Hillsy's GS 450 cafe build

[hillsy]

Have you solved the tank mounting yet?
Thanks for the idea of the 650 tank.

JF

I'm just going to have to weld some tabs on the frame for the rear tank mounts - no easy fix I'm afraid....

[hillsy]

OK - did some more work this weekend.

First up, trimmed up the caliper mount and painted (matt black of course!!)



Next, "de-lugged" the frame. Man there were HEAPS of lugs...



Then welded the rear frame rails together to suit the seat unit

[hillsy]

The original headlight ears were too small for the new forks, and they stuck out too far anyway, so I made up a new pair out of some old bicycle frame tubing and a set of bolt on clamps I had laying around. I might lower the headlight a bit

[hillsy]

Starting to look like a motorbike now

[Pacman]

Great project. Looks great.

Any reason why you have the fork legs swapped to the wrong side? Those tabs at the top of the fork lowers are supposed to be on the inside for mounting the front fender.

Chris

[hillsy]

Great project. Looks great.

Any reason why you have the fork legs swapped to the wrong side? Those tabs at the top of the fork lowers are supposed to be on the inside for mounting the front fender.

Chris

Ahh yes....

The front end is off GSX250F and the wheels are off a Yamaha FZR250. The Yamaha wears the caliper on the RHS, whilst the GSX is on the left. Hence the fork swap around to make things fit.

If I ever have to do something like this again I will choose more compatible donors..

[jed.only]

coming along nicely.

[Pacman]

Ahh yes....

The front end is off GSX250F and the wheels are off a Yamaha FZR250. The Yamaha wears the caliper on the RHS, whilst the GSX is on the left. Hence the fork swap around to make things fit.

If I ever have to do something like this again I will choose more compatible donors..

Ah, I knew there was a reason and figured it had to do with the brakes.

Looking good. Can't wait to see the final version. BTW, saw you on customfighters, too.

Chris

[BentRod]

I've been watching, and I'm very impressed. Wish I could pull off this kind of project.
The bike looks like its going to be a lot of fun.

can you give us any clues on what we can anticipate? any design ideas floating around?


couple things I am curious about:
1) that rear brake. is that really where it is going to stay? can you bleed it in that position?

2) rear shocks....those are definately originals... are they any good still?

[salty_monk]

Ahh yes....

The front end is off GSX250F and the wheels are off a Yamaha FZR250. The Yamaha wears the caliper on the RHS, whilst the GSX is on the left. Hence the fork swap around to make things fit.

If I ever have to do something like this again I will choose more compatible donors..

Wouldn't it have been easier to turn the wheel around & run it "backwards". Looks like you could have even reversed the disk too as it's a flat one...

Dan

[hillsy]

I've been watching, and I'm very impressed. Wish I could pull off this kind of project.
The bike looks like its going to be a lot of fun.

can you give us any clues on what we can anticipate? any design ideas floating around?


couple things I am curious about:
1) that rear brake. is that really where it is going to stay? can you bleed it in that position?

2) rear shocks....those are definately originals... are they any good still?

Design ideas? It's going to be an old-school cafe style, with slightly more modern running gear. I'm thinking of a colored frame (maybe burnt orange?), silver engine with polished cases, and possibly silver tank, seat, guards

As for the rear brake, I will have to unbolt the caliper (from the disc) and hold it upright to bleed it. No biggie

The rear shocks are pretty shot - and they're a bit short anyway. I'll be looking for replacements.

Cheers....hillsy

[hillsy]

Wouldn't it have been easier to turn the wheel around & run it "backwards". Looks like you could have even reversed the disk too as it's a flat one...

Dan

I wouldn't have been able to use the FZR caliper if I ran it on the other side (it's RHS).
Also, I wasn't too keen on reversing the rim (the spokes aren't symmetrical). I wasn't sure if this would comprimise the integrity of the wheel

And finally, it wouldn't match the rear. It's all about style, after all...

[gs400e]

gs400s

Hi ! I look at your project gs450 and I have some questions . I got a frame from canadian model same as your : a gs400s '84 ( except here in cdn we get the 8 valves 400cc the u.s. don't get ) . Since I kept only the frame from this old Gs ( parting all the rest including fork & triple clamp ) I purchase a gs500 for near nothing . The 500 motor will fit bolt on style ( except for the exhaust manifold ) . But the forks ( more precisely the steerer tube ) won't . The steerer from the gs500 is too short . So i'm looking for another donor fork . Your is from which Fzr ???( 250 hre in cdn are non existent or only avalaible on grey market ) . Thanks

[hillsy]

Wow - finally got to work on this again.....

Got the rearsets and rear brake sorted:



And a side shot with the mufflers


The mufflers are not sitting as "upswept" as I would have liked, but the rearset position dictated where they had to go

Next up is mounting the tank and seat.......maybe don't hold your breath on these considering my track record

[Shin-Ken 1074]

Hi Hillsy, love the lines you have created with the clip-ons, 650 tank and 900SS seat-ducktail shell. The pipes being flatter than other Cafes will give yours an older style look, no problem with that really. Catch ya later, cheers.