Another Aussie GS rebuild - GS1100G

[pete]

Yeah I was thinking about lashing out for some Mikuni RS36 carbs if I go for pods. I'm kinda leaning that way. I'm just not very cluey about carbs. I will need to learn a lot to set them up but hey - I can learn!

Looks are pretty much everything in this build, although I wouldn't make the bike uncomfortable. As it is the bike is very comfy to sit on and I think will be great to ride. All along I have wanted to shed as much stuff on the bike as possible without causing myself hassle. Ie yes I will have indicators, mirrors, etc. But hopefully in as inconspicuous a way as possible. I think I have to make the bike I set out to make rather than water it down.

I think some RS carbs might be a little overboard for my 450 so I'll persevere with the CV carbs as much as I can. If I can sort the bogging off idle I reckon I'll be pretty happy.

Definitely stick with doing what you want with the bike, don't water it down or you'll just end up disappointed...

[landshark]

You dont need to change the carbs, just buy the dynojet kit after it is running properly with the airbox, then swap to pods and put the kit in. It is more expensive than just buying needles and jets, but it will save you sh1tloads in time and hair pulling.

[JimmyR]

OK thanks!

BTW there seems to be a heap of guys in Qld here. I guess it's a good place to ride. I wonder what the stats are of bikes per capita in the various states? I reckon Qld would come out on top!

[pete]

OK thanks!

BTW there seems to be a heap of guys in Qld here. I guess it's a good place to ride. I wonder what the stats are of bikes per capita in the various states? I reckon Qld would come out on top!

Of course there are, that's just coz we're awesome though

Hahaha just kiddin...

I reckon you'd find a higher per capita elsewhere because most people up here now seem to be more interested in 4WD's with air con, but I reckon we'd rate highest in use due to the winter temperatures and how rideable year 'round it is

[JimmyR]

We have our share of bloody 4WDs here in the west too. A couple of years ago one of the local papers had a story about which cars were most popular in each area of Perth. Apparently the more upmarket the area the higher the ownership of 4WDs. The writer enjoyed writing "The roads of Peppermint Grove (our nob hill) must be amongst the worst in the state as the rate of ownership of 4WD vehicles is one of the highest in the state."

We have a lot of Harleys here. Must be all the CUBs. Except I have one and I'm no CUB.

Anyway, tomorrow Gavin the bike dude is coming around to help me. I am hoping that once he has helped install the new cam chain and tensioners and timed the ignition for me I might just have a running bike. Then I just need to get the brakes working and put the original front lights and clocks on and I can get registered.

I have the carbies on the coffee table tonight while I check a few things. I also have a very cool wife!

[pete]

We have our share of bloody 4WDs here in the west too. A couple of years ago one of the local papers had a story about which cars were most popular in each area of Perth. Apparently the more upmarket the area the higher the ownership of 4WDs. The writer enjoyed writing "The roads of Peppermint Grove (our nob hill) must be amongst the worst in the state as the rate of ownership of 4WD vehicles is one of the highest in the state."

We have a lot of Harleys here. Must be all the CUBs. Except I have one and I'm no CUB.

Anyway, tomorrow Gavin the bike dude is coming around to help me. I am hoping that once he has helped install the new cam chain and tensioners and timed the ignition for me I might just have a running bike. Then I just need to get the brakes working and put the original front lights and clocks on and I can get registered.

I have the carbies on the coffee table tonight while I check a few things. I also have a very cool wife!

Yeah I get what ya's sayin'... gets like that around here too

Sounds like today could be a productive day! Fingers crossed...

And yes, your wife is cool! I can tell that from here... hahahahhaha

[JimmyR]

Yay! Gavin the bike dude came around today and we changed the cam chain - yes it was necessary - checked all the shims on the tappets and tweaked some carbies. Also finally got the front brakes sorted and set the timing on the Dynatek ignition.

So all I need to do now is put some (temporary) reflectors on and maybe put the stock headlight and indicators on and get it registered. BTW Gavin the bike dude says he can get the bike running fine with pods for me, so pods it is.

No pics because the bike looks like hell right now! The original black tank looks terrible after I have gotten used to the "new" browny/red one. Also, I have removed all the tank tabs on the red tank and have a new tab welded underneath it so I can use my smaller seat. I WILL take pics of that for you. I intend to paint the underside of the red tank in matt black primer. When I mod the frame I'll weld another bolt onto the crossmember under the tank to bolt it to.

[pete]

Awesome! So the plan is rego then finish the modifying? Cool, can't wait to see

And seriously, pods aren't that big a deal as long as you take the time to re-jet properly... says me who keeps whinging about bogging off idle because he hasn't spent the time to properly re-jet yet

I'll do it soon I promise ok? Probably take a day off work I reckon so I can rev the crap out of it while the neighbours are at work...

[JimmyR]

Oh, and the pipes sound great. They're not too loud at all but have a lovely growl. So not only do they look cool... Gavin the bike dude reckons it won't be so difficult to set up the pods with the stock carbs. Just a bigger jet here and there apparently...

[pete]

Oh, and the pipes sound great. They're not too loud at all but have a lovely growl. So not only do they look cool... Gavin the bike dude reckons it won't be so difficult to set up the pods with the stock carbs. Just a bigger jet here and there apparently...

Nice! And rorty is the word I use for my pipe... growl's probably another good word for it

If yours is like mine, you can adjust a washer in the baffle there to get a little less restriction and a little more noise too, although I'm happy with mine the way it was and have left it alone.

And yes, one of the tricks with jetting apparently is a well designed pipe... Tranzac's are well designed pipes

[JimmyR]

Well Gav managed to get it running with no airbox on at all! He says it's because of the good quality properly baffled 4-2 exhaust. Anyway I really can't wait to get it rego'd!

[spyug]

I don't know how I missed this build. Sir you are doing some fine work. I wish you well with the registration process. Its becoming a bit of a pain here too but as its still in the hands of private garages and not provincial officials there is "leeway" and slipping a few $20s can speed up and grease the process. Actually my good buddy and pro-wrench is very open minded and as long as its got good tires, brakes and some lighting you are good to go.

The most difficult part is with the government vis a vis paperwork. If registration is missing you have to jump through some legal hurdles and it can add some cost to the project. I have a situation with a 550 basket case I took on. There is a registration but it wasn't properly passed from one owner to the next for a total of 2 or 3 times. As the govm't didn't get their tax each time, there is an on going discussion as to how much is owed. Since there is no record of how much money changed hands, tax is difficult, near impossible to figure. Of course being the govm't they won't budge 'til they get paid off. So I'm kind of stuck.

Anyway, back to your bike. As far as your registration process goes how do they feel about pitted fork tubes? I notice in one shot the tubes look like they have some rust pits or scars at least. Here it is ok if they do not occur in the area that may compress into the fork leg (i.e. that will contact the fork seal). Also I wonder about the bar end mirrors. Here, those small round ones aren't legal. They look cool mind you as does your bar. The hidden wiring is a really nice touch. when you have time could you take some shots of the holes and how they route out of the bars.

Where did you get those fenders ( er mud guards)? I like the look on the front and I am wondering how the rear is going to look. Definitely different than anything I've seen here.

Overall a very tidy and well done project my friend. With you and Pete and some of those guys from Kiwiland its starting to look like the southern hemisphere is the GS world customizing capital.

Good luck with getting her on the road.

Cheers,
Spyug

[Johnny Drummond]

Jetting for pods

Hi Jimmy, Boy I'm glad I live in this rain sodden little Island!, that reg process seems to be a MASSIVE pita,my bike hasn't ever(in my 14 year ownership) had a chain guard,main stand or standard swing arm and I get through our yearly government test just fine.Anyway, if you are going to keep the CV carbs(to my mind a really good idea) I am in agreement with keeping the airbox till you get it running it just makes more sense.When you do go to jet- which isn't hard, convince the seller of your jets to work with you sale or return that way you only pay for one set as it is very easy to put in and remove jets if you get a good plain blade screwdriver and dip it into the rubber soloution for gluing the patches onto push bike inner tubes-that way you don't damage the soft brass of the jet and you can return them to the seller in mint condition.when I put a GSX1100EZ engine into my GS1000 frame I had to go the pod route as there was no room to fit an airbox(I only had about 4mm clearance between the front of the box and the back of the carbs).I approached the jetting by remembering what a few 2 stroke racers told me in the '80s-"start rich and work down".I began with a 145 main jet and just rode it for a mile and tried to get it to rev out,didn't work.Went to a 135,nope.125 close but still no good(plugs were still dark brown) so I went down to a 112- too weak damn it! so then I went to a 117.5 this was after trying 2 or 3 different needle heights it works great now with the needle in one notch up from standard(2nd notch up from the bottom) it doesn't rain with you????,I discovered the hard way about rain shrouding- went to the races in the ****ing rain with no shields really,really stupid idea bike ran like crap then on the way home then the f*&^ing throttle snapped-hey ho. Here is a photo of the bike with the rain shield in place
hope this ramble is helpful.Johnny

[JimmyR]

Rain? I know not of which you speak! I've heard of rain but not sure I know what it is... Yes it does rain here, and when it does it can pour down like crazy. We had some flood damage to our house a couple of years ago from a freak storm. But really it doesn't rain very much here so I just don't ride in it. Or if I have to I have another bike. The problem here at the moment is that it's actually too darn hot to ride!

Yes rego (as we call it, NOT affectionately) is a huge PITA. When I bought my Harley I had to put original pipes on it to get it registered. It's a '98 Fatboy with a 1340cc engine and it sounded like a sewing machine and rode like a 125. How they could actually sell a bike that performed like that in the first place...Now with a 42 Mikuni carb and a set of V+H staggered drag pipes it runs how it should. Anyway I appreciate the tips. BTW there are loads of your countryfolk here! I can tell a northern Irish accent because I used to work with a lady from Belfast.

Spyug the little round bar end mirrors are already off and I have some extremely ugly rectangular mirrors about to go on! The pitting I'm not so sure about but it doesn't go into the suspension travel area too much. The mudguards are from a place in Collingwood (Melbourne) called Modern Motorcycle - I got them off ebay. They sell a bit of stuff from Japan where the Brat style is huge. Firms like Daytona and Posh make some beautiful parts and that's where I got my dials and indicators too.

The stock headlight and front indicators are about to go back on for rego - maybe not necessary but def easier. The idea is to make it looks as stock as possible. Any mods are frowned upon.

[Charlie G]

Jimmy,

I just found your thread and since I have one of these 1100g's I'll follow your work through. Looks nice. I like the satin finish on your bars and mirrors. My progress is a bit stalled by lack of funds and cold weather. There is a Northern Irish accent?

cg