Weasel's 1978 GS750 cafe racer project

[Weasel]

Thanks for checking in guys. I had some time yesterday to clean the carbs and change all the o-rings and gaskets. Just have to bench sync and they will be ready to go back on the bike. The air & oil filter came in the mail so I was able to complete an oil and filter change. Walmart was out of the Shell 15W-40 that everyone recommended but they did have the Mobil brand so I went with that. It was an unusually warm and sunny day the other day so I gave the old GS a quick spray and rinse with some Simple Green. Took a good bit of the old grime off. Any recommendations for replacement handlebar switches and throttle? Mine are pretty bad looking and I was planning on going with something more low profile on the finished bike anyway. Motogadget makes some nice ones but I'd be content with a decent cheap set for now if you have any ideas.

[steve murdoch]

I was going to say you must be single if you used the Berrymans in the house but then i saw the shoe rack and knew you had to be married. haha.
What is the name of your faithful assistant?

[Chuck78]

If you do end up running your stock forks, getting new/used inner(upper) fork stanchion tubes, or if you come across a set of single 295mm front disc 78-79 GS1000C or GS1000N forks, here is reassurance of the single 310mm cbr900rr/ninja caliper brake upgrade from tkent's 550-699 build thread:

front brake is worthy of the added power, I tried out Saltymonk'e twin pot upgrade for the single brake bikes, it works very well.



Much better than the dual 650 brakes were.

[bikemtn]

Nice thread!

Right from the get-go, the important priorities are discussed... The advice is great and the build begins.

Thanks for all the points...makes me wonder why I still have the stock R/R on my bike.


Ed

Ed,
When I first got my bike I was having some charging issues. I picked up a SH775 R/R from a Polaris on ebay for around $40 delivered. It fit perfectly where my old one was on my T. I just changed out the wire ends from the stator to accommodate the SH775. Stator is wired directly to the R/R. Works awesome.

[Weasel]

I was going to say you must be single if you used the Berrymans in the house but then i saw the shoe rack and knew you had to be married. haha.
What is the name of your faithful assistant?

To be honest Steve, I have caught a little hell over stinking up the house LOL. I've got vents in the garage windows so that has helped. Our lab's name is Cody. He'll be 10 months old next week. Our 14 year old lab passed away in January of 2014. It took us a year but we realized we missed having a buddy around the house. We forgot how crazy lab puppies are! But totally worth it.

[Weasel]

Thanks Chuck, I've got a few more things to sort before getting to the forks. The carbs are all done, cleaned, new o-rings & gaskets installed. Throttle opens & closes smoothly now. Even changed the o-rings in the boots between the carbs & motor, pretty sure they were toast LOL



Carbs went back on the bike no problem. The airbox...not so much! Struggled with it for a LONG time. Here's the furthest I could get them on. What a stupid design. It was starting to get not fun so I walked away. Are the boots too old & not flexible? Any tips to get this thing tight? I tried some grease which helped some.

[Chuck78]

Wintergreen oil, I hear is THE BEST for attempts at rejuvenating old rubber parts like airbox boots. You'll have to Google or GS site search for more info on that stuff.

[Weasel]

Broke out the heat gun, amazing what a little heat can do. Warmed up the boots and they became pliable like new. Got the boots on and clamped.



Got the new air filter soaked in oil & installed.



Got the bike back together and it fired but wouldn't stay running. Going to sort out the electrical system next.

[Dirty Deeds]

Good work, keep it going. The clip-ons would be a good choice.

[Weasel]

Here's what the electrical looks like with the side panel off. I'll be ordering and installing a new battery & R/R before I begin sorting things out.

[Weasel]

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas. Not much wrenching on the bike this week but I still have another week off so I'll be getting more into the electrical system. Decided to install some drag bars while I was disassembling switches and checking wires. The old bike looks better already. The wires are in pretty bad shape. I'm thinking I should just start from scratch since I'll be replacing switches, lights and gauges anyway.

The new R/R unit showed up along with the connectors. I have a new battery on the way too. The Motogadget M unit seems like a slick way to go if I'm wiring from scratch. Anyone have any thoughts on going that route?

[Zagg]

Working on a '78 750 too... Also in PA. Lookin' good so far, man. Keep it up!

[Zagg]

I haven't been able to find an R/R for less than $50 on eBay. Who was the seller?

[Weasel]

Here's one under $50 & free shipping

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-Polaris-Ranger-Crew-800-Voltage-Regulator-Rectifier-/161882788609?hash=item25b0f75301:g:Z1YAAOSwl9BWMm9U&vxp=mtr

[Weasel]

Got the ignition push button sorted out and working now. Won't have to bring myself to the brink of a heart attack kicking this thing while I work on getting it running properly.

Video: