ShowBizWolf's 1998 GS500E

[alpo]

ShowBizWolf FTW! Well done! Those forks look great!

I like your helper, too. They keep us sane. 

[ShowBizWolf]

Big thanks, alpo!!!

I couldn't agree more about my helper... they are amazing. He's the latest addition to my household. Now I have 4!

[ajensen]

My helper is a calico who loves to hunt. Sometimes she brings me presents--mice, chipmunks, etc. One of the reasons I bought my GS500f is that it has a center stand, which makes it much easier to work on the bike. What is worse than having your own bike fall over is when someone else's falls over into yours. I got a big dent in my Ducati 250 gas tank when a Norton Commando fell into it.

[Watcher]

I got a big dent in my Ducati 250 gas tank when a Norton Commando fell into it.

Please tell me there are pictures of both of these!

[peteGS]

Big thanks, alpo!!!

I couldn't agree more about my helper... they are amazing. He's the latest addition to my household. Now I have 4!

Just 4? You're a light weight 

[alpo]

I love my "helpers" although they're all inside. Great comfort and therapy. We're down to four, too.

[ShowBizWolf]

LOL Pete!! It's... kinda true though haha, you're right... growing up, my parents always had 6 or 7... and my dad's sister has at least 10 !

+1 for inside kitties, alpo, I'm with you. It's much much safer for them. There are too many things out there in the big scary world that could hurt them.

Btw, forks are installed!
They actually have been for a couple days lol but I haven't had a chance to do a proper update with pics. Hopefully later today!

[peteGS]

Good work on the forks, looking forward to the pic's!

Yes, inside kitties are the best for all concerned 

We have... more than 4... but less than 10 

I was toasty warm on the couch last night with 4 curled up between my lap and ankles 

[ShowBizWolf]

That sounds super comfy for sure Pete. I wish I could have all 4 of mine together... but my calico female is scared to death of the one male I have and so I live in a house divided lol.

Finally I've got time to update. Pics of swapping the forks...

The fork on the left is the new one and shows in comparison to the one on the right how much lower it sits cuz of the preload adjuster caps.


This is with the preload caps wound all the way up/out. The fork tube itself is still secure in the top clamp, no worries. If it wasn't, I'd obviously have to look into swapping bars or adding risers. I opted for the extra height in the front to give more clearance between the nose fairing and fender I made.


It's blurry. I think my camera might finally be wearing out a bit. Both new forks on.


View from the top:


Then I wanted to get the fender brackets I made off the old forks and onto the new ones. Man they were dirty and oily smh.


Much easier putting them on without the wheel in the way lol!


Wheel back on...


Fork brace and back half of the fender on...


Front half of the fender on... 


Brake line lost some slack as you can see, since the forks are sitting lower now. I was able to free some up from above and of course when sitting the bike back down with weight on the front, there's even more.


Ready for a test ride to my dad's garage so we can measure the front end sag and adjust the preload if necessary.


OH and I made a little wooden lifter thing for under the center stand. It's 1.5" thick/tall to compensate for the added tail height the SV shock gives.


Chain needs cleaned... bike needs washed... exhaust needs polished again... 

The only other things left I'm thinking about doing is buying some of reload's frame sliders... and maybe a belly pan... oh and I have to do something about the LED underglow strips. The hot, cold, hot, cold temp changes have kinda warped the strips and they aren't sticking to the frame in some spots anymore. I'd toss them off the bike completely but I do believe they help me be seen when I'm riding home from work in the middle of the night.

[peteGS]

Awesome ShowBiz! 

I like those preload for caps... wonder if they'd fit the 450 forks? 

I'd rather have them than the 10 cent pieces I've got in there at the moment... although were at least cheap if not free 

Oh, we have a house divided also... our old ones really don't want to know about the young ones, so they live in the rumpus while the young ones run rampant around the rest of the house. They're all happy with that, especially given the old ones (ages 14 - 16) sleep 23.5 hours a day now 

[cbrfxr67]

cmon show,..dying for first ride review!

[KHnTX]

cmon show,..dying for first ride review!

ditto

[ShowBizWolf]

Earlier today, I finally went for a good ride. Was gone for almost an hour.

I can't say enough about how much better the bike feels now!!! 

Riding over potholes, thru construction zones... and of course around curves... everything is just so much better. I feel much more confident.

Seals aren't leaking and the fender didn't hit the nose fairing. I'm getting used to the height difference the SV shock makes too. It's supposed to be HOT weather here the next several days and no rain. I can't wait to get out more!!

[cbrfxr67]

love that show!  need uh,...video of said awesomeness now

[ShowBizWolf]

I wasn't able to ride a whole lot this weekend but I did get out at least a bit. I'm loving everything and I'm still excited that I did it myself. I'm also listening (probably too much lol) for any strange noises and double-checking for anything I might need to go over again.

I'd love to get ya a vid, cbr!! But my old flip phone doesn't take videos... and my ancient camera doesn't record sound with the short little vids it can do

Still have to get down to my dad's shop so he can help me get the front sag numbers.

Oh yeah! Almost forgot... I just ordered these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/7-8-1-Motorcycle-Handlebar-Night-Light-Dial-Clock-Thermometer-Temp-Waterproof/332602238613?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

[peteGS]

Love your work ShowBiz! As time goes on you'll get more comfortable with trusting your own work, but yeah at first you end up second guessing everything you do. Just take care with torquing up bolts and things and put stuff together slowly and carefully and you'll be just fine 

As for those fork preload caps, where did you get them from? I may have missed that in the thread somewhere...

[ShowBizWolf]

I sure do take my time with these things Pete... you're absolutely right with that advice!

I found out about the preload caps in Suzi Q's thread. Here is the link to where I bought them from:
https://www.parts-sale.jp/SUZUKI%2051351-01D60?search=51351-01D60

Suzuki part number:
51351-01D60-000

That'd be awesome if they would work for you!

[mr72]

when you ordered those, did they come as two or just one? That's about $50 US right?

I wonder if something like these cheap ones would work? Hard to know without the thread pitch:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Pair-37mm-Motorcycle-CNC-Preload-Adjuster-Fork-Bolts-for-Honda-CBR250RR-MC22/142642895152?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20160908110712%26meid%3Deb636fe2a34f4f819197b79f19dd789d%26pid%3D100677%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D30%26sd%3D152684528328%26itm%3D142642895152&_trksid=p2385738.c100677.m4598

[ShowBizWolf]

When I ordered them, I ordered a quantity of 2. The listing is only for one cap.

Those caps in the eBay link are the ones I tried first... and had to get a refund for... because the threads are way too thick to work with the fine threads of the GS500's fork tubes. I took a comparison picture to get the refund but I can't access it here at work to post it up to show what I mean. There are different listings for those caps and some of them actually list that they WILL work with the GS500 (which is why I gave them a try).

[peteGS]

Cool cheers for the link! I'll have to check the fork diameter and thread pitch next time I do the fork oil, probably should do that soon actually as the front is feeling a little softish again.

I did also discover that Racetech have a gold valve cartridge emulator kit for my forks too, $US170 which isn't bad in the grand scheme of things although not something on my to do list at the moment.