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Time to let you all know about my first motorcycle
Only picture I have of it when I bought it, although I had already swapped to some mikuni carbs since the stock ones didn't work well enough and the new carbs were pretty cheap.
How it sits as of today.
Now let me talk a little about my experiences getting to this point so that all you other guys trying to do the same kind of things don't get stuck on small things like I did.
Wheels:
I had a hard time finding a rear wheel that was 18" with spokes, I bought an automatic wheel from a GS450 and it didn't fit at all, nothing was remotely close. I ended up using the rear wheel from a Honda CB350 and was pleasantly surprised that it almost bolted right in, all I needed to do was use the wheel spacer on the sprocket side from a CB350 and cut down the GS450 spacer on the brake side and everything lines up nearly perfectly. There is a slight alignment issue with the sprocket, but nothing detrimental. I've ridden on this wheel setup for about 1000 miles and nothing is out of the ordinary, it tracks and rides just fine. Also, the new gearing (CB350s came with a 36 tooth sprocket) and taller tire size let me cruise comfortably at 75 on the highway. The only real issue is you will most likely need a new chain since the sprocket is so small, I was also putting on an extended rear swing arm at the same time, so I was going to need a new chain anyway.
Battery:
I currently run a 4 cell Antigravity battery and that thing is super tiny. I saw conflicting ideas that the 4 cell was too small for a daily driven 450, but I can confirm that this is not so. This battery is strong as hell and charges just fine on the old bike. The starts aren't slow or weak, they're just as strong as with my giant lead acid battery.
Clutch cable:
Going from the stock cruiser bars to the drag bars left me with a lot of slack, which was very unsightly, so I ended up finding a shorter OEM suzuki clutch cable that bolted up fine and got rid of the giant dangling wire on my front end. The Suzuki manufacturer part number is 58200-44100.
Tachometer delete:
I don't know if the bike requires the worm gear in the head to function properly, so I left it in, but I cut the protruding part off to allow a bolt to be threaded on instead of just JBWelding it shut like other people. The bolt size is extremely awkward and I couldn't find it anywhere, until I stopped by a local hardware store and the guy suggested using an oil pan drain plug. I found one that fit perfectly, honestly can't remember what the thread was, but just bring the part that unbolts from the block up to an auto store and ask them if you can browse their line of oil pan drain plugs and find one that works.
Minimalistic wiring diagram:
Can't seem to upload it from my camera, I'll get it scanned and posted soon.
I'll add other things as I think of them, and update as I start getting into the more detailed aspect of the build process.
Only picture I have of it when I bought it, although I had already swapped to some mikuni carbs since the stock ones didn't work well enough and the new carbs were pretty cheap.
How it sits as of today.
Now let me talk a little about my experiences getting to this point so that all you other guys trying to do the same kind of things don't get stuck on small things like I did.
Wheels:
I had a hard time finding a rear wheel that was 18" with spokes, I bought an automatic wheel from a GS450 and it didn't fit at all, nothing was remotely close. I ended up using the rear wheel from a Honda CB350 and was pleasantly surprised that it almost bolted right in, all I needed to do was use the wheel spacer on the sprocket side from a CB350 and cut down the GS450 spacer on the brake side and everything lines up nearly perfectly. There is a slight alignment issue with the sprocket, but nothing detrimental. I've ridden on this wheel setup for about 1000 miles and nothing is out of the ordinary, it tracks and rides just fine. Also, the new gearing (CB350s came with a 36 tooth sprocket) and taller tire size let me cruise comfortably at 75 on the highway. The only real issue is you will most likely need a new chain since the sprocket is so small, I was also putting on an extended rear swing arm at the same time, so I was going to need a new chain anyway.
Battery:
I currently run a 4 cell Antigravity battery and that thing is super tiny. I saw conflicting ideas that the 4 cell was too small for a daily driven 450, but I can confirm that this is not so. This battery is strong as hell and charges just fine on the old bike. The starts aren't slow or weak, they're just as strong as with my giant lead acid battery.
Clutch cable:
Going from the stock cruiser bars to the drag bars left me with a lot of slack, which was very unsightly, so I ended up finding a shorter OEM suzuki clutch cable that bolted up fine and got rid of the giant dangling wire on my front end. The Suzuki manufacturer part number is 58200-44100.
Tachometer delete:
I don't know if the bike requires the worm gear in the head to function properly, so I left it in, but I cut the protruding part off to allow a bolt to be threaded on instead of just JBWelding it shut like other people. The bolt size is extremely awkward and I couldn't find it anywhere, until I stopped by a local hardware store and the guy suggested using an oil pan drain plug. I found one that fit perfectly, honestly can't remember what the thread was, but just bring the part that unbolts from the block up to an auto store and ask them if you can browse their line of oil pan drain plugs and find one that works.
Minimalistic wiring diagram:
Can't seem to upload it from my camera, I'll get it scanned and posted soon.
I'll add other things as I think of them, and update as I start getting into the more detailed aspect of the build process.
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