GSX 400e Newbie Cafe Build

[Weasel]

Cool project, nice work so far.

[pete]

Nice work Chris! Where did you get them?

[Swindy 84]

Hello People!
Shouldn't of shot my mouth off so soon about pistons!! It is actually stupidly difficult finding piston kits for a GSX 400E. I was told I had 2 sets from a place in Tasmania 1 mil over sized, had the pins and clips and it was all good....
Next thing I know they tell me only the pins and clips have arrived and after a few more calls not returned from them I gave up and just got the pins a clips sent out to me.
HOWEVER!! I did find 2 kits in Melbourne half a mil over sized and luckily the pins and clips fit!! Small win but a giant effort, think I will choose something else for my next build......NORTON IT IS!

[pete]

Well... bugger... and congrats! All rolled in to one

[Swindy 84]

Does anyone know if a gs 500 or 550 rear wheel fits into a gsx 400? Drum brake and all that? I don't want to convert the rear to disc.

[Big Rich]

Swindy, are you going for a spoke wheel conversion? Or just wondering what mag wheels will fit?

[Swindy 84]

Hey Rich,
Just the standard mag type wheels as the the spoked are to expensive over here.

[Big Rich]

Ok. I don't know what's available down under, and can't say if 550 parts work or not (check wheel bearing sizes first). But I know that the 450 S / E / L rear wheels interchange fairly easily. The brake hub might be different diameters between models though. And the GN400 rear wheel should fit too if that's the size you're after.

I "think" the GR650 and GS550 use the same rear wheel...... and if so, it would be a hassle to fit to your bike. I believe it was too wide at the sprocket side? Just working from memory and I'm going to bed soon though....

[Swindy 84]

Thanks Rich I will check the bearing sizes and go from thete.

[Nessism]

Posting the non thumbnail link is easier to view.


screen capture


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[Swindy 84]

Yeah mate I did post them in the original largest format but for some reason just recently they've gone to a thumbnail. I'm not sure why

[Swindy 84]

Finally got the Piston kits, also bought some nicer chrome rear springs. The cylinders have gone in for re-boring and should be back this week. I almost bought new carburetors but have decided to just rebuild the originals for now, so if anyone knows a good place to get parts for the Mikuni BS34SS Carbs please let me know. I know you can't get full rebuild kits for them anymore from Mikuni so I might have to get it bit by bit from cmsnl.com or what ever it is. Also still looking to get that bigger rear wheel so depending on price I might just get some made up.

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[pete]

Mate find the part numbers you need and get them ordered from Mick Hone. It will be way cheaper than cmsnl! Postage is pretty cheap. I've got another bunch of bits for the Kat arriving this week in fact...

[Swindy 84]

Thanks Pete, I had a chat to a bloke and decided to buy some GS500 carbs off a 2001. They shouldn't be a huge muck around to fit and apparently will work well with the bigger (slightly) pistons. Plus it is a lot easier to find parts for these carbs.

[pete]

Good stuff Chris, that's exactly what I have on my 450 and I love 'em! The inlet is so much larger than any of the 400/450 carbs and they're so much lighter. They seem to be pretty good for CV carbs.

I would highly recommend skipping pods and going to velocity stacks. From memory 60mm ID stacks are required and I think these are the ones I bought:

http://www.jntperformance.com.au/index_i6515601.html?catId=269035

There was a bit of stuffing around getting them mounted as I had to shorten the stacks a bit to clear the frame rails and then slot them to be able to clamp them down. Because they're shortened the inside diameter ended up a little too large so I made some shims out of thin aluminium sheet to allow them to clamp down securely.

Here's the only photo I can find from when I had them sorted out initially, but I have since added some filter foam over the top:



I got a sheet of filter material with stainless steel mesh from Ramair in the UK via eBay, very inexpensive for two stage filter material:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Universal-RamAir-Foam-Sheet-with-Stainless-Wire-Mesh-Cage-300mm-x-200mm-/141698329800?hash=item20fde0ecc8:g:XL8AAOSwDNdVhW5i

If you want to have a look in person I'm sure we can sort something out... the stacks have smoothed the throttle response out compared to the pods I initially had on there and it's been much easier to get the carbs to where I think they're jetted reasonably well.