Aussie GS450 1980 build, cafe? Rat? Retro?

[sclarke7171]

As I've been trawling and asking a few questions it's time I put my build up.
I've got 2 bikes. 1980 GSX250 and a 1980 GS450

This will be showing the GS450.
I bought it in Dec this year and took a nice 1100km drive to go get it. It was a jump in the Amarok and smash up there. Grab the bike and head back in one haul. Cwazy I say.




I got it home and put it in the shed. That's the 250 on the left. What's the blue car? Let's see who works it out.



Then came the mods
Flat bars, speedo and headlight dropped 80mm. Front fairing pulled off.





1st ride after changes. Went to marysville and back. Nice belt thru BlackSpur.
Yes I'm a learner rider !!!!



My Son on Xmas day !!!



Mods to come. Duck tail rear end and no rear fender.
Custom setup. And thinking of putting stock front narrow fairing on with no windshield.
Loving the attention it gets.

Clarkie

[sclarke7171]

Dropping the rear tail and going for the duck tail look.
Tried a few looks on the 250, so trying the duck tail look on the 450

I got a gs550 duck tail back and am grafting it to the standard 450/250 rear






The lower section I have modeled a piece to make it smooth and hide the mounting point




I'll glass it I've the weekend and putty it up.

Steve

[pete]

Mate I love your taste in bikes! Mine once looked like that but in maroon...

I made my tail piece using the stock duck tail bracket so I could re-use the stock seat pan and seat lock

Then I welded on some bent to shape thin galvanised steel rod which I covered in steel mesh designed for keeping leaves out of gutters (cheap as dirt).

Once I had that shape laid out, I fibreglassed it, smoothed it with fibreglass reinforced body filler, then painted it with the rest of the bits.

I reckon she turned out pretty good considering it was a first time for me...

As for the blue car... Carman Ghia?

[sclarke7171]

Same family. German built. Was LHD. Boxer engine. Porsche 914. I have 4 of them. God help me !!!

[pete]

For some reason I completely missed your second post with the duck tail... that clearly shows it's a Porsche! The front didn't look right for a Carman Ghia but I took a guess based on the Amorok and Combi

That work with the tail piece should work a treat, you won't need any of the crap I did!

[Big Rich]

Signed up - love the vintage twins.

[sclarke7171]

Yesterday did the Glassing and body filler and paint. Will repaint it in a few months. Going to change it again I think.




Body filler



Subframe black.


Naked bike. Looks horn


Gloss black


On bike with custom rego plate holder


Complete with indicators fitted.



Time it took and cost
16 hours and cost was $60 for the 78 model duck tail, I had the spare orig style tail, paint was left overs. But if I had to buy it all it would have been a few hundred plus time. At $100 an hour (what I charge at work). It would be a damn expensive mod.

Tomorrow. I'll do the front windscreen cowling. Then ride it again.

[pete]

Mate that's a good result! I get a little tired of seeing the same bubble seat on every cafe... nice to see something that's a little more genuine Suzuki

What's the plan for the screen? I made mine out of acrylic perspex from eBay (less than $20 for the sheet) and some scrap aluminium I had lying around.

[sclarke7171]

Got the factory S fairing today and yay for me I have all the genuine mounting hardware. All I had to do was make 3 new arms to drop it the 100mm or so.
Looks better as the bike looks lower. Plus I don't have to look thru the damaged screen to ride it. I have 2 other fairing screens I'll part with soon.

So this is what I did. Trial fit to get height and brackets right.




Repaired the damage. More fibreglass and bog.


Some mug with his head in it after it had its base coat on.


Top coat painted. Even with some runs to show I'm not an expert. Or just lazy !!


All fitted up





Only 1 thing to do. Ride it !!!

[pete]

Ok that's just spot on! That's how Suzuki should've made them out of the factory! Good work

[MAJikMARCer]

I wasn't sure about the rear cowl, but seeing it all together I think it flows really nicely. Excellent work.

[sclarke7171]

Just needs rear sets, spoke rims and pods and a tune.
Rims are coming. So then I guess it will be finished.

[pete]

Sounds good, looking forward to the finished product!

[sclarke7171]

Rode it more tonight. Even in the dark. Scary!!!!
Starting to really like it.
Power is a little rough with a few flat spots. But I'll sort that out.
1st time I rode it in Kevlar today. Normally it's full leathers. But 39 deg made my rethink leather.

Steve

[pete]

Good stuff Steve, although if you still have the stock headlight I'd suggest a H4 upgrade, made a huge difference on mine for night riding.

I don't have any leathers either, kevlar jeans/cargoes and textile jacket all year 'round works for me. I heard it was rather warm down there today!