1982 GS450L Rebuild/Mod

[GregNC]

Now that I'm not bouncing around to different jobs all over the place and I have some change in my pocket I'm getting back on this.

Here's whats been happening in the past two weeks:

Rented some space at a buddy's shop, put the engine back in, re-wrapped and mounted the wiring harness, painted the headlight brackets, threw on some fork gaiters



Decided I hated the matte black tank, too mad max for my taste (sorry pete and fellow aussies), aircraft stripped and sanded it, found about 4 layers of paint -some bondo- and a couple dings and dents







I've decided to leave the tank bare metal and clear coat over it. The whole bike will be a black/silver/rust patina combo. I know everyone will say "What about the dents?!" but idk I kinda like them. I think it goes along with the rugged raw look of the build

RECAP/COMING SOON: So the engine is back in, harness is back on, brakes are back on, gaiters are on, bearings have been replaced. Turn signals are half on. I'll finish the electrical and lighting by monday. I'm going for a brat style overall w this build so I'm cutting the rear fender and sucking it into the frame by about half, might just leave the front one off. Then I'm making a brat style seat using an old skateboard, some yoga mats and old cushions, and some vinyl.



My friends and I are going to a big bike rally in about a week so I'm just doing what I can to get her road ready for that, but the plan is to also weld on a hoop in the rear and make some custom side covers.

I borrowed a friends seat I helped him make for his cb750 to see what the brat style would look like. I think it's a good look but I'll be making my seat a bit thicker and without the flare up at the rear. When the loop is in it should sit on it flush. Here's a pic of the mock-up:



Sorry for the prolonged absence but I'll have more to come very soon I promise. ALSO...I have stock parts for sale in the parts-for-sale thread if you need any of these items pictured (and a dummy box not pictured yet) everything is off of this 82 450L except for the 81 450T seat obviously.
My email is Greig.Hochreiter@gmail.com if you're interested in any of these. I'm located in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, USA, 28480 if you're wondering how much shipping might run ya

[GregNC]

This is just a side note but if any of you guys are interested you can also follow me and the build/my exploits on Instagram- user name: hawk_ryder.

I'm also on Facebook just search: Greig Hochreiter located in Wrightsville Beach NC


Cheers from the beaches of North Carolina!!

[pete]

Glad to see you posting again Greg, good stuff! One tip though... leave the front guard for the rear wheel in or you'll have lots of road grime to clean off the underside of the seat and rear of the engine etc.

[GregNC]

Just got in my new stator, regulator-rectifier, and starter solenoid. Only thing left to get this baby on the road is a petcock rebuild kit. I cannot seem to find one anywhere.. Anybody got any info on a 82 450L petcock kit?

[Chrkut]

Instead of getting the rebuild kit, I'd recommend to just drop the cash on a new one from Boulevard Suzuki. Other members have tried to rebuild, with a low success rate.

After I got my new one put in, I took the old one apart. found a wasp in there.

[pete]

+1 to replace it... the metal disc in mine was shattered and no rebuild kit includes that, and many mixed reports with rebuild kits.

If cash is an issue, I believe Z1 has some cheaper options that will fit but aren't vacuum operated, so you will need to remember to turn it off when not in use.

[GregNC]

Two years of part scrounging and feet dragging later...I'm happy to introduce to the forum: "Stella" my interpretation of bratstyle on my 1982 GS450LZ

http://s1260.photobucket.com/user/GreigHochreiter/media/Video.mp4.html

[pete]

Hey Greg, glad to see her back together.

All done or more to do yet? Mainly I'm looking at the wires up front that look a little... dishevelled.

Have you got any silencers in the pipes or just open? If they're open, I hope you've got some bigger jets in there

Seeing you twisting the throttle in the video makes me realise just how much more responsive mine is now with the carb mod's. Not much delay to rev when you twist it like that

[GregNC]

There's still a lot to do for sure before she's "Done" but she's reeeeallly close. The wiring definitely needs to get cleaned up in general. The kill switch is shot which is why it's wiring is bundled under the hand brake, I've got a new one coming in from ebay along with a new horn (to pass inspection). I've also ordered some slip on shorty pipes and new intake boots, the old boots are letting too much air in and the motor is taking a lot longer to get back down to idle when the clutch is applied and the gas is let off. I'm also gonna weld in a loop on the back of the frame to match the seat.

[GregNC]

I've got to get some better gaiters too. These ones are too bunched up for my taste

[pete]

Cool, sounds like you've got it under control! That frame tidy up will look much better at the rear too... and I'm also currently in a horn hunting expedition after my stock one carked it and two cheapy replacements have also carked it.

As for gaiters, can't help you on exactly what to buy but I lucked out with mine by taking the measurements and just checking out what was on the floor in the dealer at the time. By pure fluke they had a set in stock that were 99% right, I just had to trim some of the skirt on the bottom of them.