I hope this is redundant, but I just wanted to start a seperate thread for the rebuild project. I'll keep updating as I progress through the project and as you guys help me figure stuff out  ...

The project bike is: 1991 Suzuki GS 500. I picked this bike up off of eBay for just over $200. I had to make a 2 or 3 hour road trip out to Philadelphia, PA to pick the bike up. Which was... interesting at best. Little did I know I would be diving head first into the slums of Flithadelphia to find this bike, let alone the crap I would have to go through just to find the guy's place. But alas, that's another story.

So, here are the pics, right after getting her into the basement.









Any and all input is welcome!!

I hope double posting isn't too terible of a sin...

Updates! I've starting the stripping down of the GS. And I've discovered the aft portion of the frame is bent... lucky me! I also used some carb cleaner to remove the Kmart spray bomb job on the frame to uncover the VIN number. Step one of the "lets see how hard PennDOT is going to screw me" experiment.

Anywho - latest pics:











I'm going to be busy........ 

Subframe damage....not too serious.  There's a thread somewhere recently titled something like "does this look wrong?" that had a similar problem.  He got it fixed without too much problem. 

That poor bike has been abused.  I'm glad it's in good hands.

Edit: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=31022.0

That bike looks like hell on wheels.  You gonna sand blast the frame?  If I were you, I'd buy another parts bike that's been alittle less neglected.  You can probably get one for $500 or less not running.  You'd probably spend much more than that on parts in the long run.  Are you looking to put it back in stock running condition or are you going to fab and upgragde?  Looks like a fun project.

that looks like a good project, and a contender for a gsxr subframe (post srad. i found out the hard way the srad looks too fat on the gs)
$200 can't really go too wrong with that.
have fun :d

yeaa i'g go with a new gsx rear end looks fun ..been abused thats for sure but the fun thing about it ... you have it torn down .. i'd putl
some mtor work in to it   send the heads off have it resleved or bored .. what ever it has .. build the up motor up why not you have it apart .. theres probly a shop around there that dose it for pretty cheep good luck keep us posted

Quote from: hmmmnz on October 20, 2006, 06:39:55 PM
that looks like a good project, and a contender for a gsxr subframe (post srad. i found out the hard way the srad looks too fat on the gs)
$200 can't really go too wrong with that.
have fun :d

Pardon my ignorance, but how do you go about getting the subframe off of another bike?

QuotePardon my ignorance, but how do you go about getting the subframe off of another bike?

many sportbikes have removable subframes, you can just unbolt them. I guess that you'd then have to weld some tabs onto your frame to bolt it on your bike. Most serious sportbikes are alluminum, so you can't just weld them on. I think it'd be kind of cool to just chop it off and leave just enough for the drivers seat. You couldn't carry a pasenger but it'd look cool and you'd have less bodywork to buy or make.

Any luck with spark or compression? Did you check? I hope it at least turns over.
Have fun! 

Quote from: Jarrett on October 20, 2006, 05:50:40 PM
You gonna sand blast the frame?  If I were you, I'd buy another parts bike that's been alittle less neglected.  You can probably get one for $500 or less not running.  You'd probably spend much more than that on parts in the long run.

Yeah, I'm thinking sandblasting the frame is going to be the way to go. May go with a black finish instead of the silver - not certain though. Another parts bike had been a consideration of mine. I'm looking at this the stupid way - as a challenge to get this one running again. I've probably got about a grand in this project's budget...

Quote from: ducati_nolan on October 20, 2006, 09:13:15 PM
Any luck with spark or compression? Did you check? I hope it at least turns over.
Have fun! 

As far as spark - I have no idea. I do have decent compression and she turns over easy. I'm think of at least a top end rebuild on the engine anyway. Anyone know where I can get a bore kit??

Oh - and any suggestion on a dual headlight setup? I've seen a few of the rides around here with them, and that just looks sweet to me.

It's gonna be a long road - but I'm hoping to have it done by next season. (ha!) So wish me luck! 

Those are typically Buell Blast headlights.  You have to make (buy?) some custom brackets for them to fit, but they look cool. 

I can fab some brackets no problem, I just wasn't sure what make / model / etc. I needed to look for. Thanks for the info!

My dual headlights are from an 03' Buel Lightning. I got them at the local Buel/Harley dealer for like $65. they came w/ bulbs too  The brackets are super easy.. I made mine out of alluminum and used the factory bolts and mounting point  If you need any pics PM me and Ill email em to ya

I've got a few things off my 2004 if you're interested, that I'll part with cheap.

-stock handlebar (black) in perfect shape. $15?

-airbox & stock filter. roughly 2k miles on the filter. comes w/ everything to bolt it right back on. $30?

PM me if you're interested.

Thanks for the offer man, but the bars are actually in decent shape, and I don't want to swap them till i actually get a chance to ride the thing. And turdfergusson on this board is sending me a stock airbox already!

$65 from the Harley dealer you say?? That is such a sweet look. I do believe I'll have to go into the dreaded local harley dealer now...

Quote from: RiderX on October 22, 2006, 05:27:01 AM
I do believe I'll have to go into the dreaded local harley dealer now...

I'd personally wait a few months until it actually starts to look like a motorcycle again. 

you should be able to get some quite cool street fighter style ones from online stores or ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Motorcycle-Streetfighter-Headlight-Twin-Custom-SV650-SV_W0QQitemZ200037485808QQihZ010QQcategoryZ35598QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
that seems a bit expensive, it might work out cheaper to get them from the uk and get them sent over
http://www.busters-accessories.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=THL

Yea, I think the headlights are the least of your problems right now    If I were you I'd get the frame cleaned up / straightened out and then start going through the wiring harness point by point with a multimeter.  Once the electrical is sorted out then start looking at the engine. 

QuoteYea, I think the headlights are the least of your problems right now  Wink  If I were you I'd get the frame cleaned up / straightened out and then start going through the wiring harness point by point with a multimeter.  Once the electrical is sorted out then start looking at the engine.

Yeah, that's right. once the frame is done and you start putting everything back on, first try getting spark to the plugs. That's your main electrical priority. I'd also try to get the thing running and riding before you even do a top end. If the top end is shot it'll still probally run, it may smoke a lot but it should run well enough for you to make sure your bottom end and ignition are alright. You'd hate to do the top end and then find out that you have no oil pressure and a rod knock.

Headlights are the least of your worries at this point. But at $65 the buel ones seem pretty cool, but do that last.
Cool 

Well I wasn't saying I was heading out now... 


I dropped the enigne out this weekend - expect pics of that soon. I'm going to at least do a top end rebuild on the engine. As far as electrical - yes spark is a major concern right now. But I think I'll be able to achieve that much without too many problems. The wiring harness seems to be in suprisngly good shape.

So next I'm going to get the forks out of the way - but I'm wondering if I should bother with removing the swing arm or not...

I'm going to go to battle with the DMV next week, so that should be fun too.