Fab guy with his first Japanese bike

[BeefCakeScout]

So, I guess this is the place to introduce myself. My name is Ryan. I'm a sergeant in the Ca. Army National Guard and a fabricator/gearhead. I have plenty of experience RIDING bikes, but not owning or working on,save for my old mans Fat Boy. I'm one of those "dare to be different" guys, so I wanna build something other than the usual Vtwin chopper.
Now down to the nitty gritty. I picked up a FREE '82 GS650 project with a partially seized motor. I haven't opened it up to see why it only rotates 90° but thats on the list of TTD. The wiring is all there, but disconnected. Its a shaft drive so I need to figure out a way to lengthen the shaft or switch to chain. I almost bought a 1000 motor but was unsure about it so that deal fell through. I can also get a 750 motor with some miles on it. Pretty sure thats a Chain drive from what I've seen. As I said before, I can fab. I have built numerous cars and rockcrawlers so making things fit where they don't belong is not an issue. I want to make it a hard tail(shaft or chain) so I think drive issues will be solved there. I'm not worried about having an uber fast bike, just a good runner that looks cool and starts when I want it to. So thats BCS in a nutshell.
What kind of issues am I gonna face with my plans? Where can I get rebuild parts?
Thanks in Advance.

[BeefCakeScout]

I almost forgot. The reason I wanna lengthen it is because i'm 6'3" 250# and I think its kinda small for me.

[Steve]

I almost forgot. The reason I wanna lengthen it is because i'm 6'3" 250# and I think its kinda small for me.

Should have started with a larger (chain-driven) bike.

Yeah, some have managed to hard-tail a shafty, and have done it in various ways. Just be aware that the cast casing of the final drive is probably not strong enough to handle the severe shock loads of a solid strut on the shock mount.

It will be difficult, but not necessarily impossible, to change to chain drive. The easiest way would be to get a chain-driven engine and adapt the frame and swing arm to it. There is a chain-drive model of the 650, but the engine is totally different than the shafty version. And, they are rather rare, so please don't chop one of them up.

My son has an '82 650L, and I have ridden it a bit. Yeah, it's a bit small, but not really that bad. I am a couple inches taller than you, so should have a pretty good perspective on the fit. Would not be too bad solo, but definitely not enough room for two-up.

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[BeefCakeScout]

Should have started with a larger (chain-driven) bike.

Yeah, some have managed to hard-tail a shafty, and have done it in various ways. Just be aware that the cast casing of the final drive is probably not strong enough to handle the severe shock loads of a solid strut on the shock mount.

It will be difficult, but not necessarily impossible, to change to chain drive. The easiest way would be to get a chain-driven engine and adapt the frame and swing arm to it. There is a chain-drive model of the 650, but the engine is totally different than the shafty version. And, they are rather rare, so please don't chop one of them up.

My son has an '82 650L, and I have ridden it a bit. Yeah, it's a bit small, but not really that bad. I am a couple inches taller than you, so should have a pretty good perspective on the fit. Would not be too bad solo, but definitely not enough room for two-up.

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I know....but it was FREE!
Maybe I got myself in over my head eh?

[Steve]

Fix it up so it works well, sell it, get a bike that will be easier to modify.

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[BeefCakeScout]

Fix it up so it works well, sell it, get a bike that will be easier to modify.

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Thinkin its gonna be a prts bike. I found a chain drive 550 for $50. That should make life easier for a guythat wants a fairly long bike.

[TPL]

Welcome.

Free is free until you start dumping $ in to it.

Steve offers good advice, I'd sell it too if it was to small for me.

[Smokinapankake]

At first glance I thought the title was "Fat guy with his first Japanese bike".
Funny.

[Skateguy50]

do some searches and read up on people doing 550 lower with 650 top end. You could use the two together and have your hardtail with a 650 top end and the 550's 6 speed transmission and chain drive.

Got any pictures of the bikes as they sit?

[Rudeman]

I almost forgot. The reason I wanna lengthen it is because i'm 6'3" 250# and I think its kinda small for me.

It's not like you're 6'8"; the 650 should be fine as is. But, if you really want a longer wheelbase sell the GS and get a Harley or one of several psuedo-Harley offerings. Just my opinion.