Hey everybody. I thought I would start a log of things I do as I progress along.  I am a car guy and just took my MSF class a few months ago. So I decided to look a for a bike to learn on. I found a bike on craigslist and asked a buddy of mine to go pick it up. Looking back I said what the hell was I thinking. A project for a first bike is a bad idea in my opinion, but here goes...

This is the 1993 GS500 that I picked up off of craiglist sight unseen for $750.00. It was complete when I got it. I just started tearing it down. Stripped bolt on the rearset, woohoo!

I didn't bother taking any pictures before hand because I thought it would be a quick simple fix and I would be riding in no time. HA! The bike actually started up and ran, but would die everytime I would wring the throttle. That rearset bolt is stripped so I have to cut it off.  Also in this picture you can see the 99 GSX-R 600 triple are mounted, with Vortex Clamp. The stem was custom made to fit a GS500.

Well, as I started to really look at the bike I saw that it was really bad. The tank didn't look bad inside. The float bowls in the carbs full of the rusty stuff though. And of course the forks...

Ready to race!

Then I started reading what some of you guys were doing on here and now the real trouble begins. Handling is very important to me. Performance trumps looks 3 to 1 I would say. So I went shopping I bought an 88-89 GSXR 750 Wheel

Those are 2008 GSX-R 1000 wheels behind it.  Maybe I should do a Bandit 1200 swingarm, 190 tire? Then I would need an offset sprocket, blah, blah, blah. Where do I stop?

I then decided that I did not want to cut anything on the caliper bracket  and decided to go with the Katana/SV650 rear wheel.

Indecision is expensive people. I did forget to note that when I bought this, the tire was already on there and had about 80% of the tread left.

I needed to address the fork problem. So when in doubt...over do it. 2007-2008 GSX-R 1000 front end.

This was a second choice too. Do you guys want to hear about all the mistakes too?

I will add more soon...

yes, we all want to hear about the mistakes, but we'll call them learning experiences, lol

Hmmm. I'm guessing indecision has more than doubled the price of the bike by now, but you might get some back if you sell off the unused parts...

Learning Experience 1: don't buy sight unseen. Shop. Pass by. Walk away. Negotiate.

Learning experience 2: riding and wrenching are two distinctly different activities. If you must do both, have at least two bikes, or as many as it takes to have one you can ride, depending how susceptible to projects you are. Or (for us winter-climate types) have a warm garage/shop and a defined end date in March for the wrenching. And two bikes is still a good idea, since deadlines keep getting missed.

what forks are those? I would love gold forks, and dual front brakes. performance is better than looks, but for me the performance of the stock bike is not too bad, seeing as how i dont race none.

Does that front end fit the stock GS neck? i dont really know much about swaping parts between differant bikes? so if anyone knows what front ends will fit the GS500 it would be very useful. especially since mine was wrecked by the previous owner.

Read, man read. He tells you exactly which forks (well, front end, as it's a bit more than just forks) it is right above the picture of the forks.

Not a bolt-on - custom machine work is required. This thread has some detail:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=44878.0

Particularly starting at this post on the second page.

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=44878.msg543148#msg543148

loving the forks man   

i did read it but then it said something about him changing his mind and said that the picture was a second choice so i didnt know which front end that was.  

Cool, another GSXR swap, lol.  I am a hair's breath away from mine being ready.  All I need is the front wheel and stem swap.  I went with a 600 for the .85 stock internal springs though.  Thankfully I learned this before I bought a 1000.  They are way too heavy for me and the lite GS but that is just me. 

Good call on the KAT/SV wheel.  You would have never finished the project before next winter. lol

AS others mentioned, please let us know about the bad purchases as well so we can learn.

I have doubled the cost that I paid for my bike as well, but as I told Psyber, I need a hobby and this is it currently.

Now keep the pics coming.

Quote from: O.C.D. on October 12, 2009, 05:45:58 PM


I have doubled the cost that I paid for my bike as well, but as I told Psyber, I need a hobby and this is it currently.

Now keep the pics coming.

and put those jets to use!

Okay, to pick right up where I left off. I said the 07-08 front end was a second choice. I originally was enthralled with Octane's GS. Read the great write up here http://octaneonline.com/culmination.html Well lo and behold he had moved on and was selling parts off of that bike. He did a 99 GSX-R 600 front end I believe and was selling the custom triple he had done with the Vortex Triple Clamp. Friggin' sweet right? Well, I thought about trying to track down every front end part for a 10 year old bike and for me the romance died. But not until I bought that sweet triple!

The GS500 is to the left, the GSX-R 1000 to the right and the custom GSX-R 600 in the middle. Anything is beefier than the GS. You know the stem Octane had machined looks to have the same base dimension as the newer GSX-R 1000...

This next part was a happy suprise, if it works out. Again GS500 and a fully adjustable 2008 GSX-R 1000 rear damper and guess what...it's only about an inch longer and it bolts up almost perfectly.

Now don't go and do what I did and buy the whole swing arm off of a 2008 GSX-R 1000 with delusion of grandeur, when you only need the shock. Trust me on this, swing arm not fitting very easily.

quote author=psyber_0ptix link=topic=50424.msg570197#msg570197 date=1255395116]


and put those jets to use!
[/quote]

Oh it will all be used.  I think for fun tonight I will take pics of all the parts for you all so you can see what I am up too.

That rear GSXR shock is going to make your ass really tall.  That inch equates to a lot different suspension geometry as well.  But I know a lot of people on here have used them.  Goes with what you want I guess. 

Although Buddha and, well Buddha, says they are junk, a lot of people are using and liking the 07 R6 shock.  Mine has been sitting in the garage for three months, lol.  But I too will be running one.

Looks like this is gonna get interesting 

Tywash these are the best and funnest projects to watch unfold. I sure wish you "would" have taken a "before" shot of the bike. Oh Well lesson learned. You seem to have excellent taste in parts and it looks like you do adequate research before you buy these upgrades. I can't wait to see that triple tree and assembly mounted.

One lesson I learned, though my projects aren't as extensive as yours are and are going to be, is to preassemble, take pictures, compare results to what thought it was going to look like and what you want it to look like, take apart and make changes and keep doing that process over and over until you get to where you want it to be. At first it will seem like a colossal waste of time, but when the project is finished you will reap the benefits in satisfaction! Just my 2 cents.

Keep the pictures coming, we are like little kids here. We will read if we have to but will always look at the pictures! 

Robert

Quote from: O.C.D. on October 13, 2009, 07:08:43 AM

...That rear GSXR shock is going to make your ass really tall.  That inch equates to a lot different suspension geometry as well.  But I know a lot of people on here have used them.  Goes with what you want I guess. 

Although Buddha and, well Buddha, says they are junk, a lot of people are using and liking the 07 R6 shock.  Mine has been sitting in the garage for three months, lol.  But I too will be running one.

I have thought about that too. How whacked out would the jometry (yes I know it's geometry) get if you threw some lowering links to even it all out.  The perfect solution for me since I already have this shock in my hand, is to find a linkage with the proper jometry. Any suggestions? I haven't been thinking too hard about it yet.

Quote from: Tywash on October 13, 2009, 08:05:55 AM

Quote from: O.C.D. on October 13, 2009, 07:08:43 AM

...That rear GSXR shock is going to make your ass really tall.  That inch equates to a lot different suspension geometry as well.  But I know a lot of people on here have used them.  Goes with what you want I guess. 

Although Buddha and, well Buddha, says they are junk, a lot of people are using and liking the 07 R6 shock.  Mine has been sitting in the garage for three months, lol.  But I too will be running one.

I have thought about that too. How whacked out would the jometry (yes I know it's geometry) get if you threw some lowering links to even it all out.  The perfect solution for me since I already have this shock in my hand, is to find a linkage with the proper jometry. Any suggestions? I haven't been thinking too hard about it yet.

The geometry is not whack out at all. Your sitting position is about an 1" to 1 3/4" higher. I love the height of my bike. I'm 5'8" and can flat foot both legs when stopped. The issue is that you sidestand will need to be extended otherwise the bike will lean dangerously to falling over. I'm running the the older 90's GSXR shock with an extended reservoir.

Now that some members have gotten 07/08 R6 and GSXR shocks to fit, can someone tell me the measurements, eye to eye, for these shocks compare to the stock? I like to upgrade to a new shock with the reservoir built in for a clean look instead of snaking the tube behind the frame to hide the ext reservoir.

Alright so the GSXR rear shock is just bolt on, no other changes?  does matter what year the gsxr shock came off of or what year the GS is? mines a 97 and i dont want to do any parts that arent bolt on for insurance reasons.

Bolting on and fitting are worlds apart from working and functioning. The geometry on this installation is competely different to that on the 2008 GSX-R 1000, not to mention the damping and rebound, both of which are affected by said geometry. The simple answer is yes it fits and bolts on but is an inch longer.

so, in this case 1 inch isnt gonna make a huge differance, and becasue of the geometry it wont even raise the seat height an inch.

Eye to eye on the R6 shock is approx 290mm give or take 1-2mm GS500 is right at the same.

I got about 286mm on the GS500 and 311mm on the 08 GSX-R 1000. The approximates measured from eye to eye.