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Well much thanks to Mike H whose own project inspired the mods on this bike. I had hung a pic of his bike on the wall as a model for this adventure.
I pulled a very stock 78 750gs out of a friends grandfathers barn back in Nov.
The bike had 18k on it and looked decent but didn't run. The fellow assured me that it had when parked 8 yrs ago so I figured some minor tune-up work would fire the thing up. I got it home and replaced the plugs and she started almost immediately.
Funny thing about the barn, When we were looking over the bike , I noticed some mouse nestings in the air box. Further inspection showed more mouse nestings in the rear cowl hatch. When my son opened the hatch the current resident jumped out onto the seat and down to the floor. Funny stuff. Fortunately the wires were intact so he apparently didn't do much chewing. Since he couldn't make the rent, I evicted him and took possession.
The problem I had with the mods is that a 80's x type tank will not bolt up on a 78. The stock tank is a little too boxy and I wanted that tapered look.
Since the front tank ears on the x tank are spaced a little wider than the 78, I fabbed a bracket with great ( if I do say so )results. Maybe I'll get a patent. I've submitted a sketch of the bracket in case anyone else has been watching too much OCC. Anyway, the rear tabs also needed work as the x tank mounts vertically with 2 tabs and the 78 mounts horizontally with one tab. I cut the two tabs off the x and center mounted a small piece of angle with a drilled hole to match the 78 mounting thread. Brazing or welding this bracket would be preferrable but I then drilled two small holes in the tank lip and screwed the angle on. This plus a little epoxy should do the trick.
The results were good but the back end of the tank does sit up a bit. I'll have to contour the seat to match. I don't think you can notice in the pics.
The dyna fender (as advertised) fits almost pefectly on the back end. The width is almost exact although i did cut the front portion towards the seat to help center the fender to the wheel. I noticed on E-bay that there are also alot of soft-tail bobbed fenders available but that they have a notch cut into the front of the rear fender to accomodate the suspension. These may have also worked but I didnt try so i can't be sure.
As of this pic, i hadn't cut the frame yet although that has already been done. To further center the fender , I needed to mount it lower and the frame rails protruded too far back and up to do this. Amazing how soft that metal is when matched up with a hacksaw and grinder.
I've cut about 2 inches off the rail and removed all the extra tabs. Mounting the fender is now done with bolts straight thru the rail.
Anyway, mike, you may have started something. I'll take a cruiser over a streetfighter anyday. I'm getting too old to want to go any faster and all that bending over just isn't good for my back.
bracket pics will have to come later as they will only allow 1 upload at a time
I pulled a very stock 78 750gs out of a friends grandfathers barn back in Nov.
The bike had 18k on it and looked decent but didn't run. The fellow assured me that it had when parked 8 yrs ago so I figured some minor tune-up work would fire the thing up. I got it home and replaced the plugs and she started almost immediately.
Funny thing about the barn, When we were looking over the bike , I noticed some mouse nestings in the air box. Further inspection showed more mouse nestings in the rear cowl hatch. When my son opened the hatch the current resident jumped out onto the seat and down to the floor. Funny stuff. Fortunately the wires were intact so he apparently didn't do much chewing. Since he couldn't make the rent, I evicted him and took possession.
The problem I had with the mods is that a 80's x type tank will not bolt up on a 78. The stock tank is a little too boxy and I wanted that tapered look.
Since the front tank ears on the x tank are spaced a little wider than the 78, I fabbed a bracket with great ( if I do say so )results. Maybe I'll get a patent. I've submitted a sketch of the bracket in case anyone else has been watching too much OCC. Anyway, the rear tabs also needed work as the x tank mounts vertically with 2 tabs and the 78 mounts horizontally with one tab. I cut the two tabs off the x and center mounted a small piece of angle with a drilled hole to match the 78 mounting thread. Brazing or welding this bracket would be preferrable but I then drilled two small holes in the tank lip and screwed the angle on. This plus a little epoxy should do the trick.
The results were good but the back end of the tank does sit up a bit. I'll have to contour the seat to match. I don't think you can notice in the pics.
The dyna fender (as advertised) fits almost pefectly on the back end. The width is almost exact although i did cut the front portion towards the seat to help center the fender to the wheel. I noticed on E-bay that there are also alot of soft-tail bobbed fenders available but that they have a notch cut into the front of the rear fender to accomodate the suspension. These may have also worked but I didnt try so i can't be sure.
As of this pic, i hadn't cut the frame yet although that has already been done. To further center the fender , I needed to mount it lower and the frame rails protruded too far back and up to do this. Amazing how soft that metal is when matched up with a hacksaw and grinder.
I've cut about 2 inches off the rail and removed all the extra tabs. Mounting the fender is now done with bolts straight thru the rail.
Anyway, mike, you may have started something. I'll take a cruiser over a streetfighter anyday. I'm getting too old to want to go any faster and all that bending over just isn't good for my back.
bracket pics will have to come later as they will only allow 1 upload at a time
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