ShowBizWolf's 1998 GS500E

[ShowBizWolf]

That's a great idea Rich, and I have indeed thought about that !!  I'm sure if I was going to keep doing this kind of work at my house I could figure out something... I'm just glad I had those bricks to use so I could get this project done. When I took the wheel off I had NO idea it was going to turn into a two month thing 

[peteGS]

Looking good ShowBiz! Great work! All that work is very neat and tidy too, attention to detail is spot on... something I aspire to but can always improve on... haha

[ShowBizWolf]

Had some stuff to do after work last night... and it was a very icky rainy day today... ugh...

It's funny cuz... I feel like I got a lot more enjoyment out of the actual wiring project than I'm getting from knowing it's done 

[peteGS]

Wahooo! Fancy! But I know exactly what you mean... 

[ShowBizWolf]

It's been about two weeks of riding and I'm really happy my bike is back together. I've gotten more compliments than I thought I'd get so far on the lights and it makes me super glad. Also, I'm SO relieved that I don't feel anything strange happening with the front brakes. Was really worried about painting those rotor buttons but the front brake feels perfect. It's been getting down into the 40's here at night but that doesn't stop me from riding!!

Still haven't gotten my hugger from my friend in Scotland... and the next project I want to do after I finish getting my van ready for winter is work on the nose fairing and windscreen and also fab up a totally different front fender. I'm thinking something that goes over the fork brace and extends down the fork legs... basically a sportier looking one. But there are a few other things I need to buy before I start getting scrap fenders off ebay to experiment with 

[peteGS]

Sounds good to me Showbiz, glad to hear you're getting a bunch of fun from what you've accomplished so far! 

[ShowBizWolf]

Almost time to start my 3rd front fender project. Earlier this evening I bought a beat up '05 Busa fender and a decent GS fender with the extender. Gonna have some fun with the fiberglass soon!

[peteGS]

Sounds like fun! I'm over fibreglassing for the moment but will be keen to watch how you go 

[ShowBizWolf]

Thanks for following along pete 

I got the Busa fender in the mail already...!! Unpacked it real quick before I had to leave for work and holy cow it's massive. Idk why I didn't think it was gonna be a monster compared to a GS fender haha but I'm really excited to work with it. Gotta take a pic of it next to the GS fender I bought when I get it. I tried to pass it through the forks and amazingly it's only about (rough guess) 1/8" too fat. But that's okay, I knew this was going to be a cut-shape-cuss-test-dremel-swear-sand-test-etc type of deal 

[Hupjai]

Thanks for following along pete 

I got the Busa fender in the mail already...!! Unpacked it real quick before I had to leave for work and holy cow it's massive. Idk why I didn't think it was gonna be a monster compared to a GS fender haha but I'm really excited to work with it. Gotta take a pic of it next to the GS fender I bought when I get it. I tried to pass it through the forks and amazingly it's only about (rough guess) 1/8" too fat. But that's okay, I knew this was going to be a cut-shape-cuss-test-dremel-swear-sand-test-etc type of deal 

Try a heat gun before you cut!

[ShowBizWolf]

Hmm I never thought of that... will keep it in mind! Thanks Hupjai !!

[ShowBizWolf]

Since I got my camera out today for the picture game, I took a couple pictures of the fenders finally. I'm really looking forward to messing with these but I want to finish the passenger side rocker panel on my van and put up some foam insulation boards in my garage this weekend.



Still can't get over the size of the 'Busa fender lol. What I'd like to do is narrow it to fit and then extend the rear of the fender down. My brain is still working on how it will attach... because I really hate how hard it is to remove/install the stock fender... a huge reason why I made two custom ones in the first place tbh.

[Hupjai]

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat, fixing the mud guard is a great idea!

As for the Busa fender, maybe some P-Clamps and stainless hardware? It might not be the most static install but I see them used a lot to install racks on bicycles with no issues. Other than that, maybe some tasteful/clever metal brackets?

Good luck!

[ShowBizWolf]

Hupjai I love the way you think... p-clamps and stainless... most certainly a great idea. When I did a google search for p-clamp it showed me tons of different ones... and now I know there's a name for what I used to mount my gixxer nose fairing. Thank you thank you thank you 

[Hupjai]

Aw shucks! 

[ShowBizWolf]

Installed a new headlight bulb... the Native H4 which can be found here:
http://stores.advmonster.com/native-h4/

And also aimed the headlight as best I could. Wanted to do it from 25' away but had to settle for 19'. Didn't realize it was so far off tbh. My high beam was always useless and I never really thought about solving the problem. Now it's amazing !!!

I bought this bulb to increase night-time visibility (since I mainly work 2nd shift) and also to cut down on the draw from the bike's electrical system. I went from 55w (stock bulb) to 25w.

Nothing else new right now... been busy with the holidays and whatnot!

[J_Walker]

Installed a new headlight bulb... the Native H4 which can be found here:
http://stores.advmonster.com/native-h4/

And also aimed the headlight as best I could. Wanted to do it from 25' away but had to settle for 19'. Didn't realize it was so far off tbh. My high beam was always useless and I never really thought about solving the problem. Now it's amazing !!!

I bought this bulb to increase night-time visibility (since I mainly work 2nd shift) and also to cut down on the draw from the bike's electrical system. I went from 55w (stock bulb) to 25w.

Nothing else new right now... been busy with the holidays and whatnot!

ohh... I want one of those now. stock H4s on the GS are not even remotely sorta bright. riding in fog in the morning? FORGET it. lol

[ShowBizWolf]

I didn't post extra pictures here or go into super detail because I've been doing that in this thread here:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=70670.40

There are other options in that thread as well J_Walker, including the H4 R3 that ben2go and Bluesmudge used, the one from superbrightleds that Watcher used in the past and also mr72's way of doing it with a whole replacement lamp that goes into the stock E housing/bucket.

I did mine this way because I didn't want to mess with any extra stuff... I just wanted a bulb

[ShowBizWolf]

At work... so bored... thinking about working on the front fender soon. From what I've measured so far, I'll need to cut it in half lengthwise and remove about 3/4" width... then I'll tape it together and test fit it between the forks. Might have to remove a total of 1"... then I can see what needs to be trimmed off the sides so it will sit down over the fork brace. Once that's done I figure I can repair the cracked part and fiberglass it together. Still thinking about those p-clamps! Got a Home Depot gift card for Christmas so that should help out there :yay:

Hope to maybe start working on it this coming weekend. Also looking into getting shipping quotes from two different listings for Bandit 400 huggers that I found on ebay recently. I'm sick of waiting for my friend to ship mine out. If the shipping is too much on ebay then I'll just bite the bullet and buy a new one from Motosport. They run about $126 but it'll be free to ship it and I just want the effin' thing. If my friend ever does finally send out the one I bought in August, I'll post it for sale here.

[MrLamper]

Hey ShowBiz, just caught up on your project, and although a lot of the pictures are broken (maybe it's just me, can anyone confirm?) I love the work you've put in!!

Where exactly in Scotland is this friend of yours? If he's nearby, I'll snatch that hugger and send it for you!