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Good evening, all! I've read far and wide (thanks to the search function) about lots of folks being able to swap newer GSX-R/whatever front ends entirely onto some of their GSes. However, it seems that most folks that do this conversion have the newer styles of GSes - '83 or so on up.
First, a synopsis of what I'm dealing with.
I have a 1980 GS550E. I've gone through the whole bike for the most part - frame was powder-coated, body pieces were re-painted, and most of the stuff that was old and dumpy stuff has been spiffed up quite a bit or replaced (RAASK rearsets, aftermarket shocks, drag bar, fork seals, all fluids, etc.).
So, I've been riding it a bit more in the past couple of months, and I've found what I don't like about it. Although I've put a lot of work (and money!) into making the bike look and perform more or less like it did nearly 30 years ago... Although the firmer new rear shocks improved handling a bit, the architectural limitations of the bike itself remain. The tall, skinny front wheel/tire make braking, in my opinion, wholly insufficient. The fork dives far too much for my liking under heavy braking and sags too much in turns. Now that I have the seating position "fixed" and I do enjoy riding it, I'd look to improve those other things.
So, I'd like it to handle more firmly, brake much harder, and be able to put quality rubber for modern 17" wheels on it. I admit, I've been spoiled by my modern bikes of the past few years - '97 Speed Triple, '00 TT600, '96 GPz1100, '03 Moto Guzzi LeMans... even my Ninja 250 and Seca II were far better performers on nearly every level.
In summary, I'd like to have some way to do the following:
- Firmer forks are desired. I understand that this can be done with better springs and heavier oil, but that leaves no room for the following.
- Better brakes
- Better tire options (17" wheel of nearly any width would do nicely)
- The same tire options for the rear wheel.
And like I said, it seems that lots of "newer" GS owners have been able to find good parts to swap in. Do us older GS platform owners have an option? Even the front end of a GS500E/F would be a massive improvement over my current setup.
And for the rear wheel - is this feasible in any way, shape, or form? Seems that there's just enough room in the swingarm to put a slightly wider tire on, but how would one go about dealing with the rest of the rear-end issues, like the sprocket and rear brake disc?
All suggestions are welcome and appreciated, whether it be "it's easy, here's the list of parts and adapters and new bearings you'll need" or "no way in hell, now bugger off".
Cost wouldn't be a massive factor unless it got really insane; I've already pumped $2000+ into this sack of bolts, what's another $1500 or so?
First, a synopsis of what I'm dealing with.
I have a 1980 GS550E. I've gone through the whole bike for the most part - frame was powder-coated, body pieces were re-painted, and most of the stuff that was old and dumpy stuff has been spiffed up quite a bit or replaced (RAASK rearsets, aftermarket shocks, drag bar, fork seals, all fluids, etc.).
So, I've been riding it a bit more in the past couple of months, and I've found what I don't like about it. Although I've put a lot of work (and money!) into making the bike look and perform more or less like it did nearly 30 years ago... Although the firmer new rear shocks improved handling a bit, the architectural limitations of the bike itself remain. The tall, skinny front wheel/tire make braking, in my opinion, wholly insufficient. The fork dives far too much for my liking under heavy braking and sags too much in turns. Now that I have the seating position "fixed" and I do enjoy riding it, I'd look to improve those other things.
So, I'd like it to handle more firmly, brake much harder, and be able to put quality rubber for modern 17" wheels on it. I admit, I've been spoiled by my modern bikes of the past few years - '97 Speed Triple, '00 TT600, '96 GPz1100, '03 Moto Guzzi LeMans... even my Ninja 250 and Seca II were far better performers on nearly every level.
In summary, I'd like to have some way to do the following:
- Firmer forks are desired. I understand that this can be done with better springs and heavier oil, but that leaves no room for the following.
- Better brakes
- Better tire options (17" wheel of nearly any width would do nicely)
- The same tire options for the rear wheel.
And like I said, it seems that lots of "newer" GS owners have been able to find good parts to swap in. Do us older GS platform owners have an option? Even the front end of a GS500E/F would be a massive improvement over my current setup.
And for the rear wheel - is this feasible in any way, shape, or form? Seems that there's just enough room in the swingarm to put a slightly wider tire on, but how would one go about dealing with the rest of the rear-end issues, like the sprocket and rear brake disc?
All suggestions are welcome and appreciated, whether it be "it's easy, here's the list of parts and adapters and new bearings you'll need" or "no way in hell, now bugger off".
Cost wouldn't be a massive factor unless it got really insane; I've already pumped $2000+ into this sack of bolts, what's another $1500 or so?
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