Parts identification help

[donimo]

Hi, this is essentially what I would like to do to my gs400, but I have no idea what bikes to steal parts off of. I have found lots of info on these mods for the bigger bikes, but how about my 400? How do you know what front end to shop for? etc?

I have no way to contact the guy who built this one as he is in Japan and unknown to me...

 

[Big T]

The front looks like a GSXR swap. Maybe from a 600

The rear looks like a custom swing arm and chain guard with some trick shocks.

GSXR or Katana wheels

You can get a front end for a few hundred $$ complete

That swingarm is probably unobtainable unless you have connections in Japan. Same with the header.

Good piggyback shocks go $600 plus

So, with fabrication, parts and paint, you'd be looking at something like $2,000 for that look.

 

[Nessism]

Swingarm is likely to be from an existing bike but it was modified by adding on the lower shock mount.

Nice looking bike but way too much work for a 400. Not worth the effort and cost, and I'm a long time 400 lover.

 

[Big T]

Swingarm is likely to be from an existing bike but it was modified by adding on the lower shock mount.

Nice looking bike but way too much work for a 400. Not worth the effort and cost, and I'm a long time 400 lover.

Donimo,

You have to remember that the Japanese are bike crazy and they have highly restrictive laws on larger bikes. Therefore, their 400 cc bikes are very popular

 

[tone]

Arm is slingshot or possibly gsxr400, rear wheel is 80's to early 90's curved spoke gsxr or gs500, i'm not sure on the front end but my first thought was rgv250 or 250/400 gsxr due to the twin pot brakes but the wheel is the common later model straight spoke suzuki

Not quite sure whats going on with the double brake lever pegs & the exhaust is stupidly long but i like it a lot

tone

 

[Charlie G]

That is purdy!

cg

 

[donimo]

Well, BC has a slightly similar situation in that insurance costs are MUCH lower for a 400cc bike than a 750 (clos to half from when I priced it out last). That coupled with the fact I only ride in town and I have a loose agreement to stay off the freeway after my daughter was born leads to me having a 400cc bike.

I don't care too much about the rear shocks being piggybacks or not, and my MAC 2-1 with the nice supertrapp megaphone I just won on ebay is fine for the exhaust (I don't like the look on that bike, should have mentioned that.

It was more the front end and the dual big brake disc look, I like Ducati monsters and UJM's so that is where this is coming from, a sort of marriage of old and new in a bike that suits my situation.

So a gixxer front end eh, I wonder how much custom work I am in for with my bike vs a 750 or 1000 gs?

 

[donimo]

So I found this list:

http://www.ohiocaferacers.com/OCRStemSizes.pdf

It seems my bike (1983 GSX400E) is the same as most other gs's. Is this swap something I can do myself, or do I need to weld/fab up a bunch of things I don't have the tools for?

 

[spyug]

Usefull piece of information. I haven't done anything like that to the front end but did do a swingarm, shock and wheel change on my XS tracker project.

As far as the backend goes it is relatively straight forward. Find a swingarm that will fit the frame opening and will give yousufficient space to mount the wheel and tire you want. You will likely use the swingarm pivot bolt and fittings from your bike so you need to consider the swing arm bearing dimensions or you may need to have bearings or more likely bushes manufactured.Any machine shop or guy with a lathe can make bushes from bronze or aluminum that will work.

In my case the swingarm needed custom bushes that my pro bike wrench made for me. As I used a wheel from a different bike with a different axle size I had to do some fiddling with wheel bearing and spacers to get everything to line up and work right.

You can likely get around that if you get a swingarm, wheel and brake components from the same bike like the GSX-Rs that seem popular.Using more modern sportbike equipment , you may have to consider monoshock versus twin shock mounts and that could mean modification to the frame or more easily, modification to the swingarm i.e. cutting of single shock mount then adding mounts for twin shocks. I had to do this with my swingarm but I have a welder so it was no biggy.

On the front end it will be similar. There should be little to no hacking and welding if you find forks and triple trees from a bike with same stock and bearing dimensions as yours (as per your list) In some cases, some turning down of the steering stem may be necessary and again a good machinist with access to a lathe would be necessary.

Its not really rocket science but it is fiddly trying to find things that go together. It helps if you have a knowledgeable bike parts supplier and mechanic like I do. If you can prowl his yard and take measuremnets of things you'll figure out what will work.

The only other consideration is if its economically feasible to do it. In my experience, you can easily sink many hundreds if not thousands into these parts. That money could have been better spent , perhaps, on a complete bike that will give you more performance than what you are going to create. That's just the reality of it.

If you like to wrench and you enjoy creating something different that no one else has its great fun. Everyone should do it at least once in their m/c career.

Good luck with it and let us know what you end up doing. Its fun to watch from the sidelines.

Cheers,
spyug

 

[donimo]

yeah, price is definitly a consideration. I plan on getting a price list together and it boils down to 2 choices: a) mod my gs400 into a streetfighter/UJM/scrambler/mad max-mobile, or b) Buy a DRZ400SM and be done with it.

I like tinkering, but since my daughter was born I have no time to do it and that ain't changing for a few years (especially if my wife gets the 2nd kid she wants).

I think this is going to get pricey as I see the final product having spoked 17" wheels...

well off to find a front end...

 

[spyug]

Yup time is the other consideration for sure. With one bike in the stable once you start you're out of the riding business for awhile unless you can move at the speed of light.

If you have two or more bikes it can be better but still aproblem as you'll want to ride and put off the wrenching. The project can stretch to many months if not years. My Tracker project was planned for one winter. It ended up going about 18 months before getting to the way I wanted it.

For a guy in your position with a new baby, I think you are going to be severly hampered in doing this project despite all your good intentions. With work, home and baby its tough now. When kiddies grow up they demand even more time. As many will tell you, 10 or 15 years might go by before you get some "me time" back in your life.

If I were you, I'd move on to the DRZ and keep riding. Once baby's in college, you might have time to wrench but I bet wifey will have some other plans for you Take it while you can get it.

Cheers,
Spyug

 

[donimo]

Yeah, instead of now, "can't have it when I want it" ha ha.

I may grab a DRZSM next winter, hoping another model year takes some of the bloat out of the used bike cost (wanting a bike that is popular with the youg-uns always seems to be too expensive, where do they get the money???).

I will be on the GS for at least one more summer, then maybe hunt for a nice 650g shafty...

 

[spyug]

Usually they get the coin from mummy and daddy....usually mummy. I was at the pro -wrench last summer and this kid rolls in with mum to pick up his brand new Gixxer that had just been retrofit with Ohlins springs and rear shock and a real fancy damper. Mum, who looked like any working gal in her late 40's whips out the credit card and lays it down for at least $2k or so. The little bugger ( about 18 or 19) jumps on the bike and peels out without so much as a thank you. Mum asks Brian ( the owner) "What does he need those for?" He told me safety so I said I'd get them, is that right? Brian was kind of stuck. I could tell he wanted to come straight with her but I don't think he had the heart to tell her. I'll bet you she bought the little bastard the bike too and the friggin insurance.

My friends son's buddy ( around 17 at the time) hounded his folks into buying him an R1. The punk trashed it the second week he had it doing a wheelie I was told. More like it got away from him. It was on dad's insurance and when it came up for renewal a month or so later it quadrupled my buddy told me.

With kids, I believe in helping them but they've got to put into it nothing should get handed to them as they just won't appreciate it.

Good plan you have there sir. Ride as much as you can for the next bunch of years and do your wrenching when you get to be an old fart like me and some of the other old codgers.

Stay safe,
Spyug

 

[donimo]

If the supertrapp I just got off ebay fixes my MAC exhaust tuning woes I may just keep the gs400 for a while longer...

thanks for the advice though, no local wrencher friends and none at all with any kids, good to hear I am not an isolated case. Seems all the other young dads I know have way more free time than I do, must have totally different wives than I do, ha ha.

 

[landshark]

Donimo,

You have to remember that the Japanese are bike crazy and they have highly restrictive laws on larger bikes. Therefore, their 400 cc bikes are very popular

Not so much the bike restrictions as the cost of the license, a 400cc license is a lot less than an unrestricted.
It is a lot easier to move a small bike through city traffic too.
They are certainly fanatical, i have seen many ZRX12's in Japan with more carbon fibre and titanium than race bikes.
They look awesome, but i would hate to see the price tags.

 

[donimo]

So many bikes over there, they made a 400cc version of the katana well into the 90's, I saw one in vancouver last summer and the guy said it was a 1992, it said GSX400S and I fell in love. He said I could have it for 3500 and I wish I had found a way to say yes.

other lovely bikes include an sv400, same bike just sleeved down cyl's so parts are a non issue.honda VFR400, again same bike, single side swing, v-4 just sleeved down. I could have cheap insurance and a wicked cool collection of bikes if not for the miles of ocean in the way...

 

[Tom MLC]

Front twin-pot calipers look like they're from a Kawi Ninja. And the rotors are Honda. Just like the setup SaltyMonk sells. This is what I have on my red hotrod.

.

Give a shout out to Salty to get his opinion, and see if he has a kit for the smaller bike.

 

[donimo]

Front twin-pot calipers look like they're from a Kawi Ninja. And the rotors are Honda. Just like the setup SaltyMonk sells. This is what I have on my red hotrod.

.

Give a shout out to Salty to get his opinion, and see if he has a kit for the smaller bike.

thats awesome but I would have to source a 2 disc front end first, and if I am doing that I might as well swap the whole thing. bummer cause that looks perfect.

I think a bandit 600 front end swaps over, hmm...

 

[landshark]

So many bikes over there, they made a 400cc version of the katana well into the 90's, I saw one in vancouver last summer and the guy said it was a 1992, it said GSX400S and I fell in love. He said I could have it for 3500 and I wish I had found a way to say yes.

other lovely bikes include an sv400, same bike just sleeved down cyl's so parts are a non issue.honda VFR400, again same bike, single side swing, v-4 just sleeved down. I could have cheap insurance and a wicked cool collection of bikes if not for the miles of ocean in the way...

Dont forgot the RVF 400, a much better version of the VFR.

Here is a Yamaha SV 400 that i saw when i was there recently. I love the look.
I wish i had have taken more photos, but i was really hungover.

]

 

[donimo]

yeah tons of retro stuff too. I will never understand why small, fuel efficient and FUN things never catch on enough in the states, because that is the only way they will ever be for sale in Canada...