News:

New Wiki available at http://wiki.gstwins.com -Check it out or contribute today!

Main Menu

'09 GS500 Scrambler Build in LA

Started by Carltheproducer, June 25, 2018, 06:06:31 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Carltheproducer

Finally starting my 2009 Suzuki GS500 Scrambler build in Los Angeles. First day (8 hour day), we took off the back of the motorcycle to measure for seat and how we're going to cut bike. And we took out the engine because it was smoking from the front engine under headlight; oil dripping out of top port and it was making an awful clicking noise when you started it up; looks like I didn't have enough oil at the time of incident. Here's what I've bought so far and what I need to buy. I would love some thoughts, concerns or helpful suggestions.

BOUGHT ALREADY
1.) Continental TKC80 Twinduro tires. One size bigger than stock. I did not get to ride with the new tires before engine problems but my friend said it was a bit bumpy. I didn't have to do anything to motorcycle to accommodate these tires on. A guy in the SFV charged me $425 for tires, install.

2.) Renthal Road Bars - Standard 7/8 (BLACK). I thought these looked cool but functionality wise, a bit uncomfortable and you can feel the wobbles for sure on the highway. I am on the hunt for something better though, any suggestions?
3.) Brown Cafe Racer Flat Vintage Saddle Tracker Seat for Kawasaki, Suzuki. I bought this on ebay[/url]https://www.ebay.com/itm/263566173178[/url] for $29.50. I get it on Friday. My buddy is a teamster mechanic and very talented welding and fabricating. He worked on a couple of the fast and furious movies. I feel confident, he can make it fit on frame. I found this LA vendor on Craiglist, great looking seats but pricey. https://wilderfactory.com/t/seats/parts

WHAT I NEED TO BUY
1.) An engine, I already knew 2 known issues with this '96 engine (the bike's 2nd motor) and this 2nd motor lasted me at least 4 years and like 15k miles I'd guess. Unfortunately, when we were taking out engine yesterday, we dropped it (we were a bit drunk at this point) and i broke off some of the fins on the engine cylinder. I am being told its fine as long as I didnt crack the casing and I can live with aesthetic damage...i dont know if my heart can bear that so I am looking for a great used motor in SoCal. I found this on FB marketplace https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/483014315465692/, 2007 engine with less than 10k but a compression test hasn't been done yet. $300. More info to come on this lead. I found another motor here, https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/mpo/d/suzuki-gs500f-gs500-parting/6621158761.html but fellas wants $1k for this complete engine, transmission, starter.
2.) An exhaust, i love the exhaust wrap look. I dont want anything too loud but not too quiet.
3.) Front headlight assembly and tail light assembly. I am just looking for a bold, scrambler look front and back but there's so many options. My top 3 headlight fav's right now. https://newbonneville.com/shop/denali-dual-dr1-headlight-conversion-kit-for-triumph-bonneville-thruxton-scrambler/, https://www.instagram.com/p/BkdzWE8hMMP/?hl=en&tagged=scrambler and http://inspiracionmetalica.com/suzuki-gs500-walking-dead/. I like what this Pasadena vendor is doing for tail light assemblies, http://maundspeed.blogspot.com
4.) Forks. Either new forks completely or awesome fork boots.

What other rookie questions, should I be asking to make this as fast, cheap and good as possible? Thanks!


cbrfxr67

#1
Youve got some great ideas going on and obviously a talented helping hand for fabbing.  I feel like you're going to make something amazing.  Cool that you're on a fast track too!  Can't wait to see more,... :woohoo:
"Its something you take apart in 2-3 days and takes 10 years to go back together."
-buddha

Carltheproducer

Day 2. I started to take apart the engine cylinder with the aid of this Youtube series, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X0VwcdZq7M. This took about 2 hours to remove both cool fins sections of the top engine cylinder by myself with YouTube. This my friend quickly realized towards the end part of taking off the last cool fins section. A bolt was missing in this piston and the bottom half of the piston was chipped. This is not normal, right? How much work is this going to be to rebuild? Am I better off rolling the dice on a $300 used motorcycle? I would love any much insight on engine rebuild kits, piston rod replacement, etc based on these photos.




mr72

I think I'd be looking for another motor, otherwise a complete overhaul of this one is in order. The bolt that's missing from the rod end is somewhere in the crankcase, along with the hunk of missing piston. The damage those parts have done floating around is probably not small.

The other thing is to consider what it took for this damage to occur. My guess is the rod cap bolt came out and hit the piston skirt and chipped it. But how did that bolt come out? Did the bolt head shear because of stress? was it torqued wrong from the factory? Was it some kind of abuse? Who knows.

If it were me, I'd find another engine. Cheaper than rebuilding and probably less risk.


Carltheproducer

#4
I picked up a '07 GS500 motor down in San Diego with allegedly less than 10k, I negotiated this SD down to $200. My friend thinks we need to replace shift rod seal/bearing. What other things should we be testing, taking apart before we labor putting this back on the frame? It is ironic that I am going from a '96 GS motor back to a '07 GS500 as everything about this bike is '07 GS500 [3rd motor now].






Here is the seat I got in the mail, https://www.ebay.com/itm/263566173178, $29.50 all in. I like the color but it does seem a bit small for 2 people, no?



I found a LA based vendor named Unique Cycles - West Coast who makes these cafe racer bobber streetfighter hoop loop seat tail section tail light for $159, https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/mpo/d/cafe-racer-bobber/6626862053.html who will patch a small decent, scratches and paint for $350 and the rims powder coated for $260. Is that a good rate? Its going to take a couple of weeks for them to do though. Here are my tentative ideas right now. What you think? I am having issues finding appropriate looking fenders, headlight assembly and tail lights. Any awesome leads?

I want to have a decal that says, BOSTON or PATRIOT.


Maybe a distressed American Flag instead of the bull's eye.

mr72

Yes I think that's very small for two people. After riding my GS a bit recently 2 up I am even more convinced that keeping the stock seat is the way to go. Unless you and your pillion are both under 120 lb and 6% body fat then that brown seat will be very cramped.

gregjet

I agree about the length of the seat being short for two people for more than a pop down to the cafe.
The passanger footpeg position will be too far back in that seating spot as well and with a lower seat height will be very cramped. Fixable though as the peg brackets are reasonably strong .

The Buddha

Quote from: Carltheproducer on July 05, 2018, 09:49:24 PM
I picked up a '07 GS500 motor down in San Diego with allegedly less than 10k, I negotiated this SD down to $200. My friend thinks we need to replace shift rod seal/bearing. What other things should we be testing, taking apart before we labor putting this back on the frame? It is ironic that I am going from a '96 GS motor back to a '07 GS500 as everything about this bike is '07 GS500 [3rd motor now].


I don't think your shift rod seal was leaking, cos those are very very rare on this bike to leak. Likely it was some cheap a$$ chain lube or more likely that push rod seal was leaking, and that is an external seal, not internal, and that is a Total POS design on Suzuki's part.

Cool.

Buddha.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I run a business based on other people's junk.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

crackin

#8
In the pic you posted of the new motor there is two bolts missing at the rear of the head, in between the carby boots. I'm pretty sure those missing bolts hold the cam chain guide. You need to pull the valve cover and see whats going on in there, that guide has probably fallen into the sump but hopefully not. Also check valve clearance while you have the valve cover off.
No matter what i do to it, it's still a GS
It's not how fast your bike is, it's how long you are prepared to hold the throttle on.

Carltheproducer

@crackin, good catch on the cam chain guide. It totally sunk down, see below. Thanks for that, seriously, thank you.



I dont know why the previous GS motor owner based in San Diego Sean M K, took off those two bolts so my buddy and I double checked the rest of engine before putting back..in...again. We found that Sean took out the pulse generator too. Here's how we discovered it once we started taken apart the motor, below.



We pulled off the pulse generator pieces on mine and put it on Sean's to the best of our ability, see below.



Then we had to pull of this screw and a little coil of my old motor and put on Sean's motor. What's this screw called and its purpose?



We put in Sean's motor faster than the 1st time, maybe 30% faster. Using the Haynes' manual, to put back the fuel tank, we could not determine why there's was 4 nipples under my '08 tank but we only had 3 hoses? In Haynes' manual, it states "the fuel hoses (A) and the water drain hose (B)" but it does not say how the 2 (A) fuel hoses go directly into the Remote fuel tap? Unfortunately, my friend and I didn't take good notes/photos of when we took off the gas tank the 1st time so did we lose a hose? Where does the other end of the water drain hose go? Is the water drain nipple closest to the fuel nipples or the one on the other side of the tank? We settled to mickey mouse the tank to finally start it up, see video.



....Why the hell did this happen?!?! Where do you think it's coming from? We could not figure it out. The red liquid is Motul 4T 7100 10W40 [MA2] 100% Synthetic oil, FYI. Any feedback, advice would be greatly appreciated! If you live in the SFV (San Fernando Valley) and want to come over and wrench with us, I will gladly reward you with gas money, beer, lunch and a great time!


ShowBizWolf

#10
I saw your post in the FB group so this link should work. Check out the fuel hose routing diagrams in the "Files" section of the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2204918767/files/

I would post them here directly but I'm at work and imgur (where I have the images) won't work on these computers... so I can't get the link to embed them here :technical:

EDIT: I should add that the diagrams in the link are corrected diagrams. The diagrams in the manuals and on parts sites are wrong, believe it or not :cookoo:
There are also some in the wiki: http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Main.HoseRouting
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

Carltheproducer

#11
Apologies for being MIA, I am a freelance commercial filmmaker and it's been non-stop since my last post. I could not be as hands-on as I would've liked to but I had the help of two amazing fellas whom I recommend for any of your passion projects. For the painting of the rims, tank (includes fixing a dent & scratches), front (had to finesse the shaZam! out of it after serious welding) and rear fender (he had to paint it twice because we later cut the fender); I got the help of SFV Fiberglass Master Alex (818.209.9602 or alexkars13@gmail.com) for $450 all in. The paint is called HN * Guard Met.



Unique Motorcycles Alfonso, facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/uniquecycles310/, helped to put all the painted parts on, cut off the rear, put in this U Bar LED end for the custom seat he made along with figuring out where the oil leak was covering from, apparently multi bolts were missing and putting on the following bought parts.

LinkStyle Motorcycle Turn Signal Light Grip Bar Plug Strobe Side Marker End LED Handlebar Black
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BNJH5FY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Rage360 Turn Signals - New Rage Cycles (37 MM)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NADLA1S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
LEDAUT 2" x 50' Titanium Exhaust Heat Wrap Roll for Motorcycle Fiberglass Heat Shield Tape with Stainless Ties
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011B99B0I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
SKUNTUANG Chrome 5.75 Inch LED Projector Motorcycle Headlight with Amber Ring DRL Light for Harley Davidson (Headlight Halo)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078X5PJKN/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Alfonso's all in costs was $1,570 and it took him about 1.5 months to complete the job.

Now I would love some recommendations on the following to complete this beauty finally!


  • Exhaust tip
  • mirrors
  • license plate cover
  • odometer or housing
  • Side pannier or Side panels
  • Fork Bellows or Front Fork Cover Protectors
  • a way to securely strap my helmet on
  • moto grips












qcbaker


Carltheproducer

Apologizes for the MIA status, a lot has transpired with this build. Let's get into it. Please comment if you have suggestions or comments!

I noticed my bike was filthy and a potential fork seal leak.






I used S100 Total Cycle Cleaner on the engine & forks then used the Maxima Clean Up Chain Cleaner on only the chain to get all the filth off and I used Maxima SC1 High Gloss Coating thereafter on the engine. The engine looked great for a while but forks still had oil on them so I replaced the fork seals (oil and dust seals) and upgraded the fork springs to the GS500 0.75kg/mm Sonic Springs (10S-075) = $84.95 + $15 shipping = $99.95.  Let me tell you how much of a b**** this was regardless of the videos/posts available online. My GS500 was manufactured in Dec 2008, therefore, a 2009 GS500F.

You can try an impact or air gun/wrench or jacking the fork to compress it up against an iron pillar or put all your weight down while a buddy is holding a 7mm alley wrench at the bottom to quickly snap, even after doing this all for about 9 hours, you will not get that fork bolt free. So what you can do though is this broomstick trick, literally taking you less than 10 minutes all in to break that bolt fork damper bolt. Spend 5 minutes shaping your broomstick like this.





Then hammer that bad boy into your fork for about 2 minutes, really hit that broomstick with a rubber mallet then hold the broomstick as you try to snap the damper bolt free preferably with an impact wrench (literally less than 10 seconds with an impact wrench).




Cool tip, if you have pits in your fork rods, spot super glue on the pits after sanding those pits down w/ 3000 grit dry, wet sandpaper then spray with air for a clean surface, [let it cure overnight]. Then gently sand down those super glued pits for a smooth finish before re-attaching to GS.




I hated these cheap eBay mirrors on the handle for a long time. Vibrating was awful and it made the bike look cheap.




Therefore I replaced them with this awesome pair of Dime City Cycles' 4" Black Rotating Adjustable Longstem Aluminum Mirror = $98.60 w/ shipping. These bad boys do not vibrate at all, so clear, but I need to figure out a spacer or something to tighten these mirrors to the handlebars giving me some space above choke & brake fluid. Any ideas besides these awful rubber washers?








Any clever, cool suggestions for the current objectives would be greatly appreciated.

1. The ideal side kickstand as upgrading these tires makes the current side kickstand useless.




2. A new license plate holder. Yes, those are tie downs on the passenger pegs to hold license plate currently.



3. How to clean up these sides, what do you think of a triangle cut of this mesh on both sides to cover wires? I'd love some visual impression.




4. Can someone please post a photo of their GS500 front end so i can see the OEM version of the wires around the front end? I think I re-routed the clutch cable & headlight wires wrong, also want to re-confirm the other side starter switch & front brake lines channeling in the front end.




mr72

As for using some kind of mesh for the sides, check out what I did in my thread:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=71055.msg871990#msg871990

This worked extremely well although I made number plates to cover most of that wiring. I'm a huge fan of that mesh material with the door edge guard on the edges. It's easy to shape and form, cuts with tin snips, it's cheap and comes prefinished with a gloss black powder coat. What's not to like?

As for your cable routing, for the most part everything routes behind the headlight, between the fork legs, with the exception of the front brake line IIRC. I would give you a picture of mine but it's not stock because of the wider handlebar.

BTW I think your bike looks fantastic but that seat looks like a torture device. Perhaps I just do much longer rides. I also kind of think that thin/flat look of the seat does not balance well with the big tank; I think the seat needs a bit more mass to it in order to look like it belongs. But seriously, the paint, colors, etc. looks fantastic.

cbrfxr67

Looks great.  How do those tires feel on pavement?  I'm working on an old 77 and customer brought me some tires similar to that.
"Its something you take apart in 2-3 days and takes 10 years to go back together."
-buddha

Carltheproducer

Quote from: cbrfxr67 on February 14, 2019, 09:27:42 AM
Looks great.  How do those tires feel on pavement?  I'm working on an old 77 and customer brought me some tires similar to that.

Honestly, its harder riding for sure on the streets. Bumpy with the obvious vibrations. The price to pay for the look, I suppose. Since I do ride a lot on the highway, honestly if I could go back, I would not do it.

Carltheproducer

Quote from: mr72 on February 08, 2019, 07:25:45 AM
As for using some kind of mesh for the sides, check out what I did in my thread:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=71055.msg871990#msg871990

This worked extremely well although I made number plates to cover most of that wiring. I'm a huge fan of that mesh material with the door edge guard on the edges. It's easy to shape and form, cuts with tin snips, it's cheap and comes prefinished with a gloss black powder coat. What's not to like?

As for your cable routing, for the most part everything routes behind the headlight, between the fork legs, with the exception of the front brake line IIRC. I would give you a picture of mine but it's not stock because of the wider handlebar.

BTW I think your bike looks fantastic but that seat looks like a torture device. Perhaps I just do much longer rides. I also kind of think that thin/flat look of the seat does not balance well with the big tank; I think the seat needs a bit more mass to it in order to look like it belongs. But seriously, the paint, colors, etc. looks fantastic.

@mr72, thanks for tips, gonna buy a sheet of this material and try it a shot next! Photos in less than 2 weeks. I figured out the cabling, much better now. Yeah, i wish I did a wider approach but it's not that bad. I dont have an ass, thanks for the props.

Carltheproducer

#18
I bought this eBay 2006-2007 Yamaha R6 OEM Rear Shock for $70 because I read on the forums here, it was an easy, clean swap...well...the shocks mounts match BUT.......




The Yahama shock was too fat to come from the bottom up.



Therefore to remove the seat, tank, battery and air filter to insert shock but the bottom portion of the shock, the lowest suspension ring hit against the frame so I had to grind some a bit.






It's in there now and rides nicely along with the GS500 0.75kg/mm Sonic Springs (10S-075) in the front but now I have to relocate so much gak. Is it a wise idea to remove the California emissions test? Is there some DIY subframe organizer I should consider? I want to properly re-wire/re-run all this gak into a more reasonable, presentable state but I am afraid I'll mess something up. Is there a great visual diagram/schematic to see where all these parts/cables/cords go to?






cbrfxr67

Sweet that you got it in there!  You're in LA right, so you have to keep all that emission extras right?  :dunno_white:
"Its something you take apart in 2-3 days and takes 10 years to go back together."
-buddha

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk