GS 750 Cafe Project I think...

[beergood]

Thanks for the compliment.

I am someone that prefers to polish/change things over time rather than strive for perfection out of the gate. I like my projects to evolve. If you make it through both threads you will see the bike change countless times (as cafekid and zooks can attest).

Feel free to PM or post here with any specific questions if you have them. I will try to be as helpful as I can.

[salty_monk]

http://www.ace-cafe-london.com/

They used to race the ring road round London...

[Beaver]

I had started to write about what a fantastic day I had stopping my bike from spewing oil, but then this piece of sh*t pc ate the whole page and I can't start all over again. I do have some questions though and promise I will come with more details of my day and some pics later...

I am contemplating clipons again, does anyone have any experience with putting clipons on a pre '80 GS750?

What about using my existing seat as a base instead of fabricating a new one? It has a hole in the side and is a bit rusty so it isn't like I need to preserve it. One argument I can think of for say building a wooden base like beergood's is that I think it creates a good platform to work from in terms of creating a new tail, especially if I want to be able to take my tail on and off.

p.s. is it possible to do a reasonable plug chop with existing plugs? When I took them out today two were oily and two sooty so I would like to just have an idea of how things are looking in there for now with a bit more of a serious run tomorrow.

My jets and gaskets came in the mail the other day so now all I am missing is my pods and some new plugs for my carb mod.

I am soooo looking forward to beginning to change my bike, it is going to be a good summer, I can feel it!

[beergood]

Before you shell out the cash for clip-ons try clubmans. Personally I think they have a classic look to them, and they are only around $20. You might find that you hate that riding position, and $20 out is much better than $100+.

I've seen people use their existing seat pan to begin a mod. It's a good place to start, I just had too nice a seat to cut up, so I sold it to another member and used the cash to finance future work.

Don't even worry about plug chopping till you get the carbs put back together with the pods and new jets/orings. Then I would start with clean plugs. Or better yet, if you have a compressor, buy a plug cleaner. Mine cost less than $20 and has paid for itself a few times over.

[TheCafeKid]

Beaver, If you plan on selling that seat, let me know. I would love to have a seat like that. I even have a stock seat in excellent condition i would be willing to trade if you want to use it for your mods..

[beergood]

Hey Beaver, what's going on next to your horn in that pic? Is it an oil cooler?

[Beaver]

Hey Beaver, what's going on next to your horn in that pic? Is it an oil cooler?

Funny you should ask about that. When I changed the cam cover gasket yesterday I noticed it. I wasn't sure what it was doing there as it didn't fit with my image of a bike of that age. But yes my guess is that it is an oil cooler.

Beaver, If you plan on selling that seat, let me know. I would love to have a seat like that. I even have a stock seat in excellent condition i would be willing to trade if you want to use it for your mods..

I had just assumed that mine was stock




This is the underside, are you certain you still want it? I was also thinking if I kept this one and I made a dedicated cafe seat using the existing hinges then it would just be a question of swapping the seats over when I want to take the misses out...

Before you shell out the cash for clip-ons try clubmans. Personally I think they have a classic look to them, and they are only around $20. You might find that you hate that riding position, and $20 out is much better than $100+.

I've seen people use their existing seat pan to begin a mod. It's a good place to start, I just had too nice a seat to cut up, so I sold it to another member and used the cash to finance future work.

Don't even worry about plug chopping till you get the carbs put back together with the pods and new jets/orings. Then I would start with clean plugs. Or better yet, if you have a compressor, buy a plug cleaner. Mine cost less than $20 and has paid for itself a few times over.

You are right about the bars, I just saw it as a way to clean up the area around the top of the forks. One of the things I love about my bicycle is the lack of any brake levers or cables, it creates beautifully clean lines.




I have ordered clubmans, but when I was working on the bike I just felt like removing everything from round the top of the forks, and once finished I could see I would still be left with the the bars and clamps sitting up there.

Where do I get a plug cleaner from? And what is it?

[TheCafeKid]

Beaver: Yeah if you want to swap seats dude, let me know. Im definately interested. That one isnt "stock" someone has done some shaving on it. But it would fit my "superbike" replica 750 very well. SHoot me a PM and we can work something out.

TCK

[Dead Boy]

I went the clipon route. After I rode for a year with clubmans as suggested. I love the clipons more than the clubmans, but mine are off of a vintage racebike that was parted out between a few friends and I. They are fully adjustable, so I can pretty much set the bars up to fit me and the way I sit on the bike. The only problem i have now is finding someone to fill my top triple clamp after I shave the original bar clamps. That or have a new top triple made, which probably won't happen because I don't have enough money into this bike to warrant the expense.

[TheCafeKid]

I went the clipon route. After I rode for a year with clubmans as suggested. I love the clipons more than the clubmans, but mine are off of a vintage racebike that was parted out between a few friends and I. They are fully adjustable, so I can pretty much set the bars up to fit me and the way I sit on the bike. The only problem i have now is finding someone to fill my top triple clamp after I shave the original bar clamps. That or have a new top triple made, which probably won't happen because I don't have enough money into this bike to warrant the expense.

Out of aluminum block you could pretty easily make some pieces that will simply fill in the bar towers and make them at least look flat. You'd only need some decent size alu bar, and something to cut it with... Wouldnt be too tough at all and it would make them look at least a little cleaner.

[Zooks]

I've been checking in on the forum periodically, but not commenting as much. Now that I am back on the bike pretty much daily I will be around more.

And maybe even get around to writing another 'urban assault' thread like you promised me.

[Beaver]

Beaver: Yeah if you want to swap seats dude, let me know. Im definately interested. That one isnt "stock" someone has done some shaving on it. But it would fit my "superbike" replica 750 very well. SHoot me a PM and we can work something out.

TCK

The seat is yours. I was sitting looking at the bike today and if I do things like I plan then my seat swapping idea will be just plain ugly. If it is cool with you I would like to get a bit more underway with my replacement seat before I send this one.

[beergood]

Spark plug cleaner:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32860

Costs about as much as 4 plugs, and during the 'adjustment' period of my bike I fouled a lot of plugs.

That's a nice looking glimpse of your fixie. I understand what you mean about a clean look. I still haven't grown the nerve to remove the front brake from mine.

[TheCafeKid]

The seat is yours. I was sitting looking at the bike today and if I do things like I plan then my seat swapping idea will be just plain ugly. If it is cool with you I would like to get a bit more underway with my replacement seat before I send this one.

SOunds good man! Thanks! You still want this stocker in return? Or you doing a glass pan? If you're doing glass, both BeerGood and I have done glass by hand and either one of us would probably be glad to give you some pointers.. Also, if you are looking to do knee inserts on a tank, or want to get rid of any of that body work, let me know! im always shopping for 77-79 750 stuff, and I have a couple of tanks that you MIGHT be interested in that are hand pounded. They'll need some finishing up, but they turned out pretty good..

TCK

[Beaver]

Spark plug cleaner:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32860

Costs about as much as 4 plugs, and during the 'adjustment' period of my bike I fouled a lot of plugs.

That's a nice looking glimpse of your fixie. I understand what you mean about a clean look. I still haven't grown the nerve to remove the front brake from mine.

Thanks for the link. I have just ordered a spark plug cleaner. Of course it depends a little on which plugs you are buying but a plug cleaner from the US is cheaper than 2 cheap plugs in Denmark.

A good set of double straps is the key to getting rid of your brake. You need to feel secure in your pedals (if you do need to brake) and double straps are the way to go if you wanna feel in control (or spd of course). They are cracking down on brakeless bikes big time in Europe, but it just isn't the same having the brake, the fun goes out of it.

SOunds good man! Thanks! You still want this stocker in return? Or you doing a glass pan? If you're doing glass, both BeerGood and I have done glass by hand and either one of us would probably be glad to give you some pointers.. Also, if you are looking to do knee inserts on a tank, or want to get rid of any of that body work, let me know! im always shopping for 77-79 750 stuff, and I have a couple of tanks that you MIGHT be interested in that are hand pounded. They'll need some finishing up, but they turned out pretty good..

TCK

I have glassed a bit before so I am not too worried about that, it is more where I am going to do it that I need to solve. I hadn't planned on going the knee insert way to begin with as I love the size of the tank on the GS and it seems a bit of a crime to make it smaller, but now that i think about it it is a little tempting. Can I get back to you on that? I am losing the tail and the side panels (one is cracked) if that is anything you can use?

Is there any specific paint that you would use for fork legs/wheels? It needs to be a canned product as I don't have serious painting facilities.

Cheers