The Official GS Brat, Tracker, Scrambler thread

[Gorminrider]

Well... dunno if mine's so much "scrambler" as "scrambler inspired"... but here it is when I finished it, only minor changes since then really. Different (smaller) LED tail light, replaced the rear rack with a genuine one, and now running Avon RoadRiders instead of dual sport tyres. It also doesn't look anywhere near that shiny as she's a daily rider and doesn't see much time for washing/polishing.

Nice-O,Pete! ...You're in your own class! but SCRAMBLER! for sure with those handlebars, and shields and tires. But now with new Avons, I guess you are a "Street-Scrambler"? "Road-Scrambler"? "Lane-Scrambler?"...(there's nothing so useful as hyphens)
ps yer front fender is higher from the wheel than mine- was it originally a chrome one?

[BADJACKSON]

Here is mine Gs650GT. Still along way to go until it's ready.

Thus far, I think that THIS is my favorite bike on this thread. I would like to see more pics of it!

[loud et]

Well I am making good progress on my 850 brat style project. I been taking pics so I will share some here when I get to it. Don't think I'm going to start a build thread in the projects section.....just share some random progress here I suppose.

[BADJACKSON]

Well I am making good progress on my 850 brat style project. I been taking pics so I will share some here when I get to it. Don't think I'm going to start a build thread in the projects section.....just share some random progress here I suppose.

I'll be following along. I'm interested in how guys are doing their seats & tail sections. I like the looks of the Brat seats, but I need to be able to ride mine for a bit of distance.

[loud et]

I'll be following along. I'm interested in how guys are doing their seats & tail sections. I like the looks of the Brat seats, but I need to be able to ride mine for a bit of distance.

Yeah I hear ya. I made a typical tail hoop, welded on, smoothed and painted it all up. There is no way in hell I am having a seat that is 1" thick.
I am going to hand make my seat, find the appropriate multi layer padding and sew my my own cover. Leather I think.
I plan on a seat that is 2-3 " thick. It'll be relatively flat. It may have an upward sweep at the back end. All to be determined.

[pete]

Nice-O,Pete! ...You're in your own class! but SCRAMBLER! for sure with those handlebars, and shields and tires. But now with new Avons, I guess you are a "Street-Scrambler"? "Road-Scrambler"? "Lane-Scrambler?"...(there's nothing so useful as hyphens)
ps yer front fender is higher from the wheel than mine- was it originally a chrome one?

Cheers mate! Yeah I guess it's a street scrambler now? Aside from a little light gravel occasionally if a ride takes us over some it's tarmac only and the Avons give great confidence in the twisties.

That front guard/fender is actually an eBay special dirt bike guard trimmed to size and mounted with a hand made brace/mount using the stock mounts on the forks. The brace/mount is made from 2.5mm thick aluminium and so far seems to work well, no front end wobbles that I've noticed. Top speed I know I've hit is just over 140kph and no issues... not that I do that often...

[Sebastian24]

If the bike is going into a wobble @ 70 you need more than a damper.

Interesting video, thanks for posting.

I wouldn't think that for normal riding, many people would need a steering dampened. But what do I know...

The need was a lot more common back before they figured out how to build frames, but any bike can do it if the bearings in steering, swing arm and wheels are loose.

You know, that's what I'm thinking as well. but I haven't been able to find the culprit. I checked for loose steering bearings, or wheels out of alignment, and so on, and it all looks good to me. I should note that it happened right after acceleration.
This is what I'm thinking maybe you guys can point me in the right direction.
1. Forks - I feel like they are a bit soft, but idk what they're supposed to feel like (compared to the 05 gsxr, these feel like bicycle ones)
2. Tires - the bike itself feels a little "shaky". It's like it doesn't want to thread straight, and wiggles with all asphalt imperfections. I have the shinko dual sport tires on there, albeit brand new pretty much
3. Carbs - Could a misfire upset the balance of the bike?

[Big T]

Yes, an imbalance between the front and rear suspension can cause wobbles. Did you measure your fork springs, and/or replace them? What shocks are you running?

Also, too large of a tire for your wheel can cause issues. I'm guessing that the Shinkos are several sizes larger than stock

Carbs = no wobbles

[Gorminrider]

Sebastion, just an added thought but if that's a plastic fender cut ,did you keep the OEM fork brace that goes under it?

[Sebastian24]

Yes, an imbalance between the front and rear suspension can cause wobbles. Did you measure your fork springs, and/or replace them? What shocks are you running?

Also, too large of a tire for your wheel can cause issues. I'm guessing that the Shinkos are several sizes larger than stock

Carbs = no wobbles

I will have to measure the forks and shocks, but from my understanding, it's all stock components.

Sebastion, just an added thought but if that's a plastic fender cut ,did you keep the OEM fork brace that goes under it?

It's a metal one. You think the angle of it is catching some air at speed?

[Weapon]

no I think he means the stock metal bracket under the original plastic fender was a fork brace of sorts. not a good fork brace, but better than a simple metal fender. I think those fork tubes move around a lot (independent of each other) without proper bracing.

[Gorminrider]

Sebastian',.. wow, I never thought of that! I will add that to my list of possibles if it happens to me! at 70mph it's probably possible for windage to unbalance a bike but I think you'd see or hear it on a fender as a pulse or flapping...so no, I was thinking the steel reinforcement of forks that fits into the fender. The ones in plastic fenders (my 650G anyways) are easily removeable while the metal fenders have theirs tacked in. There's only the axle to stop any twist if there's no brace.
and your forks aren't especially shortened by sliding em up through the tree and so wheelbase is ok...? if a Shorter wheelbase would amplify troubles from somewhere else.
How about tire balance? or wheel balance? You really don't want tank slappers built in and the steering damper is not the way I'd go- but I've never had a use for one. they are sort of old school I think....Old BMWs had them in the 70's

[Sebastian24]

Sebastian',.. wow, I never thought of that! I will add that to my list of possibles if it happens to me! at 70mph it's probably possible for windage to unbalance a bike but I think you'd see or hear it on a fender as a pulse or flapping...so no, I was thinking the steel reinforcement of forks that fits into the fender. The ones in plastic fenders (my 650G anyways) are easily removeable while the metal fenders have theirs tacked in. There's only the axle to stop any twist if there's no brace.
and your forks aren't especially shortened by sliding em up through the tree and so wheelbase is ok...? if a Shorter wheelbase would amplify troubles from somewhere else.
How about tire balance? or wheel balance? You really don't want tank slappers built in and the steering damper is not the way I'd go- but I've never had a use for one. they are sort of old school I think....Old BMWs had them in the 70's

Oh ok gotcha. The front forks are pushed through the tree, but only about .5 inches, and the rear shocks were adjusted accordingly. I'm in the middle of a move now, so kind of hard to tinker with it, although the front wheel is balanced. The back one i'm not sure, since I have to take the shaft out and all that fun stuff, and haven't gotten the chance to do so. I did check for straightness though and it seemed to be good there.
The more I try to work on the bike, the more it makes me want to do a frame up rebuild. I'm a bit OCD and the P.O. seems like didn't care much of how the bike ran/looked as long as it ran haha

[Gorminrider]

nah, 1/2" is nothing if it's equal. Pretty much = tire wear. but when you get to an inch or more you are definitely pulling the geometry of the bike together.

But I really don't want anybody at 70mph getting wobbles. It sure freaked me right out ("suprise!") at a time wayback when...good news is : know about it but please fix it.

To me, It does point directly to a frame trouble first. You really want to take the wheels seat and tank off and look at linear relations (ie: squinting and using straight sticks and diagonal measuring ) subtleties of bolt-on mods and wheels next.
Get advice at any anomalies that you don't like. ....second hand bikes, well you never really know what cliff the PO fell over.

[BADJACKSON]

I had some wobbles this year on my 1000, but I'm pretty sure it was due to the fact that I removed the front fender. When I hit some rutted roads I had to back off the throttle, my front tire was sort of all over the place.
FWIW