80 GS1100E mods

[Billy Ricks]

There are some photos here, http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/texashillcountryride.msnw?Page=1., of my bike with a GSX-R750 Yosh Duplex on my bike. Fits like a glove, but it is tight under the sump.

 

[Anonymous]

Billy - I have asked a number of sellers on ebay the dimensions on the pipes (pre 92 and post 93) and from the responces I have gotten- it looks as if there is a difference in the spacing on these pipes. I might just be restricted to 92 and under echaust.

I looked at the pics of your bike - all I can say is nice - very nice.

Sami - thanks for the tip on which pipes to leep an eye out for.

I have a few more pics to post. I now have the cases back together. Here is a pic of that monumental feat. Everything checks out to specs so far. It's fun putting things back together - but getting to that stage is a bear. By that I mean cleaning. I hope you can tell how much effort I put into that. Also, check out the nice new 530 offset sprocket and cam chain. I an replacing all of the seals and gaskets. This should make the motor nice and leak free. The 1100 sure looks pretty.
http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/yoshimurags1000article.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1373
http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/yoshimurags1000article.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1374

I got the chassis back and have some mods to show you. Thye are not complete, but I hope this gives an idea of what I'm trying to do.

The lower shock mount has been attached to the lower cross bar that originally had the centerstand mounted to it. TO get the correct geometry for the links I had to use some fairly long mounts. I added strenght to this area by welding in a U shaped beam across the tubular area. I will now fab a second set of mouning ears to place on the outside of the ones already in place. This will give more reinforcement 1/2" on each side and (as a side benefit) the added width will make the bolt fit perfectly.
http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/yoshimurags1000article.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1375

This setup should have more than enough strengh.

Here are 2 more pics of how this mounting scheme is taking shape.

http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/yoshimurags1000article.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1376
http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/yoshimurags1000article.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1377

The top shock mount is fabricated out of 1/4" plate. Pretty strong stuff. I think the top mount should be stong also, but I like to over-engineer critical components shuch as these. After the battery mount is complete I can get a better feel as to when I can strengthen it even more. There are some clearance issues that need to be dealt with.

Almost forgot - it took 2 tries to get the cases sealed properly. I used Hondabond and it works great - jsut as would Suzukibond or Yanabond. They say to put a very small mount of this on the mating surfaces. All I can say is - I put too little. There was none 'queezing out'. I cracked the cases again to find out that my application was too judicious. After cleaning the surfaces again - another coat, only thicker. This time just a tiny amount squeezed out. Perfect - I hope. Anyway, thought I'd relay that tho those that will do this in the future. You can have too little of this on your cases as well as too much. Kind of like the 3 bears - you need it 'just right'.

 

[Billy Ricks]

Coming along nicely Steve. I'm glad to see how you are handling the shock mounts, that will help me later. You've got the cases looking great.

 

[thr3shold]

Help finding correct parts

Help finding correct parts

I also have a 1980 gs1100E, however this is my first bike. I'm not sure what a stock engine would put out since mine came with mods to it already, but it is scary fast. I thought I would never do anything to the bike until I came across this thread and it sounded like too good an idea to NOT do it. I'm having a problem finding parts for this same project though and since I am new to the motorcycle scene, I am thinking this may be why. I'll number these questions so anybody who replies will have an easier time doing so.
1 which bike line has inverted forks and will be able to bolt up to my bike?
2 other than the forks, what hardware will I need to make the
conversion work?(i.e. brake calipers, wheels, instrument pods, etc.)
3 why would I want to stay away from the 18" wheel?
4 why would I want to stay away from a shorter fork?
5 af6er the front fork conversion is done, which front
fairing/windscreen style do I use? (i.e. 1980 suzuki or whatever
model I got the forks off of)
6 other than the swing arm, what other hardware will I need to make the
conversion work?(i.e. wheel, brake calipers, etc.)
7 what would be the best years and models to use for each and why?
8 what wouldbe the worst years and models to use for each and why?
9 which would be the easiest/cheapest to come by
10 which would be the hardest and most expensive to come by?
11 exactly how much of a noob do I sound like?

 

[Billy Ricks]

....I'll number these questions so anybody who replies will have an easier time doing so.

1. '91 and up GSX-Rs. You need to make sure the front end you get has tapered bearings for the steering stem.

2. The best thing to do is use a complete GSX-R front end. Wheel, rotors, calipers, etc. Otherwise you could spend just as much on machine work trying to make the GS stuff work and end up with less performance.

3. The GSX-Rs all have 17" wheels front and rear except for the '86 and '87. All the really good rubber comes in the wide 17" sizes.

4. Ground clearance.

5. THe GSX-R fairings are frame mounted so you would either have to adapt one or stick to a stock GS fairing. I've got a GS1150 fairing I'm going to use on mine.

6. You should be able to use a 4.5" wheel from the '88 and '89 Gixxers in your stock swingarm. You would need the wheel, sprocket carrier, spacers, caliper and caliper hanger from the same donor bike. Any wider and you need to do a swingarm swap and probably run into chain clearance problems with the wheel and frame. You can mount a 160 radial on the 4.5" wheel.

7. Depends on what you want. The best options have already been listed.

8. Don't use the '88 front end because of the clearance problem. The '86 and '87 gets you back into 18" wheels. Late model forks have the wrong type of bearings for the steering head. You need to stick to the tapered bearing models.

9. Ebay or salvage yards. If you go the Ebay route figure out what the max is you want to spend and bid with about 15 seconds left. If you win fine, if you don't there will be others.

10. There's usually plenty of parts with a little patience on Ebay.

11. Not nearly as bad as many that post here.

 

[Anonymous]

The front end modifications are pretty straight forward. The swing arm is another matter.

I would hate to see someone hack up their bike to follow what I'm doing when I really haven't put it all together yet. Let alone tried these mods out. This is a project that I started and sometimes I look at it and wonder if I screwed up. Other times I like it.

It took me many (MANY) tries at getting the shock mounts to where they are today - and to be honest - I'm not sure they are absolutely correct right now.

My suggestion is to do yourself a favor and see if I ruin the bike first before following what I've done - at least on the rear suspension. Ride this summer and by winter (when you want to do the mods anyway) you can decide whether to start wrenching.

I don't want to discourage you. I just want you to be aware of the fact that I'm picking my way through this.

BTW, I'm waiting on parts right now. So for now, progress is slow.

Another point of interest - TUDOR drove up from Albuquerque this last weekend to look at the bike. He took a lot of pictures and made measurements to help him with his project. He is doing the same thing, but with some slightly different parts - Kawasaki wheels for one. Nice young man, and he brought his wife up to Denver to look around. Hope you made it back safe.

In any case, good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

A few more pics - this time the rear brake actuator. In the fist pic you can see that I have relocated the actuator on the frame rail. It has to be there to clear the swingarm. Notice that this is a GSXR unit.

Also notice that I am able to use the entire rear brake pedal assembly (with a few mods) that I will show further down. The actuator is not connected to the brake pivot at this time. I need to find a long threaded bolt to make the final connection. You can see the point it will connect to if you look hard. It is just hanging free now.

This next photo is the other side of the brake pivot. Ignore the crappy welds please. I will fix those later and make them pretty. I welded a pin to the frame for the brake return spring.

http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/yoshimurags1000article.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1457


The last photo is a picture of the modified brake pivot. I hoep that's the name of it anyway - lol. It works for me.

http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/yoshimurags1000article.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1458

The best part of this fabrication is that I can retain the stock footpegs and seating position. Again, this is just fitting work. I will clean up the welds and grind it smooth and pretty later.

 

[Billy Ricks]

First photo didn't show up but I found it in your album, looks great. I guess I took the easy way out using Gixxer rearsets. Everything mounts on the rearset. Of course, I still have to mount the swingarm one of these days.

 

[Anonymous]

Yea, just noticed that Billy. I tried to fix it but failed. I'm not sure why it doesn't show.

I'm not sure if you took the easy way or I did. I was trying to put as few new parts in as possible.

The last part that needs to be fitted before final welding and powder coating is the header. That takes some money so I have to wait a bit.

I'm still trying to figure out how to fit the headlight assembly. I'm hoping I either get a brilliant idea one day or someone tells me how to do it. Either way would work.

 

[Billy Ricks]

http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/texashillcountryride.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1317

Check out the headlight mount I made in the link above. If you think something like that will work for you I could make a pattern for you. The pinch bolts on both the upper and lower triples on my front end are at right angles to the fork. I can't tell about yours from the pictures.

 

[Mark Harrop]

headlight mount

headlight mount

Thats a nice mount Billy...I went the cheap/lazy route and bought a set of 10.00 "universal" chrome headlight mounts from Dennis Kirk, or someone.... The chrome is flimsy, and the bolts rusted immediatley. They function O.K., but I should have cut up some more of my stop sign and made some. I'll put it on the list for this winter....

 

[Anonymous]

Billy, thanks for the idea. I never thought about mounting to the pinch bolts. I'll have to look into that. My whole thought process was centered around clamping to the forks. The inverted forks are so big that it would have to be custom mounts, and then you have to use a rubber buffer also.

You won't believe how many ideas I get from my brother and a friend who stop by. Sometimes you get into looking at a problem from a certain perspective and can't get out the that thought pattern.

One example of that is on the rear brake actuator. I was trying to figure out how to mount the rear brake light switch. Space was tight and it was kicking my butt. Very casually Jack (our buddy) says "Why don't you use a pressure actuated switch?" LOL Problem solved. And the real kicker is that I bought one a few months ago for the XR to convert to the street. I never did it - but still - I just couldn't think of it.

Thanks again! And I still love those pipes!

 

[Billy Ricks]

They function O.K., but I should have cut up some more of my stop sign and made some.

That's exactly what I cut mine out of. The guy that did the welding so I could move the rear brake torque arm to the bottom of my swingarm had an old sign laying around he gave me.

 

[Mark Harrop]

stop sign

stop sign

I made my seat pan, side panels, tail light mount, liscense plate bracket and a few other small doo-dads from a stop sign that some drunk ran over in my front yard. The city wouldn't come out to fix it soooo.....scrap aluminum!! You can never have too much.

 

[Anonymous]

Finally have some work to show. They look nice. I can't wait to get the heads on now. This is costing some $$ but it will be worth it in the end.

Notice the nice new Wiseco 1166 kit and cam chain guide. The guide is a heavy duty unit.

http://groups.msn.com/SuzukiGSGarage/yoshimurags1000article.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1567

 

[Gerry]

Looking good!!! 8)

Are you sure this is for your son and not for you :lol:

Gerry

 

[Anonymous]

Looking good!!! 8)

Are you sure this is for your son and not for you :lol:

Gerry

I once bought a girl a norton dominator. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Gerry wrote:
Looking good!!!

Are you sure this is for your son and not for you

Gerry

I once bought a girl a norton dominator.

My brother keeps putting the bug into my ear to keep it. His excuse is that there are so many mods that it will be a nightmare to fix. He may be right, but so far I've resisted. 8)

Dom, are we talking about the motorcycle? :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

i never anticipated that one. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Gerry]

that it will be a nightmare to fix.

Well at least you know who will be fixing it 8O :?

I once bought a girl a norton dominator.

MMMM.....A dominator on a dominator with Dom.......interesting


Gerry