GS cafe/fighter.. new project

[Cerberus73]

Well i got a tip off about this bike from a acquaintance, 98 GS500 meant to be a faired bike with the mk2 TCP fairing and enclosed headlight, my 95 GS500 is the mk1 TCP fairing with the exposed double headlight. my mk1 fairing has a few cracks and a chunk missing from the belly pan, and the exhaust is a bit scabby looking, and front disk is worn a little, i had an advisory on our MOT test here in the uk about it.

I got this 98 bike here for £275 or about $460.. its a 15k mile bike, starts and runs great, sure the indicators need replacing and a headlight unit, I want to go naked with it, or a small street fighter style flyscreen and double lamp setup, so i may find a original GS500 headlight and brackets, or buy a aftermarket unit and brackets. i don't know whether to keep it pretty stock, or use it as a sound basis for a cafe/fighter style bike. i am going to use the bellypan to replace the cracked and damaged one on my 95 GS, so i end up with 1 faired bike and one naked in some sense. either near standard or perhaps something more extreme. it already has a fender extender on the front, and a hugger on the rear. i can't tell yet until i look more closely as to whether the rear shocker is standard or not.. i know it does have a yellow spring so i dunno if they came like that new or not, my 95 bike ones a little past its best and cruddy so can't compare. the only other thing it has wrong is a slow leak from the rear tyre, could be the valve, or the bead, i can't see any holes, damage etc on the tyre itself.

Does anyone know the paint code for the frame paint, and the engine silver? as this ones pretty clean i will just tidy up the tiny tatty spots to get the bike looking good. i know i intend on painting the frame something bright and wild.. orange or purple maybe. something pearl or flake.

throw out some ideas to me, i wanna do it as economically as i can, but still end up with a nice ride. better handling, a little more poke, and nicer to look at... bear in mind I'm in the UK so a lot of suppliers either won't ship here or charge more than the part costs to get it over.

heres some pics taken quickly so quality is crap.

[neatus]

Shoot, that bike looks pretty good!  Cafe it, you already have another one, might as well make em different from eachother.

[Sycotravis]

What kind of rear hugger is it or do you not know


Sent from my heart using my fingers

[Cerberus73]

sorry the earlier pics were huge. so now done some smaller ones.. I'm unsure what the hugger is from, it looks like it was made for the gs as it fits really well. in the UK i did find one place last year that made a gs hugger. so i think its possibly one of theres. heres a better photo.



the bike also has a different rear shock fitted. this 98 GS sits at least 2-3" higher than my 95. the shock is a yellow sprung one with the adjustment for preload etc on the top of the unit, no extra oil reservoir like the R6 yellow shock. I'm guessing maybe SV or something?? if anyone knows, id be grateful.







also here is a video of the bike running (click the pic) its making some weird noises, refuses to tick over unless throttle is a little open. and if choke is put off before its thoroughly warmed it just dies. its been off the road according to road duty disk since sept 2010.. so I'm guessing dirty carbs, and stale fuel, even if it looks and smells ok. i stuck some redex in the tank and fresh fuel (like sea foam which we find hard to get here)

video


And finally the engine has the typical old gs fault, cracked front mount.. about a 1.25" chunk missing on right casing, can it be welded by Tig and fixed safely? i did speak to a local tig welder and he expressed concern about the heat cracking the engine further.

[goobydoo]

There are more challenges than heat when welding used engine parts. Oil and dirty aluminum are more likely to cause cracking. Ive welded numerous cases from bikes and there are very few that arent a pain. Oil seems to come out of nowhere once you get the aluminum warm and start welding depending on how clean and well maintained it is. Im not saying it wont work by any means,but make sure your welder knows his prep well and is good with controlling the heat or he can make it worse!

[The Buddha]

That part should be outside case of the engine. Should be dry, only oil should be if you had a base gasket leak.
Cool.
Buddha.

[GS Fan]

Can anyone shed some light on the noise?
I think i may have the same thing slowing coming on.