1981 GS450E Rebuild

[pete]

Pete I wish I had the vision to be able to tell you what would look good on it but I don't. All I'm good for is paying attention to the finer details.

I'm thinking maybe something in black, not quite as high and possibly rectangular? Dunno..

Hmmm... now come on Dale I thought you were gonna shoot me a magic bullet!

I went circular mirrors due to the circular headlight, figured rectangular would be out of place... although the indicators are rectangular...

They're cheap crappy Chinese or Taiwanese ones so I'm sure they'll need replacing at some point anyway

[Big Rich]

Looking good Pete! Any problems with the foam grips getting wet though? I think that is the biggest concern with those........

[pete]

Looking good Pete! Any problems with the foam grips getting wet though? I think that is the biggest concern with those........

Cheers Rich!

You know I never even thought of that... given she's a daily rider she'll see some rain before too long so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

The hand guards keep a lot of wind and rain off when moving, but stationary's a different story and there's a lot of that in traffic... fingers crossed they don't get too soggy!

[john82q]

Usally foam grips are water proof/repellant its the nature foam material used..

I find they get ripped before they wear. good for vibration dampening, if you get tingles in the fingers!

Cheers john

[pete]

Usally foam grips are water proof/repellant its the nature foam material used..

I find they get ripped before they wear. good for vibration dampening, if you get tingles in the fingers!

Cheers john

Cheers John, hopefully that's the case! My hands are definitely a lot more comfy with the foam grips, I think the cheapy rubber ones were just too firm.

One thing I'm wondering though is if I need some 'bar end weights... these motorcross 'bars are very light and I seem to get a a reasonable amount of mirror vibration happening at times. Not sure how the weights would go with the hand guards though... something to think about I guess...

[ged]

Hmmm... now come on Dale I thought you were gonna shoot me a magic bullet!

I went circular mirrors due to the circular headlight, figured rectangular would be out of place... although the indicators are rectangular...

They're cheap crappy Chinese or Taiwanese ones so I'm sure they'll need replacing at some point anyway

Pete, what was the original shape of the mirrors for your model?

[pete]

Pete, what was the original shape of the mirrors for your model?

Hey Greg, the ones that were on it when I got it were black round ones, but going by the fiche the stock ones were rectangular...

Oh, and this is where the carry rack is at after John did me a favour and welded it up for me:



It should be cured enough for me to mount on Sunday if I get the time.

[kjsamm]

And here's the plug, seal, and a new stainless allen head bolt to replace the one with the rounded off head... and of course some anti sieze:

Where did you find that plug? I have looked everywhere for one, ended up making my own.

[kjsamm]

Never mind, I used part number off your picture to find it.

[pete]

Never mind, I used part number off your picture to find it.

Haha cool, well done!

ChicagoRob figured that out a while back and I filed the info away 'til I got my Acewell then I did the same.

Don't forget the oil seal which is on the same part of the fiche, for an '83 GS1100E I think. 26451-45000.

Also used on a bunch of other models...

[pete]

Well, aside from getting some final flashy pic's when she's had a big bath, this afternoon's work officially makes her finished.









That's it, no more to do except ride, service, and tune

You can see it's a little off-centre in the third pic, but it's close enough for me and should do what it needs to do.

[pete]

Oh, for anyone who's keen, the Ducati Cucciolo thread has started but you'll need to venture into off-topic...

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=193879

[Woodsy]

Looking good Pete, you've put heaps of hard work into the old girl and its good to see her finally finished.

There is a gsx750 here you can work on now.. i'll mail it up in envelope part by part.

[ndaugbjerg]

Pete,
When a machine looks that good, water spots on top of your tail light are just unacceptable. Would you please grab the chamois and shoot another pic. Seriously, you did a great job.
Niels

[ged]

Awsome Pete, congratulations with a fantastic build. The luggage rack looks great and the colour matches in very well.