Operation scrambler

[J_Walker]

So, this might be a slow build. so I apologize upfront for the slow updates. MOST of the slowness will come from lack of funds for the project.

the base of this project is of course a GS500. I'm trying to give it a scrambler inspired look with a twist! I'm currently using the stock tank for this project and chopping up the rear end. I'm rebuilding a blown engine. [currently on the lookout for a whole new-top end.] I have valves, valve buckets, valve springs, engine gaskets, cams, camboots, and Installed is used piston heads, stock of course, with new piston rings.. Low end I have not cracked open, but I'm going to assume for now that everything is OKAY down there for now, gonna pull off the side covers when ever it gets time to remove the old oil [that's been in there for years, without of being ran..  ] and replace those gaskets, and clean out all the old oil, and what ever form of gunk it has turned into...

I still got to get all need cables, a pair of handle bars with 1" risers, I may go 2" though, the new seat design is flatter/lower then the stock seat.

but for now, I've been working on the rear-end because that's where most of the cosmetic work is going to be done, [aside from painting] right now. I'm re-locating the seat latch to fit flush with the frame, as the new fully custom seat is going to basically sit right on top of the subframe [frame?  ]



the rear tail hugger will be hand formed from metal, so will any "covers" or "accents" for the rest of the bike. Hopefully getting that started sometime this next Friday or so.

I still have to buy, cut, shape, glue, shape some more. the seat foam. though the base plate is finished, other then needing to be clear coated so it doesn't rot. even though I used high quality plywood, I want super protection!


Oh and my goal for this project is nothing but basic hand tools...  Not even the drill press! the only electric tools I plan on using is a Sewing machine, hand drill, dremel, grinder [to cut up the frame mostly] The rest from there are hammers and wrenches! an a little loctite.... 

[peteGS]

I'm keen to see how you go, I have a thing for scramblers... did this with my 450 

[J_Walker]

I'm keen to see how you go, I have a thing for scramblers... did this with my 450 

Thanks a lot! can't wait to share. and get it running on some dirt!

currently my issue is, handle bar finding! I want a little elbow bending! problem is, all the cool handlebars I have found so far, the clamp area seems to be kinda iffy. some have like a 4.4" center. does that mean flat area on the bars? not much of a description. and I wanna make sure I get this right...

GS500F -
years 2002-2010
Bar Diameter 7/8"
Height 3-1/2"
Width 27-1/2"
Pullback 7-1/2"
Center 6"   
Clamp Area 3" x 4-3/4"

also from what's posted. does anyone who's reading think these would work? with 1" risers POSSIBLY 2" risers even.
http://www.dimecitycycles.com/7-8-inch-satin-black-daytona-flat-tracker-handlebars.html

[jar75]

Good luck on the build. I have three GS' currently.  One I want to build a cafe , the other a street tracker and then a scrambler. As for those handlebars they look like stock GS bars.

[peteGS]

I just put some medium rise motorcross 'bars on mine and they're pretty much perfect for me...

If I was to do it again I'd look for some Renthals or something as these are a bit light weight though.

[J_Walker]

I just put some medium rise motorcross 'bars on mine and they're pretty much perfect for me...

If I was to do it again I'd look for some Renthals or something as these are a bit light weight though.

I've looked at a few of those. if you don't mind, how tall are you?

[peteGS]

I'm about 6 foot...


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[Big Rich]

Walker, I'd worry about the bars until later. Only because handle bars are a "cheap" part of a bike build, and can always be sold off if you get them wrong the first time. Besides, if your bars are too tall / far back you'll need longer cables which add to the bottom line cost wise anyway. 

That being said, I'm always up for a mutli purpose bike. So carry on with the project!

[J_Walker]

I'm about 6 foot...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

thanks, that helps a bit.
---------
there hasn't been any real progress on the bike, other then I've been chatting with a fellow on here about obtaining his topend. I think that's all I need, [other then tires] valve clearance should be okay. I connected a battery to the bike yesterday, disconnected the electric starter motor wires though.. just encase, don't want the bike going mad with half the engine apart. and the timing chain all jumbled up on top of itself in the engine..  and I'm getting power to all the important parts. still need to get a tail-light that's effective easy to go with ebay knock offs, but they just aren't bright enough to be on the road. same goes for the blinkers.

so on my current to-do list.
sell this stupid SV650, that needs about $500 in finishing work to make it road worthy again.. that I just don't wanna throw the money into, because I particularly dislike THIS sv650, the engine is fun. the way the bike is built and sits is not fun. nothing like the gs500 I like it WAY more, even if its a glorified lawn mower engine. I embrace my riding lawn mower, even show it off a bit. 

Rebuild the top end of the gs500, put the new valves, do valve clearance all that good jazz, torque everything down properly, and source any top end engine bolts that have been lost in time. I have all my gaskets together, but I have a feeling i've misplaced some bolts...

once that's done, reattach the stock headers/pipes and give the carbs a good final cleaning.

Oh and change all the side case gaskets, and clean out all the old oil that's sludged up by now ...

replace the oil, and oil filter. and get a new air-filter as well, just cause.

then the bike SHOULD START AND RUN! 


Oh and I had this nifty idea, something I remembered about my old GS that I HATED. The air/fuel mixture screws on the carbs, the ones I have are a bit nicked up on the heads because who ever drilled the caps out, went a LITTLE too far. so I figured, well if I'm going to maybe get new ones anyway, lets have a little side project to make tuning the bike a little easier, I was inspired by my much hated SV650's idle adjustment screw.. why couldn't I just figure out a way to do the same? to attach two cables to each one, route them to one spot make a bracket for them, and those cables are soldered with silver solder, to the top of brass adjustment screws and basically, to adjust all you had to do was turn these knobs, that are easily adjustable, but discretely hidden [so no passer by's or FRIENDS mess with them!] basically the same concept the sv650's idle adjustment cable works.

now, some might say, "but once your carbs are tuned and balanced you wouldn't really need these" not exactly true.. I live in Florida, but I do tend to travel/adventure out a lot. so, I do plan on traveling a bit on the bike, and I HEAR from others who travel on bikes with carbs, is they can sometimes start running lean, the higher up you go, and florida our tallest mountain is an ant-hill, I sit about 100 feet above sea level. so these little adjustment screws would be PERFECT for that situation! no tools/removing the carbs needed. just pull on over, give it a 1/4 of a turn, and see how it runs from there.

[J_Walker]

Walker, I'd worry about the bars until later. Only because handle bars are a "cheap" part of a bike build, and can always be sold off if you get them wrong the first time. Besides, if your bars are too tall / far back you'll need longer cables which add to the bottom line cost wise anyway. 

That being said, I'm always up for a mutli purpose bike. So carry on with the project!

the reason for the bars being pushed now, is I lent someone the bars that came on the bike [not stock ones] and said "if you break them you buy them" well I didn't know what kind of bars they where, so he agreed to it, well he low sided his bike, and bent them, so he has offered to replace them. thing is, he keeps talking about going back to Texas, and I don't want him to skip town before he buys me new bars.. not that he's sketchy, but people tend to "forget"

[J_Walker]

*sigh* In order for me to finish this project, I'm depending on selling my low-sided 02 SV650. only asking $1,000.. needs a new radiator. [$150] and the handlebar instruments [throttle tube/grip, kill switch, master cylinder for the front brakes] cosmetically it looks like crap.. I can see how someone would be put off by it, but it DOES RUN once it has a radiator on it.. but I just want to deal with this GS. not the damn SV.. 

edit; I live in central Florida, I CAN DELIVER the bike anywhere within a reasonable distance. just encase anyone is interested... 

edit2; I just checked, I'm selling it below the price of what I could possibly get parting it out... I REALLY want this thing gone.

[mustangGT90210]

Looks like a cool idea for a build!

I feel your pain on selling the wrecked SV. I just did the same 2 months ago lol. Ended up getting $500 for it, bent forks, lower triple, crushed gauges, broken water pump and a nice dent in the tank from meeting a Lexus... Still ran also! People around here just don't really want to buy them wrecked

I'm in Sarasota area 

[J_Walker]

Looks like a cool idea for a build!

I feel your pain on selling the wrecked SV. I just did the same 2 months ago lol. Ended up getting $500 for it, bent forks, lower triple, crushed gauges, broken water pump and a nice dent in the tank from meeting a Lexus... Still ran also! People around here just don't really want to buy them wrecked

I'm in Sarasota area 

Forks aren't bent, the subframe is still stock, the gas tank just has a massive dent in it, from the stupid clip-ons [did I mention I hate clipons?] the frame is still straight. the brake calipers are rebuilt, MOSFET RR installed, Barnett clutch plates installed. it was straight piped, so its jetted for it. a few other little things here and there. over all its Not totaled, plus my title is still clean/not written off.. so I really don't want to go below $1,000. I payed $1,500 for it, in worse condition than it is now! the way I see it, its a steal! if the SV650 rode and handled like a GS500 with suspension upgrades, I would be fixing it instead of this GS project, but sadly I hate the way it rides and handles, and I've ridden 2 First Gens, and one 2nd gen.

Maybe when I get this GS500 project done, I could ride out to Sarasota. its about an hour ride maybe a little longer - the GS500 is slow after all... 

[J_Walker]

Well, thanks to andy here on the forums, I should be getting the new head for my bike here soon.. can't wait until I get to play around with valve clearance again! .. 

and I'm hoping to go get some foam and fabric and matching thread for the seat tomorrow. oh and spray glue..

[J_Walker]

got my head today! again, thanks andy!

so far so good, there is a valve bucket that doesn't rotate freely like it should because it looks like someone tried to grab it with pillars.   

the valve seats are still in almost perfect condition! so that's good. right as I was wrapping up, and getting ready for tomorrows adventure of finishing cleaning up everything. as I was doing it, decided to pull out the pins that line up the head and cylinder body.. and of course, one of this pins was freaking stuck in there! took a hammer and vice grips to get it out.. luckily I have the pins from the original head. and it doesn't look like the hole is damaged/warped.

The little pins that are at the bottom that fit into the cylinder body helps keep things lined up.. one was REALLY in there, and I had to get it out to make a few passes on the face. getting it out involved vice grips and a hammer.. knacked up the face a few times, I tried to be super careful.

also for anyone reading this, I have a few "dents" into the face of the head now from the hammer - even though I was being super careful, it slipped downward a few times, luckily they are on the outer edges [around the pin] but the dents aren't gonna come completely out when I slightly face it it off. so, basically with the gasket [some sort of metal with a black coating over top.] what would be a good RTV to use on it? clearly that area sees lots of heat. or will I not need it?

[yamahonkawazuki]

Had seen a few years ago, someone nearby put a gs engine into a quad.

[J_Walker]

Had seen a few years ago, someone nearby put a gs engine into a quad.

I've put a 94 GS engine into a vintage 74 shifter kart frame.. with the right gearing. man, does the GS engine seem fast! wish I still had the video.. but it died with my harddrive.

edit; if you're looking for an engine to put into a gokart, a gs500 engine is somewhat cheap. but it would be better/faster/lighter to go with a two stroke... lol

[Big Rich]

Years ago when I was searching my surrounding areas for GR650's, I found an ad on Craigslist that was interesting. It was a GR650 engine in one of those off-road go kart / sand buggy things. The seller mentioned a few times in the ad that it was VERY fast, and pretty dangerous if you weren't careful.

[Ron888]

I'm very curious how your finished scrambler handles.
The reason this comes to mind is that i'm very much a dirt bike guy who happens to have a road bike,so i have no fear of taking my GS500 -a stock road version- on gravel roads.
I've noticed a curious handling trait on gravel- that is the front and rear wheels tend to slide equally on loose stuff.
I'm guessing a set of proper dual purpose tires would change it's handling,but i'm curious how much.

[J_Walker]

I'm very curious how your finished scrambler handles.
The reason this comes to mind is that i'm very much a dirt bike guy who happens to have a road bike,so i have no fear of taking my GS500 -a stock road version- on gravel roads.
I've noticed a curious handling trait on gravel- that is the front and rear wheels tend to slide equally on loose stuff.
I'm guessing a set of proper dual purpose tires would change it's handling,but i'm curious how much.

sadly the largest gravel roads we have around here, are pinecones.
but when everything is up and running ill do a first "ride" review for sure.

right now I'm having trouble deciding how to re-route the exhaust. without it cooking the insides of my legs, but also getting it out from under the bike.. I get about an extra 2 1/2 inches of bottom clearance without the exhaust manifold there, would also make it easier to install a skid plate.

I also don't wanna create hot-spots near the engine because of the exhaust running to close.. sometimes things like this make me wanna just

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