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mr72's '92 project - "Renegade"

Started by mr72, October 04, 2016, 08:04:27 AM

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ShowBizWolf

I'm excited!!! Love seeing stuff like this :)
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

Bluesmudge

#161
If you can solve the footpeg position of the GS500 in a relatively simple manner I will be very interested in copying you.
My ok but not great solution is the CBR rearsets, which have far more aftermarket foot peg options and more adjustability with the "GP" style shift linkage, plus lowering adventure pegs. Much lower than stock but not far enough forward.

mr72

Well my previous solution was iffy at best.

The new solution may be much better. I am going to do this right and make the parts out of plywood first so I can verify they fit and clearance issues are sorted, then use them as a template to make the final aluminum parts.

Both sides will be a two-piece affair. Result should be pegs a couple of inches below the lower foot peg mount bolt hole. Left side will require a certain shift lever, a bronze bushing, a mountain bike V-brake post and a length of M6 threaded rod along with an extra M6 heim joint to attach to the cut-off shifter. Right side should reuse the stock brake pedal and MC.

I'll put up some details.

Trick is going to be sourcing the pegs. But the truth is any pegs that mount with a M10 or so bolt will work, including like the rear pegs on my Triumph, which are abundantly available since all the cafe racer guys remove the rear pegs and mounts so they are a dime a dozen.

More later. I'll be tinkering with this over the weekend as I find time. I really want to get back to riding the GS!

cbrfxr67

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

mr72

Wooden templates made.

Left side, two piece affair, the little "L" piece on the bottom holding the shifter is separate from the other part:



Right side, this is also a two piece thing but the part you can't see is just a spacer:



I am not 100% sure which direction the bracket is intended to go, but I THINK the 45-deg bevel is meant to be on the bottom (like the RH side picture).

The side stand works fine with this arrangement, but the swingarm is going to come very close to the banjo bolt on the rear brake MC at full compression so I might try to do something else here. I wouldn't mind moving that brake MC out about 5mm. I might try mounting it in reverse, bolts from the inside, which would move it more than it needs to move but I will have to see how the lever aligns with it in that position.

I will have to also work up some spacers for the brake lever. On the stock mount they are welded. I'll probably JB Weld something on there to take up the space.

Tomorrow morning I will cut this stuff out on the aluminum parts. If history is any indicator, this will probably take a month's worth of weekends for me to get it all set but I am pretty stoked about how well the plywood parts fit and line up. Should have done it this way from the beginning.

cbrfxr67

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

mr72

I got the aluminum parts cut out, basically. Was harder than I expected to cut that 1/4" aluminum plate with my jigsaw. A lot of WD40 on the blade really helped.

Now I just have to work those parts over with a file and angle grinder to get them just right, drill the holes, and after test-fit, paint. Should be easy enough. The hard work was measuring and making templates.

Making progress!

mr72

Aluminum parts cut and drilled, ready to test-fit.



Here they are stacked like they will be installed:



What's left?

1. drill-up and tap the hole where the shifter post (a mountain bike V-brake post) will go (only has pilot hole now)
2. cut down the shifter post (it's too long, protrudes through the mounting hole, will touch frame)
3. cut and fit the shift linkage rod (shorter now than before)
4. reroute rear brake hoses so they are not in a crazy bind
5. make/find/etc. spacer to mount the rear brake lever, actually need one on each side of the brake, inside needs to be about 5mm or so, outside more like 15mm. Going to look for steel sleeves for this job
6. put it all together for test fit and test ride

This was WAY easier than my first effort! Man, aluminum is a lot easier to cut, shape & drill than steel. And no welding! Here's hoping it's strong enough. Should be able to fiddle with it more later today or this evening. Supposed to rain all day today and tomorrow. Maybe I will get lucky and be test riding on these by Thursday.

ShowBizWolf

That's almost the exact stuff I made my headlight brackets, heel plates and hand guard mounts out of. I love working with it, plus it's super light... however I do know what you mean about the cutting part!!
I remember I looked through my stuff from college and still had this stick of wax we used in a Jewelry and Metals class I took. Kept coating the blade of the saw with it and it worked much better.

Very much enjoying your work.
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

Look at those straight lines!



much respect!  I suck at getting my lines anywhere close to that straight w my jigsaw!
"Its something you take apart in 2-3 days and takes 10 years to go back together."
-buddha

mr72

Wax! That's a great idea. I have a hunk of paraffin that I'll use to lube bits next time.

Re: straight lines? Well I didn't cut it that straight with the jigsaw. I cut it not straight with a jigsaw, then marked straight lines using a combination square and a utility knife, and used a combo of a bench grinder and flat file to grind it to the scribed line. It's not close to perfect, but it's not bad, an good enough for, being honest, a $900 motorcycle.


Endopotential

Sweet work Josh!

V-brakes?!?  Now that's a sign of a veteran mountain biker.  Sure you don't want to go with cantilevers?  :icon_mrgreen:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=70953.0

2007 GS500F Cafe Fighter - cut off the tail, K&N lunchbox, short exhaust, 20/60/140 jets, R6 shock, all sorts of other random bits...

mr72

Well I needed some kind of post to use as a pivot for the shift lever and I had these laying around. I'm sure you can still get them readily. But it does require a bronze step-down bushing to work with the lever I have.

I guess I could have used a shoulder bolt, but finding just the right one would have been tougher than just using something I had in my box of junk.

mr72

I forgot about the brake light switch ... so that's one more thing I have to do, along with that add some kind of post for the brake pedal return spring. So a little more drilling & tapping. But I did get the LH side mounted along with the shifter. Still haven't mounted the shift linkage. I'm in no hurry. World Series is tonight. I'll probably get this all together tomorrow. Odds are good I'll be riding it by the weekend.

mr72

Got the LH side mounted up and the shifter mounted and adjusted. It flexes, but not nearly as much as it did with the other mod.

However, in doing this I realized a MUCH better way to do this. Or at least a very good way to beef up the shifter mount against the frame and eliminate ALL flex.

RH side is going to be a bit more complicated. Mounting up the peg, brake lever and MC is no sweat. What IS sweat is the brake light switch, which was a problem before as well. I think I might try to solve this in a whole different way. Maybe I'll just put a cable and a little pulley of sorts and then I can mount that switch anywhere I want. If it weren't for my banjo bolt clearance problem I'd use one of those hydraulic pressure switches that replaces the banjo bolt but it would almost definitely hit the swingarm. But this is a solvable problem.


cbrfxr67

ah cmon,... " I realized a MUCH better way to do this"  and no pic  :dunno_black:  :laugh:
"Its something you take apart in 2-3 days and takes 10 years to go back together."
-buddha

mr72

#176
well I haven't actually done it yet.

I did, however, get the left side mounted and adjusted:



Right side? I pressed a 5/8" ID 1" long steel sleeve into the hole to carry the brake lever axle and reinforced it with JB Weld. It's curing now. Should be able to mount it tomorrow. Still calculating how to get the brake light switch to work but I have ideas. And the brake pedal return spring is another little problem I have to solve, but I think this will be easy, just have to find a place to stick a screw to act as an anchor spur.

I was hoping to be riding it this weekend but I didn't have enough time to work on it. I'll tinker with it this week, should have it on the road in a few days, maybe, or by 2021.

mr72

Right side, test-fit. Still to mount the brake light switch, reroute the brake hoses and find a spot for the brake fluid reservoir.


mr72

Here it is, all put together on the right side and ready to test ride:



I still need to get a longer hose for the brake reservoir so I can mount it back up under the number plate. It's currently zip-tied to the frame just so I can test ride this. I also need to get shorter pins to hold the pegs in but that's far from urgent, the ultra-long pins work fine, just look odd.

I haven't mounted the rear brake pedal return spring but I am not sure yet that I need it. But once I test ride and make sure everything fits and works, I'll probably put a screw to anchor it somewhere and put it back when I take everything apart for paint.

I am now suddenly super excited to ride my GS. I pumped up the tires. I'm determined today to ride it until I have to switch to reserve so I can put fresh gas in it. It has had this gas in it for maybe a year. With any luck these mods will put it into a more regular rotation. As much as I adore my Triumph, I wouldn't mind actually using the GS for these little close to home errands that are all under 40mph and of course it will excel at rough county roads where the Triumph really punishes me.

The front tire, Pirelli Scorpion, has maybe 2-3K on it. Rear tire has less than 200 miles on it, Michelin Pilot Street Radial. I really want to put more gravel-friendly tires on the GS, and my Triumph's rear tire is getting close to the end of its days. So I am thinking of just pulling the wheels off of both bikes, buying a set of Shinko 705s for the GS and having the shop just switch the GS's tires over to the Triumph wheels and mount up new Shinkos on the GS. The Triumph has Avon Road Riders and there's a lot I don't like about them besides the fact that the rear tire is probably 70% worn, I think it'll work great with my Pirelli/Michelin combo.

So today I'll go ring out this setup and hopefully get in a long enough ride to blow out all of the old gas.

mr72

#179


Test ride was an amazing success. It took me a little bit to get used to the higher center of gravity, more steering offset and lower weight of the GS vs. my Bonneville but once I did the bike was just a hoot to ride.

Now to do the clean up work and mark this as done.

BTW I did notice that you have to be really deliberate to weight, or push, the inside handlebar in a turn on the GS compared with the Triumph. The Triumph at low speeds almost wants to turn itself but you have to really turn the bars on the GS. And at speed the front end of the GS feels very light compared with the Triumph. I think this has a lot to do with changing the riding position or ergonomics, maybe the hard front springs, maybe other things. It was unnerving for the first few miles on the GS but then I got used to it and it all worked out.

The GS was such a joy to ride, I was reminded how much I like the character of the engine and chassis. It's going back into the rotation. In fact I think I might prefer the GS for all of my around-the-neighborhood rides like to the grocery store or wherever else I go with less than 45mph top speeds.

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