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oh y'know, just another build thread.

Started by iamhiding, November 29, 2015, 10:08:04 PM

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iamhiding

some progress, some setbacks, some mucking about. still waiting on parts.



so, stainless vance and hines style headers, believe theyre uk motad which no longer exists. love the v shape and that there isn't a balance pipe. not sure how the lack of balance pipe will effect performance, it couldve been on the factory layout for noise reduction reasons with twins being known for being louder or it couldve been to tune the power curve towards low/mid torque. likely more so the noise given the gs's market.

new headers are roughly 2mm smaller  id/od diameter than the previous stainless headers i had. guessing my old ones were larger than oem and these emulate the factory size. shouldnt make any odds to the bikes performance either way. on the plus side theyre way lighter



given that the gs sprocket retaining circlip design... is stupid and how hard the countershaft is to drill, ive opted to weld an m8 thread onto the shaft and use it to bolt a bracket on to help stop further shaft spline damage from lateral sprocket movement. mines wasnt too bad yet but this should future proof it a bit. still using a circlip and this bracket is secondary just to dampen movement.



swapped wheel bearings over and my new machined centre spacer to prep for swingarm swap



cut down the new cush drive spacer to match.



caliper spacing isnt quite right but its close.



sv shock wont line up to the shock knuckle or the gs one.



spring catches the arm unfortunately. need either rework the linkage or use a smaller dia springed shock.



went back to oem shock and shorter dogbones for now.



thought id get away with trimming down the rubber chain buffer but check how massively offset it is with running a smaller wheel than intended for. will need to make something up so as to not rip the arm apart.



so new under engine exhaust setup which im not entirely keen on but im playing with what ive got to hand. new alloy swingarm. still finessing the details and spacing but heres a sneak peak, theres several options for spacing it all up right but ive been very diy to prove the concept. i appreciate im glossing over all the details but ive got pages of notes documenting / plotting dimensions and cross referencing parts numbers across several models of bike to piece this lot together :icon_lol:
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding



looks meaty! weight wise the swinger feels slightly lighter but itll be legible.



experimenting with the old remus perforated core link pipe i had on this. its a it loud to run on its own but not too bad baffled. chopped the bracket off too.



dropped the mudguard to chop the bracket for the exhaust hanger off as its no longer getting used. not the tidiest job but awkward to do in situ so itll do for now.



tyre swapped to lighter straight spoked front wheel. felt a good bit lighter and the curvy spoked 11 wheel felt the same as the oem gs front. wish i had workshop scales for documenting this stuff.



remus link fitted and lighter weight front wheel fitted. matching wheels again  :icon_lol: :D actualy prefer the curvy spoke look but these are lighter.



caliper trial fitted and realised i couldnt reuse the gs caliper as the support bracket is on the wrong side once rotated  :icon_lol: overlooked that aspect as it now fits under the swinger.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

just realised i havent updated in a while again sooooo.


amended the caliper orientation issue with an sv650, was meant to be from a daily ridden and well serviced but honestly might've been one of the most knackered calipers ive ever rebuilt. had a friend weld a onto one of the bolts, used serious heat and still struggled to crack the bolt loose with a metre long breaker bar with the brake in a vice...  :confused: pistons totally jammed in, seized nipples... why are there so many dishonest folk  :dunno_black: got it rebuilt though. some 170mm 316 stainless dogbones too.



picked up a gsx600 kat shock for £1 + postage :icon_lol: ratty but worth a shot so see if itll clear the swingarm. looks like my standard gs shock is near solid so somethings went wrong there.


typically because i had plans of working on the bike we got mega snowfall all week  :icon_lol: just gave me a reason to press on and get out for a slide


so shock, dogbones and a alloy shock knuckle in.


disk alignment dialled in.


cut the brake line guide to make removing the swingarm without removing the brake line possible.


tried some adhesive to secure the chain buffer... didnt work but ill get back to that later.


due to swingarm angle and massive rear sprocket the chain scuffs the frame here so ive knocked up a temporary buffer until ive corrected all these little issues.



spent an eternity filing the swinger down by hand to clearance the shock. way better but still have issues. at a point where i dont have much more i can remove from that point either.



decided i was going to simplify my fuel setup by returning to a vacuum petcock. theres just too much strain on the fue lines with my old setup using a ball valve under the filter.

this turned into a massive diagnostic session as id fitted this months ago, tested it on the bike and it seemed fine and hadnt touched it since. so... bike was hard starting and running only on the left cylinder, both plugs were sparking, inspected coils etc, was getting fuel out of both bowls. so cleaned the carbs. no improvement. checked the vacuum line, figured i mustve thrown the tune to hell with the new exhaust setup, had a play with the pilot screws, no luck. left the bike sitting for a bit and it started up fine on both cyls... odd. supposed i was maybe a little low on fuel or the new hose routing was causing issues and it was taking a while to fill the bowl so went away to get some, filled the tank... ran fine and dropped back to one. i wound up whipping the diagraphm and needle out of the right carb whilst it was running to see if i was getting fuel through. wasnt getting fuel through the right carb and knowing the carbs were clean and inspected i proceeded to take the bowl off of the right carb in situ and could see that i was only getting a trickle of fuel through... so tank off and put the petcock to prime to find it was barely trickling any fuel out. turns out the petcock was only trickling enough fuel to keep one bowl going. thats me glossing over a day of head scratching but what a pain that was. so returned to the thunderace petcock and ran it straight to the carb, no ball valve so if i want the fuel off/on i need to lift the tank for now.  :roll:


think... i might need to give my tank some love real soon  :roll: :icon_eek:


gave the seat underside a quick tidy up with some black paint.

current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding


standoff spacers for the rearsets to clear the arm.


pre seat paint.


back together and ready to play. didnt really get a chance to that day but we got hit with some hectic snow again.











couldnt resist some snow pics. but what a riot that was! sliding everywhere and waist high drifts in places, so much fun  :thumb: :icon_twisted:

current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding


sad to see the snow go but its been great getting out in the dry.


forgot to take pics but i created a stainless mesh filter using an old kitchen sieve in the baffle just to take some of the rawness out of the exhaust. bike ran much better, got its punch back and ive still to get round to dialling in the carb tune forthis exhaust setup.


new bar day! well i pinched some 33" fatbars from another project and bought some dirt cheap clamps. so the bars have less raise and more backsweep, i added a bit of height with spacers to get it almost where i was before but the back sweep transforms the bike, brings the rider weight back just that little bit and makes it feel both more agile and stable vs the trial bars i was using. i was able to lift the front end a bit more through the forks as the bars gave me a little more brake line to play with.







not keen on the bright finish of the clamps but for now they serve a purpose. had to pick up a new master cylinder as the a bolt sheared in the cap... nightmare and so hard to extract stainless from alloy, especially when so small. ive also since fitted a faired bandit 6 clutch perch to remove the mirror bolt on the standard gs one. silly little thing but it really tidies up the bars.

current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

#305
^^^ VID.

was out tuning the carbs (hence not in leathers). its running damn strong but the session was cut short. what you dont see in that vid is the wrecked chain buffer that i had used adhesive on had lifted, went through the front sprocket and luckily just knocked the clutch cable off... no damage but :roll: think learning to ride clutchless is a must for all riders, absolutely a skill worth having. clutchless upshifts are far too satisfying too.

VID_20210309_194052 by

current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding


wee bit of chain rash from running without a buffer n the return journey.





utilizing a spare gs chain buffer but ive had to split it to fit the height. what ive done it poke some holes in the strips and bridge them with cable ties. ive secured the buffer with a really good adhesive/seam sealer this time and i think i might make something up using the bolt on the side of the swinger to secure the strips a bit better. not sure what im thinking with that yet though. really the sealant ive used should mre than do the job but id rather not risk repeating my mistake. what i should really do is get some nylon sheet, thermoform it and drill the swing arm for rivnuts and use countersunk bolts but im just working with what ive got to hand at the moment.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

SK Racing

Superglue sticks to rubber pretty well. Just get all the oil n grease off first.
You don't stop riding when you get old, you get old when you stop riding!
1939 Panther 600cc Single - Stolen, 1970 Suzuki 50cc - Sold
1969 Triumph Bonneville 650 T120R - Sold, 1981 Honda CB750F - Sold
1989 Suzuki GS500E - Sold, 2004 Suzuki GS500F - Current ride

iamhiding

Quote from: SK Racing on April 14, 2021, 04:13:45 PM
Superglue sticks to rubber pretty well. Just get all the oil n grease off first.

Is there anything superglue can't fix?  :icon_lol: actually never considered superglue but that's a damn good idea. Cheers  :thumb: I've used puraflex 40 which is really good polyurethane sealant, great for the likes of seam sealing cars do should more than do the job. I think the first adhesive I used must've been out of date as it was ancient. Gonna use your suggestion but run a bead of super glue round the outside edges just for some added grip. Really... I should just  make something nylon up from scratch. Think my swingarm angle extra thickness of the arm might be just causing a little too much rub and that's what pulled the old one off. Bit annoying as I think the height is just about perfect for me. Trial and error though.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

ShowBizWolf

Thank you thank you thank you for the entertaining update as usual... I still love seeing all the different phases this bike goes through :icon_mrgreen:
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

iamhiding

Quote from: ShowBizWolf on April 15, 2021, 07:22:43 PM
Thank you thank you thank you for the entertaining update as usual... I still love seeing all the different phases this bike goes through :icon_mrgreen:

thanks showbiz.  :cheers: do it purely for my own amusement but always happy to hear other people get it. if you were in scotland i'd throw you the keys for a day, its just such a fun little bike. :icon_lol: :thumb: its not as sketchy as it looks  :icon_lol: :icon_mrgreen: honest

current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

had a few short trips out recently, always a laugh. suspension setup felt a bit all over the place. forks need rebuilt, rear gsxf6 shock preload adjuster is totally seized and set a bit stiff, the swingarms marginally longer, change of front and rear ride heights and the change of linkage meant that... yeah lots of factors changing at once. was finding it wanted to run wide in every corner no matter what the input was and that the rear was far too stiff.







put in a wee session to amend the shock situation, managed to get the sv shock back in after a lot of grinding and a change of dogbones to 175, it no longer pinches the swingarm between its springs, its still grazing slightly which slows the rebound slightly when static but i figure F**K it, itll rub till it sorts itself out. so my unused headlight vertical adjustment bracket was sitting a bit loose so i went to pull it off annnnnnd it tore the steel. currently taken it off to get it patched and running without a headlight. its just about summer and light till 8pm ish so its fine enough.

difficult to show the extent of material removed for clearance but im not too happy with taking any more out. pics might have been before i took even more out.





spline on my old gear lever was well passed it, had temporarily fitted a standard item in its place without the modified linkage but it just wasnt the nicest to ride. so cut my new one down, drilled it refitted the freshly wire wheeled and and lacquered cbr linkage and spaced things slightly to improve clearances to its previous setup. shifts like butter and zero faff finding nuetral again.





actually love it with no headlight, looks a bit mad. also mounted my old exhaust can back on, looks a bit more finished i thought. seems to run a bit better like this too, even with a bit of tuning the previous baffled link setup left it feeling a bit flat up top when flat out. need to finesse the tune again but its running sweeter. i love tuning carbs but i just dont have the time right now.









few pics cuz' i couldnt help myself. the rear ride height seems to be up slightly over the gsxf shock / 170 dogbone setup, annoyingly i've lost track of my geometry changes though. i'll need to check my trail to make sure its safe enough but i dont have any of my base measurements for heights anymore. its certainly feeling the best it has in a while. plenty agile and stable.

current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

oh its been a while. admittedly i doubt i've done 1000 miles on the gs this year, just a wee run every couple of weeks.





so i utilized a broken old dom headlight and mounted it sketchily to see what like / fill he gap so i was likely to get bother  :police:









unfortunately got a slow puncture in the front and to be honest the tyre was knackered anyway so i pinched a tyre tyres from another project so i could still use of the bike. it was weird being back on road tyres! the bike handles with so much more finesse. the fresh front tyre has added so much height as well and changed the stance.



a friend repaired the headlight. painted it black but the lacquer went cloudy with moisture in the air.





stripped the rust from the tank bottom and acid treated to stop it spreading.



cleaned up, etch primed and painted the whole tank black... to be honest, completely regretted it but it was just a wee change. looked alright but also just looked like a half assed ratty gs so it kind of lost its edge.





flipped the headlight brackets to bring the headlight closer to the forks. also tried a different exhaust setup. the side profile works but the link pipe cocked the end can out too much at the tip which looked weird to me.



got sick of the matte black so stripped it back and lacquered it rather than leaving it raw steel this time. just for some protection.



lowered the rear slightly to help the sit in a better place and not foul the buffers so much, thats probably the biggest issue with this swingarm, just how thick it is. but you can also tell that the small rear height change has made the under engine exhaust angle change and nw it just looks a bit... saggy. just needs a bit of a tweak.

the gs has kind of become a side project for when i'm bored and a utility for when the cars out of commission. not long finished up the cbr fighter but thats off the road till the salts washed away in spring. gsxr needs fork stanchions as the bushes have worn and allowed the seals to eat through the chrome.

i've come up with a less sketchy way of mounting the smaller headlight, didnt have pictures from before i dont think but damn it wasnt ideal. so i'll get that sorted soon, the wee light is more of a cosmetic thing as it functions enough to get by at night if need be but i dont plan on much night riding with it. and i'll need to straighten up the exhaust because its bugging me to hell.

so couple of wee updates to come yet. need to pick up another front knobbly tyre too, that overly aggressive tkc80 just adds so much of that no fucks style i love to the bike
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

ShowBizWolf

How did you know an update to this thread was just what I needed  :icon_mrgreen: :icon_mrgreen: :icon_mrgreen:

A friend/co-worker of mine has been enjoying the thread with me recently too. We both enjoyed the pic with the small headlight mounted to the side and agree that the silver tank looks better :thumb:
Superbike bars, '04 GSXR headlight & cowl, DRZ signals, 1/2" fork brace, 'Busa fender, stainless exhaust & brake lines, belly pan, LED dash & brake bulbs, 140/80 rear hoop, F tail lens, SV650 shock, Bandit400 hugger, aluminum heel guards & pegs, fork preload adjusters, .75 SonicSprings, heated grips

cbrfxr67

Spankin great update!  Love it.  Actually I liked the black on black,... :star: but hey love it all the same!
"Its something you take apart in 2-3 days and takes 10 years to go back together."
-buddha

iamhiding

#315
Quote from: ShowBizWolf on October 20, 2021, 10:14:13 PM
How did you know an update to this thread was just what I needed  :icon_mrgreen: :icon_mrgreen: :icon_mrgreen:

A friend/co-worker of mine has been enjoying the thread with me recently too. We both enjoyed the pic with the small headlight mounted to the side and agree that the silver tank looks better :thumb:

Ah showbiz i just had that gut feeling  :thumb: glad you's are enjoying it. Cheers guys  :cheers:

The tank went black just to preserve the bare steel from rusting up, its such a pain to keep bare steel from flash rusting. Definetly prefer the bare look so ive comprimised and just clear lacquered it. Short term solution because they always oxidise a little undearneath the coating. Had some ideas i wanted to try with contrasting black textures on the tank but never got round to it.

I do quite like the smaller light as well but once again its just a comprimise with what ive got lying around but its sits so much tighter against the forks. If i werent using an mt03 headlight on my other long term build id have one on the gs.

Think i need to decide on what im doing with the gs and commit as its got a bit of a personality crisis going on  :icon_lol:

current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

Quote from: cbrfxr67 on October 21, 2021, 10:37:34 AM
Spankin great update!  Love it.  Actually I liked the black on black,... :star: but hey love it all the same!

Thanks man  :cheers: yeah i quite liked it for about 2 days and slowly resented it more and more. I think it photographed well but in person it looked really tired. Probably a combination of various things not sitting right on the bike too though.

Think my plan is make some decisions with the build cosmetically and stick to it. Got an idea for the subframe thatll let me keep the same seat and profile but just tidy it up a bit. Probably going to repaint the frame silver as it used to look pretty sweet with the silver on silver. Id like to do a ktm mask style headlight to tidy up that area but the light output is abysmal on every one ive seen, oh and get some knobbly tyres back on it too. Ah im just missing that mad street scrambler vibe.
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

iamhiding

first big run ive had it out on this year, up into the cairngorms. performed well considering i forgot i still haven't got round to setting up the carbs to suit recent exhaust changes and the forks still need rebuilt. really need to get another tkc80 front so i can get it back on silly knobbly tyres.











current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

cbrfxr67

 :woohoo: always great to come in on a morning, boot up gstwins and see a stack of pics!  :star:

Awesomesauce for sure!
"Its something you take apart in 2-3 days and takes 10 years to go back together."
-buddha

iamhiding

Quote from: cbrfxr67 on November 15, 2021, 07:52:03 AM
:woohoo: always great to come in on a morning, boot up gstwins and see a stack of pics!  :star:

Awesomesauce for sure!

brace yourself, more pics imminent.  :icon_razz:  :thumb:
current project list:
//cbr 600 f3 fighter
//gsxr 1100 mental oldskool supersport
//gs500 daily rat tracker cafe fighter that changes every couple of month... cafe fighter?

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