The 850GL project nears completion

[isaac]

In a year and a half or so of ownership it's gone from disassembled engine and stock, then assembled:



and this is where it is now:





As you can see the license plate is a sore thumb I'm having trouble hiding.

I cut the rear spring to drop it 1.5-2", raised the fork to drop it 1-1.5" in the front, ditched all touring hardware, heavily modified the rear subframe, blacked it all out, and added a random fender from a custom shop's scrap bin.

and to preempt negative cliche responses: no I don't like Harleys or those glam choppers so please stop calling my bike a "wannabe" anything. It is what it is, and was mostly inspired by bikes from before 1960.

[pozzi]

and this is where it is now:

looks clean...i think a leather springer seat would look really cool on that thing. give it a really old school look.

how hard is the lowering of the front forks?
i would like to do it on my bike, since it seems simple, but to me it seems "too" simple.

nice DOF on this pic too!

[Pearson]

and to preempt negative cliche responses: no I don't like Harleys or those glam choppers so please stop calling my bike a "wannabe" anything. It is what it is, and was mostly inspired by bikes from before 1960.

People are funny that way. I for one like that there are guys like you out there trying new ideas, crafting and making something unique. I'd love to ride it.

[isaac]

looks clean...i think a leather springer seat would look really cool on that thing. give it a really old school look.

Good call. I'll look into doing that, especially if I ever go full hardtail on it.

how hard is the lowering of the front forks?
i would like to do it on my bike, since it seems simple, but to me it seems "too" simple.

nice DOF on this pic too!

Thanks for the pic compliment. It was taken with a digital rebel with the 2.8 lens. I just backed up more and zoomed in to get that extra shallow depth of field.

The front forks are easy if you do it my way. You just loosen the triple clamps and literally push the bike down against the forks. They'll slide up into the trees 1/2-3/4" or so, and you've got a lower bike. If you want more, just add handlebar risers or clip ons. I just went to a JY and got a couple extra top halves of handlebar clamps and used those as risers, then bought longer grade 8 bolts at the hardware store. That gave me an extra 3/4" or so.

People are funny that way. I for one like that there are guys like you out there trying new ideas, crafting and making something unique. I'd love to ride it.

Thanks!

[Deesel]

Nice original look! Good to see something out of the ordinary- that looks Great!

[froldt]

Great looking bike! It's nice to know that people still build bikes without throwing money at them!
Thanks for the advice on lowering the front end!
This is similar to what I'm wanting for myself. I have always loved the blacked out look.

[speedy400]

sick, i love it, rock on to making a bike Your Own.-darren

[Billyboy]

Is that a harley rear fender?

[Billyboy]

And, whatcha go hiding out behind the tree?

[steely]

Very nice. I like it a lot. I have just gotten my 850L roadworthy and am now looking at modifications. I am also going to black mine out, and am considering doing something in the bobber style. I prefer a shorter rear fender, but that bike looks really sharp!

[Jason Adam]

You are killing me.. I have my bike 85% of the way to what you have. I put a bobtail rear fender turned down, I pan seat with pillion pad, flat black metal, gloss black wheels. I'm hoping to cut the springs and play with the forks next weekend... Yours looks great. I say kill the gauges and go with some of the small pods from MikesXS.com. They would look sweet up on there. I really like them. Hope mine turns out as good. You'res is damn near gonna have a twin...

I'm actually thinking of taking my new gauges and mouting them flush in the top of the tank on the left side(opposite the gas cap). I'd loose I figure less than 3/4 of a gallon of fuel capacity running 2 - 2.25" or whatever tubes straight through the tank. I'd be real clean. I made mounting pods for some gauges on my boat dash similar, and they turned out sweet.

What kind of bend on the handlebars?

[wharrah]

....to be different.

Nobody would ever recognize that as the same bike. Looks GREAT! I love the blacked out look. And, it looks really good lower, too. If I decide to try and fix my 'dog-tracking' 650, I may just go whole-hog like you did. Nice.

Different is WAY GOOD.

[Billyboy]

A few criticisms, if you can take 'em...

Those blinkers looks bad. Really looks half assed. Go get a tombstone brakelight and real sigs. Either get a sidemount for the plate or mount it right on the fender.

Other than that, looks great.

[rustybronco]

looks clean...i think a leather springer seat would look really cool on that thing. give it a really old school look.

I second the idea about the seat and i love the look!!!! i didn't think it was a Harley wanna-be, how about a license plate bracket below the tail lights?

[83GS1100E_Tornado]

I like the before picture better, but that's just my opinion, don't take it personal.