81 GS850 Seat and rear fender mod question

[Jason Adam]

I am a brand new user here. Just picked up a 81 GS850 from a buddy/original owner. The bike is in great shape and runs good. I am kinda want to switch the back end up to a more traditional cruiser/harley style steel round rear fender and a pan/solo style seat. Has anyone done this type modification? I figure there isnt much that is direct bolt on, but I like to cut and weld. Thanks

[Chris Hagen]

I have seen pictures of a softail fender on a GS before, looked cool as heck. My dad has a new softail fender for me to put on my bike but I have not done so yet (he ended up with an extra during his Harley rebuild project). Post some pictures if you accomplish your goal.

[baelzbub]

My seat/fender mod

Like you, I love to cut and weld.
I've got an '85 Kawasaki ZN700 that I really like, but really HATED the old 80's King & Queen.

Here's the bike in stock form:


And here's my mod:


I'm still on the lookout for some 10" or 10.5" shocks so I can ditch the stock air shocks. Like you said, there's probably not alot out there that'll bolt on, so that just gives you an excuse to break out the Sawzall! I found a Yamaha RoadStar fender & seat on eBay and made it all fit. The hardest part was having to relocate the upper shock mounts outward to accomodate the width of the fender.

Good luck & have fun with it!

-Fran

[sandspur]

Its not that hard to make a Harley fender work on an 850 , I done it on my 81 850 L , There are some pics on my Home page If you need more info or pic just shoot me a PM or E- mail