gs550 dropseat chop project

[bobbed750]

heres a small timeline from the time i got her until now, still in the middle of the current build


the craigslist photo from when i bought her (150.00)



a little re-work






bobbed and bombed

[bobbed750]

current state:





still need to do lower section of hardtail, the seat will be a "floating" seat with a shock/strut assy from a mountain bike for cushion

front will be raked out 4 degrees

have ALOT left to do... but hey not a bad start on a winter project.

what do you guys think?

[Adirondack Rider]

looking great so far! are you going to level the headlight(stuid question but i had to ask lol)

[jive13]

looks great. I'm building a bike with the same styling but mines a drive shaft model and I'm not sure if i want to (or can) turn it into a hard-tail. any tips or advice you can give me would be much appreciated.

[bobbed750]

thanks guys!

yea, the headlights only on for mock up to see if i liked it, its just grungy enough to use...lol this is going to be a rat style, no shiny but the forks, and i think im going to go with gaiters...so not even there...lol

should have the lower portion of the hardtail finished next week with pleanty of pictures, i will surely post some updates before then, so check back

[bobbed750]

looks great. I'm building a bike with the same styling but mines a drive shaft model and I'm not sure if i want to (or can) turn it into a hard-tail. any tips or advice you can give me would be much appreciated.

never done a hardtail shaftie, but i do know it can be done with your stock wheelbase, if u stretch it u will have to lengthen the driveshaft... and thats just too much work

almost forgot, the bike is streched 5" in the rear as well if u cant tell, long and low... i love it

[jive13]

okay thanks that answer one of my "what if i do this" questions.

[salty_monk]

Tough to build a rigid shafty because the bolt on the shaft drive that would ordinarily hold the shock is not built to take the shockloading of a rigid frame...

I have seen it done though (people who have added solid rods or built a custom rear end. Personally I wouldn't trust it but I guess it's your butt!

I suppose you might be able to fabricate some kind of housing / cradle for the differential assembly to help share the load....

[jive13]

Tough to build a rigid shafty because the bolt on the shaft drive that would ordinarily hold the shock is not built to take the shockloading of a rigid frame...

I have seen it done though (people who have added solid rods or built a custom rear end. Personally I wouldn't trust it but I guess it's your butt!

I suppose you might be able to fabricate some kind of housing / cradle for the differential assembly to help share the load....

i wasn't really planing on it. just in the back of my mind. i now know it can be done (but to much work) thanx

[Henryinva]

never done a hardtail shaftie, but i do know it can be done with your stock wheelbase, if u stretch it u will have to lengthen the driveshaft... and thats just too much work

almost forgot, the bike is streched 5" in the rear as well if u cant tell, long and low... i love it

best go buy some flat steel plate and start making some gussets for that rear end. Huge shear angles you got going on there, with no distribution areas. when ya hear that snap. crackle pop noise, its not a kellogs comercial and ya had best pull over rather quickly if what I'm seeing is what your banking on.

Good idea, like the stance, but needs a little beefing, IMHO.

[bobbed750]

best go buy some flat steel plate and start making some gussets for that rear end. Huge shear angles you got going on there, with no distribution areas. when ya hear that snap. crackle pop noise, its not a kellogs comercial and ya had best pull over rather quickly if what I'm seeing is what your banking on.

Good idea, like the stance, but needs a little beefing, IMHO.

oh no worries, it will be gusseted well, will be one of the last things i do when finished with the tubing. thanks for your input

[bobbed750]

just realized the pics i posted of her "currently" werent "current" lol... here ya go

[4x4fab.com]

Rat bikes are cool. However, I REALLY hope you plan to do a whole lot of gusseting, it really needs a ton more strength built into it.

[bobbed750]

Rat bikes are cool. However, I REALLY hope you plan to do a whole lot of gusseting, it really needs a ton more strength built into it.

it will have a TON of support, no worries there, should be able to cut out the swingarm and do the lower section of the hardtail next weekend, pending arrival of my new tubing bender

[tone]

Well i like the look but purely from a construction point of view its not good as it stands at the moment imho

The tubes for the hardtail are meeting up with one of the weakest parts of the stock frame & there's a hell of a lot of force going to be generated there, this is why on most hardtails the tubes would normally meet the stock frame in the strongest point IE under the tank, you need to spread the load

This next bit is just personal preferance, but for the sake of bending 2 more tubes i'd bin the swingarm & drop new tubes in from the main frame back to the wheel ajusters i'd also join them with a nice curved tube around 6" from the rear both sides

Sorry if some of that sounds cocky or wrong its just a personal opinion gained from doing a similar job a few hundred times

tone