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Modifications: GSF to GSE - Complete! Pictures!

Started by Alphamazing, September 23, 2005, 10:21:49 PM

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Alphamazing

Parts Necessary to Convert Your GS500F to a GS500E
In order to get rid of those hideous fairings, but still have a street legal bike, you'll need a few parts from an older GS500. Any year model GS500 will work, and you can mix and match as well.

  • Headlight bucket (the thing I spray painted black below)
  • Headlight lens assembly (the thing that houses the bulb)
  • Fork brackets (these slide over the fork tubes)
  • Headlight brackets (these "rabbit ear tabs" connect the headlight bucket to the fork brackets)
  • Mirrors (Gotta see behind you, don't you?)
  • Applicable mounting hardware (nuts and bolts, etc)

Really. It's that easy.

Now that you have the necessary parts, simply remove your lower fairings and the mounting brackets that hold them to the frame, then remove the upper fairing by removing the fairing brace which is mounted to a tab welded to the steering stem. Don't forget to unplug the wires that power the headlight and turnsignals. After that you will need to remove your handlebars and then remove the top triple clamp in order to slide the fork brackets over the forks. Once you slide the brackets over the forks (be sure they are on the correct side, check the parts fiche for orientation) put the top triple back and and put your handlebars back on as well.

Bolt the rabbit ear tabs to the fork brackets (if they weren't already attached) and then bolt the headlight bucket to the tabs. Slide the lens assembly into the headlight bucket and use the appropriate mounting hardware (two countersunk Phillips head bolts, if I remember correctly) to secure it to the headlight bucket. Be sure to plug the headlight into the wiring harness using the same plug you disconnected from your fairing's headlight. One connection will not be used, as it was a parking light on the GS500F, which the older models did not have.

You will be reusing your old turn signals, as they bolt directly into the fork brackets. Simply thread the wire through the hole on the fork bracket and bolt the turn signal into place, connecting the wires to where they were connected before.

On the handlebars there are spaces for mirrors already, so all you have to do is simply thread new mirrors into there. I used 2nd generation (rectangular) SV650 mirrors, which did an excellent job. Also, it should be noted that not all mirrors will work. Some mirrors (those by Yamaha and Ducati, for example) have left hand threads on the right mirror. This way, if the mirror gets hit it will not over tighten it, possibly stripping the threads.

Make sure all your lights work and double check your bolt torque, and you should be good to go. It's not at all difficult, and the bikes look so much better naked anyways.

Enjoy, and ride safe!!


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So, if any of you noticed I have a huge affinity for naked bikes, as opposed to the faired models. Many will also note that I've been begging for headlight pieces so I can complete my project. Now I realize this was an easy job, but it's nearly midnight, and I've got nothing else to do tonight.

I used the headlight off my old '92 GS which I wrecked earlier in the year. The headlight reflector itself was useable, but pretty much everything else wasn't. I managed to snag some fork brackets and rabbit ear tabs from Bluknyt (thank you!), which means I had to deal with the bent up ring and bucket.




Here's what I started with on the ring; you can see how it's tweeked.

There was a part on the top of the ring where it was actually tilted inwards, towards the center of the front of the headlight.
Anyways, with a few hours worth of bending and pulling and pushing and re-bending and shaping and checking and re-checking... well, you get the idea. After a while I got it to where it was good enough, and finally got to put it back on the lens.

The metal bucket I had was dented and a bit rusty where the paint chipped off. I took a tac hammer and a 4" long bolt and worked another hour and a half tapping out the dents and, when I got frustrated, beating the crap out of them. After a while I deemed it to be good enough, and went on to the sanding process. Some simple 200 grit 3M sandpaper and 20 minutes later I had a fully prepped housing bucket ready for primer.

After the sanding:

It was pretty bad looking, huh?

After everything got done, I put it together to test how round that bucket was. Lucky me! It was good enough!



To do the painting, I used American Tradition by Valspar's Interior/Exterior Ultra Enamel Primer and Flat Black in the spray cans. The primer dried damn near instantly, which allowed me to paint the metal bucket right after I finished priming. It came out fairly nicely, as you can see in the picture:



I really like the matte black, personally; much better than the stock color. I'm going to let it dry for the night and then strip the fairing off tomorrow morning. Mounting the headlight should be easy. I'll work out the difficulties as they arise.
'05 DR-Z400SM (For Sale)
'04 GS500E (Sold)

Holy crap it's the Wiki!
http://wiki.gstwins.com/

aaronstj

1992 Blue Monday, Wileyco, lunchbox, 150/40/3/1, Srinath bars, progressives, fenderectomy

Borak: How come Ogg use one spear, Borak need three?
Ogg: Not spear, caveman.

Alphamazing

Nope. I saw that too, but I figured it out: I've apparently used up my bandwith allocation on the Geocities website. I don't remember how to upload pictures to my other website, so I'm gonna get a PhotoBucket really quick.

EDIT: Wait... it's working now. Ah well. I have a photobucket just in case.
'05 DR-Z400SM (For Sale)
'04 GS500E (Sold)

Holy crap it's the Wiki!
http://wiki.gstwins.com/

Blueknyt

looked for those screws, couldnt find em. those brakets make it ok?
Accelerate like your being chased, Corner like you mean it, Brake as if you life depends on it.
Ride Hard...or go home.

Its you Vs the pavement.....who wins today?

Alphamazing

Yeah, the brackets came fine. I tell ya though. I didn't expect the rabbit ear tabs, so seeing though was a wonderful relief. I'm going to use a rubbing compound on them tomorrow so I can hopefully make them look a bit cleaner. I've got the bolts from my old headlight that I can use.
'05 DR-Z400SM (For Sale)
'04 GS500E (Sold)

Holy crap it's the Wiki!
http://wiki.gstwins.com/

tbblizzard

paint makes things come to life.

you got a lot of "stuff" in your garage. :lol:

Alphamazing

Alright, I've got everything done, and it looks fantastic! Bluknyt, I used your fork brackets with the rest of my mounting parts. Thank you for the rabbit ear tabs, they would have been used had I not been able to get mine back to their correct shape.

Going to Cycle Gear to pick up some mirrors and some new grips, I'll post pictures as soon as I can!
'05 DR-Z400SM (For Sale)
'04 GS500E (Sold)

Holy crap it's the Wiki!
http://wiki.gstwins.com/

Alphamazing

Alright! I'm done with modifications for this week! Stay tuned next week when I re-jet and install the full Yoshimura exhaust system!

Pictures! And yes, yes. I realize it looks like the rest of y'alls, but it looks so much better to me.

2004 GS500F (before):



Lowers come off, uglier yet:



The upper comes off - gettin' closer:


And since mine has an oil cooler, unlike my old '92, I had to retain these brackets that held the oil cooler lines:



Fenderectonomy:



The headlight goes on!! :




The headlight looks WAY better in matte black:



All in all, I am EXTREMELY satisfied with it. I went on a ride afterwards to pick up grips and look for mirrors, and having all that wind getting into my jacket was SOOO nice. It's still 100+ here in Texas, and all that extra wind is very cooling. It's also nice how the wind blows directly on my chest, which supports my skinny ass self.

However, it feels as if it takes longer to accelerate at higher speeds. I highly doubt that's the case, though. It just feels that way because I've got air blowing on me.

Highly reccomended, very easy, very quick to do when your parts aren't bent :lol: I can easily convert this back to a GSF within an hour or so. Anyone want to go for a ride?
'05 DR-Z400SM (For Sale)
'04 GS500E (Sold)

Holy crap it's the Wiki!
http://wiki.gstwins.com/

ajgs500

That looks so cool!!! I like it.  Congrats!! Naked Bikes forever!!

banner

Peace

RVertigo

Nice jyorb...

I like my bikes like I like my women...   :mrgreen:

Roadstergal

Quote from: RVertigoI like my bikes like I like my women...   :mrgreen:

Hmmm, your bike had a lot of junk in the trunk...   :P




X5, I'll say happy things about your bike when I'm on a better connection.

Phaedrus

Richard died in a motorcycle accident that was at no fault of his own.  We lost a good friend and good member of this board.  Though Rich may be gone, his legacy will live on here.

Photos from the June '06 Northeast GStwin Meet

aaronstj

1992 Blue Monday, Wileyco, lunchbox, 150/40/3/1, Srinath bars, progressives, fenderectomy

Borak: How come Ogg use one spear, Borak need three?
Ogg: Not spear, caveman.

EDub

put those fairings up on ebay and youll make hella money
-Kevin

RVertigo

Quote from: Roadstergal
Quote from: RVertigoI like my bikes like I like my women...   :mrgreen:

Hmmm, your bike had a lot of junk in the trunk...   :P
Ed-Zakly!!

:lol:

Alphamazing

If I sell those fairings, my resale will go to hell. Plus, the fairings aren't exactly in "perfect" condition in the slightest. They aren't cracked, but they are scraped up on both sides (was like that when I bought it). There are places where the paint is just plain gone, too. i.e. there are spots where it's just the black plastic. It's only on the left side lowers, and it's also below a viewing line, but it's still there. The fairing is all bubble-wrapped up and sitting in boxes in our store room (my old bedroom).

I gotta say, though. I did not expect how strong the wind blast would be a 85+ mph. On my old GS I had a windscreen on there, so I guess I'm not totally used to having a true "naked" bike. Despite how ugly that fairing is, it does a great job at cutting through the wind. Depending on how fast I'm going, I feel like I am just hanging on for dear life! :lol: Well, not really, but I think y'all get the idea.
'05 DR-Z400SM (For Sale)
'04 GS500E (Sold)

Holy crap it's the Wiki!
http://wiki.gstwins.com/

Bluebellylint

Do at least one thing That Scares You Everyday
93 GS500EPMatte Black Paint | OEM Cowlings | Fender Eliminated | Shortened Signals | Bar-end Mirrors | Advanced Timing

kvgs

You always hear about people wanting to make their "F" into an "E"
but you never see anybody actually do it.
Looks good, well done!
1995 GS
SM Bars, Fenderectomy, LP signals,
more to come I need more $$

Alphamazing

Changing 'E' to 'F' is a surprisingly simple thing to do, actually. I'm surprised no one else has done it. Aren't '04+ the only ones with black frame? I'd like SOMETHING unique about my bike :lol:
'05 DR-Z400SM (For Sale)
'04 GS500E (Sold)

Holy crap it's the Wiki!
http://wiki.gstwins.com/

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