GS(X)-250E Motarding.

[mike-s]

I forgot to mention that i'll be putting some minor bracing in along the cutout section i removed, likely just a small 8x3cm fillet or something just to strengthen things up without adding too much weight back.

Once i get the bracing and mounting setup finalised, I will be cross drilling it with a myriad of 9.5mm holes (that's the largest drill bit i own) with a minimum of one every 3-4cm or so, and certainly will drill them at a higher density near the exhaust (and will likely take out to slots, see this, this and this as an example of what i'm aiming for) along the front to reduce the impact on cooling, given that about 20% of the cooling effect will come from the finning on the sump itself.

However the holes are going to be sorted out after i get the mountings done correctly.

As to spoilage of the air, i can always cut it down a little bit more if it turns out to be a touch too high.

[pete]

Yeah those holes are a must... after all they're air cooled motors

I think with the right sized holes in the right location there shouldn't be much if any disruption to air flow.

[mike-s]

Well in SOME good news the new brake line arrived today. I'll be fitting it tomorrow morning & try and do a bit of basic setup.

I want to get the sidestand thing sorted in this shift break if i get a chance to.

[Woodsy]

yeah i think it comes up abit high at the front, i would come up maybe 2 inches from the bend just enough to cover the edge of the exhaust.

[mike-s]

Will see how it goes, but I went with the theory of it being easier to cut away material than try and put it back.

And I looked into the por15 thing and have gotten a couple of ideas.
1) sprayers (alternate supplier), clearcoats diamond seal or diamond Finish Clear Coat or maybe hardnose. I'll just have to make sure i sit upwind when spraying this crap.
2) Maybe clearcoat in a spraycan.
3) Or just use an acrylic spraypaint and once it's finished just paint on a clearcoat (another type, which seems like it'll be better). This last option is probably the safest one.

[pete]

Good news on the brake line arriving! Will be good to see it hooked up and to see you get it out for a spin...

As to the clear coats, the Glisten PC is the way to go, it's good stuff. I have some here that I was going to use for the case covers but decided against it. Not sure if it will be enough to do the tank etc. though, pretty sure I only got the 340mL tin.

[mike-s]

Well i'm getting some forward progress, slowly. The new brake line is fitted, the only fun i had was forgetting just how much i had to wind the bleed nipple out to actually get the thing to bleed, has to come out twice as far as any other brake caliper I've had the pleasure of bleeding. Unfortunately i keep forgetting this and waste a good 30 minutes at each re-bleed every time i do it before i remember.

The heated & bent pillion peg/exhaust mounts have had the primer metal brushed to give a good bedding surface and have been painted in an acrylic black that perfectly matches the existing chassis paint and is designed to bed to bare metal as well as pre-existing paint. I think once the mechanicals are sorted i'll definitely be brushing back and then masking off the engine and other bits i don't want to paint and giving it a couple of coats to help it start looking nice & purdy. It's a bit of a half arsed job, but with the practice I've had with doing this kind of thing, it'll still look pretty neat.

The next snafu I've discovered (and should have checked earlier), is the speedo cable is short. It will connect, but with the forks sitting as high as i can fit them in the triples, there is absolutely no slack in them when i hook it up, which is not a good thing to say the least. I've contacted a few ebay sellers whom are selling new old stock Suzuki speedo cables as well as one that appears to make them, so if no one else can find one to suit, I might have to persue getting a custom one manufactured. I still haven't sorted the suspension out and will finalise that once i'm actually able to tell how damn fast i am travelling. I do not want to resort to an electronic speedo or an after market digital dash as they would look out of place, though they are admittedly a damn sight easier to get working.

I haven't gotten much further with it as I've been chasing some electrical gremlins with the indicators on my RF900 that are turning out to be quite a pain in the arse to figure out. Electrical contact cleaner as well as reseating any and all connectors i can find as well as disassembling the switchblock and replacing the blinker can have all come to naught.

Time to get an electrical schematic, multimeter and lengths of wire out and see what i can sort out on the bigger bike. I am really hoping that it is straightforward to pinpoint when i've got the right tools at hand. That way i can actually go for a ride for the first time in months while the 250 is still a work in progress.

[Sunburn]

I just reviewed this post for the first time today. I have thought of doing a project like this in the past. This is great.

One thought I had was that skid plate would look great and mount a lot better without them pipes in the way. Have you thought about re-routing the pipes up high above your crash bars? Even better, run both down the same side.

This would increase clearance, change the whole look and allow that skid plate to mount securely so it can take a good beating. Clearance is everything.

[pete]

Well i'm getting some forward progress, slowly. The new brake line is fitted, the only fun i had was forgetting just how much i had to wind the bleed nipple out to actually get the thing to bleed, has to come out twice as far as any other brake caliper I've had the pleasure of bleeding. Unfortunately i keep forgetting this and waste a good 30 minutes at each re-bleed every time i do it before i remember.

The heated & bent pillion peg/exhaust mounts have had the primer metal brushed to give a good bedding surface and have been painted in an acrylic black that perfectly matches the existing chassis paint and is designed to bed to bare metal as well as pre-existing paint. I think once the mechanicals are sorted i'll definitely be brushing back and then masking off the engine and other bits i don't want to paint and giving it a couple of coats to help it start looking nice & purdy. It's a bit of a half arsed job, but with the practice I've had with doing this kind of thing, it'll still look pretty neat.

The next snafu I've discovered (and should have checked earlier), is the speedo cable is short. It will connect, but with the forks sitting as high as i can fit them in the triples, there is absolutely no slack in them when i hook it up, which is not a good thing to say the least. I've contacted a few ebay sellers whom are selling new old stock Suzuki speedo cables as well as one that appears to make them, so if no one else can find one to suit, I might have to persue getting a custom one manufactured. I still haven't sorted the suspension out and will finalise that once i'm actually able to tell how damn fast i am travelling. I do not want to resort to an electronic speedo or an after market digital dash as they would look out of place, though they are admittedly a damn sight easier to get working.

I haven't gotten much further with it as I've been chasing some electrical gremlins with the indicators on my RF900 that are turning out to be quite a pain in the arse to figure out. Electrical contact cleaner as well as reseating any and all connectors i can find as well as disassembling the switchblock and replacing the blinker can have all come to naught.

Time to get an electrical schematic, multimeter and lengths of wire out and see what i can sort out on the bigger bike. I am really hoping that it is straightforward to pinpoint when i've got the right tools at hand. That way i can actually go for a ride for the first time in months while the 250 is still a work in progress.

Mate, progress! Always a good thing no matter how small

That sucks on the speedo cable, didn't even cross my mind either! Have you got a local dealer? Could be worth the extra $$$ just to take it in and compare with what they have on the shelf... The one I go to up here would look for me if it wasn't their busy time.

And I hate electrical troubleshooting, can be a royal PITA... so good luck!

[mike-s]

Have already gone to "my local" whom have a bunch of cables as well as the local wreckers, neither of whom have anything that can help. I figured showing pictures & measurements to ebay sellers with dozens of cables was likely my best lead as any other bike shop i know just doesn't keep a lot of "old crap" in stock and it's an order in "as needed" basis.

Sunburn, i've considered that, but unfortunately to get that happening i would need to spend money on a new exhaust, heat guards for my leg and the various bits of plastic on the side. The cost of the exhaust itself totally negates the benefits i would gain due to how obscenely expensive it would be to make. The self-fabrication method is negated at this point as although i may have a stick welder, i certainly wouldn't have the skill needed for a very very long time.

Also I would have a number of other concerns like ease of access to the battery, which is removed via the right hand side under the side cover. The choke would also be an issue if i was to move it to the left side as i'm yet to convert it to using a handlebar item like on more modern bikes, although I guess it is totally achievable. However It also increases the cost & complexity of the whole thing by another order of magnitude if i go down that avenue too, another reason I've not ventured down that path. Though i don't have any plans to go down that road, at least not yet.

[Sunburn]

Sunburn, i've considered that, but unfortunately to get that happening i would need to spend money on a new exhaust, heat guards for my leg and the various bits of plastic on the side. The cost of the exhaust itself totally negates the benefits i would gain due to how obscenely expensive it would be to make. The self-fabrication method is negated at this point as although i may have a stick welder, i certainly wouldn't have the skill needed for a very very long time. .

Well, perhaps down the road you can make these mods, things change. Keep up the good work, I plan to keep reading your thread!

[pete]

Have already gone to "my local" whom have a bunch of cables as well as the local wreckers, neither of whom have anything that can help. I figured showing pictures & measurements to ebay sellers with dozens of cables was likely my best lead as any other bike shop i know just doesn't keep a lot of "old crap" in stock and it's an order in "as needed" basis.

Sunburn, i've considered that, but unfortunately to get that happening i would need to spend money on a new exhaust, heat guards for my leg and the various bits of plastic on the side. The cost of the exhaust itself totally negates the benefits i would gain due to how obscenely expensive it would be to make. The self-fabrication method is negated at this point as although i may have a stick welder, i certainly wouldn't have the skill needed for a very very long time.

Also I would have a number of other concerns like ease of access to the battery, which is removed via the right hand side under the side cover. The choke would also be an issue if i was to move it to the left side as i'm yet to convert it to using a handlebar item like on more modern bikes, although I guess it is totally achievable. However It also increases the cost & complexity of the whole thing by another order of magnitude if i go down that avenue too, another reason I've not ventured down that path. Though i don't have any plans to go down that road, at least not yet.

If it helps you Mike, my Tranzac should be somewhere in the vicinity of $700 for a complete scrambler style high pipe, and I have made a bracket to mate the choke actuator up with my GSX600F left control with the choke lever built in so I can still use the choke with the pipe on the left side of the bike...

[mike-s]

I knew it'd be about 700, thats how much it set me back for a formula-1 system for my gpx 5 years ago, so was kind of expected to be around that price.

For that kind of cost on a bike like this, it's worthwhile learning how to weld properly and do it myself

[pete]

That's cool... I was expecting in the vicinity of $1200 - 1500 which is why I'm going ahead with it... half of what I thought initially! And my welding ability I now know for a fact is crap and I don't get anywhere near enough time these days to be able to hone the skill to do something like that. I reckon if I was to get pre-bent exhaust pipe and cut and weld it would take me at least a year just to do that with the way my time goes...

You can still move the choke lever though, sum total was about $US20 - 30 to get the left control from the US and a few bucks in steel for the adaptor, and of course the help of John to do up the little round bit for the centre... and it uses the standard throttle cable too...

[mike-s]

Well i'll see how i go with welding, it was more of a hypothetical "if i had enough opportunity to learn well enough" than "i will one day ...."

As to the choke relocation. The later model gsx250's had a handle bar choke, I just need to buy the parts to slot onto the current carb and figure out which cable to go with, the gs500 cable i have, or one from a newer gsx and then get the parts to re-add to the gs500 switchblock which i sacrificed to replace a spring i so cleverly lost on my RF *applause for self* when fiddling with cable lubrication..

I've also gotten feedback from a guy in Melbourne that is willing to take my speedo cable ends and add them to an extended length cable for $75. I'll see how i go a little more locally as i need to send it to him for him to measure and he admitted, most likely cannibalize for parts. I'll have to wait 'til payday to do this, but this also gives me a few days for the half dozen other places i emailed to get back to me. At the very least i can't see a reason not to have a correct length cable in the next 2 weeks .