Going from shaft to chain

[Duttry98]

I assume this post is OK for this part of the forum, I was having trouble figuring out where to go with it. Any who, I have an '81 gs650 L that had a boat anchor for a motor so I decided it was a good candidate for a project. With that being said, I wanna ditch the shafty swingarm and go chain drive with it. Searching and searching, and to no avail, I can't find a straightforward answer to this question..... What swing arms would be a straight swap for this guy? I'm talking compatible year s and such. Like would a '77 gs750 arm work, an 1100 arm, anything from 850? Thanks in advance.

[tkent02]

No, the frame is different too. Easier to just find a 650E.

[Duttry98]

Thank you for the reply, friend. I had assumed that an E be the easiest route, just wasn't sure if any other models carried over. Couple floating around eBay, I'll try here first.

[Duttry98]

It appears that the 550 arm and 650 are interchangeable, model years 81-82.

[hillsy]

Are you thinking of converting a shaft drive motor to chain drive, or are you just looking at using the L frame with a chain drive engine?

[tkent02]

It appears that the 550 arm and 650 are interchangeable, model years 81-82.

Perhaps, but neither one will fit on your motorcycle without huge frame modifications, and the engine will have to be swapped as well.. A 650E is getting very hard to find, but GS 550E and 750E are plentiful.

[Duttry98]

Are you thinking of converting a shaft drive motor to chain drive, or are you just looking at using the L frame with a chain drive engine?

The motor from this bike is destroyed, so it's just the L frame going train drive.

[Duttry98]

Perhaps, but neither one will fit on your motorcycle without huge frame modifications, and the engine will have to be swapped as well.. A 650E is getting very hard to find, but GS 550E and 750E are plentiful.

I'll just do the smart safe thing and go with your recommendation

[tkent02]

Yeah, the Es are a lot better to ride than the Ls anyway. Good 750s and 550s are plentiful.

[Duttry98]

Now if I get my hands on a 650e swingarm and bolt it up to 650g frame, will the shock mount points on the swingarm be the same and will I be able to reuse the brake stay?

[tkent02]

Have you looked at the two frames side by side? I have.

[hillsy]

Have you looked at the two frames side by side? I have.

Don't know if it's the same with the Suzukis but with the Kawas it was common practice to use the ST frame in custom builds for chain drive bikes as the rear of the frame was wider and allowed a wider chain line (IE: wider swingarm / bigger rear tire) without having to spread the frame.

I think the Kawa ST frame was almost identical to the chain drive versions - unlike the Suzuki L's.....

[Guest]

I will try putting this in terms that you might understand.

There is NO swingarm that can be installed in your 650L frame that will allow you to use a chain drive, unless you make a LOT of modifications to either the frame or the swingarm.

The chain swingarm and shafty swingarm are not supported the same way in the frame. You will have to make MAJOR modifications to one or the other. Since your motor is trashed, you can either get another shafty motor or get a completely different bike, if you want to go to a chain drive.

Still have questions?

[Duttry98]

I will try putting this in terms that you might understand.

There is NO swingarm that can be installed in your 650L frame that will allow you to use a chain drive, unless you make a LOT of modifications to either the frame or the swingarm.

The chain swingarm and shafty swingarm are not supported the same way in the frame. You will have to make MAJOR modifications to one or the other. Since your motor is trashed, you can either get another shafty motor or get a completely different bike, if you want to go to a chain drive.

Still have questions?

Man that's a bummer. Looks like I'm motor hunting.

[sharpy]

My head hurts, anyone care to explain to him again.