So I've finally decided what direction I'm going to take with my GS, and I'm really excited to get it started! For now it's all just aesthetics, since I can't afford to go performance yet. So let the ideas fly on my bikes much needed makeover please...
Here's how she sits right now... Please try to hold the puke in, I know it's tough lol
(http://i50.tinypic.com/w15qi9.jpg)
I've been thinking how I was going to paint this bike since I bought it 2 months ago. I've settled in on gloss black and redfire metallic (2004 Ford Mustang dark red) I think, but once again I need to let it simmer. I did a quick little paint "photoshop" tonight and I'm really liking it so far
(http://i47.tinypic.com/bjh8hs.jpg)
And take this and have a decal made of it for the sides of the tank, because I love this kind of art and it ties in well with the colors. Just the spider, none of the side parts of the piece
(http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/black-widow-alan-johnson.jpg)
I'll update this thread as I make some progress. I'll have the bike back tomorrow, then it's time to get started gathering supplies and what not. I'm not riding it daily in its current state of ugly :2guns:
To do list:
1. Paint
2. New headlight(s)? Can anyone help me out on this part? I hate the stock light on this thing
3. Drag bars/straight bars/whatever they are actually called. Basically just a straight piece of pipe for the bars instead of the curvy stock thing
4. Gauges/Mirrors/Turn signals/control on bars for signals/horn/etc. Once again, I'm not really sure where to look.
And hopefully soon she'll be a head turner for the right reasons
That light isn't stock.. Or at least, it doesn't appear to be.
Good plan on the colors, that thing is awful right now. :icon_eek:
I think it will be great. If it were me I would do the frame black and handle the red with accents and accessories. Wires, bolts, covers, seat stitching/piping, wheel stripes and decals or painted accents.
Good luck on your project.
Keep it like it is! Looks great! Ok I'm kidding. I really like the black on red frame. Will be great to see you bring it together. How does it run??
RE: Headlight
It's not the "real" stock headlight, this POS was made in some African country I've never heard of. I just don't like the one big light thing on the bike period. I'd rather have 2 smaller lights side by side. Just not sure where to find such a creature without venturing into what I know... KC Hilites, Hella 500s and the like lol. I come from the truck world
RE: Black and red
Black frame with red accents would be pretty cool... But I dig the red frame idea too. The GS has a nice looking frame, and I kind of want to show it off.
Red wheel pinstripes, most definately. I just didn't have the patience in MS paint to do them :mad: I want the bike to be very clean looking, but still turn some heads for being done a little differently. Kinda like now, but with good head turns!
RE: Mechanical stuffs
Just got her back today from a carb problem that was really getting me mad. Turns out that when the needle seat fell out and let the left carb flood everything, it clogged my pilot jet. I didn't want to tear completely into the carb mainly because I didn't have any carb cleaner at the house, or the time since I'm working about 8 days a week :nono: Once my suzuki certified buddy cleaned and tuned the carb, she's running better than when I bought her now. Still sounds like something is a little off though. When coming to a stop the revs seem to drop a bit low then rise back to proper idle RPM. But I don't know what the engine is doing, I currently don't have any gauges. And sometimes when letting off the throttle it seems to hang up a bit on it's own before dropping revs.
Aside from those (I think to be) minor things, the bike seems to be mechanically sound. I'm just doing maintenence now.
Now a question to end this novel of a post: How bad is it to run with gas in the oil? I did it today for about 20 miles just to get the bike home. I'm changing oil/filter tomorrow. When the carb was flooding it seeped into the oil
Quote from: mustangGT90210 on August 14, 2012, 09:59:54 PM
RE: Headlight
It's not the "real" stock headlight, this POS was made in some African country I've never heard of. I just don't like the one big light thing on the bike period. I'd rather have 2 smaller lights side by side. Just not sure where to find such a creature without venturing into what I know... KC Hilites, Hella 500s and the like lol. I come from the truck world
fleabay has heaps of the dual lights :dunno_black:
As in real headlights... or the streetfighter fairing? My buddy got a headlight streetfighter fairing and I'm pretty sure I could zip tie a maglite to his bike and it'd be 10x better than that thing lol
Off to ebay then
Real headlights
Well there used to be heaps but I could only find the one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Suzuki-SV-650-1000-N-Bandit-GSF-400-600-1200-GS-500-E-HEADLIGHT-/170855743428?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27c7cbbfc4&vxp=mtr
Seeing what some of the HID kits are going for... I think I might give this one a shot. Even comes with a projector.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/H4-H1-H7-35W-Motorcycle-2-0-HID-Bi-xenon-Projector-Len-Kit-Angel-Eye-Ballast-/120918558318?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c274ec66e&vxp=mtr
I'm a sucker for HIDs. I was riding in front of my truck (buddy driving it) on the way home from the mechanics, and couldn't even see suzi's headlight. I can't really see anything with the thing that's on there now. I loved my ride due to the added light!. But for $65 bucks, that kit seems like it's worth a shot. Worst comes to worst, I end up buying another kit, but I'm keeping that projector lol
So... does anyone happen to have an ignition(with key) and a tank mounted petcock laying around? My petcock is gone... internally it's just gotta be old and destroyed. Seeps gas from the internals even with the valve off. Ignition doesn't recognize my half key anymore, the other half is broken inside it...
I have a brand new in the box ignition with key but alas I am in OZ so would be cheaper on fleabay :dunno_black:
What a tease :wink:
Let me know how it goes with the HID and mounting ect ect i like the look of the kit but curious as far as how you are going to do mounts ect, on a positive note, my g/f loves the purple and yellow paint scheme lol.
Quote from: JollyRojer on August 18, 2012, 06:06:06 AM
Let me know how it goes with the HID and mounting ect ect i like the look of the kit but curious as far as how you are going to do mounts ect, on a positive note, my g/f loves the purple and yellow paint scheme lol.
I've found that women and black guys love these colors lol. I don't mean that racist in any way, I'm always getting compliments on it from 'em, while everyone I know likes to poke fun at it :D
I'll definately let you know on the HID mounting. What I'm thinking of is taking one of those little street fighter headlight fairings and then taking a dremel/etc to it and mounting the projector in it. I'll have a full thread on that little expenditure in a month or 2
righton, possibilities are pretty much endless if you can fiberglass :)
I haven't learned how to do that yet. My other lighting idea is taking one of the CBR600 headlights from ebay, which are dual lights, HID, projector, and they look pretty cool. Angel eyes and all. I'm just not sure about the whole angular thing those have going for them
its not super hard, take a wack at a few small projects before you get into anything seriously visable ;) and let me know how the ignition goes as well, my g/f broke the key off in the ignition 2 mornings ago so im going to need to solve that problem as well.
Quote from: JollyRojer on August 20, 2012, 08:29:17 AM
its not super hard, take a wack at a few small projects before you get into anything seriously visable ;) and let me know how the ignition goes as well, my g/f broke the key off in the ignition 2 mornings ago so im going to need to solve that problem as well.
its easy, two bolts in back, if its the factory one you have to drill them out, buy a new one on ebay like i did for $30, comes with new keys. you can get new bolts from a dealer they break off during tighting or you can use reg bolts. plug it in and your golden.
yuck so ive got to drill out the bolts that hold the ignition in? and wouldn't that entail re keying the rest of the bike if i get a new ignition & keys on ebay?
Quote from: JollyRojer on August 22, 2012, 06:53:05 AM
yuck so ive got to drill out the bolts that hold the ignition in? and wouldn't that entail re keying the rest of the bike if i get a new ignition & keys on ebay?
My ignition was held on by a whole 2 bolts. 10mm heads. And you don't need to re-key. The ignition comes with keys for it, and your seat lock stays the same (obviously)
I've started on the paint job too. This is just the first coat of primer... But I already like it
(http://i48.tinypic.com/30kymc6.jpg)
Got the tank and plastics painted today! Tank needs a re-do since I didn't fill any dents, just wanted the color... And no rust
(http://i48.tinypic.com/2r23jpd.jpg)
(http://i45.tinypic.com/2u9215j.jpg)
Now this is just something annoying, but my front end is tweaked. When going down the road my bars are slightly turned right to go straight. Is that as easy to fix as adjusting the front wheel like a bicycle, or does it sound like bent forks?
Not exactly build related... but whatever
I really love working at a drag strip. Pro bike racer got a Vanson jacket, didn't fit well, so he gave it to my co-worker in the water box. Co-worker doesn't ride, and said if it fits, it's mine. It fit. So I'm now the proud owner of a Vanson jacket that was worn once before me!
(http://i48.tinypic.com/5bcrar.jpg)
(http://i48.tinypic.com/8w9p1x.jpg)
very nice, so did you end up getting the new ebay ignition and keys?
Yes I did. It was actually a motorcycle-superstore.com ignition made by Emgo. 2 new keys, new ignition. Works flawlessly, I'm impressed!
I've got a carb rebuild kit for the left carb on the way, be here tomorrow. My needle seat is just too worn out that it worms its way out of place after a couple days. So just re-do it all and I'll be good. As it stands I gotta run her outta gas, shut the fuel off (added an inline ON/OFF) and hope everything works out right lol.
Anddd for cool build stuffs, I did up the exhaust properly last night! Ended up taking off the center stand, cutting the pipe back a little farther so it exits straight, welded the muffler on it, then added my custom stainless tip. Kinda streetfightery :woohoo: Here's the pic before I welded it together, but you get the idea. Better pics on the way later when the bike is clean.... Dirt roads kinda suck
(http://i48.tinypic.com/kar0xi.jpg)
nice! hows it sound?
It's a little throatier now than before. I just need to tack weld the baffle inside the muffler in place lol I broke the first tack when I slipped it on the stock pipe and didn't know until after I put up the welder. I'm going to try and get a video, because I think it sounds pretty dang good.
And I'm going to paint the pipe/muffler with black engine enamel and just leave the tip stainless
Funds are scarce these days, so my little GS has just been a gas saving commuter. For my birthday I got a Drag Specialties 2.4" speedometer, so now I know my speed! My new speedo cable just came in yesterday so I installed that, along with my absolute favorite thing I've done to this thing, Clubman bars! They're a bit more aggressive than I had anticipated, but I love them. Put 58 miles on yesterday, due for another 50 today
(http://i46.tinypic.com/jac9co.jpg)
Please excuse the terrible pic
I like the yellow rims. Hate the purple lmao
Quote from: Higgins13 on September 27, 2012, 05:55:22 PM
I like the yellow rims. Hate the purple lmao
haha me too don't worry! I just haven't had the time to actually paint the frame. A lot of masking for that :/
Also found out yesterday that my passenger foot pegs make damn good high way pegs with these clubmans installed!
Alright, got an update! Albeit a boring one. Fitted a new chain last Tuesday :woohoo: Rides wayyyy better my old one was beyond shot to say the least. Gear changes are like butter now.
Then naturally, following the pattern of this bike, once I have it running for a few weeks, think it's a good idea to fix something, naturally something else breaks within a week. 2 days ago, I was crossing US41 down here in Florida and my clutch cable snapped. Luckily I had the revs high enough I could shift without the clutch but I pulled off at my first opportunity. Bike sat there all day while I was at school (had to walk a mile from where I broke down). So my girl took me home after school, we grabbed my truck, got a trailer from her house and drove back into town to get the bike. Now it's just sitting in my garage all sad.
And of course this breaks right after I buy my new rims for the truck and blow a tank of gas going to get them and come back. So that bike will just sit until the wheels are on the truck. Hopefully I'll get a new cable sunday but who knows at this rate
I DID IT!!!!! The purple is gone! Except the swing arm, but hey, it's a great start haha
(http://i47.tinypic.com/1rz1vl.jpg)
(http://i45.tinypic.com/28r30ua.jpg)
And ever more important than the paint, this bike is reliable now :) And of course, I'm kind of testing the waters on craigslist to trade it. I've been riding my buddies old Honda Hawk with a 650 v-twin, and I'm in love with the torque and sound
Quote from: mustangGT90210 on November 15, 2012, 11:58:56 AM
I DID IT!!!!! The purple is gone! Except the swing arm, but hey, it's a great start haha
DONT FORGET HANDLE THING ON BACK
Hah yeah still got that to do. I had to head to work after painting the frame and ran out of time. Hence that, the purple handle bar mounting plate, and the swing arm... But that's so little to worry about that it'll be ok for now.
I'm just so glad to have a normal bike now
Did you fix the front wheel problem? If not, have you tried to loosen the forks to see if they spring back into position?
Are you going to paint the wheels? If so, what color?
Well... I'm being completely untrue to the idea of a build I had when starting this bike. Gonna be more of a cafe/fighter hybrid. Anyways! Picked up a new used tank and seat off this site, and oh my god does this look so much better now!
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Holy crap your bike just keeps getting better and better! This is the first time I saw this thread haha. I always thought your bike was just black and yellow. Nice tank! Looking good. :thumb:
You just painted your frame without pulling the engine or wiring harness?
WOW, looks much better. Your yellow wheels look right at home now. :thumb:
With them clubmans if you're riding chest to tank a lot you could try a set of bar risers. It was my plan to clubmans and risers to give me a similar position as 89's. But that was before I found a bike breaker with 89's who didn't know what he had...
Still need a petcock?
Quote from: jacob92icu on February 24, 2013, 01:51:23 AM
Holy crap your bike just keeps getting better and better! This is the first time I saw this thread haha. I always thought your bike was just black and yellow. Nice tank! Looking good. :thumb:
You just painted your frame without pulling the engine or wiring harness?
This thing started hideous lol. I've just never had enough pictures on here for you guys to see the still purple swing arm!
Frame was a quick and dirty paint job. Like half hour quick. Ran a line of masking tape around the inside of the frame for the sides by the engine, just sprayed the front (so much dirt on my engine from no fender right then it never got to the engine lol) and on the back only did what the plastics wouldn't cover.
Think I used half a can total :woohoo:
I'll do it for reals after I'm done with the new tail. Still in the design phases for that
What do handlebar risers look like? I've never actually seen them, but if they aren't ugly I may be intersted lol
Pretty sure its just a bigger piece of aluminum that sticks either in between the two handlebar clamps or its just an extended handlebar clamp. I was thinking of getting one for my drag bars when I get them so I can angle them down easily without hitting the triple tree. You get a new headlight too? Put the tail plastics on I want to see it!! :P
I can't put the tail plastics back on, that's a '01+ tank. And I have an '01+ seat to go with it. I think the parts are off an '04... I'm just gonna go with that, because they came from an F. I love this newer seat though, it's wider under my ass and way more comfortable than that skinny little stock one. Tank is bigger as well, makes the bike feel substantial :icon_mrgreen:
Nice man, are you going to rig up the 01+ rear plastics? And how easy was it to mount 01+ tank? Just drill two holes and your good on the side of the frame or what?
Quote from: jacob92icu on February 24, 2013, 05:41:01 PM
Nice man, are you going to rig up the 01+ rear plastics? And how easy was it to mount 01+ tank? Just drill two holes and your good on the side of the frame or what?
No plans for new plastics. My rear subframe is tweaked, so I'm gonna chop about a foot off the back, fiberglass a small little fender/tail that hugs the bottom line of the seat, and houses an LED tail light off some newer bike.
Also will be chopping about 6-8 inches from the seat as well and recovering it, hence why I bought one with a rip in it.
New tank and seat require NO modification to put on the bike. Tank bolts up to the exact same place, seat clicks into the same place. Only real difference is the 01+ rear subframe is a little more upswept and has a different place for the rearward rest on the seat bottom. But once again, in going with a custom tail, none of that applies to me
Quote from: mustangGT90210 on February 24, 2013, 04:13:36 PM
What do handlebar risers look like? I've never actually seen them, but if they aren't ugly I may be intersted lol
The ones I was looking to buy: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-up-1-25-bk-Handlebar-Risers-GS500E-GSX650F-DR650SE-in-Black-/251222339655?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a7e04b047&vxp=mtr
They also have ones that just do a straight lift. Shown here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-up-1-25-bk-Handlebar-Risers-GS500E-GSX650F-DR650SE-in-Black-/251222339655?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a7e04b047&vxp=mtr
BUT..if you just wanted a traight lige you can get by cheaper by getting a second set of stock clamps, flipping one upside down, and getting longer screws from the hardware store.
I really liked the look of these best, but not the price.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUZUKI-Bar-Risers-GS500-30mm-Rise-Up-Back-BLACK-Barbacks-GS500-E-F-/181076614873?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item2a2901ded9
A few more pictures of the new stuff!
[attachment deleted by admin]
First couple ideas... don't really like either so far. Feel free to photoshop some stuff on here if you guys want!
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Hmm interesting. I was thinking you would cover up the electronics and what not better, or are you going to relocate them?
You should post a picture of your speedometer, I was thinking of doing a single thing like that. Do you still have nuetral, indicators, highbeam, and oil dash lights?
I was planning on relocating the electrical stuff to inside the frame rails, taking out the stock rear fender area, and making an undertail to free up some space for the mounting of said electronics.
Speedometer has none of the idiot lights. I bought this bike without gauges so have no bezel or anything. It's basically an L Bracket on there from each mounting hole of the stock gauges that I put a Drag Specialties speedometer on
:woohoo:
Went to my buddies shop and re did the exhaust yesterday. Took the broken, jingle bells sounding baffle out, and had the muffler tig welded back on, and the stainless tip welded up properly. It's quite a bit louder, a lot meaner sounding, but I've got a feeling I realllllly need to rejet
In more fun news, I just ordered a lunchbox filter, and sent The Buddha a message about re-jetting. I'm stupid excited!
Wish I could put my thoughts together enough to just make one post...
Anyways, figured I'd take and share a few pics of the bike as it sits now, with the exhaust finally welded up properly and the leaks gone, and all the old stuff on it... Including the busted ass tank I want to destroy it looks so bad (But it's for sale if anyone wants one for a demolition derby GS?)
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Just found this picture.... May try to do something like this. Opinions?
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Its alright. I have seen this picture before too. The tail looks kind of out of place, but that could be because the exhaust is still stock. If you go this route you eliminate all passenger options. Obvious as it may be, sometimes you really wish you had a passenger seat!
My exhaust is a lot shorter than that anyway, so I don't think it'd be an issue! I'd have no grab bar either, and use a tail light more like the SV650 than the stock GS one. I just thought it was a cool little design I could do pretty easily
Ya its cool looking for sure. More like a rat bike/street fighter than a cafe racer if you ask me. But your club man bars would definitely look better than the stock bars in that picture, and the sv650 would be much nicer than the stock in that picture haha.
The more I look around, the more I want to do a fighter tail. I'll classify it after I do what I'm gonna do lol it'll be some hybrid
Take a look at this thread from do the ton, might inspire you on a tail design.
http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=42604.0
I was mesmerized with this guys work and read the whole thing while I should have been writing a report.
The pictures don't work in that thread.... Or maybe I need an account to be on to see them? Either way, can you link a picture or 2 into this thread so I can see them? Please!
Lunch box and rejet happened last night! Oh my god the difference is sound is intoxicating. Its got a growl now! Power picked up a bit, I was hoping for more but hey, its only a small mod lol. Idle is great now too, I don't think it will hang anymore but I'll know today after my long test ride to work.
Question: when I rev the thing in neutral, as the revs.come back down right before it hits idle speed it'll spit a flame out the pipe... that would be a rich idle mixture right?
No... that's just your bike's Bad A$$ meter showing you where its at! The longer the flame, the bigger the Bad A$$...
- Bboy
Sorry mustang, been busy for a week or two but just read your request. Amazing... He was a newbie at doing metal working for gas tanks and seats when he started this project and just from working on it made this gas tank and seat that you see here, and then painted them. Here are some pictures of that guys work:
(http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=42604.0;attach=80149;image)
(http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=42604.0;attach=76136;image)
(http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=42604.0;attach=75022;image)
(http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=42604.0;attach=70104;image)
(http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=42604.0;attach=68505;image)
Hope this helps!