GS750: White Orphan Baby build

[DannyMotor]

Alright...

Tonight:

Made stainless brake lines... drank beer... sat on bike and took pictures.

Last bits of things all involve painting and parts that have yet to come in.... hoping for tomorrow or Tuesday.

So... I'm REALLY digging my color choice. I didn't think I'd like it nearly as much as I do... but once I put the emblems on and saw it next to the graphite frame and gold... I was struck.

The seating position isn't bad either. Definitely a little 'arm' heavy... but shouldn't be intolerable. I think for 'cruising' I may have to use the passenger pegs. I didn't realize how small this bike really is until I put my fat-ass on it. Everything is so heavy, and huge... then to be in a wide-open workshop with it makes it feel about 1/3rd the size... hahaha. Enjoy.

Oh yeah...

 

[DannyMotor]

I just had a thought.

I'm using a bunch of 'L' parts... shocks, front end, wheels, brakes, etc... but keeping the E look....

I wonder if it's going to handle like a cruiser? The Before/After wheelbase is only .75 inches longer... the rake on the front end is actually slightly smaller, but the trail is longer...

This is either going to equalize itself.... or be drastically different. I will say I am happy I went with the L suspension, wheels, and brakes...

Dual Discs = better/safer
Cast wheels = low maintenance
Rear Shocks = Slightly longer (2mm?) but MUCH stiffer than the ones that came off it.
Front forks = MUCH better damping... slightly more 'heavy duty' than the 35mm E's.

I'm just hoping I made the right decisions here... pre-'maiden voyage' jitters I guess.

 

[andtheacademics]

How hard was your braided brake line build? I've seen a couple tutorials on YouTube but I'm not sure I have the wherewithal to put them together... But $100+ seems steep to get new lines on the front I have a 78 750E with dual discs but they're super squishy now...

Thanks!

p.s. bike looks HOT - blue + gold are a killer combo.

 

[DannyMotor]

Thanks man!

It was STUPID easy. So easy in-fact that I'm worried about complete and total failure. But, I followed the directions 100%. So it should be fine. *crosses fingers*

I ordered 9 feet of plain line 3 adjustable straight, 1 adjustable angled, 1 solid angled, and 3 solid straight fittings. $105 all together.

I honestly could've gotten away with doing all non-adjustable fittings and 7 feet of line and knocked it down to about 90 + shipping.

It's well worth it... took all of a half-hour to do all 4 lines. Simplest method is to do up 1 end, on the front master cylinder then run your line to the fitting on the coupler, mark it.. take it all off... chop it.. install fitting, install line... and then rinse and repeat for all other lines.

Tricky part is remembering to install the damn threaded barrel before you separate the stainless from the teflon... makes it a pain in the ass. But it helps if you have a dental hook or some small 90 degree pick.

 

[cowboyup3371]

How hard was your braided brake line build? I've seen a couple tutorials on YouTube but I'm not sure I have the wherewithal to put them together... But $100+ seems steep to get new lines on the front I have a 78 750E with dual discs but they're super squishy now...

Thanks!

p.s. bike looks HOT - blue + gold are a killer combo.

If your life is worth less than $100 than yea it might seem steep; if I have the assurance I'm going to stop in time because I put $200 worth of brake lines on and know they'll work great damn straight I'll spend the money.

Making the lines isn't hard (search for Nessism's thread about making your own from Earl's) but I will admit I couldn't get my front lines to work correctly. I spent an additional $100 to put pre-made lines from Z1 up front.

 

[DannyMotor]

If your life is worth less than $100 than yea it might seem steep; if I have the assurance I'm going to stop in time because I put $200 worth of brake lines on and know they'll work great damn straight I'll spend the money.

Making the lines isn't hard (search for Nessism's thread about making your own from Earl's) but I will admit I couldn't get my front lines to work correctly. I spent an additional $100 to put pre-made lines from Z1 up front.

My sentiments exactly.

 

[andtheacademics]

If your life is worth less than $100...

Depending on what day it is my father might agree with that one!

I always wondered what was so 'hardcore' about builders like Indian Larry eschewing the front brake (and helmet).

Seems like for $100 you can find pre-made stuff on ebay or is this not advisable? I guess the advantage to making your own would be perfecting the cable length...

Also @dannymotor - just noticed the red baffle - nice touch! should make you a bit more visible when you are leaving people in your dust...

 

[DannyMotor]

Ive got a mixed bag of parts on my front end... clubmans, 79 L forks, 81 1000 trees, 79 brake arms with 81 calipers... I needed to make sure theyd fit and look stock.

 

[andtheacademics]

Ive got a mixed bag of parts on my front end... clubmans, 79 L forks, 81 1000 trees, 79 brake arms with 81 calipers... I needed to make sure theyd fit and look stock.

Did you powdercoat those forks? They don't come black right?

 

[DannyMotor]

Yep... they came out pretty good... i didnt want to do any more polishing. Haha.

 

[DannyMotor]

Alrighty... paint is almost done!!!!

Tank: 2000 grit wetsand color-coat.

Tank: Final clear-coat.

Plastics: Ghetto paint-booth... and the rundown of painting:

.

 

[DannyMotor]

Yet another day delay on parts... brakes damn it... all I need to do is the brakes!!!

 

[DannyMotor]

Oh... also figured out why my oil light didnt work... damn light bulb. I'll never get that hour of my life chasing a bad ground/sending unit back...

 

[Gonzo]

Very nice work so far! Can't wait to see the finished product. That purple is trick!

 

[DannyMotor]

Thanks man! In the sun it looks electric blue... at night it looks deep purple. Its blurple inthe best way.

 

[nvr2old]

The paint looks nice. May I suggest (if you haven't already) to seal the paint edge around your filler opening with Liquid Steel or JB weld. It'll help prevent the gas fumes getting under it and peeling the paint back.

 

[7981GS]

Nvr, could you please post this in the tips section?

Eric

 

[nvr2old]

Sure. I've found it really works well.

 

[DannyMotor]

Sure. I've found it really works well.

I was wondering what to do about that!! Thanks!

 

[DannyMotor]

Tank is done...

Did a few rounds of vinegar soak, flush, re-soak.. and a LOT of crap came out... more than expected actually.

Also got my pet-cock sorted with rebuild kit... found out the problem with these rebuild kits... the damn o-ring in the kit is TOO small. So I just swapped out the old O-ring from the old baffle onto the new one, boom. Works awesome.

Hoping for brake parts on Tuesday... it's been 2 weeks... I'm starting to get nervous they lost my order. Grrrr...

Round 1 of vinegar:

Round 2:

I also took a 1.5 foot piece of dog choke collar , duct-taped it to to the inside of the gas cap, and swirled that around... worked MUCH better than trying to fish bolts out of the damn tank.