77 GS 750 Build

[Octane80]

It's been a while since I've been on the bike, but recently I got the last of the parts I needed to finish the build. So far I went back into the carbs and put in new o-rings then I bought some 20 guage sheet metal and bent into shape a seat pan, then foamed it up and sculpted it and tonight I got the vinyl all sewed together... I'm really having a hard time with vinyl color the brown kinda gives it a classy old school look, while black gives it a little bit more of the contemporary streetfighter look, any opinions?

 

[midnightcafe]

looking good! What kind of foam did you use? Spray foam? I like that the seat is the entire subframe unit rather than having a fiberglass tail. Are you using real leather? What kind of needle/stitch pattern are you using?

I know, what's with this guy and asking questions?! But I hope to do the same kind of work on an upcoming project

 

[verde]

I'm really having a hard time with vinyl color the brown kinda gives it a classy old school look, while black gives it a little bit more of the contemporary streetfighter look, any opinions?

Looks good

I'm a brown leather guy myself.

The Triumph:

The piece I have picked out waiting to go on my GS bobber:

 

[Octane80]

Yep the bottom is just spray foam though I am going to coat that in a 1/2 in of high density foam before I do a final attachment of the seat cover. The material is a good quality vinyl which I grabbed from the scrap bin from Hancock fabrics. The singer 66 sewing machine I have was manufactured in the early 1900's and is only capable of one stich which is just called a straight stitch as far as I know. I will be adding a passengers seat behind this which will be low profile so as to sit under the fiberglass rear which will snap into place. The front seat will be on a hinge so I can still open it up and get to the battery and what not. Included is a close up of the stitches... not perfect but this is my 2nd sewing project and though my machine is heavy duty it's very basic (treadle powered) and I have no feet for it other than the standard so it's hard to keep things lined up...

 

[TheCafeKid]

Looking pretty good so far. You're likely to kill yourself with the bars you have on it though. Not enough clearance around the tank. Get a proper set of clubmans or clip-ons. You need to clear the tank lock to lock and have room for your hands.

 

[Octane80]

Got the new bearings in the wheels and got the tires in without pinching a tube while only exerting around 1/3 of the effort this time thanks to the motion pro kit and warming up the tires a bit before I started.

 

[Octane80]

Got a little more done last night, had to paint calipers, rear disc, and started cleaning up the battery box. I believe I'm falling in love with the creation and can't wait to get her out on the road, though I have another month before my motorcycle training course begins. It's kind of turned from this cool retro styled bike into a steampunk esque cafe work.

 

[Gumbo76]

Clearance?

Clearance?

So what is the clearance like for those handlebars and your tank? On my '79 GS550, I had to put on new bars cause folding them down like you show in the pics would make the bars hit the tank every time!

 

[Octane80]

Right now the bars are just sitting in loose, I will have to twist them up a little for hand clearance. Either way they still look fine so I'm just gonna hang with them.

 

[Octane80]

Here's some pics showing some of the recent work, bearings-seals, fork seals, rear disc painting, and the seat pan. I found the perfect roll of tape for a seal installation tool!

 

[Octane80]

So I took the front caliper apart last night to see what kind of shape it was in and found that I had some pitting on the piston. Seems like the pistons for the 77 are harder to find though I was able to locate them on Bike Bandit, but they are over $50. Was wondering if anyone here might have a source for the pistion which might be a bit cheaper or possible a used one in good condition?

 

[Octane80]

The bike is finally on the ground again! Given I still have a ways to go, but now I can see it in the proper stance so I can begin to do the fiberglass work on the rear end.

 

[Octane80]

Welp I finished up with my motorcycle safety classes today and passed with flying colors. Can't wait to get into the dmv and get my M endorsement!

 

[Octane80]

Well I got the battery box made, nothing too fancy just a new box which is not rusty. I'm quite excited since I got the electrical finished up tonight and the bike fired right up! The video is of the start up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfGdoPynzA4

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

and the bike fired right up!

Man you were kidding... heh, heh... fire's COOL!
CONGRATS!

 

[Octane80]

Thanks man, ya know I actually grew up in Indiana. Ever heard of Rensselaer?

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Oh yeah.....
I am a ways from there, @ about 30 miles north of Ft Wayne

 

[Octane80]

Had a lot of yard work to do this weekend, but did manage to spend a little time with the bike. I went through and applied threadlock and torqued the bolts,then finished up spraying the exhaust in vht high heat black with the satin clear coat and buffed out a few treatments of simonize on the kerker can. I also started fabbing up the brake light using an old brass door plate I purchased and some brass pipe. I then proceeded to do a few laps around my freshly mowed yard since I don't have a plate for her yet.

 

[Octane80]

So the bike and I got some personal time out on the road today. Overall she's rather well behaved for a 77. I decided to go a different route with the seat and spent friday night and most of saturday beating out a seat pan then foam and wrapping with black vinyl since I was all out of the dark brown vinyl and can't find it anywhere. I managed to mount the stock brake light just under the seat and it turned out looking pretty good. Now I just have to make the fiberglass cap for the seat and eventually will recover the it in a brown vinyl once I can locate the right color. Once that is done I'm going to do a matte clear coat on the tank rear cap and headlight to protect them a bit better.

 

[Octane80]

So I found some more brown cordova vinyl today so I can get back on the seat. Beyond that I've taken on making a manometer and everything has gone well so far except I could not find vacuum couplers which I could screw into the motor to replace the allen screws currently. What I ended up doing was buying some 3/16 standard couplers and then an m5 die and made my own threads. They ended up turning out great and I now I don't have to wait a week for them to come in. Total cost for the die and all 4 couplers was under 8 bones.