GS550 cafe racer project - it's a mid life thing.

[jetset]

You know how it is, you're merrily rebuilding old bikes to try and start up a new career-
.............................

Then someone throws a 1978 GS550 at you and, in a mad, light bulb moment you think
??????????? in America there are people making a fortune building cafe racers and custom bikes, could it work here in the UK?

So, off with it's bits we go!

 

[jetset]

GS550 cafe racer - project begins

GS550 cafe racer - project begins

OK, so it needs to look old, 1960's Triumph/Norton, that'll mean polishing anything aluminium, sorry, aloominum!


Even the forks get their paint removed for further polish


The headstock had been damaged by brake fluid, so I was going to repaint and then...........
...yep, it got polished too.

I'm told the wheels were powder coated before I got it, but..
black and red?? really?? more polishing.

Frame is shortened to support single seat, all unwanted bits of frame removed.


Time for a cup of tea, back soon!

 

[jetset]

GS550 cafe racer project - i'm back

GS550 cafe racer project - i'm back

I'm back, coffee by my side.

Why do the threads list as newest on top? apologies, but you'll have to read them backwards to get the history.

Anyhoo, on with the build story.

I didn't like the stock instruments, so, out with the vinyl cutter and....... old look (put my signature on them in case I get famous!)

also wrapped them in aluminium (no, it's aluminium now, can't help being British) to get rid of plastic.

ta daahh! guess it's kinda finished now.



Now what am I going to do?

Someone buy me a plane ticket, I want to work in sunny California!

(Hope you enjoyed my story)

 

[Guest]

Well done! :clap:

That is a nice piece of work! I don't envy your polishing upkeep though...

 

[FiremanBob]

Man, that is beautiful! What kind of silencer does it have? I've never seen one like it on a GS.

 

[AJ]

Great job! I loved my '77 550e. What a great bike. Wish I could see yours in person!

 

[cowboyup3371]

Nice pictures. Go into the User CP and set your display for oldest posts first.

 

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. jetset,

Very nice work. :clap:

Let me dump a TON of information on you and share some GS850G lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[jetset]

Aaaah, didn't know I had comments!! In answer to FiremanBob, I believe the exhaust had been handmade by persons unknown, it does have baffles (of sort), but very loud!

 

[boontonmike]

Looks great dude! Nice work. I like the guages alot.

 

[jetset]

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE CARBURETTORS!! (spose this should be a new thread in technical but hey-ho. Couldn't get this to run over 6,000 rpm without misfiring so put on a strobe light and took it up the road to see if coils/contacts etc were failing. Spark was perfect at misfire level so tried to get bigger main jets from any local dealer, not a hope, one had 2 in but bigger size so, thinking I can't do any more harm I took out the mains, measured them at .85mm (standard 80's) and carefully drilled them out to 1mm. (I know, I know, it's not the thing to do with precise carburettors! but I just wanted to prove the electrics were fine).
Guess what, it runs like a train now to redline (although the noise from the straight pipe at 10k rpm would wake the dead!).
I will order correct jets but in the meantime, the moral is.................carburettor setup can fool you into mistrusting electrics............do the plug checks first!!!

 

[boontonmike]

Those stock 80 jets where lean with the stock airbox/exhaust combo. With pods and exhaust that thing was running dangerously lean.

 

[Hoggystyle]

what process did you use to polish the engine up so well? i have the same bike, and after seeing yours, i am determined to get the same shine! great job allaround

 

[morrison]

I am a big fan, nice work. Im interested in the pipe you have, I like the exit of it. Any idea of the brand? Wanna sell? :evil: LOL/

 

[BeaverEater]

Wow, awesome bike. I'm glad you shared your project.

Did you fabricate that single seat/rear shell yourself or did you use a pre-built?

 

[jetset]

Sorry, keep forgetting to look at comments......
Hoggystyle - I used the old method of gentle grinding of all logos and names, then grades of wet and dry, then polishing mops. 'tis quite quick if you use progressively finer grades.
Beavereater - I found a cheap fibreglass tail on Ebay, but had to adapt and join to existing metal seat base so it meeted tank, and repair marks in tail (would have been simpler to make from scratch). Used mum's (sorry, mom's) sewing machine to make leathercloth cover for some 1" foam.

 

[jetset]

Morrison - I think the exhaust had been custom made by someone unknown, but looks very pro' and well chromed.