1982 GS400 Bobber Project

[meatface]

I managed to pick up this 1982 gs400 for a paltry $40. Now that sounds great, but the thing is that it is missing alot of parts. Such as the gas tank, carbs, alot of electrical including battery, most of the body and the list goes on.

So this bike is a project and a half. I am going to bob it. My long term intent is to bob it of course, and lengthen the swingarm a few inches. I find that when people bob these bikes that they look disproportionately heavy in the front end. To combat this I believe that lengthening the swingarm a bit and using a smaller fuel tank will help. As far as paint goes my idea is this: orange frame, orange and white tank, orange and white rims. Orange will be the predominant color on this bike with white for accent. It will kind of look like a creamsicle. At some point I would like to also swap out the wheels for a 16" rear and a 21" front, both with the traditional wire spokes.

I have started a blog to track my progress here. This bike has a very long way to go and I will be requiring alot of assistance with knowledge and technique. Oh yeah, almost forgot. This is my first bike and my first build.

Any comments or suggestions are always welcome.

Below are some pics of how she was when I first got her and the teardown.

[Flyboy]

For 40 bucks you did well, you could easy spend $40 on a whole lot less.
If you are going the bobber route then I guess you were going to chuck a lot of the stock stuff anyway.
Looking forward to following the build.

[meatface]

Thanks Flyboy. I'm looking forward to it too. I've got this crazy itch to be on a bike. I don't live to far from a little town on Lake Erie called Port Dover. It is a town of 5000 people. There was a tradition started there about the time this bike was built where everyone and anyone with a bike rolls into town on every Friday the 13th. This event has grown to the point that the last one about a month ago had over 200,000 people show up. Pretty amazing for a one day event. I met people who rode in from all over North America, from the west coast to the east coast. It is one of the most amazing sights to see, tens of thousands of bikes lined up all along the streets of this tiny town. For that one day it becomes the most densely populated town on the face of the earth. It is the largest unorganized event on the planet. Anyway, all those bike get my blood pumping and when I can across this diamond in the rough it was hard to pass up. Especially for that price. I figure even if I need to buy another one at a much higher price to get all of the component needed to be road worthy I have a roller for $40.

I am pumped. But unfortunately it will be a fairly slow process. My financial circumstances are dismal to say the least. I will poke away and post any progress along with a mountain of questions.

Cheers,

Meatface

[Flyboy]

But unfortunately it will be a fairly slow process. My financial circumstances are dismal to say the least. I will poke away and post any progress along with a mountain of questions.

I feel your pain, you and me both, brother, you and me both.
Mine is here
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=162366

[pete]

Welcome Meatface (dare I ask?).

That sounds like a blast... tens of thousands of bikes in one place... wow. You'd probably have to evacuate my entire state to achieve that

Anyways, good luck with the build.

Feel free to pop into the GS Owners forum and a guy called BassCliff will shoot you a huge welcome email with a heap of helpful info, and there's a newly created Twins engine forum you can use to get twin cylinder engine specific help too.

There's been quite a few 400's and 450's with the odd 250 pop up out of the woodwork lately, so the info on those models should be increasing, although there's quite a lot around here already.

[Henryinva]

good luck on your build. you will have a hard time (read next to impossable) finding a tank that fits over the tripple backbone...

Only bad part of messing with a GS is the backbone.

I cut 'em out of there myself. opens up a whole world of possablities.

Have fun with it!

[meatface]

Wow, I can't believe how things are coming along. For one thing I acquired another bike today. I came across a deal that I just could not refuse. I purchased a Honda cb 650 s for $100. Yes that's right $100. And it had half a tank of gas and starts and runs with no trouble. It is in amazingly good shape. No rust, no dings, scratches or dents. It does have a cracked headlight, one non functioning turn signal and one missing mirror. It also needs to either have the valves done, or the lifters. I will need to investigate further to determine which. But for the price, who could refuse. And considering I have a financial backer that was willing to put up the money...whew, what a deal. I just love Kijiji. I even took it for a short ride down the sidewalk to get it from the trailer to the backyard.

Now the dilemma is what to do with it. Unfortunately it is shaft drive with a short wheelbase. I really wanted to bob it, but I'm unsure if it will work out with the shaft drive. Regardless, this bike will be on the road in the spring. Yee-haw....

Of course this would mean that I am now working with a bike that is not in the GS family, or even the same make But with my limited financial capabilities at this time it would put me alot farther along in my build. And I am certainly not getting rid of the GS. I may just have to mothball it for the time being and pull it back out when I have some more resources to work with it. I know one thing for sure, I will still be checking back in here. I love some of the things you guys have done and everyone has been very friendly with me.

I should probably post a pic or two as well.

Cheers,

Meatface

[AF_Bill]

Meatface,
It's possible to bob a shaftie. There are a few on the board here that have been bobbed. Do a google search for pics and you'll find some.

[moochx5]

Hey Meatface, I too love the bobber look of these bikes. I am in the middle of my build right now. I am hopping to get her running this weekend. The frame has been hardtailed and strechted 4 inches. I will look forward to seeing more pics of your build and maybe we can brainstrom some of those bobber questions together as we hit them. Here are pics of where I am now.

[meatface]

Wow Mooch, looks awesome. I really like your rear fender / brake light. I'd love to see some more pics as you make progress. Unfortunately I have moved over to a bike that is more complete to work with . It is a Honda cb650 and is currently running and near street ready. So I just need to disassemble and work my magic. Look forward to hearing more.

Meatface

[deville]

meathead said:
I managed to pick up this 1982 gs400 for a paltry $40. Now that sounds great, but the thing is that it is missing alot of parts. Such as the gas tank, carbs, alot of electrical including battery, most of the body and the list goes on.



...Isnt it funny that these are the things that are missing when we recieve our GS's. I think there is one or two guys out there that is takin all this stuff and hoarding it and going----- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA........ .....Sucker

Just my 2 cents

[deville]

Dude...my bad...I meant 'meatface' aaaasosorryy

[meatface]

How universal / interchangeable are speedometers?

Just a quick question for everyone. Does anyone know how universal speedometers are. I have a round speedo from my suzuki that I want to put on my honda. The thing is that the speedo cables are the same and screw on no problem. But the speedo on the suzuki runs out of the engine, off the cam maybe. Anyway the speedo on the honda runs off the front wheel. Would they be spinning at the same rpm?

Cheers,

Meatface

[AF_Bill]

I'm not familiar w/ the 400s but i think the speedo is run off the frt wheel like me 650 & 850. I don't think the 2 speedos are geared the same. You can try and see (IE- put on the suzuki speedo and have someone follow you in a car). OR, you can get a lil crazy and swap all the guts from one speedo and tach to the other.

[pete]

The speedo on my 450 comes off a little gearbox that sits on the axle to the left of the front wheel. The tacho is what comes out of the valve cover, so should be exactly the same deal as yours AF_Bill.

I have no idea how to check for speedo gearing either other than to stick it on and go for a ride as suggested...