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1981 GSX1100 Katana Based Project

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    1981 GSX1100 Katana Based Project

    Hi Folks, hhhuuuummmm, a Katana based project eh, what is that exactly? O.K. let's go. First thing is I am in Australia so this project is all about the Oz flavored version of the 1100 Katana.I have owned and ridden the glorious 1100 Katana since they were released in Australia in 1981 with my current (2nd) 1100 Kat having been my ride for the last 37 years. This Kat was BOTM back in Nov 2011.

    I love the Kat and everything about it, until recently! Injuries and wear and tear on the body over the years have finally caught up with me and the 232 Kg dry weight of the Kat is becoming a not so enjoyable aspect of the riding experience these days. How to own a Kat and keep smiling without popping a lower back disc when its time to push it around in the shed or when out and about? Make her lighter, and me as well while Iam at it.

    I have spent a bit of time thinking about how to go about shaving 50 kg from the Kat and still have her look like a Kat (you may have to squint a little bit when up close.) and not a highly modified custom machine. So I am at the beginning of the build and will start to post pics and info about the project soon.

    What is a project without a name? The name for this build is DW180. As my current Kat is a stock survivor 1100 Kat, that will not be the donor or contribute in anyway to DW180. To kick off the project in April 2021 I had an Oz 1981 1100 Kat frame, it started with just the frame and nothing else. Since April 2021 I have been planning and tracking down parts and now it's time to begin bolting the project together. Some ground rules I set for myself for the DW180:

    No radical angle grinder or hacksaw surgery, trimming and shaving sure, but nothing along the lines of cutting off the rear foot peg mounts or the centre stand lugs.

    Must retain stock indicators and clocks and genuine Suzuki mirrors.

    Suzuki wheels, not the stock 19" front 17" rear snowflake. DW180 wheels will be cast ally 1985 GSXR 750 18" front and 18" rear. These are slightly lighter cast wheels compared to the snowflake Kat wheels and being Suzuki they look right. Being a tubeless rim, lighter radial tyres (and deleting the inner tubes) can be fitted to replace the tradition bias type heavier Speed Demon rubber that quite a few Kats are shod with.

    There will be changes that are not visible like aluminium axle and bearing spacers and titanium bolts as well as the very visible stuff like 520 chain/sprocket set up, carbon chain guard, hollow axles and pivot bolt, hollow chromemoly clip-ons with aluminium bar weights, lithium battery and various Suzuki parts like the RG500 aluminium gear selector. Titanium pipes and muffler with aluminium flange clamps and Ti bolts.

    Replacing the side covers, seat and ducktail with a one piece solo seat unit made of fibreglass, no need to buy a seat, ducktail or expensive side covers.

    The stand out non Kat part of the build will be the engine, the power plant will be a 1985 GSX 1135 EF engine, 3.2 kg lighter than a GSX1100 stock engine with 14 extra horses, win,win!

    I don't have a workshop just a shed and the budget is pretty thin so parts are mostly used Suzi with a few hand made parts here and there as well as plenty of filing to reshape parts. Trying not to go the "drill it to Swiss cheese path" where I can. Some drilling but not everywhere as pics will show.

    The frame has been painted and so it all begins very soon.

    The disclaimer. This project is exactly that, a personal project and all information, photos and details presented here are for my personal interest as a hobby. Everything associated with this project and presented here is for entertainment purposes only and not a guide or endorsement in any way of using and modifying a motorcycle or motorcycle parts. Any aftermarket parts, modification or fabrication of parts and the installation and use of any and all parts have not been tested or approved for use on a motorcycle on a public or private road, place or venue of any kind. My project, my risk.

    Cheers,
    Last edited by Shin-Ken 1074; 10-01-2023, 04:39 PM.
    Badgezz, we don need noh stinkin' badgezz!
    Shin-Ken 1074
    1982 GSX1100SXZ Wire Wheel Katana - BOM Nov 2011
    1981 GSX1135 Katana Build completed Mar 2024, Curb Weight, all fluids and 21 lt fuel = 206 kg.

    #2
    That's a lot of weight to shave. Good luck.
    1982 GS1100E V&H "SS" exhaust, APE pods, 1150 oil cooler, 140 speedo, 99.3 rear wheel HP, black engine, '83 red

    2016 XL883L sigpic Two-tone blue and white. Almost 42 hp! Status: destroyed, now owned by the insurance company. The hole in my memory starts an hour before the accident and ends 24 hours after.

    Comment


      #3
      You can't start a thread like this without pictures! WTF! post-9291-14071037044488.jpg
      Paul


      sigpic




      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Rob S. View Post
        That's a lot of weight to shave. Good luck.
        Hi Rob, yes, 50 kg is a lot to drop from a start weight of 232kg however, I think it is a realistic goal. 50 kg is the initial goal because once she is up and running there will be some fine tuning that can be done and I am sure another kg or maybe 2 could be removed and get the weight under 178 kg dry. 178 kg dry would make it lighter than the original 1985 Suzuki GSXR 750.

        Cheers,
        Glen.
        Badgezz, we don need noh stinkin' badgezz!
        Shin-Ken 1074
        1982 GSX1100SXZ Wire Wheel Katana - BOM Nov 2011
        1981 GSX1135 Katana Build completed Mar 2024, Curb Weight, all fluids and 21 lt fuel = 206 kg.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by slayer61 View Post
          You can't start a thread like this without pictures! WTF! post-9291-14071037044488.jpg
          Oops, it didn't happen if there are no pics, will work on getting some posted.

          Cheers,
          Glen
          Badgezz, we don need noh stinkin' badgezz!
          Shin-Ken 1074
          1982 GSX1100SXZ Wire Wheel Katana - BOM Nov 2011
          1981 GSX1135 Katana Build completed Mar 2024, Curb Weight, all fluids and 21 lt fuel = 206 kg.

          Comment


            #6
            losing 50 kg without radical angle grinder or hacksaw surgery ?
            This will be interesting ...
            Rijk

            Top 10 Newbie Mistakes thread

            CV Carb rebuild tutorial
            VM Carb rebuild tutorial
            Bikecliff's website
            The Stator Papers

            "The thing about freedom - it's never free"

            Comment


              #7
              Yeah, my mind was processing 50lbs, but 50KG is another story.
              1986 1150EF
              2008 GS1250SEA

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Big Block View Post
                Yeah, my mind was processing 50lbs, but 50KG is another story.
                Hi Big Block, yeah 50 kg is a fair bit to lose and still have the end result look like a pretty stock Kat, from a few metres away. The low hanging fruit is the easy stuff:

                factory 4-2 system = 18kg
                YB14LA2 lead acid battery and OEM cradle = 5.1 kg
                snowflake wheels and bias tyres
                630 chain
                OEM rear sprocket 1,752 g
                solid steel OEM axles/pivot bolt
                OEM steel bearing spacers
                rear OEM brake disc = 2,170 g
                OEM screen,brackets and bolts.

                From here on it is all about the small amounts and where to remove, modify or replace parts.

                An example of replacing an OEM part is the rear brake disc, OEM = 2,170 g being replaced with a disc that weighs 550 g.

                Cheers.



                Badgezz, we don need noh stinkin' badgezz!
                Shin-Ken 1074
                1982 GSX1100SXZ Wire Wheel Katana - BOM Nov 2011
                1981 GSX1135 Katana Build completed Mar 2024, Curb Weight, all fluids and 21 lt fuel = 206 kg.

                Comment


                  #9
                  A cool Kat build?
                  Definitely be following along, Glen.
                  2@ \'78 GS1000

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by steve murdoch View Post
                    A cool Kat build?
                    Definitely be following along, Glen.
                    Hi Steve, watch this space, what could possibly go wrong?

                    Cheers.
                    Badgezz, we don need noh stinkin' badgezz!
                    Shin-Ken 1074
                    1982 GSX1100SXZ Wire Wheel Katana - BOM Nov 2011
                    1981 GSX1135 Katana Build completed Mar 2024, Curb Weight, all fluids and 21 lt fuel = 206 kg.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Rijko View Post
                      losing 50 kg without radical angle grinder or hacksaw surgery ?
                      This will be interesting ...
                      Hi Rijko, 50 kg, if you say it fast it doesn't sound to difficult to do, I hope!

                      Cheers.
                      Badgezz, we don need noh stinkin' badgezz!
                      Shin-Ken 1074
                      1982 GSX1100SXZ Wire Wheel Katana - BOM Nov 2011
                      1981 GSX1135 Katana Build completed Mar 2024, Curb Weight, all fluids and 21 lt fuel = 206 kg.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Hey Glen,

                        I would say you would need really drastic measures to reach 50KG.
                        From your answer to Big Block i see you already started to compile a list, curious how far that will take you.
                        My guess is you need some very radical grinding and lots of use of light tubing, aluminium, etc.
                        Carbon wheels and other parts.
                        And very deep pockets ....

                        Like i said, really interesting.
                        Maybe complete the weight savings list before you start shaving off small parts ?
                        Would be a shame to discover during the project the goal is too hard/expensive to reach...





                        Rijk

                        Top 10 Newbie Mistakes thread

                        CV Carb rebuild tutorial
                        VM Carb rebuild tutorial
                        Bikecliff's website
                        The Stator Papers

                        "The thing about freedom - it's never free"

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Rijko View Post
                          losing 50 kg without radical angle grinder or hacksaw surgery ?
                          This will be interesting ...
                          To say the least.
                          1982 GS1100E V&H "SS" exhaust, APE pods, 1150 oil cooler, 140 speedo, 99.3 rear wheel HP, black engine, '83 red

                          2016 XL883L sigpic Two-tone blue and white. Almost 42 hp! Status: destroyed, now owned by the insurance company. The hole in my memory starts an hour before the accident and ends 24 hours after.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I'd think about getting off as much unnecessary weight. Getting Titanium axles will not save you enough weight for the cost. 4 into 1 exhausts can save a lot of weight, but how much can you really take off? Without the proper tooling and workspace, it will be really hard to do the job right. Go for the obvious stuff first. Personally, I would never trust any aluminum axle. Side covers don't weigh much. The money spent on working the fiberglass could be spent elsewhere. I'd plan this carefully. That's kind of an unrealistic wight goal to remove, IMHO, but you can make the bike handle better, and remove weight. Better handling will trump hacking the bike apart.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Rob S. View Post

                              To say the least.
                              Even better if it weighs the least
                              Badgezz, we don need noh stinkin' badgezz!
                              Shin-Ken 1074
                              1982 GSX1100SXZ Wire Wheel Katana - BOM Nov 2011
                              1981 GSX1135 Katana Build completed Mar 2024, Curb Weight, all fluids and 21 lt fuel = 206 kg.

                              Comment

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