Cafenated GS1000

[first timer]

if the 250 is a kicker, you should just strip everything off it toss the starter and batery and just use the kick. This should be a good bike to play with some carbon fiber with. Get some sheets of it and experiment. Start out doing a head light bucket in it, then go to a seat, and fairing. If you want to get real tricky cut the steel subframe off and make some CF spars that bolt to brackets to support the seat. since you already seem to have a general idea on how to lay glass why not try to make some CF wheels? If John Britten can make his own why not you. The 250 would be a good test bike it's small and not very powerful to break things. Maybe some how get your hands on a new gs 500 wheel and make a half mold of it and piece it together using CF. Just thinking out loud.

BTW nice work.

[AOD]

You need a vacuum chamber to do GOOD carbon fiber work for structural things.

What kind of handle bars are on the XS?

~Adam

[bhppy101]

Hey Adam...

I put clubmans on it.... I'm still waiting for some parts before its completely done

[Chris Bohane]

Nice Trike!! Awsome paint work!!

I love to look at trikes....but riding them is a whole different story for me....They are just not my cup of tea...I rode a VW motor based trike before and felt like I was in a car....I like to shoot the canyons and I just can't picture myself doing that on a trike.

Thanks for the invite! I might just have to take you up on that...the visit that is....My work has an office site in different parts of England and they might be sending me there next year. I'd love to check out the local bikes of the UK while I'm out there.

Heres a few pics of the XS500 in the daylight....I got to polish the forks, engine cases...and the valve cover sides today....Now all I have to do is mount a rear tailight.....put the cafe fairing on (already painted...but I'm waiting for some headlight brackets to come in), rebuild the petcocks (ordered some rubbers at the dealer....they are pretty leaky), rejet the carbs (ordered some new jets that are 3 sizes bigger because of the pod airfilers and the shorty pipes), fabricate a license plate bracket, and I'm done!!

I would of been finished with it today...but I'm waiting for the orders to come in....I HATE WAITING!!!....lol... I wish I hd a local store that had all of this stuff in stock!

well...heres some updated pics:

Please let me know if you do get over here, you would be welcome to stay with us.
We are in Northampton which is just about central in the UK.
London is about an hour and a half away, Wales about two hours away and Scotland approx 5 hours away. So ideally placed to see the UK.

All the big customs shows are close by, Bulldog Bash (HA) Rock and Blues etc. Santa Pod for the drag racing is half an hour. If you are into cars Silverstone is about 15 mins up the road.

Mick Hemmings the Norton restorer and racer is in the town centre.

Love the Yam as well, look forward to more postings.

Do you do these bikes for a living? or do you have a day job?

Regards,
Chris

[bhppy101]

Please let me know if you do get over here, you would be welcome to stay with us.
We are in Northampton which is just about central in the UK.
London is about an hour and a half away, Wales about two hours away and Scotland approx 5 hours away. So ideally placed to see the UK.

All the big customs shows are close by, Bulldog Bash (HA) Rock and Blues etc. Santa Pod for the drag racing is half an hour. If you are into cars Silverstone is about 15 mins up the road.

Mick Hemmings the Norton restorer and racer is in the town centre.

Love the Yam as well, look forward to more postings.

Do you do these bikes for a living? or do you have a day job?

Regards,
Chris

Its definitely not my living......It started out as a hobby.....than an obsession.....than a small business.

I'm lucky to be able to get out of my normal workplace at 3pm every day and have all weekends and holidays off.

Most of my evenings are spent in the garage unless I'm out of town or have some things planned with the family.

[AOD]

I've been inspired....and recently purchased something near me to start my little cafe project. I may keep it 'vintage' for a bit, until I make sure the mechanicals on the bike are in order, but for sure it's getting new handlebars.









I'm excited...it looks to be in really nice shape and is said to run good, according to the ebay ad.

Unfortunately, it's not a GS...but it's vintage! 1971 Honda CB500.

~Adam

[bhppy101]

I've been inspired....and recently purchased something near me to start my little cafe project. I may keep it 'vintage' for a bit, until I make sure the mechanicals on the bike are in order, but for sure it's getting new handlebars.









I'm excited...it looks to be in really nice shape and is said to run good, according to the ebay ad.

Unfortunately, it's not a GS...but it's vintage! 1971 Honda CB500.

~Adam

NICE ADAM!!!!! Hope you got a good deal on it! CB500 w/ Single Overhead Cams not only scream down the road....but the motors are built like a rock!

I had a 1974 CB500 and I LOVED it!! and it never failed me! When I would be stupid enough to leave me keys on the "on" position in the daytime and drain the battery becaise the light was on...... all it took was 1 kick (kick start) and I was on my way!

Good luck with it!

[jimcor]

Adam all that bike needs to make it original is the bars, exhaust and the grab rail that goes around the seats and bolts to the shock mounts. If that's as good looking up close as it is in pics, I'd say change the bars, upgrade the suspension, tires etc. and ride that bike as is. Loook for the remaining original parts.

bhappy you sure your 74 was a 500 and not a 550? '74 was when Honda bumped the engine 50cc.

http://www.sohc4.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=56

But back then some states allowed dealers to retitle unsold new vehicles with the next years date on them.

[bhppy101]

Adam all that bike needs to make it original is the bars, exhaust and the grab rail that goes around the seats and bolts to the shock mounts. If that's as good looking up close as it is in pics, I'd say change the bars, upgrade the suspension, tires etc. and ride that bike as is. Loook for the remaining original parts.

bhappy you sure your 74 was a 500 and not a 550? '74 was when Honda bumped the engine 50cc.

http://www.sohc4.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=56

But back then some states allowed dealers to retitle unsold new vehicles with the next years date on them.

yes....it was a 500f. Honda stopped manufacturing the sohc 4 cyl 500's in the US at the end of 73 but sold them in the beginning to mid of 74' than they came out with the SOHC 550 4 cyl and sold that as a 74 model as well. They also started to sell the CB500T (twin) in 74.

I had the last year they made the 4cyl SOHC CB500's .... Man.....I wish I knew then what I know now!!!....lol.... Who would have ever know that I had such a collectors Item!!

I rode it through college in the early 90's. I remeber selling it with only 4500 or so miles and running like a top....for $300!! What was I thinking....lol

[AOD]

Hope you got a good deal on it! CB500 w/ Single Overhead Cams not only scream down the road....but the motors are built like a rock!

I had a 1974 CB500 and I LOVED it!! and it never failed me!

That's great to hear they're solid machines...I actually see a lot of them on Ebay, more CB's than GS's. While I like the GS and are very familiar with them, the CB's had a different flavor I wanted to try. The 350/400 4-cylinder CB's are extreme collector items, so I went for the smallest 4-cylinder model I could find. Got lucky on this one...

It was an ebay auction and I got it for $560 because he listed it without a title. He later called me, after the auction, and said he found the title. Woo! I gave him a little extra cash to cover shipping the title to me and for finding it. It'll make much less headaches in the long run.

Jim, thanks for the heads up on what it needs. I agree, keeping it original may be great for value...but until I have the bike I won't know what to expect. I didn't buy it with the plan to resell it...but ya never know!

~Adam

[bhppy101]

XS500 is DONE

Finally got the headlight brackets put on.....Heres a few completed pics.

[HammerHead]

Very Awesome, Very Awesome!!!

[phaserburn]

What did you use to polish the forks up so nicely? I have my forks to the rough sanding stage but no sure how to polish them up further.

[bhppy101]

What did you use to polish the forks up so nicely? I have my forks to the rough sanding stage but no sure how to polish them up further.

I dont even use much sandpaper to polish anymore.

I use what they call metal prep discs...and a drill attachment....almost looks like a mini disc sander with different schotchbrite grit pads on it.

I first use fine grit....then medium...than I go over the forks by wetsanding with 800grit wet/dry sandpaper. Then I use a buffing wheel with white polishing compound sticks......and finally I go over it with a last pass of the buffing wheel using red rouge poilishing compound sticks.

You can find all the materieals you need either at Harbor Freight and Tool...or Home Depot in the tool dept.

I've done so much polishing that it takes me about 2hrs from start to finish to complete both forks.

Good Luck!

[LeeGS550E]

Hey bhppy,
Can you give me some info on that fairing? Is that one of the Viper fairings that you see all the time on ebay? Got any shots from the front of the bike?

TIA,

Lee