'81 GS550 Cafe Build

[Toasty]

Wow! The bike looks incredible!

[tkent02]

Really really really nice.

[Road Rash]

Just stumble across this build. Wow, D-Mac! That looks beautiful! Now I gotta go back and read from the start! I like the single carb filter. Wonder how that works over individual carbs.

Whoops! After an hour or two of reading the thread, just noticed they are dual filters. Forgot K&N made those.

[D-Mac]

Before……



After……

[D-Mac]

Just stumble across this build. Wow, D-Mac! That looks beautiful! Now I gotta go back and read from the start! I like the single carb filter. Wonder how that works over individual carbs.

Thanks!

These K&N filters come as a pair (1&2 and 3&4 carbs are linked). I've heard that they are much better than the separate pods. We'll see though. They were expensive and not the easiest to fit.

[musicman]

Nothing other than incredible!!!

[MAJikMARCer]

Really inspiring job. I'm not going the cafe route but I like how clean your bike ended up. Are you going to have any rear fender? If not how are you going to keep the underside clean? Just lots of elbow grease?

[D-Mac]

Really inspiring job. I'm not going the cafe route but I like how clean your bike ended up. Are you going to have any rear fender? If not how are you going to keep the underside clean? Just lots of elbow grease?

Great question. I toyed with the idea of welding on some mounts for a removable rear fender (a cover behind the mid compartment I could add/remove as needed). If I was going to ride this thing much (or at all in the wet) I would really want that - or at least something in hard plastic or aluminum that I could zip-tie in place.

I don't plan to use this bike as my daily rider, or much at all really (my BMW RT serves that purpose - I don't even wash that bike!) The GS will be strictly for dry, sunny days on back roads. If it gets to be a chore to clean, I'll likely do some modifications at some point. In that case, a front fender would probably be a good idea too.

For now, it's an incredibly practical engine in an incredibly impractical frame.

[Road Rash]

I fabbed a splash shield for my old bike, to keep things clean. Just some aluminum sheet metal, painted black to blend in, rivited to the underside of the backhalf of the frame.

[Dec79]

Congratulations mate, that is an amazing achievement!! One of the best executed projects I've seen in a good while. I'm also loving the area where you have the bike photographed, sort of a cafe themed chill-out area.... no doubt where the 550 and future projects will hang out!?

Any plans to upgrade the bike further - a project is never finished

Be great to get a vid of the old girl up and running too...

Dec

[mlymanz71]

Gorgeous bike D-Mac! I have been watching the build form the get go and insanely impressed with the way it has turned out! One thing I have seen several people do is take a piece of plexiglass and have it run on the tail support tube in front of the rear tire to keep any unwanted debris from being flung on the underside of your bike. Easy to remove and clean if you ever want to put it in a bike show

Also have you ever thought of running an 18" rear? Again awesome build!

[6pkrunner]

Simply beautiful! Incredible job. Hats off!

[nvr2old]

An amazing transformation from where you started. Hard to believe it's the same bike. Very nicely done. You should be very proud.

I was faced with the same dilemma on a sub-fender for my Honda 550. I used a plastic front fender from a Yamaha RD400, and fabbed a reverse mount for it that attached to the swing arm. This, after cutting it in half down the center with a band saw and then widening it an inch with a piece of aluminum. It was riveted back together and then fiberglassed to smooth it all out. What a pain. It looked really cool and worked..for the most part..but it also hit the bottom of the seat pan under heavy compression. I took it off, bought a small sheet of black plastic 1/8" thick, cut it to fit the frame opening behind the airbox, drilled a couple of holes on each side and used black zip ties to mount it to the frame tubes. Works great. I must've spent three days on the first mod, only to find out the sheet of plastic was the easiest and simplest way to do it, and it looks good, too. Sometimes we have a tendency to over-think things... It's one of the things I like best about your bike. It has a very clean and uncluttered look to it. Again, nicely done.

[psyguy]

wow what a transformation from the redneck rocket... and the photos are equally artistic... you sir have talents!

[Crankthat]

Your bike and the work you have put in it is very inspiring.
Every shiny bit shows the dedication and attention in your work.
Congratulations on a job done so well!