Rescued 1978 GS750

[Kanon08]

About two months ago a family member of mine was pretty much getting rid of his old high school bike. He's a man of many things so for one I was surprised he was sending the poor thing to the scrap yard and two he'd give it to me. I wasn't really sure what I was getting into but with a budget of pretty much zero and a friend who has a shop, I figured I couldn't let the poor thing die like that. When I picked it up I noticed the the last registration sticker was from 85 and it obviously had been sitting since then. Luckily it was stored semi properly in a dry garage that from the looks of it was a complete time capsule.

When I picked up the bike I was a bit baffled by the realization of a bad ass bike pretty much falling into my lap but then I saw that Yoshi pipe and got even more excited. I knew from my dirtbiking experience and just being an enthusiast what Yoshimura is and how cool it was to see let alone own a piece of history. It wasn't until now did I know there was a want for those old original pipes and from what I'm kind of understanding is it's probably a second gen post completely Pops hand made pipes.

Anyway some parts were defiantly warn and abused which I have slowly replaced, all of the carbs have been rebuilt as well as the front and rear master cylinders. Oh and 27 year old oil....... it looked like molasses. Everything was flushed, a new battery was installed, a fresh tank of 93 and after a few blasts of carb cleaner she started up.

I dont really see myself doing too much to the thing except for adding a few 70's racebike influences. I employed the Cafe and Bobber idea but didn't have the heart to destroy that more than awesome 70's muscle bike sole it has.


View attachment 16699(don't let the wetness fool you.)

 

[Kanon08]

Here are a few more photos:

Also how can I attach multiple photos to post?
View attachment 16700

 

[Kanon08]

This is how it looks today, don't worry the front fender will be back and the tail piece will soon be painted to match. Also a set of Bridgestone Battlax BT45's will be added to the mix as well as some Renthal Lows and turn signals.

 

[Kanon08]

Oh and just a tad bit of custom work to the tail:

 

[Kanon08]

Hopefully some Tarozzi rearsets and Progressive 12 series in the near future and a bit further, if possible, one of those sexy gold EPM or Morris wheelset.

 

[MadCapsule]

I like the frenched tail light. How'd you do that?

Also, is that one of the seat covers that has extra padding that I've seen on Ebay?

 

[7981GS]

Nice starting point!

I have also planned for a rear fender eliminator type deal on one of my projects only with an '83 1100 tail.

Perhaps a shortened front fender to go with the styling?

Eric

 

[Kanon08]

I like the frenched tail light. How'd you do that?

Also, is that one of the seat covers that has extra padding that I've seen on Ebay?

To French the taillight I pretty much just dove in head first with a die grinder. I really just eliminated all of those fender/tail brackets, bent up some steel for a new mount and then started cutting on the "Trunk" box. It was actually quite simple since the tail light mount was in an L shape I just kept cutting deeper and deeper until I was happy with the depth and just mounted it all up with new bracket I made. At one point I needed to replace two rivets further towards the front of the bike on the trunk box to give the piece a bit more rigidity but besides that it was all just steady cutting really.

Oh and the seat was just done at a local upholsterer. I really wanted that upper stitch line straight but whatever, I got a deal.

View attachment 16718

 

[Tim Tom]

That sure is a bad ass bike! Love the pipes on it. I think your going the right direction by not chopping it up. Much cooler to keep it stock looking but with custom touches and details, like the seat and tail light. It's gonna look great with the renthal bars too. Nice work, keep it up.


Also to attach more than one picture per post you can use a site like photobucket, and copy the image code into your post. More detail instructions here if you need them.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/images/how_to_post_pictures.pdf

 

[Kanon08]

This is how the bike is looking now after some new tires, bars, a lot of cleaning, some turn signals, a new master cylinder, rotors and grips.

Next on the list is to paint the tail, add some rear turn signals and some new braided brake lines up front since the old ones collapsed on me. Oh and sort out some wiring issue.

Also I have one question, my starter clutch happens to be cracked, could that be detrimental later down the road at higher RPMs? I've been told so but would prefer some more input and it appears that the previous owner just kick started it every time and rode it as is without issues.