1977 GS400X Cafe build

[ianarm77]

I picked up this 1977 GS400 for a great deal and I have been rebuilding it and turning it into a cafe racer. This is my first cafe bike. Does anyone know where I can order shorter Throttle and clutch cables for this.


Here a some things to come:

-New Chain and sprocket- Any suggestions on gearing 520 conversion??
-Dyna S ignition
-Remove battery area and mount smaller lithium battery
-painting the tank and the cafe style seat pan from Airtech
-New Rims from GS550 and retro fit front disc brakes- any suggestions on what caliper and disc I should use or will fit?

Thanks!

 

[Guest]

Nice one! That looks like you've got a good start going on there.

- No idea on the 520 conversion but do you really need to do it?
- Dyna S... do it I've found the DS3-3C is compatible with the 450's (worked with Dynatek to get it all sorted) and I'm lovin' it, will be tons better than the points that are on there!
- Take care what you use and stick with something like a Shorai that has built in battery management. If you don't have a good one like that, you may find individual cells within the battery pack get over charged or under charged and that's what seems to cause issues like fires...
- Have you got a paint scheme in mind?
- The GS550 front end is a direct bolt on for the 450's but I'm not sure how well that translates to the 400. If it does, you might be better off getting a 550E front end as I'm pretty sure that would let you use the Salty Monk twinpot Kawasaki brake upgrade...

Keep us up to date!

 

[Englishman]

I picked up this 1977 GS400 for a great deal and I have been rebuilding it and turning it into a cafe racer. This is my first cafe bike. Does anyone know where I can order shorter Throttle and clutch cables for this.


Here a some things to come:

-New Chain and sprocket- Any suggestions on gearing 520 conversion??

-New Rims from GS550 and retro fit front disc brakes- any suggestions on what caliper and disc I should use or will fit?

Thanks!

I put 450 cast wheels on mine and it's a relatively straight swap. If you have the 400X with a drum front brake, you will need forks from a disk braked bike as well. Look for a complete front end on eBay.

I'm not sure if there is clearance available for a 520 chain through the motor sprocket cover area and also the bike is not a power house, snapping chains with the few HP the twins make is unlikely.

Plenty of info and opinion here, welcome from a fellow 400 wrenched !

Mark.

 

[Wrxben]

Just wondering how your project is going and also wondering if you chose/mounted a seat yet?