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Main Area => General GS500 Discussion => Topic started by: laserred97gt on June 09, 2008, 07:30:55 PM

Title: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, **Install update w/ pics - page 2**
Post by: laserred97gt on June 09, 2008, 07:30:55 PM
Yesterday I had a few hours of rain-free daytime and actually was able to pull the GS out and work on it.  (I can't wait until August, buying a house)

I whipped it out (my dremel, w. cutoff wheel) and ended up cutting off almost everything, like Pablo or pbureau69's from the Wiki.   I have purchased some short stalk Targa turn signals for the fronts and rears.  I will post pictures of the fenderectomy tomorrow.

(http://www.targa-acc.com/images_large/07-9306B-C.jpg)

I will be mounting them on what's left.  I then remounted the reflectors to match the rear lines.

I bought a tank protector, and a rear brake light modulator to round out my first few mods. I can't wait until my carb diaphragm arrives and I can ride his thing.  Should be here tomorrow! 

I still need to clean and adjust the chain, but I think I may wait until I buy new tires (Pirelli Sport Demons) 

Once I get the wheels off, do I need to remove the sprocket and/or the brake rotors before having the tires mounted & balanced?

Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: bucks1605 on June 09, 2008, 07:33:21 PM
I've only had my front wheel balanced so I'm not sure about the sprocket carrier, but I know my shop told me to leave my rotors on for balancing.
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: dgyver on June 09, 2008, 07:41:12 PM
You can leave the rotor on. I have balanced wheels both ways and it did not make any difference. Leave the sprocket carrier at home.
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: laserred97gt on June 09, 2008, 07:56:52 PM
Excellent, will do.

Local shop is going to charge me $25.00 each m&b off the bike.

Another guy at a cool looking chopper shop told me $15 if I bought them from him, and $45/ea walk in.   :icon_rolleyes:
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: bucks1605 on June 09, 2008, 07:59:42 PM
Quote from: laserred97gt on June 09, 2008, 07:56:52 PM
Excellent, will do.

Local shop is going to charge me $25.00 each m&b off the bike.

Another guy at a cool looking chopper shop told me $15 if I bought them from him, and $45/ea walk in.   :icon_rolleyes:

Typical, the place I go won't even mount/balance unless you buy the tires from them. But if you do it's like $10.
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: dgyver on June 09, 2008, 08:02:26 PM
One of the reasons I do my own.
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: bucks1605 on June 09, 2008, 08:11:10 PM
Quote from: dgyver on June 09, 2008, 08:02:26 PM
One of the reasons I do my own.

I'd never considered doing that when I got my tires. But, recently I read a how-to and it seemed very simple, the hard part would be getting the old tire off and new tire on I would imagine.
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: dgyver on June 09, 2008, 08:18:24 PM
Old smaller tires are a pain to remove, especially a 110. 120 is not a problem. I bought a manual tire changer at Harbor Freight, on sale it was around $80. Balancer was around $75. They have paid for themselves several times. The hardest part is avoiding chipping the paint on the outer rim... I am getting partial to polish rims.
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: bucks1605 on June 09, 2008, 09:00:41 PM
Don't forget the pics.  :thumb:

I think the reflectorectomy was the first mod I did to my bike, fendorectomy was already performed. Although I ended up taking it even further. Since then I've been hooked and never looked back.
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: ben2go on June 09, 2008, 11:23:13 PM
Dgyver did my tires and they are spot on.
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: SIKDMAX on June 10, 2008, 07:03:27 AM
Good looking turn signals!  Are they LED?  Any problems with a fast flashing speed?
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: Jackstand Johnny on June 10, 2008, 08:06:42 AM
I was wondering where the turn signals can go after cutting down/removing the rear fender.
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: bucks1605 on June 10, 2008, 08:15:26 AM
Quote from: SecondsFromTheFall on June 10, 2008, 08:06:42 AM
I was wondering where the turn signals can go after cutting down/removing the rear fender.

I don't have pictures of what I did on my '96, atm. But I just cut off enough so there was barely room to mount the signals and I think it looks good. Is your bike pre or post '01?
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: laserred97gt on June 10, 2008, 07:51:15 PM
I finally got most of my carb parts from the dealer today (never again....thank you Buddha), and the tops of the carbs are going back together tonight  :icon_twisted:

I also decided to start the cleanup on aisle 3 and remove some grime from the bike, like the big sticky area where the PO decided to use packing tape to tape the FOR SALE sign to the gas tank...   :cookoo:

Also used lock-ease (liquid graphite) on all of the lock cylinders and loosened 'em all up. Then I cleaned the chain, and it does look like an o-ring chain...  Was that stock?

I haven't received the turn signals from Targa yet, but they are supposed to be very bright, plus they have a small window in the rear of each signal so you can look easily and see that they are working.  For $14.99, I think they should be a pretty good deal.  They are incandescent lights so I didn't have to mess with the load balance, or flasher.   8)  Here's a link to them...  http://www.targa-acc.com/cgi-bin/products.cgi?name=upc_code&value=07-9306B-A&format=3 (http://www.targa-acc.com/cgi-bin/products.cgi?name=upc_code&value=07-9306B-A&format=3)

Ans here are some pics of the fenderectomy, and reflector relocation.

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010282.jpg)

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010283.jpg)

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010284.jpg)

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010285.jpg)

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010287.jpg)

I plan on mounting the signals, right here....

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010287-1.jpg)

And here's a picture of my son claiming the bike as his own and asking me if I want to ride HIS motorcycle...   :nono:

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010278.jpg)

Once I get it running right, I'll get her nice and shiny, and I think I will order my Pirelli Sport Demons this weekend!   O0

Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: bucks1605 on June 10, 2008, 07:59:23 PM
I like the way you've got the plate bracket mounted up, I've never seen it like that. I wanted to do something similar, but couldn't figure out a way to reuse the stock bracket, so I just fabbed up some. I like the way yours look, great angle and lots of plastic removed.  :thumb:
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: laserred97gt on June 10, 2008, 08:03:56 PM
I think the tail will still light up some of the plate #'s. not sure how much though.  If it's not bright enough, I have some blue LED's laing around that could look pretty cool....   :icon_twisted:
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: SIKDMAX on June 10, 2008, 08:05:14 PM
Is that link where you ordered the signals from? I was thinking about picking up 2 sets of the Buells, but those look nice.  Quick shipping?
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: bucks1605 on June 10, 2008, 08:07:36 PM
Quote from: laserred97gt on June 10, 2008, 08:03:56 PM
I think the tail will still light up some of the plate #'s. not sure how much though.  If it's not bright enough, I have some blue LED's laing around that could look pretty cool....   :icon_twisted:

Pretty soon I'm going to flip my tail light and recess it so it sits flush with the rear plastics. So I'll definitely need some way to illuminate my plate. Those LED's you have, do you have to wire them up to the bike or what? I'm not that familiar with electrical work on bikes.
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: laserred97gt on June 10, 2008, 08:17:44 PM
Yes that's where I bought them from.  They also have an Ebay store  http://stores.ebay.com/The-Targa-Garage (http://stores.ebay.com/The-Targa-Garage)

Don't know about shipping time yet as I ordered them last night.  However, I will say this:  If you find what you want at the sight and register an account, it shows a HUGE shipping charge.  Mine showed $42.00 for a $62.00 order!   :cookoo:

So I called them up, and talked to the lady about it today, and she said that they are working out some glitches in their new website and that it is adding up shipping for individual pieces, not a consolidated shipment.  She guaranteed me that they would not screw me, and said that if I placed the order online, it would be billed correctly.  I checked my credit card statement online today, and sure enough, they billed the CORRECT amount! 

We'll see how long they take to get here and I'll post about it. 
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: laserred97gt on June 10, 2008, 08:22:09 PM
Quote from: bucks1605 on June 10, 2008, 08:07:36 PM
Quote from: laserred97gt on June 10, 2008, 08:03:56 PM
I think the tail will still light up some of the plate #'s. not sure how much though.  If it's not bright enough, I have some blue LED's laing around that could look pretty cool....   :icon_twisted:

Pretty soon I'm going to flip my tail light and recess it so it sits flush with the rear plastics. So I'll definitely need some way to illuminate my plate. Those LED's you have, do you have to wire them up to the bike or what? I'm not that familiar with electrical work on bikes.

The LED's I have are just automotive type 12V LED's that were in a license plate kit I had for my mustang, but didn't use the LED's as they would have been Gaudy.  Like this only blue.... and I would mount them up in the recess above the plate so no blue is visible (illegal in most states)  :icon_lol:

(http://www.jcwhitney.com/wcsstore/jcwhitney/images/imagecache/G_13701G_CL_1.jpg)
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: laserred97gt on June 14, 2008, 12:48:04 PM
Got the turn signals in yesterday and installed them today.

Here we go....

Nice clear lens..
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010334.jpg)

Bullet Connectors like the factory uses..
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010335.jpg)

Where I drilled my mounting hole..
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010336.jpg)

Mounting it up..
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010337.jpg)

Routing the wires..
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010338.jpg)

All finished with the rears..
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010339.jpg)

And here are the fronts..
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010342.jpg)

I like them, and for $15.00 a pair, it's not too bad!

I did have to trim 1/4 inch off the front signal's studs to let them clear the HL bucket, but other than that it was a straightforward install.

Cheers!  :cheers:

Now I'm going to adjust the carbs.
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, **Install update w/ pics - page 2**
Post by: Villager on June 14, 2008, 02:05:45 PM
Good job, they definitely look better than the stock jobbies. To me they seem a little small, though. I don't know. Do you have any pictures showing the whole bike?
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, **Install update w/ pics - page 2**
Post by: laserred97gt on June 15, 2008, 02:33:05 PM
Quote from: Villager on June 14, 2008, 02:05:45 PM
Good job, they definitely look better than the stock jobbies. To me they seem a little small, though. I don't know. Do you have any pictures showing the whole bike?

As requested...

They are smaller, but in my opinion, not too small.

What do you guys think?

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010351.jpg)

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010352.jpg)

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010356.jpg)

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010360.jpg)

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/laserred97gt/P1010350.jpg)
Title: nice signals!
Post by: SIKDMAX on June 15, 2008, 02:51:37 PM
Legit!  Im definately going to order 2 sets.  Are they decently bright?
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, **Install update w/ pics - page 2**
Post by: Villager on June 15, 2008, 03:56:26 PM
Ooh, that's better. I like those. Only trouble is, now you've tempted me to spend more money on the bike...
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, **Install update w/ pics - page 2**
Post by: w00derson on June 15, 2008, 07:34:07 PM
Very nice! How bright are they in the daylight?
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, **Install update w/ pics - page 2**
Post by: ben2go on June 15, 2008, 07:35:34 PM
I've liked that color body work since you posted pics of your bike.The more I see it the more I like it.
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, **Install update w/ pics - page 2**
Post by: laserred97gt on June 15, 2008, 07:59:32 PM
Thanks for all the kind words! 

I think they are sufficiently bright in the daytime.  I would say that the light is not as "sharp" as LED's, but I would say about on par with the stockers, just smaller.  I will take some pictures tomorrow with them blinking.  The pic I posted of the front one blinking (above, pg 2) is actually dimmer than normal because the battery was almost dead (had to jump start the bike).

I will also take a pic of the indicator lens on the back of the light.

I have always favored the blue/white Suzuki's, but this color scheme is growing on me too.

The right rear plastic has a crack in it, and I may end up repairing it during the winter and having everything repainted, but if I do, I will definitely consider keeping it the same color. Now that it's running, I will wash the bike, and after that will come the detailing.  I can't wait!

:thumb:
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, and a question about rubbers....
Post by: Jackstand Johnny on June 21, 2008, 02:11:24 PM
Quote from: bucks1605 on June 10, 2008, 08:15:26 AM
Quote from: SecondsFromTheFall on June 10, 2008, 08:06:42 AM
I was wondering where the turn signals can go after cutting down/removing the rear fender.

I don't have pictures of what I did on my '96, atm. But I just cut off enough so there was barely room to mount the signals and I think it looks good. Is your bike pre or post '01?

It's an 89
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, **Install update w/ pics - page 2**
Post by: Ronin on June 21, 2008, 07:01:14 PM
Neatto!....looks great!  :thumb: :cheers:
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, **Install update w/ pics - page 2**
Post by: Jay_wolf on June 22, 2008, 12:57:18 AM
Love The Colour  :thumb:
Title: Re: Fenderecomy, reflectorotomy, **Install update w/ pics - page 2**
Post by: yamahonkawazuki on June 22, 2008, 12:59:33 AM
i liked the lights, BUT when i had those on my first 97, i went through bulbs something fierce :mad: :dunno_white: