So my '91 is my first bike and I love it. Have had it for almost a year now. I was going to upgrade to something bigger since I'm a freakin' giant (6'4 290 pounds) but I just like this little thing so much I can't. Now that I've made up mind that I am keeping it I want to mod it. This is just kind of a place where I can post my plans to make sure they make sense because this is all fairly new to me. I'm also not gonna mention any cosmetic stuff 'cause I don't think you guys care if the PO painted EVERYTHING flat black and it looks weird lol.
So the plans are as follows:
Re-jet. It's already got a Danmoto slip on exhaust. It's honestly too loud for me so at some point (hopefully soon) it will have a full Delkevic exhaust cause I love dem. I also have a K&N Lunchbox on order. I plan on going 145/40. After I clean the carbs and put the new jets in I'm going to sync them up to hopefully get rid of the annoying 'idle rev hang' crap, cause I can't find a vacuum leak anywhere.
I want to install a 15t sprocket up front. From what I have read, this shouldn't require a new chain. Is that accurate?
I plan to install a new rear shock. I was thinking of doing a Katana 600 shock, obviously because it bolts right up. I've read that the Katana 750 shock is a little stiffer yet? Remember, I'm nearing 300 pounds so I'll put it to use.
Then after all this is done I'm probably gonna throw the Dominator dual's in, cause they look awesome and the stock headlight sucks.
Pipe and lunch box is 150/40.
Where are you getting the 145 number from ???? need to find that location and obliterate it.
This is exactly why I started selling them as a kit.
Anyway $25 shipped for a kit inside conUS. Giant surcharge has been waived this 1 time.
Seriously with a stock needle you need 150/40/3 turns/1 washer for K&N and pipe. Washers included in my pack, turns - yea sorry you're on your own there.
Cool.
Buddha.
Wow, you are a big fella, aincha? Haha..... welcome to the site Matty.
I can't speak for the Katana shocks, so I'll wait for somebody else to chime in about that. But as far as the sprocket goes, the entire drive train should be replaced as a set since they wear out as a set. Definitely more expensive than just buying a single sprocket but as they say "buy once, cry once".
Quote from: The Buddha on April 23, 2017, 07:08:00 PM
Pipe and lunch box is 150/40.
Where are you getting the 145 number from ???? need to find that location and obliterate it.
This is exactly why I started selling them as a kit.
Anyway $25 shipped for a kit inside conUS. Giant surcharge has been waived this 1 time.
Seriously with a stock needle you need 150/40/3 turns/1 washer for K&N and pipe. Washers included in my pack, turns - yea sorry you're on your own there.
Cool.
Buddha.
That location would be a combo of gstwin wiki then confirming with the big GS facebook page guys lol I'll send you a PM, get me your paypal and I'll shoot you the money. I've been reading your name a lot so clearly you know your shaZam! lol
Cool thread MetalMatty, can't wait to see more!! It makes me happy to read about someone who absolutely loves and wants to keep their GS cuz I feel the same way about mine.
IIRC, you are right about the Kat shock. This thread is worth a look if you haven't already checked it out:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=69391.0
Any plans on upgrading the fork springs? I've read over and over how helpful that can be :cheers:
Quote from: ShowBizWolf on April 24, 2017, 09:53:50 AM
Cool thread MetalMatty, can't wait to see more!! It makes me happy to read about someone who absolutely loves and wants to keep their GS cuz I feel the same way about mine.
IIRC, you are right about the Kat shock. This thread is worth a look if you haven't already checked it out:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=69391.0
Any plans on upgrading the fork springs? I've read over and over how helpful that can be :cheers:
Definitely have plans to do fork springs, but that isn't going to be until after I at least get tires at the end of the year. I've never messed with forks or antying so that's probably gonna be a winter job haha I also have no clue on how the different settings on the rear shock effect anything so I guess I'll hafta do some research on that too.
where pics? :dunno_black:
Quote from: cbrfxr67 on April 25, 2017, 07:09:13 AM
where pics? :dunno_black:
Haha, I have a crappy flip phone but I'll grab some tomorrow :)
I still have a flip phone too!!! Haha but I'd never call it crappy... I think I'm gonna go to the grave with my vx5400 lol!
...but in all seriousness, it does make posting pictures here a bit of a chore. Take 'em with my camera, upload 'em to my computer, save 'em to a site, then link the pic... whoo my photos are outdated by the time I post them haha :icon_razz:
Quote from: ShowBizWolf on April 25, 2017, 08:52:40 PM
I still have a flip phone too!!! Haha but I'd never call it crappy... I think I'm gonna go to the grave with my vx5400 lol!
...but in all seriousness, it does make posting pictures here a bit of a chore. Take 'em with my camera, upload 'em to my computer, save 'em to a site, then link the pic... whoo my photos are outdated by the time I post them haha :icon_razz:
I just use the $10 Samsung flipper haha I don't care to have the entire internet following me around all the time and when it breaks it only costs me $10 to replace! I do have one pic of the bike from back when I got it so I'll upload that :)
(http://i64.tinypic.com/2qknhig.jpg)
Here's my buddy and I on our first half decent ride of the year. His is a V45 Magna, which if you're curious is significantly faster than a GS500 that's running lean and has a 300 pound man on it.
(http://i68.tinypic.com/2j0zehy.jpg)
And here is the bike the day I got it home, before I even rode it (or any bike). The windshield is off now. Previous owner had a set of boy-racer handlebars on and had to chop the windshield up to make it fit around them.
Awesome pics... they look very similar to the ones my phone takes :D I love how your shadow in the second pic shows the silhouette of said "older" technology :icon_mrgreen:
Boy-racer handlebars... you mean like clip-ons? From the front it looks like they could be clip-ons or clubmans. Just curious cuz I've always liked seeing these bikes with either/or of those!
Quote from: ShowBizWolf on April 25, 2017, 10:39:38 PM
Awesome pics... they look very similar to the ones my phone takes :D I love how your shadow in the second pic shows the silhouette of said "older" technology :icon_mrgreen:
Boy-racer handlebars... you mean like clip-ons? From the front it looks like they could be clip-ons or clubmans. Just curious cuz I've always liked seeing these bikes with either/or of those!
I think he said they were clubmans. Don't get me wrong, they looked pretty sweet, but I had to bend* over WAY too much to comfortably ride with them on.
Looking good! Esp without that windshield!
yes 750 shock is stiffer than 600
yes 15t will work with stock chain length, but you'll be doing a new chain any way.
yes, as showbiz stated, get in touch with Rich Desmond and get new front end springs on the way. You're probably looking at .95 or 1.00 and heavier oil at 300 pounds.
Have fun!
- sq
At your weight you are gonna have to go custom shock/spring to get a decent setup. If you just get the right spring almost all shocks, even adjustable damping ones are not gonns have the range to match the damping.
Seriously you will have another problem. The swingarm on the GS is a very old design and not very torsionally rigid for people even within the mean range of weight. The forks also but less so. I honsetly think if you want a decent handling bike you may have to go to a later design bike with more torsionally rigidity ( Particularly rear suspension and forks).
Getting the seat and footpeg position may be a bit difficult as well but not impossible.
Another factor is the stock rear tyre size is going to be a bit soggy. You may want to look at going up a size or two ( requires some brake anchor arm work).
The chassis is pretty good and stiff though. It shouldn't be a problem.
Quote from: gregjet on April 26, 2017, 02:16:26 PM
At your weight you are gonna have to go custom shock/spring to get a decent setup. If you just get the right spring almost all shocks, even adjustable damping ones are not gonns have the range to match the damping.
Seriously you will have another problem. The swingarm on the GS is a very old design and not very torsionally rigid for people even within the mean range of weight. The forks also but less so. I honsetly think if you want a decent handling bike you may have to go to a later design bike with more torsionally rigidity ( Particularly rear suspension and forks).
Getting the seat and footpeg position may be a bit difficult as well but not impossible.
Another factor is the stock rear tyre size is going to be a bit soggy. You may want to look at going up a size or two ( requires some brake anchor arm work).
The chassis is pretty good and stiff though. It shouldn't be a problem.
Thanks for the tips man. At this point I'm not really even looking for a decent handling bike. The hardest riding I do is just on back roads, and I still take turns fairly slow just 'cause I'm a newer rider. If I ever started to get into really ripping around, I'd end up getting a bigger bike. Hell, if a cheap enough VFR750 pops up I still intend to snatch it up just cause I'm obsessed with them haha
VFR750. Problematic reliability but the V4's were the peak of honda's technology. Gone backwards on roadbikes since then. The 400's were amazing as well. I am still confused why everything has ridiculous inline transverse 4 cyl motors. Dumbest odesign and orientation you you could think of on a motorcycle.
Your problem , especially if you are a beginner, is going to be that you will actually be fighting your suspension, if you don't match it to your size. It will do wobbley things that you will blame on yourself, that are NOT your fault. Very hard to learn when you are trying to fix mistakes that aren't actually yours. Even fork flex is going to be a problem.
This is a good bike to learn on , but in your case you need to adapt it to you. All bikes are built to a median ( that doesn't exist). If you are a couple of RMS from it , you has to mod to suit.
Katana shock should be good for you. Mine handles great with myself and my fiancé on the bike together. We weight at least 350 lbs combined so 300 lbs is no problem for the kat shock. .95 minimum on the front for you. Even more important than the rear shock.
I swear I saw this bike on my local craigslist the other day...
It was... I saw on the GS facebook group that he already upgraded and wants to sell it :cry:
gs facebook page? :dunno_black:
Yes there are two that I am in/check out. The one is "GSTwin" which doesn't see much activity and the other is "Suzuki GS500" :D