My 1981 GS650G Thread

[Bad Kaw]

Pretty cool.
-KR

[Macguyver]

Moldmaking 101

Well, I made a positive plug piece to make the negative mold for the tail light shrouds, everything went well fiberglassing over the plug. Let it sit for a few hours to cure fully, and when I went to pop the plug out and clean up the negative mold I discovered the high density foam I made the plug out of was almost completely dissolved!

I hadn't done anything differently than I usually do. Form positive plug out of high density foam, coat with 50-50 mix of white glue and water. Second coat, lay up on piece of glue coated cardboard, mold fiberglass on top.

I am guessing there was an air bubble somewhere in the glue coat which let the fiberglass resin through.
The net result was the negative mold was caved in on the inside, thus making it useless to me.

I believe I am going to make a new positive out of wood tonight. that way the glue only serves as a non-stick barrier instead of a sealer and non-stick barrier. Time to go visit a friend who has a woodshop full of tools.
This will also allow me to get mucho detailed on the positive. Now I am thinking I will likely spend a couple hours making the positive, then likely dip it in glue water mix to ensure complete mold release coverage.

Likely end up with a better part after all is said and done anyway. Just a bugger that I wasted so much time on the first one. Making one-off parts like this is fun, but can be a PITA when something screws up.

I will upload pics once I am done so all can see.

[Skateguy50]

Keep the posts coming and remember you can post up to 10 pictures per post now

As far as the light goes, I think it is best to keep adjusting as you are and not blind oncoming traffic. Deer in headlights is bad enough, hate to see what a minivan blinded in your headlight could do.

[Steve]

I'm doing it MY way".

Whats wrong with that?

If everyone did everything a certain way thing might tend to get really boring.
Then everyone would be grouchy.

There is nothing at all wrong with that.

It's the part that precedes that, and the attitude that's the problem.

... they basically say "screw the world, I'm doing it MY way".

I agree, if we all did the same thing, the same way, it would be a very boring world (unless you did it my way, of course ). The problems is that too many people just don't care about the effect their project is going to have on others. I know one guy that likes LOUD pipes on his bike. He put them on. He was asked to move out of his apartment complex because it was bothering all the neighbors. I used to know a guy that worked second shift. He would relax after work by watching a movie before going to bed. He had a nice surround-sound system and played it a theater-like volumes. His neighbors did not like to hear Star Wars at 1 am. The list goes on. Do what you want, but be considerate of others, too.

.

[Macguyver]

Keep the posts coming and remember you can post up to 10 pictures per post now

As far as the light goes, I think it is best to keep adjusting as you are and not blind oncoming traffic. Deer in headlights is bad enough, hate to see what a minivan blinded in your headlight could do.

Almost done the Headlight assembly, I also have a projector fog light donated by a friend so I can do up a dual projector assembly. Pics will be forthcoming.

As far as the tail light shrouds go, I couldn't find an adequate piece of wood last night, so I began cutting down a piece of white delrin, originally from an industrial butcher block IIRC.

The stuff cuts nice on the bandsaw if you take it slow, not so well on the drill press. Last time I worked with this stuff I tried to drill a large diameter hole in it and melted the chit out of it by going too fast. Heat makes it expand fast enough to "grab" a hole saw and tear the pice right out of the clamps, and before you know it, you have a spinning implement of death twirling away on the bit!

I should have the piece rough shaped tonight, final shaped if I can find a friend with a belt sander with a tiltable table who is home during this holiday time of year. Once I have that done, next step is making the mold to cast the final pieces from. I believe I should only need a thin to moderate coating of mold release since the delrin should not be affected by resins and fiberglass, but I will do a test immersion with a scrap piece of delrin tonight, just in case.

I will update with pictures of the complete process, and my results. Maybe tonight if I get that far, not tomorrow night though, going drinking with some good friends I haven't seen in a while. My buddy and his wife are taking this poor single guy to see the dancing ladies. Not to worry, I will try not to ask the pretty girls if they want a ride on my shaft drive...

[Octain]

There is nothing at all wrong with that.

It's the part that precedes that, and the attitude that's the problem.


I agree, if we all did the same thing, the same way, it would be a very boring world (unless you did it my way, of course ). The problems is that too many people just don't care about the effect their project is going to have on others. I know one guy that likes LOUD pipes on his bike. He put them on. He was asked to move out of his apartment complex because it was bothering all the neighbors. I used to know a guy that worked second shift. He would relax after work by watching a movie before going to bed. He had a nice surround-sound system and played it a theater-like volumes. His neighbors did not like to hear Star Wars at 1 am. The list goes on. Do what you want, but be considerate of others, too.

.

LMAO!!
Your the type of person that those type of people like to p!ss off.

[Macguyver]

Tunable Intake Shrouds

Well, last night I was bored.
Since I couldn't find anyone who was home who had the tools I need to keep working on my tail light covers, I began some brainstorming on ideas for my scoot.
I really want to get rid of the stock airbox and use the pods I had purchased a while ago, but haven't purchased new jets to compensate for the higher air flow, so it's a no go situation...or is it?

The way I figure it, if the pods were made properly in the first place I wouldn't have to adjust my system to use them, I could adjust the pods to work with my system.

So I began making adjustable shrouds for them.
These are still in the prototype phase, so bear with me.
The black cover portion is bonded resin which slips over the pod element section. There is a hole in the center of the top of the covers for the adjustment hardware which I am figuring out. They will be able to be adjusted for airflow by varying the amount of the filter element exposed, to be changed by a mere twist of the cover. Then be locked into adjustment.

If this works, it will be a much better way to do pods on an older bike, with a heck of a lot less wrenching to get it to run right. Might be just the ticket to finally getting the carbs dialed in just right, even if I decide to rejet for performance later on, I would simply need to readjust the pods and away I go.

I will post more on this once I have the near final version ready to go.

[Macguyver]

Intake Progress

More progress on the tunable intakes!

I did the math to figure how much of the filter element I needed to block off to create the tuning range and bonded some black speaker cloth over the element with some silicon used as the blocking barrier and the adhesive to hold the cloth in place.

This way, as the cone is twisted, it will open more or less free-flowing element. My hopes in this are to be able to use these pods instead of the stock airbox to open up more space inside the frame. I have plans for that space.

I now have the modified filters to the point that I can install them and conduct some trials to see if this will work for me. I know, I know, everyone is screaming "Just buy some jets already, and do it right!"
That is the plan, but I enjoy tinkering with stuff and I have two sets of pod filters here, and these are the cheap ones. So I don't mind if it doesn't work out well. I am going pods in the spring either way, and my jets should be here in a couple weeks, so I can jet as needed with either set of pods.

If these do work well enough, I already have a laundry list of changes I want to make if I make another set. I need to change the shape of the holes in the covers to more of a rectangular shape to make the most of the element available. To that end, I am taking a filter with me to work tomorrow so I can go to a few stores and see if I can find a set of plastic cups that could be modified to be used for covers. That will save me a lot of time, and it's a P.I.T.A. to make the covers the way I did.

I also need to pick up some hardware to make a locking handle too.

Curiosity won out again.

[Theo]

Man I'm really liking your build. And I have to say I'm really impressed with your ingenuity in regards to those air cleaner covers. How did you make them? Fiberglass molds? I sure hope they work out for you because then I'll be able to use the pods that came with my bike and not have to buy an expensive jetting kit. Keep the posts comin'.
-Theo

[Macguyver]

Thanks for the encouraging words Theo,

The covers are made from heavy 1/16" packing board. I made a template piece out of regular paper, and then scanned it and printed out templates which were then taped onto the packing board. The holes were cut out with a hole saw, and the rest was cut out with scissors.

I then taped the pieces into shape, and coated them with fiberglass resin. The resin soaks into the board to make it a fiberglass-esque like piece. Quite durable, yet still slightly flexible.

I have attached the template sheet if you are interested in playing around with this yourself. I need to do up some with a different hole in it, hence the urge to find some plastic cups to use instead. It takes a while to make the covers as is, too long to be enjoyable.

I will update as more progress is made.
TTYL,

[Skateguy50]

I like the thoughts with that, cause it seems lots of people buy pods thinking they look cool and could use the extra space then realize its not plug and play.

If I get your thoughts basically you will use the pods pretty much for looks alone cause you will be restricting the extra air they provide to tune it back closer to how the stock airbox delivers. I guess that makes sense if you didnt plan to do the exhaust over as well cause unless it can push the air out breathing more wont help much.

If you get a good system going for that send in the patent application, even if you never sell it get that in the books. I could definately see the marketability of such a thing.

[Macguyver]

Hello my freaky babies!

I found some items of interest today while on lunch break.
I was cruising through one of the local stores and came across some black injection molded "cups". Lady behind the front counter looked at me kind of wierd when I pulled an air pod filter out of my jacket pocket.

All I can say is:
"OhmygoshthisisfantasticIcan'tbelieveIfoundsomethi ngthatwillwork!"

Yep, I finally found a premade cover to use for my tunable air pod filters.
Nice and thick too, so I should be able to machine out some sweet openings in them!

There is a bit of a gap between the cover and the filter element, but that's ok too. I have a few ideas which need that gap, so it should work out well.

The lady behind the counter asked me what I was doing, so I gave her the layman's version of what I am planning, and she told me a story about this guy she used to date back in the 80's that rode a Suzuki 850. She didn't know what kind it was, but she did say she loved the bike because "It was big, loud, and gave her good vibrations sitting on the back".

Does anyone else think she was saying what I think she was saying?

Nevermind, anyways, I am going to play around with them tonight and see what I can get going with the new components, and will update with pics once I have something together.

Should be an exciting couple of days working on these. Figuring stuff like this out is what I was made for!

[Skateguy50]

I think she was looking for a "ride"

[Turtleface]

I've been reading this thread with interest, especially the taillight bits. With all the custom one-off stuff you've got going on, your nickname is very apropos. Nice work! Keep it up, and more pictures of taillight bits!

[Macguyver]

I've been reading this thread with interest, especially the taillight bits. With all the custom one-off stuff you've got going on, your nickname is very apropos. Nice work! Keep it up, and more pictures of taillight bits!

Thanks for the encouragement,
I have made arrangements to get access to a belt sander this weekend, so I will be making progress on the taillights and will post some juicy pics for you soon!

I am not feeling very well tonight, but I wanted to work on the bike, so I decided to do something about reducing the necessary throttle twist to reach WOT.

I have wanted to make the famous $1 throttle mod by Posplayr for a while now, but kept forgetting to pick up some pipe for it. I searched for a bit in my prototype materials bin and found some schedule 40 PVC conduit which looked like it would do the trick!

So I cut the piece I needed on the bandsaw, and decided to follow BWringer's idea of attacking the piece with a round file to create a different profile for the cable to ride in.

I think it turned out well, only took a couple of minutes to make. Then I discovered I made it too short! 6mm tall instead of the 10mm as laid out by Pos.

Ding Ding, round two!

Made the 2nd version, and took some 3M scotchbrite sanding sponge to it to clean it up a bit, and smooth out any file scratches in the groove. Turned out well, I am quite pleased with it. All I need to do for it now is to cut it to the proper length, but I can't do that until I install it.

Thanks go to Posplayr for posting this brilliant idea, and BWringer for the build on the idea. If only I can get my brain to work properly, I may even install it tonight. Can't wait to give it a shot, should really help with getting to the giggle zone on the throttle without having to reposition.

Thanks again guys!