Simple old school + new school, call it pre skool

[Zweihammer]

Greetings All!

Well, after spending the last year or so amassing a shopping list of items to pull off some changes to my 82 GS1100, I made the first cuts last weekend. I know this will be viewed as sacrilege by some, but after passing up three separate opportunities this past year to purchase locally more ?82 GS1100E?s for less than $400 each, I think there are still enough suitable projects out there for restoration. I will be putting up what gets pulled off to help others, so it?s not all bad.

I wanted a project that combined the brute simplicity of a naked eighties carbureted, air cooled, big bore with the superior stopping, tires and suspension advances the last thirty years have brought to everyone. I wanted to keep it simple, as I don?t want a non running project taking up my shop space for years; I have had enough of that. So I am not doing anything too ambitious at this point.

So basically, I don?t want to be pigeonholed as to what I am doing. I think of it as a simple blending of old school and new school, call it pre skool. I am still at the beginning stages, but I have 90% of my parts already, so I hope to keep a decent pace. Here are some pics of the beginning.

Hmm, I tried linking my images with the

brackets as I have done many times on other sites, but this site doesn't seem to want to let me. Is it my newbie status? Well, it did let me upload one. Anyone have any insight for me on posting images?

Any comments are appreciated, even the ?Aww, you shouldn?t have done that?, but it?s too late now, that train has sailed.

Thanks again to all those on this board and others who pioneered these mods, you made it so much easier for me!

Cheers, Erick

 

[Zweihammer]

One more image uploaded the only way I seem to have available to me!
Cheers, Erick

 

[slow_heavy_750]

I really like the looks of it so far...keep it up! Cant wait to see the finished product.

 

[Billy Ricks]

To insert an image look for the icon of the mountain at sunset and click on it. Then paste the URL into the box that pops up. The image has to be stored somewhere like Photobucket, it can't be uploaded from your computer.

 

[doctorgonzo]

God where are you finding 1100E's for $400. I can't find an 1100E engine for $400.

 

[Zweihammer]

Okey Dokey, I will try this again

Hey, that worked nice! I will try a couple more;

I apologize for the crappy quality, I reduced the size and quality to reduce the file size as a courtesy to the online community. When I start producing something other than cut offs, I will post better pictures, Thanks for the help!

As to the other GS1100e's, two were from cracklist and have interesting stories for both, and the third was a fellow who works with my brother in law in Modesto. I actually tried to get that one, but he was a little wishy washy as to who really had the title, so I passed.
Cheers, Erick

 

[80GS1000]

This bike will be great once it's done. What front end are you using?

 

[Turtleface]

What's that rear cowl from? Looks like something with a lot of potential.

 

[posplayr]

What's that rear cowl from? Looks like something with a lot of potential.

It looks like an 80-81 E if not mistaken

 

[posplayr]

Greetings All!

Well, after spending the last year or so amassing a shopping list of items to pull off some changes to my 82 GS1100, I made the first cuts last weekend. I know this will be viewed as sacrilege by some, but after passing up three separate opportunities this past year to purchase locally more ?82 GS1100E?s for less than $400 each, I think there are still enough suitable projects out there for restoration. I will be putting up what gets pulled off to help others, so it?s not all bad.

I wanted a project that combined the brute simplicity of a naked eighties carbureted, air cooled, big bore with the superior stopping, tires and suspension advances the last thirty years have brought to everyone. I wanted to keep it simple, as I don?t want a non running project taking up my shop space for years; I have had enough of that. So I am not doing anything too ambitious at this point.

So basically, I don?t want to be pigeonholed as to what I am doing. I think of it as a simple blending of old school and new school, call it pre skool. I am still at the beginning stages, but I have 90% of my parts already, so I hope to keep a decent pace. Here are some pics of the beginning.

Hmm, I tried linking my images with the

brackets as I have done many times on other sites, but this site doesn't seem to want to let me. Is it my newbie status? Well, it did let me upload one. Anyone have any insight for me on posting images?

Any comments are appreciated, even the ?Aww, you shouldn?t have done that?, but it?s too late now, that train has sailed.

Thanks again to all those on this board and others who pioneered these mods, you made it so much easier for me!

Cheers, Erick

OK so you took off the seat, hacked the a$$, slipped that overbraced swinger in there.......... OVERBRACED SWINGER???? OK So what are the plans?

 

[Zweihammer]

Greetings All!

Thanks for the encouraging words! 80GS1000, your build was one of my biggest inspirations, I got my adapter bearing for the headstock from the source you listed, as well as my offset 520 sprocket, Thanks for doing the legwork and sharing it with us!

The parts list I have to work with is the '08 GSXR swinger you see here with the '05 GSXR 750 rear wheel and brake with a 520 conversion sprocket.

For the front end I have a a set of 05 GSXR1000 forks (one piece of advise I didn't heed and will pass on, pick up a complete front end when they come up for $500, like the one I passed on locally, you will be hard pressed to piece it together for less, what a pain in the arse that was!) '02 gixxer front wheel with '05 discs, '08 Yamaha R6 monobloc calipers and master. Top mounted stunter bars. I am keeping the locomotive headlamp, but ditching the '83 clocks for a little digital, I am not sure which at the moment.

'07 rearsets will go with changes to the engine, pods and such (still undecided on the carbs) as I had to nix the airbox for the monoshock. The tank was trash, so I started to put an '05 gixxer cap on it but it looked like crap offset to the side like the original. I am setting that aside for now and putting on my spare, I really do like the shape of the tank on an E and feel it important to keep it. I am going to make sort of half side covers to bring the tank and the tail together. I want lower edge of the seat pan and tail parallel to the top frame, with a thin section like the stock '80 filler pieces, then flare up to match the back edge of the tank as the '82 sides do. But I want to leave most of the sides off as I like the skeletal look of the mono'ed rear.

I wanted use the '80 tail as I feel it balances out the huge headlight. I like the trapezoidal taillight sticking out, the opposite of the small frenched in LED lights so many go for these days. I will make a seat pan to house the electrics and battery with the tailpiece and shape it with close cell along the lines of a Corbin before I have someone else cover it, as I would screw that up.

Once all the fab is done, I will pull it apart for paint and anodizing. Right now I am leaning toward a combination of dark blue and white stripes or white and dark blue stripes as I already have the paint from an earlier project. '96 Viper blue and pearlescent white. Possibly a red pinstripe to separate the two. I plan to have the gold stripped from the forks and have them and a few other pieces anodized blue as I have a plating shop just down the street from my work.

Well, there is my plan in broad strokes.What do you think?

Cheers, Erick

 

[TheCafeKid]

If you're planning on using the clipons from the gixxer you MIGHT be ok, but from all the reading I've done on here from ppl doing this stuff and from asking a lot of questions about it I wonder if you're going to have ground clear ance issues with those forks? I seem to remember gixxer 1100 being the absolute longest there were but maybe I don't know what I'm talking about either as I've never investigated the ultra modern parts.

As for the rest of the project it's been done many times by members
of this board. Most with great success and a fantastic look. I've also seen ones that didn't turn out so well. I'm liking where youre going so far tho my only complaint is cosmetic ( not digging the 80/81 750/1100 tail with the second gen tank but that's just me) keep up the progress It Seems as though you've done a bit of homework on this, which is highly admirable IMO. Too many people jump into it pretty blind. I'd actually considered doing this type of modern stuf myself but when I added everything up I realized the cheapest and most effective way to get old school carbureted big bore muscle bike with modern running gear was to buy a Bandit 1200. LOL. But I still may atempt something like this in the future. If I can ever figure out where to get some nice wide rims to lace GS hubs too I've had a mind to do a cafe/ streetfighter based on an 83 1100E.

Good luck!!

 

[posplayr]

If you're planning on using the clipons from the gixxer you MIGHT be ok, but from all the reading I've done on here from ppl doing this stuff and from asking a lot of questions about it I wonder if you're going to have ground clear ance issues with those forks? I seem to remember gixxer 1100 being the absolute longest there were but maybe I don't know what I'm talking about either as I've never investigated the ultra modern parts.

As for the rest of the project it's been done many times by members
of this board. Most with great success and a fantastic look. I've also seen ones that didn't turn out so well. I'm liking where youre going so far tho my only complaint is cosmetic ( not digging the 80/81 750/1100 tail with the second gen tank but that's just me) keep up the progress It Seems as though you've done a bit of homework on this, which is highly admirable IMO. Too many people jump into it pretty blind. I'd actually considered doing this type of modern stuf myself but when I added everything up I realized the cheapest and most effective way to get old school carbureted big bore muscle bike with modern running gear was to buy a Bandit 1200. LOL. But I still may atempt something like this in the future. If I can ever figure out where to get some nice wide rims to lace GS hubs too I've had a mind to do a cafe/ streetfighter based on an 83 1100E.

Good luck!!

Josh,
When you Mono shock you get more ground clerance so the newer (shorter forks) can be made to work. That is what 80Gs1000 (PJ) found on his GS1000.

I also think he is going with "stunter bars" those are bars with risers right?

Eric,

Despite the earlier comments this still seems an involved project and will be interested to see how it works out. Sounds like much of the research has been done and parts are mostly on hand Good Luck.

Jim

 

[Zweihammer]

Greetings All!

I hear what you are saying about the B12, Caf?. I thought about it as I was adding up receipts and realized for what I have in parts I could pick up an ?00 to ?02 Bandit off Cracklist. I may still do such a thing some day. But I would not have been happy with a stock Bandit and would have done many of the mods I am planning now.

A big part of this for me is the doing, the planning and problem solving, the mental exercise and then the application. I am a mechanical engineer by trade, after ten years as a welder/fabricator. I love screwing with stuff.

I like the ?80 tail as an extension of the 80?s angular aesthetic, I am soloing the seat as when I tried it out in place of the ?82, it seemed to stick out like a diving board, seemed like a foot too long. I think the seat and the filler pieces will help it flow together with the tank like it was made for it. At least that is the plan.

Like Jim stated, I am not using clip-ons, I am 40 and well past riding hunched up for more than a couple of minutes. Besides, I am a big guy and I think I look like a hedgehog making sweet love to a football when I play caf? racer, even on a big bike like this. So I am using these


mounted through the top triple; with these bars (the ones in the middle)


I looked at some of those sweet German all-in-one piece top mount triples for Gixxer forks, but couldn?t justify $450 when I still had so much else to get


Cheers, Erick

 

[LeeGS550E]

Greetings All!

I hear what you are saying about the B12, Caf?. I thought about it as I was adding up receipts and realized for what I have in parts I could pick up an ?00 to ?02 Bandit off Cracklist. I may still do such a thing some day. But I would not have been happy with a stock Bandit and would have done many of the mods I am planning now.

A big part of this for me is the doing, the planning and problem solving, the mental exercise and then the application. I am a mechanical engineer by trade, after ten years as a welder/fabricator. I love screwing with stuff.

I like the ?80 tail as an extension of the 80?s angular aesthetic, I am soloing the seat as when I tried it out in place of the ?82, it seemed to stick out like a diving board, seemed like a foot too long. I think the seat and the filler pieces will help it flow together with the tank like it was made for it. At least that is the plan.

Like Jim stated, I am not using clip-ons, I am 40 and well past riding hunched up for more than a couple of minutes. Besides, I am a big guy and I think I look like a hedgehog making sweet love to a football when I play caf? racer, even on a big bike like this. So I am using these


mounted through the top triple; with these bars (the ones in the middle)


I looked at some of those sweet German all-in-one piece top mount triples for Gixxer forks, but couldn?t justify $450 when I still had so much else to get


Cheers, Erick

What are those bar mounts going to run you? You could just pick up a set off of Ebay from an older enduro or 3 wheeler. Cost me about $15 with shipping when I did this on a katana tripple tree.

Like the project by the way!

 

[Zweihammer]

Greetings LeeGS550E-

I bought the risers and the bars as a set for a hundred. I know, I know, I could have done it cheaper. But these are beefy tapers, 1 1/8" down to 7/8", in blue anodized with laser etched increment marks for angular positioning (like I need that?!) and I am sometimes susceptible to that gimmicky crap!

I am going to try to mock up the front this weekend if I can make the time. These new bars are about the same rise as the old, with a little different pull back and a couple of inches wider. I will mount the throttle, levers and switchgear and probably see how much I can cut off the ends to narrow them up.

Or I will flip them upside down like some redneck clubmans, Ha!

 

[LeeGS550E]

Very good then - I'll bet they're going to look very slick.

 

[80GS1000]

Nice project, you'll love the performance improvement over stock.

Couple words of unsolicited advice - You'll want to respring those forks to something in the 1.0 kg/mm+ neighborhood (check Racetech's site for a good fork spring calculator) for the increased weight of the GS compared to a standard GSXR 1000. Also start scouting for an oilcooled GSXR 1100/Bandit 1200 4-2-1 header as this will gain you back precious inches of ground clearance compared to a 4-1 header.

Keep us posted with lots and lots of pics.

 

[Zweihammer]

Well, I scored a set of Mikuni RS38's off the E*ay last night with a buy it now of $225. I really wanted some 36s but I could not ponder much as I thought this opportunity wouldn't last. I have had deals bought out from under me while I stared at the screen. I just confirmed they weren't old slabby flatslides and hit the button.

So I guess I will find out first hand what too-big carbs will do. I already have a set of fcr 39's with spacing that didn't fit the GS (or I would have tried them last summer) and I have grand plans for a big bore some day, but that is a year or two away and as far as I can tell I have a stock 1100 with a header.

Any advice on jet sizes I should start with? I plan to go through these before I try to use them, any advice? I also have an odd thought of machining some 1mm thick, tapered, hard plastic reducer bushings to bring the venturis down to 36mm. I would press them in for the time being and take them out later once I can utilize more flow. I have heard of many instances of boring a carb body larger, or using filler in a manifold to alter the flow characteristics, why wouldn't it work in reverse? Or am I worrying for nothing?

Cheers, Erick

 

[Zweihammer]

Hello Everybody!

Looks like I have to do this entry in three parts because I have too many pictures, So here is part one,

Made a bit of progress on my GS/GSXR mash up last weekend. Here are the e*ay Mikuni RS 38s put on just because. I wanted to see how they fit her. They seem good overall; someone pulled the bowls off and pinched a gasket putting them back together. Can you get individual gaskets outside of ?rebuild sets?? Well, this is how they look;

Here is the GS stripped of her original front, I am keeping the headlight, not sure of the rest.

On to part two!