GS450 Cafe / Fighter Style

[Guest]

Good stuff Collo! Can't wait to see her getting finished up finally...

+1 to what Rich said, but I'll emphasise the photos... you can never have too many photos before you take it apart.

I also use Chinese fast food containers as well after giving them a quick run through the dish washer.

 

[Collo]

Thanks for the interest.
Yeh I started the other night by stripping down what I could. The exhaust, shocks, pegs, seat, tank and chain guard are off. I'll get some pics up shortly.

I want to do the frame first but not sure what tabs to cut off near the pegs as I don't know which ones the Raask rearsets use when I get some soon.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the interest.
Yeh I started the other night by stripping down what I could. The exhaust, shocks, pegs, seat, tank and chain guard are off. I'll get some pics up shortly.

I want to do the frame first but not sure what tabs to cut off near the pegs as I don't know which ones the Raask rearsets use when I get some soon.

Still no pic's? C'mon slacker

I definitely wouldn't touch any tabs 'til you get the rearsets... I know Mark (Englishman) got some Raasks for his 400 cafe but I haven't seen a close up of fitment.

 

[Collo]

Pics are coming Pete not too far away. Checked out the stator and its burnt out I'm surprised it was charging at all so I'll get a photo of that too.

 

[Big Rich]

Collo, have a look at stators from a GS500 - I think the original part numbers are different, but any aftermarket ones show that they are compatible. Plus a used one is generally much less expensive than a new aftermarket replacement.

 

[Guest]

Good stuff Collo, and +1 to Rich's comment... the 500's should be a straight swap.

 

[Collo]

Okay the time has come to post some photos. The engine is finally out and i'm having grand illusions of creating a mono shock conversion and under body exhaust... but i'm probably dreaming.

Here is the bike getting stripped:

Here is the messy stator:

And finally the engine removed:

So there's some photos for your entertainment. Next move is removing the wiring loom and making my own.

 

[Guest]

Movin' right along! Nice

If you haven't seen it, this might help:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=163012

Looks like Scottychop's no longer a member but should be plenty of info here...

 

[Collo]

Okay so bike is completely stripped and chopping the frame has commenced. This mono shock might be more trouble than it's worth but still willing to give it a go.

Looking through the posts ages ago I saw that someone made their own wiring loom from scratch, if anyone recalls the post and can help it would be much appreciated I've been searching for ages.

Pics to follow of current progress

 

[Collo]

Okay so here is where I have grounded too far through the frame, a quick weld should fix it though.

Cutting the tabs off was alright and much cleaner look

And finally the bike in it's current state awaiting a dedicated rebuild

You may not be able to see it from the photo but I have also cut off the chrome triangle foot peg holder things. Instead of buying $450 raask rearsets I've decided to buy any rearset I can afford and then just make a bracket to suit and welt it to the frame, should look neater too.

 

[Guest]

Mate it's good to see you diggin' in finally! The frame's definitely neater without the tabs, although I left mine on so it can be returned to stock, and as it turns out the side cover mounts make good loops to anchor the saddlebags for the daily commute.

As for the wiring diagram, there's one around somewhere but I'm pretty sure BassCliff has a copy on his site... worth a look!

 

[Collo]

Thanks Pete, I'll check out his links I've seen one ages ago. It ill be the hardest part of the build i'm sure. Your bikes looking good must be nice to be finished?

 

[Guest]

Thanks Pete, I'll check out his links I've seen one ages ago. It ill be the hardest part of the build i'm sure. Your bikes looking good must be nice to be finished?

Yeah I so wanted to do my own harness, but by the time I got that far I just wanted it back on the road again... I think if you're patient the rewards will be well worth it, just don't scrimp on cheap crappy connectors as they're the bits that will let you down.

There's eBay sellers that sell the stock style mini harness connectors and they could be the shot so the connectors don't become too bulky.

Cheers on the compliments too, I'm very happy she's all done! I'm still lovin' riding it every day and it's still a barrel of fun.

At the moment I'm dying to get stuck into the next project fully, but I still need to get a new shed built first and that's something I just can't' find time for at the moment...

 

[Collo]

Got the bike back from the workshop. Has had the back part of the frame welded in prep for the seat and is looking the part. The hole in the frame has been fixed and now the bike is ready for blasting.

Any suggestions as to what frame colour suits these bikes, I'm thinking of trying something other than black?

 

[Guest]

Good stuff Collo, will be good to see how it all went!

As for colour, have a look what Jake did with his 300:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=195200

And oohsam went red on his 1100G cafe:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=176998

A lot depends on how much frame will be visible, how neat it is (de-tabbed etc.), and what colour the tank etc. will be.

 

[Collo]

Thanks Pete, I'll check out their builds and see. My bike is pretty well exposed and the tabs are cut off and sanded back so it should look alright in a light colour but I know what you mean otherwise. Thanks for the advice

 

[Guest]

No worries mate... and there's a fella on here Tim Tom who does excellent Photoshop work if you need a mock up

 

[Collo]

Wishing I didn't cut off the rear shock mounts now as I don't feel like doing the mono shock conversion hahah, oh well.

I kept two of the mounts, but thinking I will need to re-drill and turn up some new ones, weld them in the drilled holes and start again. If anyone has a suggestion that's easier please let me know?

Ordered some cheap rearsets from Thailand today but I think they will do the job. $100 delivered is cheaper than the $450-$500 for Raask's.

I'll try and get some pics up of the recent welding work

 

[Guest]

What changed your mind on the mono shock conversion? I didn't realise you'd chopped the shock mounts already... no idea on how to sort them though I'm afraid... that's one of the reasons I left my frame completely alone, I have no idea about structural stuff!

The Raask ones definitely aren't cheap, especially given the mixed reviews about how good they are, so definitely worth trying the others.

 

[Collo]

Yeh, Dime City Cycles have these rear shock mounts that are exactly what I need but postage from US is a killer. Surely a local engineering place can make them for me so that's where my enquiries are taking me at the moment.

I read about your tank cleaning process Pete, where did you get the clearer and sealer?