79 GS1000 Bobber/Cafe Build

[Thirdgen60]

Picked it up friday afternoon. 79 Suzuki GS1000L....yeah its got the chrome package

Gotta love that sissy bar.

The goal for this bike it mainly to build something that looks decent, isn't horribly slow, cheap to build (hence the jap bike), something different and most importantly keep me busy because i finished my winter project to early. Ill be going for a bobber look and probably a few cafe styling cues.

I bought the bike knowing it burned oil and had been sitting since 2010. So i knew a rebuild was in order but i wanted to get it fired up to check for any other issues. Only took a few hours to get it running so took it around the block and then parked it to start tearing apart.

Anybody need parts

No going back now

Got the engine/trans out and started to mock up for the hardtail conversion. The bike will be lowered about 3" and stretched about 6" in the rear. Anybody know if there are any shorter forks that will fit these bike, like maybe from a newer gsxr or something?

Also got the engine torn apart this weekend, expecting to find some obvious issues due to the large amount of oil it was burning. But there were no obvious signs of wear in the cylinders or damage to the rings, which has me thinking valve seals. Either way since it is apart it will be getting honed, new rings, valve seals, the works.

Thanks for looking
Tyler

 

[bakirkwold]

What a great start. Good luck the with project.

 

[Go Mifune]

will take the side covers if you dont need them.

 

[Thirdgen60]

sent you a pm

 

[salty_monk]

All the GSXR forks should fit that headstock.... Not a big hardtail fan myself but it'll be interesting to see what you come up.

At least you started with an "L"

 

[JimmyR]

Wow - makes my project look extremely conservative! Keen to see what happens next.

 

[Thirdgen60]

Finally had some time to get the frame tacked together. I also drew up some axle plate in Autodesk Inventor to fit in the frame so now i just need to figure out where to get them cut.

 

[Thirdgen60]

I have a few more updates to report, slow but surely...

I picked up a set of axle plates with the correct slot size to modify for my needs.

Its a bit hard to tell whats going on in this pick, but i machined a set of plates to fit in the slot of the original swing arm (which is still in place in this pic) and also fit in the slot of the axle plate. This allowed me me ensure the axle plates got welded in according to the original geometry of the bike frame and not to the geometry of my garage build frame :-X

I cut up the stock handle bars to make some temporary ones to get an idea of the look. With the bike back in rolling form, i rolled it out and gave it a bath.

And finally a shot after grinding the new frame welds, with the tank set on it and after shortening both the side and center kick stands.

 

[oneliterbeater]

Looking good.

 

[Thirdgen60]

Well its been a while since iv had an update, mostly due to being out of town for 3 weeks.

I found out that the cylinder head had a broken valve guide so the head is over at Klemmes in davenport for the repair. Meanwhile i got the new rings installed, cylinders ball honed, and reinstalled.

Rear fender and seat are tacked in place.

Fork seals were seeping a bit so i decided to do a rebuild on them, which was surprisingly easy.

Got most of the front end pieces painted up while the forks are off.

Made up a bracket for the license plate and taillight.

Finally, this is the way it sits as of now. Im working on mounting the wiring and battery. Once thats done the frame should be ready for some paint and the bike can start coming back together.

thanks for looking

 

[Good Times]

It's looking great so far TG. Ambitious project. Can't wait to see her finished.

 

[Syncro]

lookin' good, I like choppers so I'd tell you to rake the forks out a bit, but its your build not mine.

 

[Crazy_Russian]

look very promising and interesting
got some questions, how difficult would it be to instal a wide tire on to a frame like this?

 

[Thirdgen60]

It would be pretty easy i would think. It might get tricky if you go too wide cus then the engine would have to be offset to line up the chain

 

[Guest]

Excellent build! Gonna be a looker!

 

[7981GS]

Excellent build! Gonna be a looker!

Have you looked at the pic's???

Eric

 

[bdydrppup]

It would be pretty easy i would think. It might get tricky if you go too wide cus then the engine would have to be offset to line up the chain

Or run an offset front sprocket like the drag guy's.

 

[Thirdgen60]

A lot has gone on since my last update.

First, painted the wheels and frame and got the bike back into a roller.

Then the motor went back in as well as a few other parts.

Played around with some paint on the fender.

Test fit.

Went crazy on it a few days last week and threw the rest of it together.

And here it is today on the maiden voyage into the QC. The bike feels absolutely awesome to ride, especially after seeing it for the last 6 months in pieces in my garage. I decided to ditch the rear fender because it just looks too cool with out it. Also the muffler fell off going down a country road and i lost it into a bean field..... so looks like its open header from here on out

There are still a few things that need to be addressed like paint on the tank and i need to figure out how to tune the carbs because they are badly out of whack. So ill be posting a few more pics with the final changes/tweeks.

Thanks for looking
-Tyler

 

[Thirdgen60]

Have you looked at the pic's???

Eric

What's this supposed to mean?

 

[Good Times]

Low and loud. Gotta say, it looks pretty sweet.

Oh, hey, never Armor All that seat.

If it were my bike I'd keep my wallet straight down the middle of the back of my pants. Little extra padding just in case. LOL