1981 GS650 chopper/bobber project

[bluefireant]

Hello all, so I joined the site back in october and have been on here religiously everyday checking out what people are doing with their projects and everything else. I finally decided I was going to throw my progress up here. I was skeptical at first due to the new style the bike is going to be but oh well, i think its gonna be bad ass. I got the bike back in october and it wasnt running. Drained the old gas, cleaned the carbs, new air filter (old one had some sort of nest in it) and changed the oil. Sure enough i got it running. The next day it was a frame on the ground haha. Here are some pics of the progress so far:

 

[bluefireant]

Goodbye frame

Custom made Suicide Shift

Side view, seeing what it might look like

 

[bluefireant]

New Frame piece before:

New Frame pieces after:

Duct Tape Mock up in the apt living room haha

Who needs welding when you have duct tape!

Mount for new frame piece on driveshaft side before being cut on CNC machine:

CNC machine cutting part...GETTING THE MOST OF MY TUITION AT WPI:

 

[bluefireant]

From art to part...thanks WPI:

Mounted on the bike:

Notched out pipe to slide over part:

On bike after pipe was cut to size:

 

[67camaro]

Looks good. I was thinking about doing the same thing to mine but decided to keep the shocks.

 

[bluefireant]

Brakeside mount - plasma cut to size:

Notched out pipe:

Both pieces together on the bike:

So that is about where I am right now with the project....its taken me a while to get this far but the more i work on it, the more i want to work on it haha...and i am aware its probably not the style most people go for so take it easy on me haha...By the way...more pictures can be found here http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2128671&id=3708517&l=b01f31ed66&page=5

-Ant

 

[Flaming Chainsaws]

Choppers aren't my style but I always enjoy a custom project .

I see you have an RX7. Yeah... I love the old Japanese cars . And motorcycles!

Keep us updated.

 

[knowyourenemy66]

The purest will give you a hard time--don't let them slow you down. You're doing a good job so far--keep going. Keep the pics coming. LESS IS MORE!

 

[Steve]

The purest will give you a hard time--don't let them slow you down. You're doing a good job so far--keep going. Keep the pics coming. LESS IS MORE!

Semi-purist here, checking in.

Yes, it's sad to see another one fall to the grinder, but at least it's good to see that you are doing it properly.

I like the braces at the rear axle. A lot of the "choppers and bobbers" don't take into account that the shock mount on the left side is not braced well enough to take the tremendous additional loads of impact that are imposed by not having suspension. Your brace around the axle addresses that quite well. The brace on the other side looks good, too.

The shift linkage is also interesting. I'm not sure I would be comfortable with the concept of removing one hand from the handlebar at a light, then taking off. :-k

Not my style of bike, but I can still appreciate the effort (since it appears to be done so well). :clap:

.

 

[42962kevin]

This guy is talented for sure. The bike looks more than great.

 

[Tim Tom]

Neat looking project. Not my style but I can appreciate the work. My only tidbit is please do not put on those ridiculously huge ape hangers you had on the facebook pictures. A nice set of drag bars would be much sleeker looking IMO.

But that's just me. Its your bike, keep building it!

 

[bluefireant]

frame tack welded into place:

frame tack welded into place:

cross piece tacked into place:

gussets added, almost completely welded together:

gussets added, almost completely welded together:

 

[67camaro]

Nice work. What type of tank are you planning on using?

 

[bluefireant]

as of now I have the stock tank so I was going to try and use that, but since its so big its making it hard to figure out how/where i am going to mount the seat...ill get some pics of the bike with the tank/ bars on tomorrow

 

[Steve]

as of now I have the stock tank so I was going to try and use that, but since its so big ...

Now, that's funny right there, I don't care who you are.

Most people complain about how SMALL the 650L tank is and want to go BIGGER.

.

 

[duaneage]

At least it was an L model, if it was a katana we would be coming for you. I would look at tanks for the 450L if you need a smaller tank, similar design but just different enough to work.

You do good work, you anticipated the stress on that part and designed it accordingly. Buy a seat with the largest springs you can fit.

 

[bluefireant]

Mocked up with tank/seat/bars:

 

[67camaro]

Yeah the tank is too big for a hardtailed stock wheel base bike. If you are going as far as you already are cut the triple back bone out and weld in a single piece of tubing. You will have a ton of tanks to pick from that way. I mounted the sportster tank on mine and I don't like the way it sits. After my cafe is done I'll be cutting the back bone out of my 650 to let the tank sit lower.

 

[Adler]

Wowza, you mean business!

Out of curiosity, what did you do with the luggage rack you took off?

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Good on ya for thinking outside the box... I wanna keep an eye on the progress. So keep the updates / pics coming!