorry if thats a bit old chunk to read hopes its not too boring!!

[bryan88]

Good luck with the build. If I remember, my brother and I put the motor on a small table and then lifted the bare frame over it. That seemed to be easier.http://imageshack.us/a/img248/1151/photo0590f.jpg

[bryan88]

Good luck with the build. If I remember, my brother and I put the motor on a small table and then lifted the bare frame over it. That seemed to be easier.http://imageshack.us/a/img248/1151/photo0590f.jpg
Sorry for the double post

[mjj4]

Good luck with the build. If I remember, my brother and I put the motor on a small table and then lifted the bare frame over it. That seemed to be easier.http://imageshack.us/a/img248/1151/photo0590f.jpg
Sorry for the double post

Thanks, thats a great idea i will definitely try that, frame is a fair bit lighter than the engine!

[jacob92icu]

This is a really awesome build. Keep the pictures coming! The more the merrier. Good luck with what you have left to do, excited to see the outcome.

[yamahonkawazuki]

found a vapor trail tech unit for 50 us. might work for your situation. its small but usable. thought about getting it for the battlepig.  ( my goped gtr40 ) didnt have cash to spare. but 50 versus 115 seemed like a good deal

[jdoorn14]

What did you use to polish up your exhaust header pipes? I'm assuming more than just spit and elbow grease...

[cbrfxr67]

 sub'd! 

[steezin_and_wheezin]

Awesome project, progress and photos!!! Props mang!

[mjj4]

This is a really awesome build. Keep the pictures coming! The more the merrier. Good luck with what you have left to do, excited to see the outcome.

Thanks, me too haha

found a vapor trail tech unit for 50 us. might work for your situation. its small but usable. thought about getting it for the battlepig.  ( my goped gtr40 ) didnt have cash to spare. but 50 versus 115 seemed like a good deal

Ah thats so cheap, i have a trail tech vapor on my RM250 so could try it for size/looks on the gs, theyre £100ish over here so i expect thats about $160 at the moment.

What did you use to polish up your exhaust header pipes? I'm assuming more than just spit and elbow grease...

I started off with 00 grade (very fine) wire wool and autosol which worked on the best parts of it but took ages, then i used 600 grit paper (dry) by hand and with a black and decker mouse sander which worked way better and the paper didnt leave any scratches that the wire wool wouldnt get out. Then i got lazy and got out the polishing wheels that go onto my drill and haven't finished using the stiffest wheel with the hardest compound yet, only trouble is the hard to reach areas are going to be a pain!

sub'd! 

Thanks 

Awesome project, progress and photos!!! Props mang!

Cheers dude 

[jacob92icu]

If you are going to mount your battery in that manner I would suggest you buy a sealed battery cause thats quite a risky angle! Looks freaking awesome though. Are you going to buy extended battery cables or what?

[john]

Yes better welding.  Glad you addressed that.

[cbrfxr67]

My GS has its battery on its side and it isn't sealed.  I thought the same thing when I got from po but decided to watch and see.  So far no problems jacob92icu, been about a year now I think,...

[jacob92icu]

Well than carry on! Haha

[yamahonkawazuki]

that trailtech has a tach, speedo and temp

[mjj4]

If you are going to mount your battery in that manner I would suggest you buy a sealed battery cause thats quite a risky angle! Looks freaking awesome though. Are you going to buy extended battery cables or what?

Yeah i was planning on getting a motobatt sealed battery for it, shame as this battery is just over a month old! I should only need an extended live as i think the earth may reach but i mounted the starter solenoid far enough down the frame that the rest of the loom should be unaffected. I will probably just make my own battery leads if they need extending.

Yes better welding.  Glad you addressed that.

Haha yeah i'm no pro welder! i'm still on my first small disposable bottle of gas and thats apparently 6 minutes of welding so i'm happy with how im progressing.

My GS has its battery on its side and it isn't sealed.  I thought the same thing when I got from po but decided to watch and see.  So far no problems jacob92icu, been about a year now I think,...

Cheers i will give it a try as it is and keep something underneath it to catch any spillages incase it doesnt like it!

that trailtech has a tach, speedo and temp

Yeah it also has lap times, ride time, accumilated ride time, max rpm/speed, shift lights, temp lights, digital and bar graph tacho, air temp, water temp. They're a great piece of kit

So not much of an update photo wise but the frame has gone for powdercoating along with the swingarm, torque arm, foot peg mounts, side stand and shock linkage. Going to be around a 2 week wait though as they are chocca

Going out in the garage now to start getting as much of the other bits ready that i can for when the frame returns 

[mjj4]

So I havent got a lot done as the frame, swingarm, sidestand, torque arm, suspension linkage and footpeg mounts are in for shotblasting and powdercoating and will not be ready for 2 weeks (end of the month basically) which im absolutely gutted about

Means i need to get as much of the bits ready as possible so that i can just bolt everything on and have minimal work to do when the frame is back, although I find it hard to work without the frame as i don't have much motivation to clean up bits etc...

I cleaned up the front caliper pistons, fitted the front headlights back onto the front end, fitted new mini indicators, fitted the rear wheel bearings, knocked out the rear cush bearing and seal and painted it but its come out a horrible matt black which doesnt match the wheel so going to get some satin black and re do it.

I also sanded the mudguard briefly but it needs some filler so going to pick up some P38 filler now.

I ordered some 2001~ carbs and switchgear so i dont have to run a throttle position sensor or any of that pair system with all those vacuum diaphrams etc... these look a lot simpler which = cleaner set up.

On my front calipers (bandit) one side had no metal backing plates on the pads and one side had 2 metal plates? Am i missing 2 or are you supposed to have 1 on each side?





(Will probably paint the disc silver, it came white)



These metal plates

[yamahonkawazuki]

Well than carry on! Haha

Maybe so. But id still consider getting hands on a sealed battery. ( gel or agm)

[Snake2715]

Sweet build man. Keep it up!