My 1981 GS650G Thread

[Macguyver]

Looks great, has the snow melted up there yet?

You must be ready to ride soon.

Thanks, and yes, the snow is all gone. We had a warm spell for a week that took it all away. Made me want to ride. Now we are getting wet-ish weather. (foggy in the morning, and overcast all day, short and intermittent light rain)

Unfortunately, the county seems to be taking their time to clean all of the sand and gravel off of the roads. I am guessing they think the rain will take care of it eventually. Too bad we've only had one good rain since the snow went away.

My ignitor showed up today (Thanks Mike!), so I can hopefully have her running again in the near future.

I am definitely feeling the itch to get on the road! Maybe I can now finish the electrical, and get the required for safety stuff taken care of.

[Skateguy50]

Updates!

Is it together, is it outside, is it running?

[Macguyver]

Update

Well, since you asked.

I have been super busy at work lately, and bike-time is in scarce supply, but I have been working on her as much as I can. I have also been helping a friend get his Yamaha 400 Maxim running. Unfortunately, his bike is in Toronto, so it pretty much kills an entire weekend going down to help him, and it really takes time when the dealership sends us the wrong parts.

So far, I have spent 3 weekends down there, plus one weekend at home soda blasting parts for his bike, so it leaves little time for my projects.

Recently I have replaced a lot of the original bolts with stainless, including all of the bolts on the engine case covers, and the carburetors. I have also repaired the clutch cable, and finished a few other minor details only I would be bothered by. I have also replaced the front signal bulbs with LED ones.

I have also mostly evicted the electrical gremlins from the bike, and am at the point that I need to address the headlight issue. Specifically, what am I going to use for it? I have been unsatisfied with way the projector light I built fits into the grand scheme of the bike. So I am exploring other options, namely, I have reconditioned an oval running light left over from another project, and altered a 9004 High Output bulb to fit in the casing of the light.

I have tried a few ideas for fabricating a front fairing, and that is what led me to believe the modified oval running light would be best, since the projector makes the nose of the bike look waaay too long. Kind of like the bike in the old TV show Streethawk, but less cool.

So right now I am in the doldrums of indecision, trying to make a decision one way or the other on the headlight, and I am going to move the bike outside so I can get the rest of the mechanical done, then paint and cure the exhaust pipes. Hopefully by then I will have come to a conclusion on which way to go on the headlight, then I can fabricate the front fairing.

Thankfully, there is a few hours of daylight left when I get home from work now, so I should be able to make some headway once I get the bike outside, which will likely be tonight or tomorrow night if I can find someone willing to give me a hand for 5 minutes to move it.

Why does it always seem like I always make time for others in need, but whenever I need a hand for literally 5 minutes, no one is available? Frustrating to say the least.

I will update with pics once I get her outside.

[Macguyver]

Outside and loving it!

I finally found someone to give me a hand for two minutes to move my bike outside, and I am glad I did. This might just be the kick in the pants I need to get her done.

As promised, here are some pics for the image hungry.






My list of things left to do is as follows:
-strip and paint case guards
-fab and install battery box
-finish up electrical
-mount headlight
-strip and paint exhaust
-fab and install front fairing
-fab and install chin scoop/bellypan
-fab and install rear fender
-install new grips
-finish mounting bar end signals
-refoam and recover seat
-touch up a few spots with paint
-strip and repaint/decal/clearcoat tank
Plus a few other things I can't remember right now.

I have this weekend free to work on the bike before going to Toronto next week for a training course/finishing reassembly of my friends' Yamaha.

Hopefully I can check at least one or two things off of the list before then. I have a long way to go, but it will be worth it in the end!

[AF_Bill]

Mac its looking good!!!! Just to let ya know, Imma steal a few of your ideas and incorporate them into mine. Also, I was bored at work today and was just checkin out some places to ride when I get back. Its lil over 10 hours (non stop) from my place to Formosa, Ontario. My buddies said they wanna plan a road trip with me when I'm home lol.

[Skateguy50]

You left something off the to do list.

RIDE!

hope you get it on the road soon, looking great. I say you shorten the list to the things required to run, and save the other mods for next winter.

[Macguyver]

Its lil over 10 hours (non stop) from my place to Formosa, Ontario. My buddies said they wanna plan a road trip with me when I'm home lol.

Thanks, and you are more than welcome to visit the little village of Formosa, just give me some advance warning so I can stock up on bevy's.

You left something off the to do list.

RIDE!

hope you get it on the road soon, looking great. I say you shorten the list to the things required to run, and save the other mods for next winter.

I have been paring down the list and I hope to have the required for safety stuff done in a week or two.

Don't tell the local LEO's, but I may have to go for a few "test" rides before I get the safety done. I will need to cure the ceramic header paint somehow, and idling the bike in the driveway for an hour just won't get the pipes hot enough.

Well, I'm off to grab some grub, and then get to work on mounting the headlight.

[Theo]

The bike is looking good mac. Nice to see it finally outside I bet. I can't wait to do the same.

Theo

[AF_Bill]

Right on Mac. What style of headlight ya goin with? The oval style? I would suggest maybe a dual set up. Maybe 2 small fog light type lights. Just a thought man.

[Macguyver]

Yearrrggghhh!!!!!

Wouldn't you know it, I put the bike out side, and this is what happens.


It's been raining cats and dogs since about 4 AM. Oh well, I guess this is nature's way of getting me to finish up some indoor projects for the bike, like the indicator assembly rework.

Surprise company showed up last night as I was finishing supper, so I was unable to accomplish any work to mount the headlight.
As far as the headlight goes, I think my decision problem is because I have too many choices:


I have another oval type light the same as the one in the pic reconditioned, so I may still end up going dual with them.
Since I won't be able to mount any of them on the bike due to weather, I will think on it in the back 'o the brain while I work on other things.

I will update with pics later.

[AF_Bill]

Stupid internet blockin pictures.

I guess the first pic is of the rain or huge puddle lol. Really wish I could see the headlight right now. ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!

[Macguyver]

Oval Headlight Update

Well, the sky cleared up enough to let things dry out a bit when I was working on the indicator lights, so I jumped outside to mount the headlight.

I think it should work out well, and look pretty good once I make the front fairing. I need to go pick up a new bulb though, I kind of broke the one I modded. Who knew the slightest sideways pressure on the little teat on the bottom of the bulb would cause it to snap off and go flying off like a rocket? Just glad I was wearing my glasses!

I should be able to make the form for the front fairing tomorrow, and hopefully get it fiberglassed too. Provided I don't get unexpected company like I did the last couple days. Not that that is a bad thing, it just messes with my bike time, is all.

Here are a few pics.






You know, the more I look at the bike, the more I think I need to replace the handlebars with ones less, well, chrome.
maybe I'll pop into the stealership this week and see what they can order in with a similar shape to them since the current ones are fairly comfy.

[Macguyver]

Dash Lighting

I had originally planned to work on making the front fairing today, but that was changed when a buddy showed up with a starter motor problem with his car. Once I had the starter motor changed, it started raining again.

So instead, I worked on the indicator lights for my redesigned dash.
I started by chucking up a 3/8" 4-fluted end mill in Ye Olde Drill Press, and machined off the plastic dividers from the original lighting holder.

First pass.


Second Pass.


At this point, I flipped the part over and did two more passes from the other side.


I then set about cutting some reflective dividers from some scrap sheet steel, and glued them in place.

Unfortunately, I was out of perfboard, so in my mad hunt for a substitute, I cut a piece of corrugated cardboard and poked mounting holes for the components in it with a very small jeweller's screwdriver, to make a very ghetto circuit board. I then populated the board with LED's and resistors, leaving a 1/4" gap between the board and components. Then I covered both sides of the board with 2 coats of activated fiberglass resin, and seated the components down into place.


Once cured, I trimmed the board to fit, and double checked the fit.








That is as far as I could go tonight since I need to get packing for a training course in Toronto which I am leaving for right after work tomorrow, so when I get back I can bend and trim the pins and make the necessary solder joints and wiring connections.

Once everything is connected, I plan on coating the back of the board with silicone to insulate it, and make it vibration proof, before final install on the bike.

I had my doubts on the choice of material for the board, but it yielded a decent result which fits in the dash piece very well, and is the same thickness as the original circuit board. It is also rigid enough that I have no worries about things moving around, and with the components held in place with the resin, vibration will be a non-issue.

I naturally have my concerns about the longevity of the "circuit board" material since it is only cardboard after all, but I do what I can with what I have available, and I will see how it holds up. At the least, it will be an interesting experiment into alternative perfboard materials. I would say I am earning my nickname on this one for sure!

[Bad Kaw]

Woooooooow!
Drive on!
-KR

[Skateguy50]

Looking good, how is the light spread with that oval one?

I am not sold on the look but have faith in your skills making a fairing that will tie it all in.