1981 GS450E Rebuild

[pete]

No probs at all Scott, happy to help.

I did get the second touch up coat on the motor bits today and also got time to loosely put the chain guard on and get the fork dress bit on also. Looks so much better black instead of having those fake plastic chrome strips on it!



This is how it sits now:



And this is what I've got the starter cover looking like, but it keeps looking better in the pic's than it really is. It has blackish spots on it that look like it's still tarnished, so not sure what I'm doing wrong with the cutting and polishing, so I'm just gonna leave it for a bit and try again down the track.





There's four pic's coz I'm hoping at least one will show up what I mean...

I'm also now having an issue with my camera, keeps saying flat battery although I've replaced the AA's and also today the little watch battery also... really don't want it to die as then it'll have to be phone pic's which really suck.

Anyways, next I'm gonna get my mate to BBQ the motor bits next weekend and then I can start engine reassembly... yeehaa!!!

[Macguyver]

Things are definitely looking good Pete!

As far as the black spots on the cover go, it is possible they are oxidation on the metal itself. Did you use a polish like autosol, or other oxide removing polish, or was it just a rubbing compound type polish?

I had some chrome bits that would not clean up like yours, then I polished again with autosol, and it took the spots right off. It appears that the cleaning wax I was using didn't remove the oxidation, it just removes physical gunk from the parts, and does nothing for the oxidation.

Just a thought, Keep up the great work Pete!

[pete]

Thanks for the tip Mac.

It does look like oxidation to me for sure.

I used a wire wheel first (was covered in surface rust initially), then used the cutting compound and sisal wheel, followed by buffing with a stitched rag wheel, then polishing with a calico wheel, at least I think that's what it's made of.

I'll give it a go over with Mothers by hand and see if that makes a difference, you could definitely have a point there.

[herostar]

looks like it's coming along good

Lets see some pics with the bodywork mocked up!

[pete]

Sure is Chris, can't wait to start getting the engine back together.

I haven't started hunting around for a seat or rear mudguard yet so not quite ready for a mock up.

I'm also thinking of saving toilet and paper towel rolls so that once the engine's together I can mock up an exhaust how I want it, should help with making it.

[Macguyver]

I'm also thinking of saving toilet and paper towel rolls so that once the engine's together I can mock up an exhaust how I want it, should help with making it.

That my friend, is sheer genius!

You might get some odd looks when you take the whole carbdoard exhaust mock up into the exhaust shop though.

[pete]

Just seemed sorta obvious to me Mac, dunno if I'd call it genius

I figured they're round, easily cut, easily taped together... if only they'd withstand the heat!

I'd prefer if I could actually make it myself, apparently there's places around that sell pre-bent piping, so theoretically I could cut it and weld it.

My lack of experience with welding and the lack of a welder will have some impact on that theory though

My guess is your prediction will be true... funny looks at an exhaust shop...

[Flaming Chainsaws]

This is looking good But what do you have planned for the shocks? So far, that's like the only thing that's still rusty.

Keep it up. Can't wait to see it all back together.

[pete]

Cheers FC.

The rear shocks need to be either replaced or reconditioned. There's a couple of places here in Brissie that are supposed to be able to recondition shocks for a good price, but I haven't spoken to them yet.

The alternative I'm thinking of is some Progressive shocks, although Progressive fork springs will probably be a higher priority as I remember the forks being too soft when I last rode it (almost 10 years ago), and now that I've put them back together, they definitely feel soft.

I'm leaving things like the shocks until the end because it's very easy to take them off and on without dismantling things, so I'm concentrating at the moment on all the big things like frame paint, engine paint, etc. that stop me putting it back together.

Once I'm done with the big stuff, I can worry about the little stuff and get it ready to register.

I also need the engine done and back in so I can start working out what to do about the exhaust.

[Macguyver]

Just seemed sorta obvious to me Mac, dunno if I'd call it genius

I figured they're round, easily cut, easily taped together... if only they'd withstand the heat!

I'd prefer if I could actually make it myself, apparently there's places around that sell pre-bent piping, so theoretically I could cut it and weld it.

My lack of experience with welding and the lack of a welder will have some impact on that theory though

My guess is your prediction will be true... funny looks at an exhaust shop...

If you buy the pre-bent pieces, you can use some aluminum tape to temporarily hold the pieces together until you can beg, borrow, steal, or bribe someone with a welder to some over and tack it all together to get it ready for finish welding.

If you can get someone to at least tack it together for you, then it would be easy to remove it from the bike then have it finish welded. I would just make sure that it is all tacked together on the bike, to make sure that the finished piece will still fit properly when finished.

Keep the bevy's and the ideas flowing there Pete!

[pete]

Good call Mac, didn't even think of that, just figured I'd make a template of pieces from the tubes then somehow get it replicated.

But taping the bits together on the bike is a much much better idea.

Can the aluminium tape just be welded over in place?

It'll be a 2 into 1, so I'd like to make the 1 bit slip onto the 2 bit joiner so if I need to do maintenance on things I don't need to take the whole thing off. Just reread that sentence and it sounds weird, but hope you get the idea...

[pete]

Unfortunately the weather turned against me today, or at least it was supposed to, so I didn't get the engine bits BBQ'd. Expecting rain so didn't even try, bugger.

Anyways, my brain did some work instead while I was cleaning the house, and I think I may not need to find a replacement seat pan for the look I'm going after.

I was thinking that if the duck tail had a subframe that held the locking mechanism for the seat, then I could potentially ditch the plastic and keep the subframe and make a new, much smaller, housing for it.

So ducked down tonight and grabbed the duck tail...



Flipped it over, and yay! Much smaller subframe hiding under there:



And the grab rail attaches directly to the subframe through the plastic housing, so I can keep it also:



So, duck tail dismantled, need to do some more painting now of the subframe and grab rail, maybe the locking mechanism too:





Then I grabbed the seat out and popped it on as is:



I won't be needing those plastic side skirts for what I want.

[pete]

So I flipped it over and took them off, and ugh, got some rust to take care of!



Fortunately it needs reupholstering anyway as I want to return it to a two seater and the foam that's under there currently is too soft and after about 30 - 45 minutes on the seat, you're basically sitting on the seat pan which is not exactly comfortable.

Anyway, popped the duck tail subframe on with the seat for a bit of a mock up, and I think if I make the housing right, it should look good.



I wanted to get a few more angles and close ups, but the camera has decided the batteries are low yet again, so not sure if the batteries I have are dodgy or if the camera's packing up, but it makes it real hard to get more pic's!

The big question is do I make the housing out of fibreglass or do I get some ice cream containers and attempt to use them instead? That would be more flexible but far less durable, but I do have heaps more of the plastic paint I used on the chain guard to hopefully UV protect it.

Also, it does look like there would be just enough room under that subframe to move the battery... wasn't even planning on that but could be an unexpected bonus

I should also be able to put a LED brake/tail light in there which allows me to be more flexible when trying to find an alternative rear mudguard.

And as far as that goes, I had another idea... would it be too modern to put a rear guard on attached to the swingarm like the new BMW GS' have? I'm not sure if it will suit the look of the bike or not, but may allow me to leave the rear end with just the seat, housing over the duck tail subrame, and the number plate.

Something along the lines of this:

[scottychop]

Looking good!

I like the idea of fabbing up a new rear end. what about just a plain flat ribbed seat back there, with no cowl? That would look pretty sweet with your bike. Are you going to hide stuff back there?

Scott

[pete]

I like the idea of fabbing up a new rear end. what about just a plain flat ribbed seat back there, with no cowl? That would look pretty sweet with your bike. Are you going to hide stuff back there?

Scott

That was the original plan:



I initially thought something like a T or L seat pan would be perfect after getting it reupholstered to remove the step, but then I realised that I'd never seen one in Aus before and on close inspection, the T and L frames appear to be a few inches shorter at the rear, so even if I was able to get a seat pan, it'd still be too short.

One thing I'm trying to avoid also is the need to cut the frame, I want to leave it stock if I can.

So, I figure instead of hunting for something to fit, I could try to make a small cowling (thanks, I couldn't think of that word last night) that blended in with the back of the seat. Should still give the same overall look/impression, but hopefully now can help me relocate the battery back there.

I need to do a photoshop of it, I have the GIMP somewhere around that I need to reinstall, then I can hopefully show a clearer idea of what I'm thinking.

Should also be able to do a mock up of what I'm thinking with the BMW GS style guard also... isn't it nice that BMW use the GS moniker so I can steal their idea but still say it's from a GS?