Back together - mostly (photos)

[MichaelHoward]

Looking Good Man!! 8)

[Eliseo Monteverde]

Very, very ,very NICE !!!!

[isaac]

Nice work putting it back to nice stock condition. I bet it's fun to ride. You wouldn't be planning on modding that up would you?

[QuaiChangKane]

Nice work putting it back to nice stock condition. I bet it's fun to ride. You wouldn't be planning on modding that up would you?

Mods - like a custom smashed tail light????


Actually, it is modded. It's really an "E", not an "ES".

Besides the reshaped seat, the Supertrapp system, the Telefix clip-ons, and the '90's Katana controls, I've got a shaved tail with flushmounts that I'm fabbing a new tail light bracket for (already painted to match, of course). I've also got a full Kerker system which is in better shape than the 'Trapp.

I've been toying (like every other GS owner) with the idea of a fork and swingarm swap, but it's still too expensive for my taste. I'd like to get a Fournales shock, but again - too expensive. I'm hoping to find a trashed late-model Katana for the wheels, forks, and calipers (if the price is right...).


Otherwise, I dunno. I've got a complete parts bike, so the sky's the limit with engine work - I can still ride while I'm building. 850 kit? 36mm RS's? After awhile, it's just too costly....


Probably keep it close to stock - I'm losing second gear, so I'll swap engines and rebuild the original trans, and maybe the top end after a compression test. I want to cut the signal mounts off of the fairing stay and go with some small flush-mounts up front, along with fairing mounted mirrors. SS brake and cooler lines with anodized fittings, and clean/detail every painted bit on the bike... This ought to keep me busy for a long, long time.

Performance mods? Other than making sure she's reliable, stable handling, and stops - the money's better spent on a newer 600. They weigh less, handle better, make more power, and actually have parts available for them....


I mean - don't get me wrong. I'd like to see a hundred ponies, modern rubber, working suspension and solid brakes on this thing. But I'm torn between wrenching time and riding time, so I think I'm going to stay in the saddle for awhile now that she's back together, and try to keep my paycheck out of Dennis Kirk's pocket.....



-Q!

[DMPLATT]

I mean - don't get me wrong. I'd like to see a hundred ponies, modern rubber, working suspension and solid brakes on this thing. But I'm torn between wrenching time and riding time, so I think I'm going to stay in the saddle for awhile now that she's back together, and try to keep my paycheck out of Dennis Kirk's pocket.....

Same here. I've got lots of things to do, paint-valve seals-strip down and paint frame etc...
Too costly and lots of riding time lost. I ride daily. Wife let me buy this bike to save on gas. Got it cheap, got it running well and finally looking decent, it's time to ride the wheels off it. 8)

[Eliseo Monteverde]

Re: Back together - mostly (photos)



q;

When you finish to work in this baby, it must be in BIKE OF THE MONTH !!!!

[Hoomgar]

Man Q, I'm with you on that. You have already done enough modification to it. Enjoy it the way it was meant to be. It is what it is. And it's sweet!

I love that seat, where did you get that done?

[crag antler]

I couldn't agree more with all of the positive comments.
Just a superb job and a really nice color.
My vote for the BOTM and also for the black engine.

[QuaiChangKane]

Thanks again for all of the compliments, guys.



Here's a little before and after.....








-Q!

[Hoomgar]

It wasn't bad at all before.

It's absolutely gorgeous after!

I cannot get over how good it all looks together.

I may consult you for some seat ideas.

Did you see my question about your seat further up?

[DMPLATT]

Did the old wind screen do anything for you?
How about the new one? I'm looking for ideas, mainly for highway riding.

Thanks

[Hoomgar]

Did the old wind screen do anything for you?
How about the new one? I'm looking for ideas, mainly for highway riding.

Thanks

Dave, I have that same exact fairing and widscreen as he had on the old setup. It is, so so. The bike I had it on I had to take it off because it was making the front end funky at higher speeds. Not safe at all. The secret is in the mounting. It DID provide a nice amount of wind protection when it was on.

[wrench]

Wow what a difference 8O

[lhanscom]

Did the old wind screen do anything for you?
How about the new one? I'm looking for ideas, mainly for highway riding.

Thanks

I can tell you that the ES fairing works amazingly well for it's size. Riding on the highway isn't an issue.

Very nice bike, my 2 cents on the engine is black except the engine covers, polish the covers.

[QuaiChangKane]

I bought a parts bike for the plastics and other bits that I was missing - the seat came on the parts bike.


I bought the bike from MD (yeah, shipping was not an experience worth remembering), and the guy I bought it from was the original owner. The wheels were bead blasted, the forks were polished, and the upper fairing and belly pan were new. But (and of course I didn't have the foresight to ask this gem of a question) the bike had been sitting outside for several years. The wheels, cases, forks, and every unpainted surface on the bike had oxidized. There are rust holes under the paint on the tank, and the seat was hazed from exposure.

The plastics hadn't even been painted - they were gel-coat black from the factory, with the tail, side panels, and tank painted to match. All of the polished bits will need to be re-blasted or sanded, but the seat vinyl is in great shape, and its color came back nicely with a little S-100.

The work on the seat was well done, and it's a combination of grained vinyl and waffled vinyl. It's about 1/2" too short, though - as if it was reshaped off of the bike and not trial fit - there's a small gap between the end of the seat and the tail section. But it looks sweet on the bike, and far better than the other "custom" seat I have (in the before pic).


As for the fairings, the cafe fairing was great, but it took a bit of adjustment to get it mounted right. It had far more protection than the factory "E" nose fairing. I fabbed some brackets to mount a round headlight to the factory headlight ears, and made some more brackets to mount the cafe fairing to the factory fairing tabs on the headlight bracket. Wind protection was great, and the optics were good enough on the screen that a full-tuck was feasible (with some stuffing in the tank bag ).

After I'm through with this one, I'm going to put the donor bike together for my nephew for his 17th birthday (about 2 years from now). I've painted the second set of plastics the same blue, and will mount the cafe fairing to the other bike. I'll probably make some supports out of aluminum dowels to brace the windscreen against the bars, though (like a newer sportbike), as it tended to vibrate a bit at high speed.

With the lower clip-ons, it gave the bike a pretty sweet cockpit feel - like you were in the bike instead of on it....


The new fairing offers every bit as much wind protection without having to tuck. If I stick my hand forward into the jet stream, I can feel the deflected air striking right about chin level, or helmet crest level as it hits the rider. There is some wind at my shoulders, but the lower bars have me tilted forward quite a bit more than factory, so I don't notice it. Not bad for a small piece of plexiglass - although I'm sure that my mileage and power are suffering for having to push around what's basically a small, flat windsail....


Gotta go - delivery food finally arrived!!!


Thanks again for all of the compliments,

-Q!